Write a 7 – 9-page paper applying theories of conflict and what you have learned about identifying obstacles to conflict resolution and proposing alternative strategies to overcome such barriers to the conflict in the Central African Republic. You should enhance your argument with logic and statistical support. Use the below proposal. This research proposal is about the on-going conflict in the Central African Republic (CAR). This conflict is very complex, and it involves decades of violent history, multiple International Organizations (IOs), and multiple armed groups. The CAR conflict can be argued that has been going on since its independence from France in 1960. This conflict has escalated since 2013 when a new coalition of varied rebel groups, known as Slka, accused the CAR government of failing to follow the 2007 peace agreements and started fighting and capturing multiple towns in 2012. This ended in the flying of then CAR President Franois Boziz and multiple other rapid successors (BBC News 2018). Essentially, the on-going conflict is between the Slka rebels which are mostly of Muslim background and the Anti-balaka militia which are of a Christian background. CAR is currently one of the poorest states in the world with a gross domestic product (GDP) purchasing power parity (PPP) of $3.39 billion (2017 est.) putting it at 185th place out of 229 states of the world (The World Factbook 2016). CAR GDP per capita is only $700 (2017 est.) placing it at 228th out of 229 states in the world (The World Factbook 2016; International Monetary Fund 2018). This extreme poverty is a contributing factor in the on-going conflict. Some of the challenges I have found in the literature include the unstable, an almost non-existing government with a weak and disloyal armed force; the influence of too many IOs and states in CAR; and the distribution of wealth, safety, and lack of stable livelihood. First, as examined by the International Crisis Group since the fall of Emperor Bokassa in 1979 CARs institutions lack any meaningful institutional capacity and CARs armed forces were easily taken over during the 2012-2013 conflict, and they have been accused of committing crimes against humanity (International Crisis Group 2017). This weakened state is also examined by Ernhede which examined how the weakened state and lawlessness were significant contributing factors in this conflict (Ernhede 2016). Although, Ernhede does not provide with any solution towards making a successful growth of CARs institutions. As for the second challenge, as examined by Muggah there have been multiple attempts of peacekeeping operations by multiple IOs including the United Nations (UN) with little success (Muggah 2018). Additionally, as reported by The Guardian and The New York Times there is a strong presence and influence from other states, in these cases reported that of Russia (Beaumont 2018; Higgins 2018). Lastly, as for the third challenge, Sachs and Warner examined the contributing factors towards the slow growth of Sub-Saharan African states. Sachs and Warner found that a combination of untapped natural resources and lack of infrastructure, basic economic policies, government saving, and market-supporting institutions are the main reasons for these states slow economic growth (Sachs and Warner 1997). Just like Ernhede, Sachs and Warner do not provide viable solutions towards solving the slow economy of these African states. For the research question of this paper, focus on how IOs can foster the growth of CARs institutions and how does that affect CARs conflict.
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