Rebellion, elections and the pandemic in the Central African Republic: Covid-19 and its impact on deep-seated patterns of governance
Final Report Abstract
The pandemic reached the Central African Republic (CAR) just when citizens were passing milestones for ending the country's conflicts through the implementation of a peace agreement and holding national elections. A new rebellion broke out in late 2020 that hindered medical access to some of the most impoverished areas of this country that continuously ranks near the bottom of the Human Development Index. An interplay of rebellion, elections and containing the Covid-19 pandemic became the critical triangle deciding whether CAR could overcome its deep-seated patterns of governance that were stifling political and economic progress. While the impact of the pandemic on CAR’s trajectory was powerful and devastating, it was not as to be unexpected: it did not directly impact public goods through overburdening the health care system as cases remained very few, similar to other African and tropical countries. It did not impact the economy directly, as shutdowns were of short duration and limited to urban centres while the vast majority of the populace is engaged in rural subsistence agriculture. However, while the international community turned to allegedly more pressing global issues related to the pandemic, the autocratic turn of the government, re-elected during a subpar election cycle was not forcefully enough condemned. The peacekeepers’ continued and increasing return to the barracks during the pandemic left the door wide open to a new actor to enter the void – the ruthless Russian Wagner Militia. And while CAR’s economy did not directly suffer shutdown consequences, its dependence on imports triggered inflation and increased poverty due to rising food prices, even more so after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Publications
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“What It Will Take to End Civil War in the Central African Republic.” The Conversation
Glawion, Tim
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"How the West Can Win Back the Central African Republic.” IPS- Journal, 2022
Glawion, Tim
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Wacklige Partnerschaft: Die Zentralafrikanische Republik ist mehr als nur geopolitischer Nebenschauplatz. Europa muss sich als ernsthafte Alternative zu Russland anbieten'. IPG-Journal
Glawion, Tim
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Belonging, Identity, and Conflict in the Central African Republic, Madison, The University of Wisconsin Press, 2023, ISBN: 9780299345709, 243 pages”, Africa Spectrum
Gino Vlavonou
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MINUSCA: Wer nicht mit der Zeit geht, geht mit der Zeit. Vereinte Nationen, 72(1), 15-19.
Glawion, Tim
