"This special issue of Conflict Trends on ‘Conflict in the Developing World’ provides a platform for perspectives from the developing South. The introduction of new contributors from Asia and Latin America fosters a wider conversation on the way conflict is evolving globally and encourages dialogue among practitioners and academics beyond Africa. The contributions in this issue record unique, as well as common experiences, in conflict and conflict resolution."

"This issue of Conflict Trends covers the specific developments in African peacekeeping and peace-building, and the synergies and overlapping concerns that exist between them. With the current global economic decline, the challenges of peacekeeping and peacebuilding on the continent are even more acute. It is these challenges that we must address, realistically and over the long term, if keeping the peace and building the peace are to succeed on the African continent."

"The South African experience illustrates that robust and independent democratic institutions – combined with impartial policing, and strong political will and leadership directed at preventing violence – can lead to free and fair elections that genuinely reflect the will of the people. This is a good example for other countries to aspire to and emulate.

"It is... refreshing to observe the United States’ (US) new policy commitment to move away from military solutions as a first response, and towards dialogue and political solutions instead... Such efforts must also be complemented by other major global players, such as China and India, so that there is a global reduction in arms manufacture and supply, armed conflict, and armed or military interventions, and a greater emphasis placed on dialogue instead. This requires that there be a renewed and genuine global commitment to dialogue, including providing financial resources and skilled personnel who are capable of promoting and facilitating dialogue around the world.

"This Issue of Conflict Trends is the last of the tenth anniversary series in 2008. It is being published at a notable time when there are several watershed events taking place globally and in Africa that will have a significant impact on Africa’s fortunes. Internationally, the global financial crisis, which started in the United States (US), and the election of the first African-American into the office of President of the US have shaped, and will continue to shape, the developments around the world for several decades."

"August 2008 marks a turning point in our evolving world order. On 8 August, China introduced itself as the new power to be reckoned with on the world stage at the opening of the Beijing Olympics. At the same time, Georgia staged an attack on the small separatist state of South Ossetia, prompting a military response from Russia. These two events − the opening of the Beijing Olympics and Russia’s military response directed at Georgia − have once again indicated the shifting global power balance from a unipolar world order, following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, to an emerging multipolar world order... What does this shifting global power balance, shaped by energy security, mean for Africa?"