Journal of Global Peace and Conflict

“No Monkey Destroys his Forest:” A Review of Traditional African Interpersonal Conflict Management
Lorelle Beth Jabs

Abstract
This manuscript explores, reviews and categorizes research discussing interpersonal conflict management in Africa both to clarify what has been studied to date and to provide a foundation for further study of interpersonal conflict both in Africa and elsewhere. The focus is on articles addressing interpersonal conflict between Africans in African countries from 1980 to 2010. The study reveals a distinctively African approach to interpersonal conflict that is important to articulate both because it may be disappearing due to the spread of western ideologies and also because it provides new insights to improve western ways of working through conflict. The manuscript describes traditional African practices of managing interpersonal conflict by summarizing the literature that investigates preventative practices, reviews typical procedures for working through conflict and discusses the end goal and purpose of the conflict resolution process. An additional section explores literature examining worldviews and practices related to traditional African dispute resolution and a final section discusses what the literature reveals about traditional African interpersonal conflict management as it relates to western ways of addressing interpersonal conflict management. The conclusion proposes several important opportunities for future research.

Full Text: PDF