Why Peace Missions Fail and Proxy Wars Prosper: 5 Surprising Truths About Conflict in Africa: Why Force Often Fuels the Fire
Why Peace Missions Fail and Proxy Wars Prosper: 5 Surprising Truths About Conflict in Africa Imagine a convoy of white UN armored vehicles rolling through a dusty capital, or a group of rebel leaders in crisp suits signing a peace accord in the gilded ballroom of a five-star hotel. We watch these scenes with a collective sigh of relief, assuming the international community has finally arrived to stop the bleeding. Our intuition tells us that "intervention"—more aid, more diplomats, more peacekeepers—must naturally lead to less violence. The statistical reality, however, is a gut-punch to the status quo. Data suggests that foreign intervention rarely acts as a fire extinguisher; instead, it often functions as oxygen. Across the African continent, the very mechanisms designed to manage conflict frequently recalibrate the balance of power in ways that make fighting more—not less—attractive to belligerents. To make sense of why modern conflicts persist despite unprecedented glo...