A retrospective look at peace and security in Africa in 2012

Apart from existing conflicts in places such as Sudan and Somalia, in 2012 Africa witnessed the eruption of major armed conflicts involving rebel groups and a rise in emerging threats to security particularly terrorism and other forms of transnational threats. In providing an analytical review of these developments and their implications for the peace and security trends of Africa, this article points out that while the number and persistence of conflicts in Africa has in general been on decline, various parts of the continent continue to experience serious challenges to peace and security. Governance-related problems (notably serious democratic deficits and horizontal inequalities) and state fragility constitute the two common features of almost all of the existing and new crises affecting the continent in 2012.