Investigation of the causes of insecurity in maritime boundary areas of countries (Case: Uganda and Democratic Republic of the Congo maritime boundary)

پژوهش ‎های جغرافیای سیاسی

Volume 6, Issue 4 - Serial Number 24, July 2021, Pages 107-123   

Document Type: مقالات علمی -پژوهشی

DOI: 10.22067/pg.2022.70569.1048

Author

Meysam Mirzaei Tabar^*

Geopolitical Department , African Studies center, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Part of the conflict in relations between countries relates to boundary disputes. Tensions and conflicts in the maritime boundary regions are one of the types of conflicts. There have been numerous cases of boundary tensions on the African continent from the past to the present. One of them is the maritime boundary regions conflict between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Lake Albert. In the boundary regions of the two countries, the main conflict is in the region of Lake Albert and on the boundary line drawn inside the lake, as well as shoreline erosion and a change in the direction of the Semliki boundary river south of Lake Albert. This research is a causal research that uses descriptive-analytical method and using library resources and the geopolitical theory of boundary and territorial conflicts to study the boundary conflict between Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Lake Albert and analyze the causes of insecurity in this region. The study seeks to answer the question, what are the main causes of conflict in the maritime boundary regions of Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo? The results show that there are various causes of conflict and tension in the boundary regions of the two countries in Lake Albert; the most important of them include 11 main causes in the dimensions of identity, governance, history, boundary demarcation, river diversion, environmental and so on.

Keywords

Insecurity; Boundary; Maritime boundary; Uganda; Democratic Republic of the Congo

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