This issue contains five articles and one book review. ‘Hegemonic agendas, intermesticity and conflicts in the post-colonial state’ explores the sources, factors and forces that interact to spark and drive conflict in the post-colonial state and its environment. ‘Communal conflict, civil war, and the state: Complexities, connections, and the case of Sudan’ analyses communal conflict, which we define as violent conflict between non-state groups that are organised along a shared communal identity, and how such conflicts relate to state-based violence. ‘The challenges of preventive diplomacy: The United Nations’ post-Cold War experiences in Africa’ examines the challenges faced by the UN as it practises preventive diplomacy (PD) with specific reference to Africa. ‘Conflict over land ownership: The case of farmers and cattle graziers in the north west region of Cameroon’ examines the general underlying principles of land ownership in Cameroon and the Northwest region in particular. ‘Religious violence in Nigeria: Causal diagnoses and strategic recommendations to the state and religious communities’ undertakes an analytical inquiry into the immediate and visible factors that trigger religious conflicts in the country.
