Promoting Peace and Conflict-Sensitive Higher Education in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

One of the most effective ways universities in war-affected countries can be functionally relevant to the everyday needs and challenges of their immediate environment is by promoting peacebuilding through peace education. This paper explores the role of universities in fostering peace education in diverse post-conflict and conflict-prone countries of sub-Saharan Africa and further investigates the contending models and strategies (notably the Bradford Model and the Centralized Unitary Model) of conflict-sensitive peace education in universities in the countries concerned. It also analyzes the problems associated with promoting peace education in sub-Saharan Africa and recommends policy-relevant measures designed to strengthen the process. The data was generated from secondary sources, as well as a raft of conflict intervention, regional security, and peacebuilding projects of which the researcher took part in countries such as Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and South Sudan.