| | This article assesses recent debate regarding dimensions of post-cold war conflict in Africa. It reviews the populist, and influential assertion that the 'coming anarchy' , in Africa and elsewhere, is the result increasingly of clashes between cultures rather than states, and that these nation states necessarily give rise to primordial ethnicities. There continues to be a view that Africa's ills lie with overpopulation, environmental degradation and ethnic conflict. In contrast to the travel writing of authors like Kaplan nuanced perspectives challenging conventional wisdom can be underpinned by the force of anthropology and contemporary debates, relating to the new ecology and critiques of power. |
