Civil Society and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa in the Anthropocene: An Overview

590 Pages·2022·9.122 MB·English

by  Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala, Geoff Thomas Harris

The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—Society—Science
Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala
Geoff Thomas Harris Editors
Civil Society
and Peacebuilding
in Sub-Saharan
Africa in the
Anthropocene
An Overview
With Forewords by Urmila Bob and Jan Cillié (Jannie) Malan (South Africa)
and Prefaces by Will Steffen (Australia) and Luc Reychler (Belgium)
The Anthropocene: Politik—Economics—
Society—Science
Volume 34
SeriesEditor
HansGünterBrauch,PeaceResearchandEuropeanSecurityStudies
(AFES-PRESS),Mosbach,Baden-Württemberg,Germany
More information about this series at https://link.springer.com/bookseries/15232
http://www.afes-press-books.de/html/APESS.htm
http://afes-press-books.de/html/APESS_34.htm
·
Jean Chrysostome K. Kiyala Geoff Thomas Harris
Editors
Civil Society
and Peacebuilding
in Sub-Saharan Africa
in the Anthropocene
An Overview
Editors
JeanChrysostomeK.Kiyala GeoffThomasHarris
InternationalCentreofNonviolence InternationalCentreofNonviolence
DurbanUniversityofTechnology DurbanUniversityofTechnology
Durban,SouthAfrica Durban,SouthAfrica
Acknowledgement:ThiscontributedvolumewassupportedbyTheInternationalCenterof
Nonviolence,DurbanUniversityofTechnology,SouthAfrica.Thecoverphotowastakenby
HansGünterBrauchwhograntedthepermissiontouseithere.Thephotoontheinternaltitle
pagewastakenbyChrysKiyala,KwiluRiver,inBandunduTown,DemocraticRepublicof
Congo,27July2021.
Moreonthisbookisat:http://afes-press-books.de/html/APESS_34.htm
ISSN2367-4024 ISSN2367-4032 (electronic)
TheAnthropocene:Politik—Economics—Society—Science
ISBN978-3-030-95178-8 ISBN978-3-030-95179-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95179-5
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Topeace-lovers,nature-lovers,
environmentalists,
ecologists,conservationists,
environment-preservationits,
Greenpeacemovementsandactivists,
TheGreenTeenTeam(GTT)generationand
friends
ofenvironmentandglobalpeace;
toEnvironmentandPeaceNobelPrize
Laureates,
researchers,engineers,sciencesand
technologyinstitutions, thinktanks,
variouscivilsocietyorganisations,social
movements;
toallofyouwhohavedevelopednew
paradigmsin
environmentalandpeacestudies,
anddemonstratedhumanresilienceto
guiding humanitytowardsthepathof
sustainabledevelopment,
socialjustice,environmentalstabilityand
global peace;
yourcommitmentandengagementtokeepthe
worldgreenand
mitigatetheEarthsystems’disintegrationare
acknowledgedhere
andwillcontinuetoinspirefuture
generations.
Foreword by Urmila Bob
Inthecontextofnotionsofpeacebeinganelusiveconceptandattainingastateof
peace being a challenge in many parts of the world, the book provides timely and
valuableinsightsinthiscriticalareaofcivilsocietyandpeacebuilding.Thefocuson
Sub-SaharanAfricaisalsonotablegivenwidespreadvulnerabilitieslinkedtopersis-
tentpovertyandinequalities,discrimination,poorservicedeliveryandinfrastructural
backlogs,governanceandpoliticalissues,resourcescarcityandpoorenvironmental
managementpractices;thatareamongthemanyfactorsthatposeseveralchallenges
for meaningful civil society participation and peacebuilding efforts. The COVID-
19 pandemic, climate change and future disruptions will severely strain existing
(albeitlimited)capacitytofurtherpeaceinterestsaswellasincreaseconflicts,espe-
cially environmental conflicts. These are threat multipliers that reinforce existing
challengesandworsenconditionsonthegroundincontextswherethereislimited
resources, infrastructure, capacity and capabilities to respond. The importance of
conflict-sensitiveadaptationandresponsivenessissignificant.
Thenumberofcasestudiesinthebook,fromdifferentpartsofSub-SaharanAfrica,
underscoretherangeofcontextsandexperiencesinthisregion.Therangeofthematic
focialsohighlightsakeycontributionofthebook,whichistheinterdisciplinaryand
vii
viii ForewordbyUrmilaBob
transdisciplinaryorientationthatpermitsvariedperspectives,experiencesandvoices
to be examined. The focus on human rights and environmental justice is particu-
larlyrelevantgiventhatthereiswidespreadconsensusthatSub-SaharanAfricawill
experience the brunt of extreme climate events and natural disasters. The concep-
tualisationandcentralityofpeaceecologyandindigenousknowledge(thatinforms
Africansocialphilosophies)provideacriticalandpreviouslyneglectedlenstobetter
understandcivilsocietyandpeacebuildinginSub-SaharanAfrica.Noteworthyalso
istheattentiontogenderaspectsandthefocusonchildren.Womenandchildrenare
vulnerablesegmentsinsocietyandunderstandingimpactsandtheiragencytoaffect/
influencechangeisimportantinpeacebuildingeffortsthatareempowering,transfor-
mationalandembeddedinpromotingresiliencyandsustainability.Theexamination
oftheroleoffaith-basedorganisations,schoolsandcommunitycollectivesaswell
asnon-governmentalorganisations(suchastheAfricanCentrefortheConstructive
ResolutionofDisputes),forexample,illustratehowdifferentpartsofcivilsociety
cancontributetopeacebuildinginitiativesandenvironmentaleducation.
The perspectives of African-based scholars is particularly notable. Addition-
ally, the diverse methodological approaches used (from integrating and examining
secondary sources of information to primary data collection methods) also reveal
theneedforadoptinginterdisciplinaryapproaches.Furthermore,theassessmentof
peacebuilding initiatives (including campaigns and training programmes) reveals
thecriticalstanceembraced.Thecasestudiestraverselocalcommunitycontextsto
country-levelanalysestoregionalandcontinentalassessments.Furthermore,chal-
lenges associated with undertaking global peace research, especially in relation to
scholarsfromtheglobalSouth,revealthatmoreattentionneedstobepaidtowhat
typesofresearchisbeingundertakeninSub-SaharanAfrica,bywhomandforwhat
purpose.Thediscussionsarerootedinexaminingspecificdynamicswhileextracting
lessonsthatreflectonimplicationsmorebroadlyandincorporateaholisticapproach.
The20ChaptersgivevoicestomanyscholarsfromtheGlobalSouth,especiallyfrom
Sub-SaharanAfrica.Theauthorsnotonlyfocusonhowtopromotepeacebuilding
but also the causes of conflict, emphasising the need to empower and enable the
agencyofindividuals,communities,nationsandregionstobeproactiveandrespon-
sive. Enduring peace must include all members of society (especially vulnerable
groups) as well as place environmental sustainability and justice at the centre of
peacebuildingefforts.
Icommendtheeditorsandauthorsforcompilingvaluableresearchthatwillbe
used by scholars, practitioners, decision- and policymakers, and students on the
African continent and globally. The book is an important scholarly contribution,
growing the field of research and generating knowledge in an area where limited
scholarlyresourcesareavailable.
Durban,SouthAfrica Prof.UrmilaBob
November2021
ForewordbyUrmilaBob ix
Prof.UrmilaBobisaFullProfessorofGeographyintheSchoolofAgriculture,EarthandEnviron-
mentalSciencesandUniversityDeanofResearchattheUniversityofKwaZulu-Natal,SouthAfrica.
ShehasaMastersandPh.D.inGeographyfromWestVirginiaUniversity,USAandaMasters
in Tertiary Education Management from the University of Melbourne, Australia. She conducts
researchonarangeofdevelopmentalandenvironmentalissues,includingsocio-economicimpact
assessmentsofdevelopmentalprojectsinrelationtoconservationandtourismprojectsaswellas
sustainablelivelihoodsinbothruralandurbancontexts.Shehaspublishedinthesefieldsinboth
nationallyandinternationallyrecognisedacademicbooksandjournalsaswellasbeeninvolved
inconsultancy-basedprojects.Shehassupervisedtocompletionmorethan70MastersandPh.D.
studentsintheseareasofresearchaswell.Shehastrainingexpertiseinquantitativeandqualita-
tivemethodologiesandtechniques,monitoringandevaluation,developmentofindicators,social
andenvironmentalimpactassessments,genderanalyticalmethodologies,researchplanningandthe
developmentofacademicsandpostgraduatestudents.
Address: Research Office, N-Block, Govan Mbeki Building, Westville Campus, University of
KwaZulu-Natal,Durban,SouthAfrica.
Email:[email protected].
Websites:https://www.linkedin.com/in/urmilla-bob-0725b09/;
https://saees.ukzn.ac.za/urmilla-bob/;
https://www.accord.org.za/people/urmilla-bob/;
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Urmilla-Bob.