Search results

Power sharing has become a common way of ending violent conflicts since the 1990s, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, in the hope that it positively impacts on both peacebuilding and democratisation. Whether power sharing can actually achieve this is however contested. Bringing together the two strands of power sharing research, which deal with its effects on democratisation and peacebuilding respectively, Patricia Rinck examines how non-ethnic power sharing between former adversaries contributes to, or obstructs, democratic peacebuilding in post-conflict societies. Besides theory, Patricia Rinck discusses the controversial yet crucial role power sharing played in Sierra Leone: after almost a decade of brutal civil war and several failed peace agreements, the power-sharing Lomé Peace Agreement between the Sierra Leonean government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) of July 1999 was supposed to end the war and bring peace and democratisation to the war-torn country. Complemented by interviews conducted on site in 2013, the case study analyses how power sharing impacted on democratic peacebuilding, scrutinising its effects on the state monopoly of force, democratic participation and culture of constructive conflict management in post-conflict Sierra Leone. By taking into consideration shortcomings in the agreement itself as well as implementation problems, the study allows for a more nuanced assessment of the reasons for its early breakdown. It assesses the effects of power sharing on democratic peacebuilding in Sierra Leone, addresses implications for research on non-ethnic power sharing in particular and proposes practical consequences for designing and implementing similar power sharing agreements.

Der Artikel bietet einen feministischen Beitrag zu Gewalt und Ordnung in patriarchalischen Gesellschaften und problematisiert, dass geschlechtsunsensible Analysen wichtige Formen von Gewalt übersehen und somit sowohl Ursachen als auch Dynamiken bewaffneter Konflikte nicht vollständig verstehen. Am Beispiel des Konflikts und des Peacebuildings in Sierra Leone zeige ich den Nutzen einer feministischen Perspektive auf Gewalt auf, die durch das Nachverfolgen verschiedener Formen von Gewalt im Laufe der Zeit – vor, während und nach dem Krieg (1991-2002) – Kontinuitäten geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt in der patriarchalen und gerontokratischen Geschlechterordnung sichtbar macht. So zeigt sich, dass die geschlechtsspezifische Gewalt der Vorkriegsordnung eine wichtige Konfliktursache war und dass – trotz deutlicher Hinweise auf diesen Zusammenhang – die strukturellen Ursachen dieser Gewalt nach dem Krieg nicht angemessen angegangen wurden. Trotz aller friedensfördernden Maßnahmen zum Aufbau einer friedlicheren Nachkriegsordnung wurde ein hochgradig exklusives System wiederhergestellt, in dem bestimmte Formen von Gewalt in Zeiten einer vermeintlich 'friedlichen' Ordnung als gegeben normalisiert werden.

In this article, internationally supported peacebuilding is conceptualized as a cross-cultural relational endeavour, with international and local actors engaged in multiple forms of interactions in a local everyday context. Using a cultural-relational approach, two cases of peacebuilding are presented: Bougainville and Sierra Leone, which are at opposite poles of the spectrum of international-local peacebuilding interaction. Peacebuilding on Bougainville has drawn relatively little attention; the international intervention there was modest and small in size, and locals had considerable control of the peace process. By contrast, Sierra Leone is one of the best-known cases of peacebuilding, with massive external engagement and comprehensive external control. Both cases are considered success stories, but they differ considerably due to the differences in local-international relations. This is explained by focusing on two interrelated core aspects of the local-international interface: building relationships and trust, and security provision. Furthermore, another generally underestimated dimension of peacebuilding is explored, namely culturally different understandings of the spiritual realm and their effects on peacebuilding interventions.

Rinck, P. ; Debiel, T.: Global Governance im Zeichen polyzentrischer Weltpolitik. - S. 54-58