Building and Sustaining Peace in Sub-Saharan Africa

The book examines and reflects on how conflict transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa can be done in the Anthropocene. The Anthropocene is a geological epoch marked by human activities becoming the dominant influence on the environment, rather than natural forces. This shift signifies a new reality where humans, through their behaviors and decisions, have transformed ecosystems, altered atmospheric composition, and disrupted climatic systems. Historically, forces such as volcanic eruptions, ocean currents, and solar cycles dictated Earth’s systems. In the Anthropocene, human activities which include but not limited to the establishment of infrastructures for peace, peacekeeping, and community peace initiatives—have become equally, if not more, significant. Five major research themes emerge from its 19 Chapters are: 1). The problematic in African communities 2). Resilient social institutions in African communities 3). Infrastructures that sustain peace in Africa 4). Socio-political responses to climate change-induced conflict & violence in Africa 5). The future of peace in Africa The book acknowledges that top-down approaches to peace in African soil have failed, for example, truth and peace commissions in Siera Leone, South Africa, and peace agreements in Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and their unintended effects and so on. This book is a Call for new theoretical perspectives that move Sub-Saharan Africa forward in the area of peacebuilding using African innovation and endogenous institutions to sustain.