Exploring leaders' inclusiveness in post-conflict political transitions in East and Southern Africa

Abstract

A great deal of research has shown that current conflicts are in fact recurrences of past conflicts. While some studies focused on underlying causes of these conflicts, political leaders’ inclusiveness as influence had been neglected. This article addresses this gap by exploring the role of inclusive leadership in the context of post-conflict political transitions in East and Southern Africa. Based on semi-structured interviews with former Presidents, Prime Ministers and experts in the fields of conflict resolution, and peacekeeping, we found that leaders’ inclusiveness play critical roles in preventing conflict recurrence and maintaining social cohesion. We identified specific barriers and enablers to this role in developing a conceptual framework of leader inclusiveness, inclusive practices, barriers and outcomes.