Explaining electoral violence in Africa's 'new' democracies

Abstract

Whenever we think about conflict – whether conflict in general or a specific conflict – we soon become aware of various degrees of complexities. Even when it superficially seems as if a particular conflict started with a mere clash of interests or understandings, there may be a quite complicated context of backgrounds, cultures, approaches or perspectives. It is understandable, therefore, that we try to make our thinking less confusing and more manageable by, for instance, introducing convenient distinctions. One of the very obvious and therefore widely used classifications is the one which distinguishes between beginnings, escalation and resolution. Such a stage-related approach has led to the use of a set of terms and methods, of which the most well known are conflict prevention, management and resolution.