ABSTRACT
The internal dynamics of non-state armed groups is the key driver of conflict and politics in sub-Saharan Africa. Against the backdrop of weak states in East and Central Africa, armed groups are becoming stronger political actors despite their highly unstable configurations. In sub-Saharan Africa, crime, jihadism, insurgency and communal violence are all facets of the current active conflicts. Political developments and electoral processes may lead armed violence in sub-Saharan Africa to continue or even increase in 2019. Sub-regional organisations, such as the Economic Community of West African States, have fared better than the United Nations and the African Union in peacemaking initiatives. Peace prospects remain slim for all active conflicts in sub-Saharan Africa, even for South Sudan, where a peace agreement was signed in September 2018. Conflict-induced displacement makes sub-Saharan Africa the region with the most refugees and internally displaced people in the world, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre.
