Urban Violence Patterns Across African States

Abstract

This analysis of urban political violence across Africa considers why the proportion and frequency of conflict is increasing in urban areas while decreasing in rural areas. The decline of formally organized violence in predominantly rural areas, and the increase of more variegated forms of political opposition and conflict in urban zones, is interrogated through demographic and grievance‐based explanations. Urban violence displays a range of agents, goals, intensities, and triggers and is alternatively regarded as a response to the lack of capacity and poor governance found in urban contexts, or to the changing demographic and political character of African states. Yet, the multiple, low‐intensity forms of urban violence present—including militia attacks, communal contests, riots, and protests—indicate a change in the collective action capabilities and goals of modern conflict agents. These goals are themselves shaped by the experience of mounting urban grievances, but the ethnic and regional heterogeneity in urban areas prevents substantial collective action to counter the urban marginalization practiced by many African governments. Despite the low‐intensity nature of urban threats, this compounded violence is a substantial security threat across developing states and is leading to the rise of the “fragile city.”

Riots and rebellion: State, society and the geography of conflict in India

“…The analysis on India above confirms that incident numbers are concentrated on more urban and transitional governance, even though the intensity of violence remains with revised regimes. This seems to confirm a more general trend -pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa -that has seen a movement in the balance of violent incidents from internal insurgency based in rural areas toward urban violence (Raleigh, 2015).…”

Troublemakers, Bystanders, and Pathbreakers

“…Protest events are not equivalent to outright violence andRaleigh (2015) has found that the locus of violent conflict in Africa has increased considerably over the last 20 years from rural to urban areas.…”

More than Laboratories

“…In South Asia, 190.7 million people reside in urban slums, and in Dhaka the proportion of people living in slums is 40 per cent of the total urban population (BBS, 2014; UNDESA, 2014). Across Africa, the demographic pressure created by the urban shift has been linked to instability and increasing conflict and inter-communal violence (Fortune et al, 2015;Raleigh, 2015). This rapid population expansion both increases pressure on existing local resources and the demand for assistance in the event of natural hazard disasters.…”