Articles · Vol. 2 No. 1 (2006): Africa Review of Books, Volume 2, n° 1, 2006

Africans Do Not Live By Bread Alone: Against Greed, Not Grievance

  • Ibrahim Abdullah
    Ibrahim Abdullah
    is a Sierra Leone historian and author of many publications, among the most recent being Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War(CODESRIA, 2004).
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Abstract

Scholars, NGO activists, and journalists have fed the official mind and popular imagination with a particular kind of explanation of conflict that privileges the economic. Civil war is about resources: rebels are motivated by greed, not grievance. Rebels mine diamonds to buy arms. Diamonds are the heart of the matter. A robust campaign against “blood diamonds” - diamond coming from conflict areas- is one way of depriving rebels of funds to make war. Devoid of historical context,explanations such as these remain captivating but unhelpful.

Keywords

Africans Do Not Live Grievance Greed

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Author Biography

  • Ibrahim Abdullah

    is a Sierra Leone historian and author of many publications, among the most recent being Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War(CODESRIA, 2004).

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Vol. 2 No. 1 (2006): Africa Review of Books, Volume 2, n° 1, 2006 →