Making peace by fighting war: Competing visions of conflict management and African agency in the “new scramble for Africa”

The article situates the endeavor of conflict resolution in geopolitical changes. It highlights how the post-Cold War norm of negotiated settlements is increasingly challenged both by changes within the so-called liberal states and by alternative visions of conflict management advanced by rising powers such as Russia and China. At the same time, the diversification of external actors seeking to expand their influence and secure friends in Africa, often dubbed the “new scramble for Africa,” has enhanced the leverage of African states in their engagements with foreign powers. Through an in-depth case study of the Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon, mobilizing over 60 original interviews, the article shows how renewed great power competition has led to a contested normative environment concerning how violent conflicts ought to be managed, increasingly generating more tolerance for the use of force while undermining the appeal and viability of dialogue and negotiations.