Conflict Management, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Lessons for Africa from a Seminar Past

This monograph presents a collection of papers from 'Exercise Morning Star', a September 1996 seminar held at the South African Army College. The document provides a general overview of conflict management, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding in Africa, emphasizing that these issues are no longer exclusively military domains and require partnerships between military forces, civil society, and regional bodies.

• Conflict in Africa is characterized by diverse and endemic sources, including poor governance, under-development, ethno-political rivalry, and military intervention in national politics. This environment has led to an increasing reluctance by the international community to intervene in the management or resolution of violent conflicts on the continent.
• The Organisation of African Unity (OAU) is expected to take on a greater responsibility for managing conflict in Africa, though its success depends on the political will of its member states. Due to limited resources and the UN's primary role in international security, the OAU focuses on observation, mediation, and preventive diplomacy rather than resource-intensive peace operations.
• UN peace operations in Africa, including those in Somalia, Rwanda, Angola, and Mozambique, demonstrate that such interventions are not a guaranteed solution for sustainable development and peace. Success in these missions requires peacekeepers to respect and understand the sensitivities of local populations and host governments to avoid creating long-term resentment or adverse social effects.
• There is a critical need for a positive linkage between peacekeeping and post-conflict peacebuilding from the start of an operation. While peacekeeping often focuses on the immediate terms of peace accords and elections, peacebuilding addresses the more enduring challenges of socio-economic reconstruction and development, which is viewed as the fundamental solution to conflict in Africa.

APA

Malan, M. (n.d.). Conflict Management, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Lessons for Africa from a Seminar Past. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-10-conflict-management-peacekeeping-and-peacebuilding-lessons-for-africa-from-a-seminar-past-edited-by-mark-malan

Chicago

Malan, Mark. Conflict Management, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Lessons for Africa from a Seminar Past. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-10-conflict-management-peacekeeping-and-peacebuilding-lessons-for-africa-from-a-seminar-past-edited-by-mark-malan.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Malan |first1=Mark |title=Conflict Management, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Lessons for Africa from a Seminar Past |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-10-conflict-management-peacekeeping-and-peacebuilding-lessons-for-africa-from-a-seminar-past-edited-by-mark-malan |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{malanndconflict, author = {Malan, Mark}, title = {{Conflict Management, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Lessons for Africa from a Seminar Past}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/monograph-10-conflict-management-peacekeeping-and-peacebuilding-lessons-for-africa-from-a-seminar-past-edited-by-mark-malan}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }