"Re-Molding African States in the Context of a 'Right to Secession' That Elongates Self-Determination Principles"

Since expiry of the Cold War in the early 1990s, global conflicts have become internalized in character. This shows a large proportion of humanity still live in dysfunctional internalized political structures that generate conflicts. Thinking by members of the international community on these trends have been instructive. From Kosovo, to the former Yugoslav Republic, then to Sudan, there is the acceptance – tacitly it may seem, that peace could come only through outright break-up of existing dysfunctional polities. This paper highlights utilities of such recent international moves in the context of interrogating how we can enhance enduring peace in other locations. In this instance, I argue that, there is a dire need to elongate the principles of self-determination as a basis for re-formatting all failed/failing state structures in Africa. Such a radical departure readily incorporates an adjunct ‘right to secession’ as an attribute to all ‘national groups within a state in the context of an elongating of the self-determination principle