Ramy Zohdy — African Affairs Expert
When we look at the map of the African continent today, we do not merely see dividing lines between sovereign states; we read a layered history of imposed arrangements, imbalanced international equations, and attempts to build modern nation-states upon foundations that were never originally designed to function as coherent states. More than 80% of Africa’s borders were drawn during the colonial era in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly following the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, with little regard for ethnic compositions, tribal continuities, or organic economic and social pathways. Today, more than six decades after the great wave of independence in the 1960s, border disputes remain among the most significant determinants of stability, security, and development across the continent.
Africa comprises 54 internationally recognized states and nearly 110,000 kilometers of land borders, in addition to thousands of kilometers of maritime boundaries. African Union estimates suggest that approximately 35% of these borders have not been fully demarcated or lack complete on-the-ground delimitation, leaving room for divergent legal interpretations of colonial-era agreements and creating gray zones that can quickly evolve into flashpoints. Geography intersects with law, politics converges with economics, and security becomes inseparable from identity.
Historically, the Organization of African Unity adopted in 1964 the principle of respecting colonial-era borders, seeking to prevent a widespread eruption of conflicts at a time when newly independent states were struggling to consolidate their internal foundations. This principle, later inherited by the African Union, was a pragmatic choice in its historical moment. Yet it froze the problem within a temporary legal framework rather than addressing its structural roots. As the international environment has grown more complex, as the value of natural resources has increased, and as geopolitical competition over Africa has intensified, certain borders have evolved from simple political lines into strategic gateways of influence and wealth.
The border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea, which erupted in the late 1990s over the Badme region and resulted in tens of thousands of casualties between 1998 and 2000, illustrates this complexity. Although the Algiers Agreement ended active hostilities and relations were normalized in 2018, the dispute was not merely about territory; it reflected deeper post-secession dynamics, questions of national legitimacy, and the management of trade routes and resources. In West Africa, the dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon over the Bakassi Peninsula was resolved through the International Court of Justice in 2002, with gradual implementation completed by 2008—an important model of legal and institutional conflict management.
In East Africa, tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia have resurfaced against the backdrop of maritime access and broader geopolitical considerations, particularly amid Addis Ababa’s pursuit of enhanced access to the Red Sea—an issue that reverberates across the highly sensitive security architecture of the Horn of Africa. In the Sahel and parts of West Africa, fragile state structures and the cross-border movement of armed groups add further layers of complexity, as poorly governed borderlands become safe havens for trafficking, terrorism, and organized crime.
Border disputes cannot be understood apart from economic variables. According to World Bank reports, nearly 30% of the world’s strategic mineral reserves are located in Africa, including cobalt, lithium, gold, diamonds, and uranium. When borders in resource-rich areas remain undemarcated or contested, the likelihood of escalation increases significantly. Likewise, recent gas discoveries in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Indian Ocean, and the Gulf of Guinea have reshaped the priorities of coastal states, rendering maritime delimitation a matter of both sovereignty and economic survival.
Beyond security implications, border conflicts impose substantial developmental costs. The African Union estimates that armed conflicts across the continent cost Africa between $15 and $18 billion annually, directly and indirectly, through reduced investment, disrupted trade, increased military expenditure, and the displacement of millions. Today, more than 40 million Africans live as internally displaced persons or refugees, with many of these crises linked—directly or indirectly—to territorial and geographic disputes.
Yet Africa is not imprisoned by its past. The African Union has launched a border demarcation and delimitation initiative aiming to resolve at least 90% of outstanding boundary issues by 2030, providing technical and legal support to member states. Furthermore, the African Continental Free Trade Area, which entered into force in 2021, represents a historic opportunity to redefine borders—from lines of separation into corridors of integration. When borders transform into logistical gateways and regional supply chain arteries, the logic of mutual benefit gradually supersedes the logic of confrontation.
From an Egyptian perspective—and given Egypt’s geostrategic position and historical regional responsibilities—stability along African borders is not a distant matter but an integral component of Egypt’s national security equation. Our African neighborhood, stretching from the Horn of Africa to the Nile Basin and the Sahel, intersects directly with our water security, economic interests, and strategic stability. Hence the necessity of adopting a comprehensive approach built upon three parallel tracks: supporting peaceful and legal dispute resolution mechanisms; promoting development in marginalized border regions; and constructing cross-border infrastructure networks that deepen economic interdependence.
The solution does not lie in reopening historical files in ways that threaten state stability, but rather in intelligently managing present realities. African states can adopt models of joint administration in contested areas—particularly resource-rich zones—ensuring revenue-sharing arrangements that reduce incentives for confrontation. Strengthening local governance in border communities and economically empowering these populations are equally essential in addressing the root causes of tension. Moreover, investing in modern digital cartography, geospatial surveying technologies, and the transparent documentation of bilateral agreements remains indispensable.
Above all, a political culture must be consolidated—one that perceives borders as frameworks for organizing sovereignty, not arenas for asserting it through force. Africa today is not the Africa of yesterday. The continent’s population has surpassed 1.4 billion and is projected to reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050, making stability an existential prerequisite for any meaningful development project. If the African Union’s Agenda 2063 envisions a prosperous and integrated continent, addressing border disputes stands as one of its foundational pillars.
Border disputes in Africa are not destiny; they are the outcome of a complex interaction between history, politics, and economics. With political will, regional solidarity, and a commitment to integration over confrontation, these lines drawn by others a century ago can be transformed into bridges built by Africans themselves. The true challenge lies in shifting from crisis management to stability-making, from a geography of conflict to an architecture of shared interests, and from borders that divide to borders that unite.
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