The Dynamics of Intervention: A Comparative Survey

Abstract

As indicated in our discussions so far, especially in chapters 2–4, the following principal themes have emerged as the dominant focus of our enquiry to determine the nature of intervention in the conflicts in Nigeria, Angola and Zaire: (A) the determinant of the extent of intervention; (B) the type of intervention that contending power groups (in each conflict) are prepared to accept; (C) the motive for intervention; (D) the mode of intervention; and (E) the consequences (or outcome) of intervention. A comparative survey, primarily involving the three conflicts, but also drawing on other continental examples, and based on exploring further the constituent features of the five principal themes now follows. A set of propositions will be derived from the analysis which are expected to illustrate the dynamics of intervention in civil conflicts in contemporary Africa.