One of the main demographic pressures in Africa is religion and ethnic pressures. Characterized by a juxtaposition of Christians and Muslims. The structures of these two religions make them liable to be conflict prone and as we view in the media, clashes are common. How do these two religious identities come to clash? There are two main theories. The first states that the diversity of the religions forms group identity which can escalate the inter-group dynamics. Essentially advocates the “us vs. them” phenomenon, and violence often becomes a result. The second theory states threat these religious identities are connected to particular tenets. The shared norms and values are legitimized by a transcendental source that is more than likely non-negotiable and less open to compromise. This can lead to violence if the religions in question to possess validity. These religious identities can develop mutual grievances and if addressed by the state or society, the grievances can escalate to inter-group violence. This occurs when one group perceives and articulates that their grievances are the fault of the other group. Violence can arise when people feel discriminated against for their religion or ethnicity, more so if both. The competitive struggle to gain religious or ethnic power with in the state may lead to grievances that may lead to violence.

The Human Science Research Council polled the dissatisfaction of South Africans with the general political situation from 1986-1993 (Apartheid was coming to an end) found that more than half of South Africans were dissatisfied with their government. Conflict management for this is being able to “transform” S. Africa, meaning achieving a deeper resolution conflict. Nelson Mandela stated, ” true reconciliation… has to be based on the creation of a truly democratic, non-racial, non-sexist society so that everything that leads to racial and ethnic tension in our society is done away with”. Unfortunately, not everyone thinks like Mandela, and religious and ethnic conflicts are still prominent all across Africa. These violent conflicts cause displacement of the local people into neighboring countries. Africa has more internally displaced persons (IDPs) than any other country. Sudan hosts approximately 5 million IDPs. The majority of IDPs and refugees in Africa are victims of armed conflicts. These usually arise when there are disagreements between the state and non-state groups. The democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) faced a rebel group led by ex general that was apart of the Rwandan genocide, Laurent Nkunda. The Congo war killed about 4 million people and displaced about 400K. The DRC agreed to a peace deal (Goma Agreement) in 2008, but the violence continued and led to 250K more displaced people. Some refugees were allowed to return but others attend protected villages or refugee camps. These have been reported to not be fit for humans and similar to concentration camps. The camps are also known to be raided by rebel groups. The LRA in Uganda attacked a Sudanese refugee camp, killing 200 plus civilians. The Revolutionary united Front (RUF) raided 5 camps killing the adults and using the children as new recruits.

Despite the violence, Africa has higher rates of returned refugees than anywhere else in the world. This has been theorized to be due to political motives, tribal and kinship ties, and loss of ones culture and identity can drive a person to return to their home land. Sometimes people can become displaced for decades, and what happens to the neighboring states holding these refugees and IDPs? In general, food, supplies, clothes, housing, and education needs to increase in production. But this rapid increase in population does not promise an increased production, and can lead to more displacement. For example, the economic elites emigrate to the developed world for higher salaries, better working and living conditions, safety, and stable political conditions. This is refereed to as “brain drain”. It is estimated that 10 million African born emigrants live in the US, Uk or other countries outside Africa. Mills et al. (2008) reported that a third of medical graduates from Nigeria migrate with in 10 years of graduation. The Western Journal of Black Studies presented data that illustrated that African immigrants are among the most educated people in the developed countries that they reside. Africa is experiencing many negative implications because most educational elites leave their country. In conclusion, group grievances, demographics pressures, refugees and IDPs, and human flight and brain drain all intermingle with each other causing social impacts in Africa.