Conflict in Guinea: Roots of Guinean Conflict from the Perspective of “Greed Versus Grievance” Theory

Since gaining its independence from France in 1958, the Republic of Guinea with capital in Conakry, passed through a lot of turmoil that weakened and destabilized it. Although, the country was subjected to many successful or failed coups d’état triggered by political antagonism, somehow, has avoided civil war and large-scale devastation on its territory. But, lately the situation worsened, the mass protests became larger and more intense, and governmental forces rougher in punishing the opposing movements. One root of this worsening picture of Guinea is clearly its positioning on the world map as part of a region stemmed by prolonged violence, as all its neighbors (Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal) are characterized by conflict that not only persisted in time, but also for some of these escalated. If someone wants to proactively search for methods to prevent or solve a conflict, while addressing its consequences it is mandatory also to look for its roots (sources/causes), but also for incentives triggering its escalation. Therefore, in the presented research there are to be identified and explored possible geopolitical roots and incentives that can lead to the escalation of the Guinean conflict to a civil war, which will be analyzed through the lens of “greed versus grievance” theory.