Wars on the margins? Conflicts in Africa and the international order after decolonization
Third meeting in the seminar series 'The legacy of conflicts: political reflection, institutional impacts, memories, and cultural reinterpretations', by Antonio Del Vecchio and Jacopo Lorenzini.
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Date: 02 FEBRUARY 2026 from 11:00 to 17:00
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Event location: Aula Prodi, Department of History and Cultures, Piazza San Giovanni in Monte 2 - In presence and online event
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Type: Cluster 4 - Memories and Political Genealogies
The seminar will be held in two sessions (11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.). The morning session will address some of the conflicts that took place after decolonization in sub-Saharan Africa, on the “periphery” of spheres of influence during the Cold War and in the 1990s, and how these have been (or have not been) the subject of historiography. The afternoon session will address the question of whether and how those conflicts have changed notions of war and international law in the West.
Speakers:
Morning session (11am-1pm)
- John Burton Kegel, “Can the Historians Please Stand Up?: A Survey of the Historiography of Rwanda”
- Uoldelul Chelati Dirar, “Conflicts in the Horn of Africa: between the Cold War and complex multilateralism”
Afternoon session (2.30-5.00 p.m.)
- Luca Jourdan, “Democratic Republic of Congo: a multidimensional conflict”
- Federico Romero, “Poisoned bait: the legacy of the Cold War”