The logic of ethnic and religious conflict in Africa

Abstract

In this book McCauley presents an overview of a comprehensive study on violent communal and civil conflicts across Africa. The study sought to illuminate the causes underlying the puzzling observation in ethnically diverse African countries – including Ivory Coast, Sudan and Nigeria – that violent conflict emerges along ethnic lines and then transforms into religious conflicts. The book broadens our understanding of African identity politics, showing us why in instances of violent conflict, parties remain the same, but the cause of the conflict transforms (ethnic to religious). In addition, the book explains why even though ethnic and religious identities in Africa are well-established, they are not always the cause the persistence of conflict. The author posits that Africans have multiple identities (ethnic and religious), and in the case of civil and communal conflict, political elites can manipulate those in conflict to exploit religious or ethnic tension, as necessary to fuel ongoing violence. The author explains that ethnic identity in Africa is associated with a homeland and local material well-being, whereas religious identities are associated with moral policies. In accordance with the research process, the book is divided into two main sections. In the first section, the author demonstrates both the results of qualitative field study conducted in Ivory Coast and Ghana, and findings obtained from the Afrobarometer Public Opinion Survey (measures identity attachment and policy preferences) administered to some 20,000 individuals. These data are then used to develop the hypothesis that ethnic and religious identities are separate concepts that evoke fundamentally different preferences in individuals that the political elite can exploit. In the book religious identity preferences in Africa are described as ‘rule-based identities’ characterized by religious rules that are subject to interpretation and change. In contrast, ethnic identity preferences are described as ‘land-based identities’ that emphasize a common ancestry, shared norms, and homeland.