Africa’s X — Xenophobia

There is an understandable tacit agreement among African governments not to open the Pandora's box of international border disputes.

This doesn't mean that Africa is free of armed international conflicts. Far from it. All it means is that borders haven't shifted.

Clearly, political and ethnic boundaries do not coincide. The vast majority of African countries are multi-ethnic. And they have economic, religious and other differences (or perceived differences) that can flare up between ethnic groups.

Against this background, the one surprising thing is that, given the potential for serious strife, there has been relatively little violent conflict.