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"most of the wars have ended, the age of coups is over" Really? There may be fewer wars, but there are still a lot (look at the list of ongoing conflicts on W

"most of the wars have ended, the age of coups is over" Really? There may be fewer wars, but there are still a lot (look at the list of ongoing conflicts on Wikipedia). There was a coup in Niger a week or two ago. Things may be getting better, but they are not good.

maxklein 17y ago
Of the ongoing conflicts with 1000+ deaths per year, 6 are in Asia and only 2 are in Africa. And of those two the sudanese war, which has only resulted in ~2,500 deaths I'm not sure can be called a war. Compare those with the wars of the 70s and 80s, I think this is a remarkable period of stability. The coup in niger was for an actual breach of democracy - the democratically elected president tried to overstay his term, and he was stopped by the military. Which is at it should be. They have also appointed a civilian prime minister. So things are a LOT better than before.
- endtime 17y ago
  For convenient definitions of "conflict", sure. But that doesn't necessarily mean Africa is that much better a place to live. For example, there might not be a "conflict" in Liberia right now, but the place is still hell on Earth.
- w00pla 17y ago
  > Of the ongoing conflicts with 1000+ deaths per year, 6 are in Asia and only 2 are in Africa. Can you give a citation? As an example, South Africa is basically engaged in a civil war with itself (22,000+ people die violent deaths). Zimbabwean life expectancy fell by more than 20 years - more people die there. Zim is basically a civil war (which nobody would acknowledge). Eastern DRC - easily more than a thousand, the same with Sudan. Also note that sub-Sahara Africa only has a population of 700 million. Asia has a population that is two to three times larger. > The coup in niger was for an actual breach of democracy - the democratically elected president tried to overstay his term, and he was stopped by the military. You are ignoring a few things - the ruling parties is becoming incredibly intertwined with government (i.e. it is not democratic anymore, even if they hold elections). Sure, it is a bit more stable - but I doubt that it is better. There were also recent coups in Mauritania, Madagascar.
  - maxklein 17y ago
    Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts For people like you who want to believe that Africa is in a war, no citation will do most likely. The Asian wars are killing a hell of a lot more people than the African wars also. If you want to believe that nothing is getting better, then let's not continue the conversation. If you are willing to actually look at the facts and compare the 80s to now, then we can talk.
    - w00pla 17y ago
      > For people like you who want to believe that Africa is in a war, I happen to live in Africa. You ignored all of the examples I gave you. Zimbabwe has probably one of the largest displaced populations in the word – yet you do not view this as a “war”. > Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts Yeah, it doesn’t include Zimbabwe. It doesn’t include the eastern DRC. So you use unfinished or badly written WP articles as your source? Or do you use an extremely strange definition of conflict? > The Asian wars are killing a hell of a lot more people than the African wars also. Again, you are wrong. Firstly, of the Asian countries you mentioned, only India counts as a 1000+ deaths per year (with a population of 1.5 times that of sub-Sahara Africa). > If you want to believe that nothing is getting better, then let's not continue the conversation. You seem to base your argument on ignorance and self-delusion that is typical of the African renaissance movement. So I doubt that this conversation would be informative from your side. > If you are willing to actually look at the facts and compare the 80s to now, then we can talk. You made the statement “Of the ongoing conflicts with 1000+ deaths per year, 6 are in Asia and only 2 are in Africa.” which is blatantly false (by your own citation). Sure the place stabilised since the 80ies – only because the USSR fell (a major sponsor of conflict). Then again, the 90ies an early 00ies were not particularly rosy (Rwanda, DRC war).
      - maxklein 17y ago
        My citation says that there are 6 in asian and 2 in Africa. How is this false? And Iraq has way more than 1000+ deaths a year. Living in Africa does not make you an authority. Point to some proof for your statements.

maxklein 17y ago

Of the ongoing conflicts with 1000+ deaths per year, 6 are in Asia and only 2 are in Africa. And of those two the sudanese war, which has only resulted in ~2,500 deaths I'm not sure can be called a war. Compare those with the wars of the 70s and 80s, I think this is a remarkable period of stability. The coup in niger was for an actual breach of democracy - the democratically elected president tried to overstay his term, and he was stopped by the military. Which is at it should be. They have also appointed a civilian prime minister. So things are a LOT better than before.

endtime 17y ago
For convenient definitions of "conflict", sure. But that doesn't necessarily mean Africa is that much better a place to live. For example, there might not be a "conflict" in Liberia right now, but the place is still hell on Earth.
w00pla 17y ago
> Of the ongoing conflicts with 1000+ deaths per year, 6 are in Asia and only 2 are in Africa. Can you give a citation? As an example, South Africa is basically engaged in a civil war with itself (22,000+ people die violent deaths). Zimbabwean life expectancy fell by more than 20 years - more people die there. Zim is basically a civil war (which nobody would acknowledge). Eastern DRC - easily more than a thousand, the same with Sudan. Also note that sub-Sahara Africa only has a population of 700 million. Asia has a population that is two to three times larger. > The coup in niger was for an actual breach of democracy - the democratically elected president tried to overstay his term, and he was stopped by the military. You are ignoring a few things - the ruling parties is becoming incredibly intertwined with government (i.e. it is not democratic anymore, even if they hold elections). Sure, it is a bit more stable - but I doubt that it is better. There were also recent coups in Mauritania, Madagascar.
- maxklein 17y ago
  Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts For people like you who want to believe that Africa is in a war, no citation will do most likely. The Asian wars are killing a hell of a lot more people than the African wars also. If you want to believe that nothing is getting better, then let's not continue the conversation. If you are willing to actually look at the facts and compare the 80s to now, then we can talk.
  - w00pla 17y ago
    > For people like you who want to believe that Africa is in a war, I happen to live in Africa. You ignored all of the examples I gave you. Zimbabwe has probably one of the largest displaced populations in the word – yet you do not view this as a “war”. > Citation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ongoing_conflicts Yeah, it doesn’t include Zimbabwe. It doesn’t include the eastern DRC. So you use unfinished or badly written WP articles as your source? Or do you use an extremely strange definition of conflict? > The Asian wars are killing a hell of a lot more people than the African wars also. Again, you are wrong. Firstly, of the Asian countries you mentioned, only India counts as a 1000+ deaths per year (with a population of 1.5 times that of sub-Sahara Africa). > If you want to believe that nothing is getting better, then let's not continue the conversation. You seem to base your argument on ignorance and self-delusion that is typical of the African renaissance movement. So I doubt that this conversation would be informative from your side. > If you are willing to actually look at the facts and compare the 80s to now, then we can talk. You made the statement “Of the ongoing conflicts with 1000+ deaths per year, 6 are in Asia and only 2 are in Africa.” which is blatantly false (by your own citation). Sure the place stabilised since the 80ies – only because the USSR fell (a major sponsor of conflict). Then again, the 90ies an early 00ies were not particularly rosy (Rwanda, DRC war).
    - maxklein 17y ago
      My citation says that there are 6 in asian and 2 in Africa. How is this false? And Iraq has way more than 1000+ deaths a year. Living in Africa does not make you an authority. Point to some proof for your statements.