Building confidence amidst Africa's civil wars: The opportunities and constraints
Confidence building measures (CBMs) are frequently criticized as being superfluous to processes of conflict resolution. This article argues that, on the contrary, in the uncertainties of civil wars, CBMs have an important role in stabilising peace processes. It seeks to fill a vacuum in the literature on confidence building by considering specifically African contexts of conflict resolution. The essay outlines the central obstacles to building confidence in African contexts and provides an initial catalogue of CBMs and security building measures (CSBMs). In addition, various supporting conditions are highlighted which allow CBMs to be utilized with greater effectiveness.