The article titled “The July 2021 protests and socio-political unrest in South Africa: reflecting on the causes, consequences and future lessons” deepens the analysis into the causes and consequences of the Free Zuma socio-political unrest while reflecting on the possible valuable lessons that can be drawn from the events to avoid the recurrence of such and to manage and resolve similar conflicts in the future sustainably. In this article titled “The risk of violent extremism and terrorism in the coastal states of West Africa: assessing Ghana’s vulnerabilities, resilience and responses” a clear example of the contagion effects of VET in the coastal States of Ghana is provided, although the country has not witnessed any direct terrorist attacks. This raises critical questions about Ghana’s seeming resilience against the risk of VET and how it is responding to the scourge. It also assesses Ghana’s response to the threat and concludes with some policy recommendations. This article “Conflict dynamics in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province: The consequences of limited statehood” argues that the scholarly notion of limited statehood, or specifically areas of limited statehood, is of particular significance and relevance to the case of Mozambique and the conflict in Cabo Delgado. “Climate-related peace and security risks in Africa” discusses climate change and conflict and describes a risk-based approach to investigating links between the two. It further outlines relevant climate data and context-specific climate vulnerabilities in Somalia, South Sudan, and Mali and analyses five themes in CPS in the three countries. The article concludes with recommendations for institutional responses. “From cattle raids to violence: A processual analysis of the Baragoi massacre in northern Kenya” examines the processes of violence escalation based on the assumption that the escalation of conflict into violence elucidates the contested relationships between two warring groups. “Towards multi-level partnerships in building sustainable peace in West Africa” highlights the current trends and dynamics in regional security. It also examines regional responses to threats, while highlighting critical gaps in the existing strategies. Furthermore, the article explores the potential dividends of multi-level partnerships for fostering sustainable peace in the sub-region.
