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AbstractAfrican societies developed a wide range of conflict management, prevention, and termination methods as a basis for the negotiation of disputes well before the arrival of colonial rule. Many of these methods are similar to those practiced elsewhere, whereas others are indigenous to Africa.

Medical science has taken a new look at indigenous African healing practices, asking whether unique knowledge exists in traditional societies or whether Western and traditional societies developed the same knowledge with different names. In a similar vein, this study considers traditional African conflict-management practices. The authors identify the contributions of traditional mechanisms for conflict management in Africa and elsewhere, seeking to determine what is new and different. With African conflicts today eluding both international and domestic efforts to bring them under control, their work is guided by this crucial question: Can traditional methods yield insights and approaches that might help to end the persistent violence?