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UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206and caused by different actors, modalities and issues that serve to blur the spatial, social andpolitical lines that originally distinguished them. Such conflicts begin to resonate and interactwith each other, consequently transforming the conditions for duplication and, moreimportantly, the parties confronting each other, the issues of the struggle and the objectivessought. Such intricacies of armed civil and international violence create a system and makesthe actors’ reasoning extremely complex, obscuring the play of alliances, which in turn haveno logic”. 16 This perspective stresses the fact that interstate wars are closely linked to civilconflicts whose reach extends beyond the local framework. These authors also stress thesimultaneous re-composition of geographic, social and political space in the system to clarifythe differences between them and those in the original conflict. In our case, for example, wemust distinguish Darfur province from the Sudan-Chad-Libya “tri-state” and consider how itwas organized in the existing system of conflicts. Having demonstrated the contribution ofresearch, albeit relatively poor, in terms of complexes and war systems, I should like topresent the starting point of my proposal, namely a first definition of a system of conflicts.Whereas on the ground the theoretical distinction between war and conflict tends todisappear, the complementary approaches to war systems mentioned above, do lead challengethe links between war and conflict, understood as a sociological phenomenon internal to agiven society. In other words, the socio-political dimension of a system is the result of theoverlap of characteristics specific to given wars and conflicts. Thus some researchers call warsystems conflict systems. 17 That semantic change appears inevitable given that the reference tothe notion of conflict from the sociological dimension is particularly relevant in the socialsciences. Conflict, being more adaptable, includes war, which represents the armed aspect,while also providing us with a better understanding of the regional or even trans-nationalaspect. 18 Thus a system of conflicts enables us to question the links between armed and nonarmedconflicts.Based on the above, this paper proposes an empirical demonstration of the originalityand relevance of this concept, with the aim of opening a debate on current research ondefinitions of conflictuality in Africa by suggesting that certain concepts in internationalrelations be revisited. Here I should add that my research framework was Darfur provincefrom 2003 to 2011, a period when the system of conflicts was most visible. Indeed, thesituation in Darfur only acquired international visibility after the media coverage of 2003.Furthermore, while tensions fell after the Doha Agreement of July 2011, some conflictssporadically reappeared. It is difficult to trace the contours of this system of conflictsgeographically, given that it is part of an ancient three-cornered relationship between Chad,Sudan and Libya, which goes beyond mere inter-state relations. “The frontier between Libya,Chad and Sudan is a hostile environment. Its history, ethnic loyalties and religiouscommitments have defined the responsibilities of those who, by means of their birthright orability, were supposed to lead. Like the chiefs, they often opted for their own survival rather16 Marchal, Roland; Messiant, Christine: “Une lecture symptomale de quelques théorisations récentes des guerresciviles”, Lusotopie, vol.13, no. 2 (2006), pp. 1-48.17 Bazenguissa Ganga, Remy (2003), “Les réfugiés dans les enjeux locaux dans le Nord-Est du Congo” inGuichaoua André: Les migrants forcés en Afrique centrale et orientale, Paris, Karthala, pp. 379-423. Marchal,Roland: “Soudan d’un conflit à l’autre“, Etude du CERI, n°107-108 (September 2004). Marchal, Roland:“Tchad/Darfour: vers un système de conflits“, Politique africaine, n°102 (June 2006), pp. 135-154.18 Armstrong, Andrea; Rubin Barnett: “Conference Summary: Policy Approaches to Regional ConflictFormations”, Policy paper series (November 2002). Leenders, Reinoud: “Au-delà du “Pays des deux fleuves”:une configuration conflictuelle régionale ?”, Critique internationale, vol.1, no. 34 (2007), pp. 61-78.110
UNISCI Discussion Papers, Nº 33 (Octubre / October 2013) ISSN 1696-2206than that of their successors. Many of them seized the opportunities ironically supplied bydrought and war, to ensure their own promotion and preservation”. 19Before shedding light on how the system of conflicts arose and developed in Darfurprovince between 2003 and 2011, I will reiterate three points. First I should like to review theorigins of the system of conflicts in Darfur. Then I will query the way in which theinternational expansion of the conflict since 2003 acted as a catalyst and contributed to thechanges in the geographical limits of the system. Certainly the situation in Darfur can only beunderstood by integrating the same logic to the bordering countries, so I will pay specialattention to the established links between the various players. That will enable us to concludeon the parameters that now suggest a link between the system of conflicts in Darfur and thenature of the state, or in other words, how the lack of legitimacy of a regime in place, despiteits electoral legality, confers legitimacy on those who demand their rights to justice, securityand access to national resources.2. The Internal Roots of the System of Conflicts in DarfurIn certain aspects, the roots of the system of conflicts in Darfur lay both in its recent historyand in the British colonial system, leading to the interaction of at least two series of conflicts.A first series was based on intricate internal land rights tensions as well as tensions betweenthis outlying province and the central political Sudanese power, based in Khartoum. Thesecond series reverberated with the effects of a conflict resulting from the reconfiguration ofother wars involving Sudan, such as the rebellions in Chad and the Sudanese civil warbetween the central government and the SPLA. Here we must view the system of conflicts intime as well as in space.2.1. The Recurrent Practice of Proxy Wars on a Regional ScaleFrom 1966, when FROLINAT (The Chad National Liberation Front) was established, Darfurwas at the center of a triangular Sudan-Chad-Libya relationship. 20 By establishing itself inNyala, in Darfur, FROLINAT made that province a sanctuary for opponents to successiveregimes in Chad (Goukouni Weddei, Hissène Habré, and Idriss Déby). For FROLINAT WestSudan was a more easily exploitable rear base than the Central African Republic or Nigeria.Successive victories by the Chad rebel forces in their country would doubtless not haveoccurred without the support of Sudan and above all, Libya.In order to obtain allies, FROLINAT had no compunction about echoing the “antiimperialist”discourse of the Sudanese and Libyan heads of state. Sudan’s commitment can beunderstood as a strategy for fighting the southern Chad regime of president Tombalbaye,which discriminated between the Muslim populations in the north, the center and the east ofthe country. The revolutionary momentum and frenetic pan-Arabism that Muammar Gadhafihoped to spread around the region, justified his appearance on the scene. In November 1969,two months after he came to power, FROLINAT opened bases in Libya. Gadhafi continuallymanipulated the ethno-political landscape in Darfur using a logic that pitted the “Arab”populations against the “Negro-African” ones.19 Burr, Millard; Collins, Robert (1999): Africa’s Thirty Years war: Libya, Chad, and the Sudan 1963-1993,Boulder, Colo. Westview Press, p.5.20 Ibid.111
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Juan Emilio CheyreDirector, Center
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