Conflict Resolution in Africa: The Congo and the Rules of the Game

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Periodical article

Title:	Conflict Resolution in Africa: The Congo and the Rules of the Game
Author:	Singleton, Seth
Year:	1975
Periodical:	Pan-African Journal
Volume:	8
Issue:	1
Period:	Spring
Pages:	1-18
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Africa Congo (Democratic Republic of)
Subjects:	OAU conflict resolution foreign intervention international conflicts Politics and Government
Abstract:	The crisis in the Congo, from 1960 through 1965, was decisive in the establishment of rules for the African subsystem of states. As the formative international experience for the new African states, the crisis raised issues about rules of the game. 1. The question of intervention in Africa by non-African powers. Which, if any, could Africans support and on what grounds? 2. Did the special relationship among African states postulated by the idea of Pan-African solidarity justify intervention by other African states? 3. What criteria would be established among Africans for judging the legitimacy of other African governments, and conversely, the legitimacy of internal subversion or secession? 4. Would Africa succeed in creating a Pan-African organisation with significant power to regulate conflict within and among African states? The conclusion of the article is that no state, or group of states, or international organization, has both the legitimacy and the power to cope with African conflicts. Notes; ref.