Suchergebnisse

The inclusion of symbols and rituals in peace agreements is often based on the politics of recognition, in which the cultural identities of oppositional groups are awarded equal status in society. Moreover, it is often assumed that the successful regulation of conflicts over symbols and rituals is dependent on the resolution of seemingly more important issues that divide warring groups, like demilitarization and the reform of the justice system and the government. Yet, symbols and rituals generate specific problems that merit the design of innovative mechanisms to ensure peaceful stability in divided societies. This article explores how the politics of recognition often fails to successfully regulate violent conflict and instead creates a context for destructive intergroup clashes. It further assesses the potential of creating shared symbols and rituals, as well as reframing their meaning, before finally proposing Chantal Mouffe's concept of agonism, the process in which violent group‐based antagonism is channeled into peaceful and democratic contestation.

Research has shown that PB in intercommunity conflict is more effective if the victims are empowered. However, ways of empowering victims is contextual and it constitutes a vacuum in peace & conflict studies. Moreover, though LPCs represent the victims-driven PB globally, in Kenya they are not legislatively supported as their mandate-giving policy is yet to be adopted and their empowerment remains invisible in CM-studies. Therefore this study examined how the LPCs (as drivers of peace in the conflict protracted BS-region) were conceptualized and empowered for peace-building. The purpose of this examination was to showcase the empowerment of the not so clearly documented victims-driven bottom-up Peace-Building initiatives that supplemented state-centric PB-mechanisms. The study was guided by the RQ: How were the BS-LPCs conceptualized and empowered for peace-building? Within Lederach's CTT of peace-building, I engaged an instrumental case-study in the qualitative interpretivist methodology. I used interviews, document-analysis & FGDs to generate data from purposive non-probability sampled participants. I analyzed the data thematically and presented it narratively while adhering to human-based research ethical-principles, e.g., autonomy and confidentiality. The findings showed that the BS-LPCs' were Government PB-structures through the National Accord & Reconciliation Act of 2008 with 15 members at administrative levels nominated by the community, CSOs and Provincial-Administration in public-meetings. The National-Steering-Committee was their oversight authority. Their national mandate included: addressing the 2008-PEV and the BS-region protracted-conflict; facilitating PB-stakeholders' linkages; institutionalizing peace-dialogues and promoting participatory-PB, conflict-monitoring, reconciliation & co-existence. To fulfill this mandate, they were empowered with legitimacy; consensual-authority; CSOs' techno-administrative support, CM knowledge & skills and insider-partials. I concluded that ...

"This book offers a detailed examination of the effectiveness of the peacekeeping operations of the African Union.Despite its growing reputation in peacekeeping and its status as the oldest continental peacekeeper, the performance of the African Union (AU) has hitherto not been assessed. This book fills that gap and analyses six case studies: Burundi, Comoros, Somalia, Mali, Darfur and the Central African Republic. From a methodological perspective it takes a problem-solving approach and utilises process tracing in its analysis, with its standard for success resting on achieving negative peace (the cessation of violence and provision of security). Theoretically, this study offers a comprehensive list of factors drawn from peace literature and field experience which influence the outcome of peacekeeping. Beyond the major issues, such as funding, international collaboration and mandate, this work also examines the impact of largely ignored factors such as force integrity and territory size. The book modifies the claim of peace literature on what matters for success and advocates the indispensability of domestic elite cooperation, local initiative and international political will. It recognises the necessity of factors such as lead state and force integrity for certain peace operations. In bringing these factors together, this study expands the peacekeeping debate on what matters for stability in conflict areas.This book will be of much interest to students of peacekeeping, African politics, war and conflict studies, and International Relations in general. "--Provided by publisher.

The current study examines the effects of ingroup identification, outgroup trust, and intergroup forgiveness on intergroup contact quantity in the diverse cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 455 individuals ranging in age from 14 to 102 self-reported as either Muslim, Roman Catholic, Orthodox Christian, or Other completed a questionnaire. Analyses revealed that ingroup identification was significantly and negatively correlated with intergroup contact quantity; however, ingroup identification was not significantly correlated with outgroup trust or intergroup forgiveness. The comparison between groups revealed significant group differences across all predictor and criterion variables. To confirm whether age or community background had a moderating effect on predicting the relation between ingroup identification, outgroup trust, and intergroup forgiveness on intergroup contact quantity, moderated regression analyses were conducted. Results revealed community background, ingroup identification, and outgroup trust were all significant contributors to the model; however, age and forgiveness were not. Taken as a whole, the entire model accounted for approximately 21% of variability in intergroup contact quantity. The results from the current study reinforce the supposition that the two cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot move towards reconciliation without first understanding the effect that strong ingroup identification has on mixing with the other diverse groups, and implementing proactive measures to enhance outgroup trust and cross-community outreach. Implementing these measures in the two cities of Sarajevo and Tuzla, along with other areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina, may improve future intergroup relations and move the country closer to reconciliation and peace.

Since the end of Cold War era, the conflict in the Great Lakes Region of Africa has exploded. The causes of this explosion can be located in the structure and the dynamics of the world capitalist economy, the nature of Africa's international relations, the demographics of the region, and the vicious forms of power struggles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda. (...) This article examines the nature the geopolitics and that of political leadership's motivation that led to the tragedy in the region. It is argued that the instrumental actors involved were motivated mainly by capitalistic greed, war of the influence, and lumpen-intellectual opportunism in the DRC. External predators have envied the Eastern region of DRC for a long time. Having some elections and peace in terms of the states signing some military and political agreements alone - which may limit some degrees of suspicion among them - is not likely to lead to a long-term solution in the region. Only a social state, its progressive institutions, and African social democracy based on pan-African vision can advance real peace in the region. (AAS/DÜI)