The democratization process which bolstered a culture of periodic elections has also fostered election-related violent conflicts. As democratic transitions gained currency in the new millennium, orderly transitions through the ballot boxes began replacing military coups but deaths and destructions came in the wake of elections in many countries. Inspired by decades-long pro-democracy movements across Africa that culminated in the Arab Spring of 2010-2011, and motivated by the desire to find long-term solutions to election-related violent conflicts in the continent, this book explores the terrain of democratization, elections, and conflict management. It raises and answers many questions, such as: What are the root causes of election-related conflicts? How free, fair, and credible are elections in many African countries? What institutional mechanisms are available for ballot and voter security and for mandate protection? What has been the role of civil society organizations in conflict prevention and management? What are the responsibilities of the international community, especially regional organizations like the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union (AU), in conflict resolution? What indigenous mechanisms for conflict management have been identified that may be proactively engaged?

We know that since the end of the Cold War, conflicts in non-Western countries have been frequent, frequently violent, largely intra-state, and protracted. But what do we know about conflict management and resolution strategies in these societies? Have the dominant Western approaches been transplantable, suitable, effective, durable, and sustainable? Would conflicts in non-Western societies be better handled by the adaptation and adoption of customary, traditional, or localized mechanisms of mitigation? These and similar questions have engaged the attention of scholars and policy-makers. Indigenous Conflict Management Strategies: Global Perspectives is offered as a global compendium on indigenous conflict management strategies. It presents diverse perspectives on the subject. Fully aware of the tendency in the literature to over-generalize, over-romanticize, and over-criticize the localized and customary mechanisms, the book takes a slightly different approach. It presents a variety of traditional conflict management approaches as well as several cases of the successful integration of the indigenous and Western strategies in the contemporary period. The main features, strengths, challenges, and weaknesses of a multitude of indigenous systems are also presented.