Öppet seminarium: Warfare in Africa 1960–2024

Välkommen till ett öppet online-seminarium om krigföring på den afrikanska kontinenten som ges i samarbete med University of Calgary.

Den här gång delar fyra föreläsare från tre olika universitet insikter och perspektiv på diplomati, fredsbevarande insatser, revolter och terrorism i Afrika under åren 1960–2024. Föreläsningarna ges på engelska.

Följ seminariet online

Seminariet ges på Zoom: https://fhs-se.zoom.us/j/66161416200

Fyra föreläsningar med olika teman

No peace to keep: Nigerian soldiers in the Liberian and Sierra Leonean Peacekeeping Mission, 1990–1999
Doctoral Student Adeboye Tinubu, Department of History, University of Calgary

Between 1990 and 1999, thousands of Nigerian soldiers were deployed to Liberia and Sierra Leone to quell the raging civil wars in those countries, under the auspices of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). For decades, narratives surrounding these interventions have centered mainly on the accounts of civilian diplomats, presidents, and, to some extent, senior military officers, often neglecting the perspectives of ordinary service personnel, including junior officers and rank-and-file soldiers. By examining oral interviews with veterans of peacekeeping operations, this paper argues that the confusion surrounding the motivations for the intervention, the persistent proliferation of rebel groups, and the lack of peacekeeping experience on the part of the Nigerian soldiers contributed to calamitous actions and outcomes in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Inside the Barrel of an Insurgent's Gun: Tactics, Strategy, and the Way of War of Al-Shabaab in Somalia, 2006–2024
Master’s Student Emilia Connolly, Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary

This research project examines the attacks, operations, and organizational strategy of Al-Shabaab from their emergence in late 2006 to 2024. Utilizing news reports, Al-Shabaab's public statements, and UNSC monitoring group reports, the research aims to demonstrate how, when a group performs state functions and retains a high degree of self-subsistence, it can develop a 'Way of War.'

Qaddafi’s campaign against dissidents and the United Kingdom: an updated look into Libyan foreign policy, 1975–1984
Doctoral Student Jacopo Scudero, Department of Political Science, Sapienza University of Rome

This paper aims to shed light on the events that led to the development of an extensive network of Libyan dissidents residing in the United Kingdom and to the evolution of the National Front for the Salvation of Libya (NFSL): an organization of Libyan exiled dissidents founded in October 1981 in Khartoum, which quickly developed in Britain. The theme of secrecy lies at the core of this study, given that this opposition movement was directly and indirectly supported by Western and Arab intelligence services. Through the analysis of available diplomatic and non-diplomatic sources, this work seeks to clarify the actual role of this network of Libyan dissidents in exacerbating relations between the United Kingdom and Libya, leading to the diplomatic rupture of April 1984.

Swedish support to the national movement FRELIMO, 1964–1975
Doctoral Student Christian Kjellsson, Department of Military History, Swedish Defence University

Where does the boundary between humanitarian aid and military support go? The purpose of the study has been to problematize and discuss the demarcation and borderline areas that arose at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and at the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA), a Swedish government agency, during their daily work with the support in relation to the Swedish policy of non-alignment in peace with the intention to be neutral in the event of war. I will describe and problematize the mechanisms and demarcation issues that arose within the decision-making process of the MFA and SIDA in relation to the Swedish neutrality. My study shows that Swedish officials knew that the supported movements employed the delivered equipment in military operations, even tailoring the aid to fit the movement's military challenges thus blurring the boundaries between humanitarian aid and military support.