Description
Book SynopsisLying at the centre of a tumultuous region, the Central African Republic and its turbulent history have often been overlooked. Democracy, in any kind of a meaningful sense, has eluded the country. Since the mid-1990s, army mutinies and serial rebellion in CAR have resulted in two major successful coups. Over the course of these upheavals, the country has become a laboratory for peacebuilding initiatives, hosting a two-decade-long succession of UN and regional peacekeeping, peacebuilding and special political missions. Drawing together the foremost experts on the Central African Republic, this much-needed volume provides the first in-depth analysis of the country’s recent history of rebellion, instability, and international and regional intervention.
Trade Review[T]his book is a much-needed contribution to our understanding of the CAR crisis. * African Affairs *
This is the essential book on CAR. Tatiana Carayannis and Louisa Lombard have assembled the scholars and analysts who know most about this important but under-researched country, and have produced the authoritative volume on its history, society and politics. * Alex de Waal, author of Darfur and Advocacy in Conflict *
Bringing together the most prominent experts, this book provides a unique, compelling and definitive analysis of the deeply rooted political crisis in the CAR. With no issue left untouched, it is essential reading for anyone interested in, or dealing with the current conflict. * Koen Vlassenroot, Ghent University *
Carayannis and Lombard definitively depict what Africans call "the heart of the continent" not as a blank spot on colonial maps, nor as an aberrant absence or failure of contemporary national and international governance, but rather as a complex "hive" of geopolitical, cultural and economic rivalries and alliances key to Africa's prosperity and stability in coming decades. It is a boldly executed and timely corrective to much recent media and policy analysis on civil conflict and prospects for sustainable peace in the Central African Republic. * Rebecca Hardin, University of Michigan *
Table of Contents1. Making Sense of CAR: An Introduction - Louisa Lombard and Tatiana Carayannis 2. CAR's History: The Past of a Tense Present - Stephen W. Smith 3. Being Rich, Being Poor: Wealth and Fear in the Central African Republic - Roland Marchal 4. Local Dynamics in the PK5 District of Bangui - Faouzi Kilembe 5. The Elite's Road to Riches in a Poor Country - Stephen W. Smith 6. A Multifaceted Business: Diamonds in the Central African Republic - Ned Dalby 7. The Autonomous Zone Conundrum: Armed Conservation and Rebellion in North-Eastern CAR - Louisa Lombard 8. CAR and the Regional (Dis)order - Roland Marchal 9. Pathologies of Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in CAR - Nathaniel Olin 10. From Being Forgotten to Being Ignored: International Humanitarian Interventions in the Central African Republic - Enrica Picco 11. CAR's Southern Identity: Congo, CAR, and International Justice - Tatiana Carayannis 12. In Unclaimed Land: The Lord's Resistance Army in CAR - Ledio Cakaj 13. A Central African Elite Perspective on the Struggles of the Central African Republic - Laurence D. Wohlers 14. A Concluding Note on the Failure and Future of Peacebuilding in CAR - Tatiana Carayannis and Louisa Lombard
