Suchergebnisse

Identifies the key issues raised in a 2009 United Nations U-organized workshop, which is a component of UNU's "Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Societies: Comparative Experiences & Local Perspectives" project, as well as the main themes.

Many contemporary civil wars are characterised by a political economy of violence – a 'war economy' – whose actors are highly motivated by profit. Examining cases of Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, this article draws attention to a different but related notion: criminal economic activities which characterise the political economy of violence during civil war develop a self-serving momentum and continue, after 'resolution' of the political conflict, to do great harm. The article explores the impact of illegal money-making – a legacy of the 'war economy' – on societies in post-conflict transition. It suggests that, in some conflict resolution efforts, the pressure to impose a 'political' resolution causes peacebuilders to neglect this legacy and so threatens the peacebuilding agenda.

Many contemporary civil wars are characterised by a political economy of violence - a 'war economy' - whose actors are highly motivated by profit. Examining cases of Afghanistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, this article draws attention to a different but related notion: criminal economic activities which characterise the political economy of violence during civil war develop a self-serving momentum and continue, after 'resolution' of the political conflict, to do great harm. The article explores the impact of illegal money-making - a legacy of the 'war economy' - on societies in post-conflict transition. It suggests that, in some conflict resolution efforts, the pressure to impose a 'political' resolution causes peacebuilders to neglect this legacy and so threatens the peacebuilding agenda. Adapted from the source document.

The United Nations involvement in the global promotion of democracy is investigated. Three principle reasons for the United Nations commitment to democratization are given: democratic governments tend to avoid international conflict with other democracies; human rights are more strongly protected in democratic political systems; & democracies are generally compelled to contribute to peoples socio-economic development. Three difficulties presently impeding the United Nations support of democratization projects are identified: addressing time constraints; promoting political transformation within resistant societies; & creating the necessary supports to implement democratic change in non-democratic countries. The issue concerning the United Nations ability to initiate democratization in large countries is also raised. J. W. Parker

The methodologies and assumptions that guide our acquisition of knowledge and interpretation of data are context and time bound. Academic disciplines, sub-disciplines, methodological approaches and research agendas are to a large degree conditioned by the 'real world,' and none more so than International Relations. Accordingly, it is important to consider the possible sociological foundations of different epistemologies and paradigms of International Relations. Surely there is more than one way of looking at the world, unless one is steadfastly married to a positivist universal truth. Yet it is interesting that East Asian scholarship and teaching in IR has seemingly not developed strong 'indigenous' regional characteristics, perhaps with the exception of Japan with its large market, long tradition, political freedom and economic affluence. In fact IR has absorbed and closely followed Western and particularly North American social science. This introduction and the articles that follow will explore the fortunes of IR scholarship and regional studies in East Asia in the context of national and regional environments. It will consider how IR is taught and researched in various national settings, and examine the interaction between IR as a social science and national/regional historical experiences, cultural and pedagogical traditions, and politico-ideological values. The underlining problematique concerns the idea of an East Asian 'IR community': why has this tended to be comparatively weak? How can we envision the development of a more rigorous East Asian IR community, one that is not exclusively judged according to external — and particularly North American — terms of reference and standards? It goes without saying that we are not attempting to antagonize our American friends and colleagues, but simply to stimulate a 'sociology of science' reflection of the discipline in the East Asian regional setting. Two questions serve as the organizing themes of this special issue. The first concerns the primary characteristics of the regional IR community. Many of the papers in this collection point to the dominance of US-originated ideas and theories. The second question arises from the first question: whether these predominant approaches help us to understand the region in a time of change.

Mainstream International Relations teaching and scholarship is often argued to be social scientific and therefore able to generate propositions about international life that have general (even universal) explanatory value. However, the methods and research questions of IR can in part be explained by the nature of the national academies in which they develop and by a range of national and regional sociological and political circumstances. Thus, following Ole Waever, the "American approach to the study of IR" and its predominance can be explained by reference to certain cultural and structural factors. Yet if the sociological underpinnings of teaching and researching in IR are inevitable and readily apparent, why is there no distinct 'East Asian tradition'? Why is the East Asian IR community relatively weak? In fact, the relative weakness of indigenous national and regional East Asian IR approaches can be understood as an extension of national academic environments, historical circumstances, and national political traditions.

"This comprehensive new Handbook explores the significance and nature of armed intrastate conflict and civil war in the modern world. Civil wars and intrastate conflict represent the principal form of organised violence since the end of World War II, and certainly in the contemporary era. These conflicts have a huge impact and drive major political change within the societies in which they occur, as well as on an international scale. The global importance of recent intrastate and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Libya -- amongst others -- has served to refocus academic and policy interest upon civil war. Drawing together contributions from key thinkers in the field who discuss the sources, causes, duration, nature and recurrence of civil wars, as well as their political meaning and international impact, the Handbook is organised into five key parts: Part I: Understanding and Explaining Civil Wars: Theoretical and Methodological Debates Part II: The Causes of Civil Wars Part III: The Nature and Impact of Civil Wars Part IV: International Dimensions Part V: Termination and Resolution of Civil Wars. Covering a wide range of topics including micro-level issues as well as broader debates, Routledge Handbook of Civil Wars will set a benchmark for future research in the field.This volume will be of much interest to students of civil wars and intrastate conflict, ethnic conflict, political violence, peace and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general"--

"This comprehensive new Handbook explores the significance and nature of armed intrastate conflict and civil war in the modern world. Civil wars and intrastate conflict represent the principal form of organised violence since the end of World War II, and certainly in the contemporary era. These conflicts have a huge impact and drive major political change within the societies in which they occur, as well as on an international scale. The global importance of recent intrastate and regional conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Somalia, Nepal, Cote d'Ivoire, Syria and Libya -- amongst others -- has served to refocus academic and policy interest upon civil war. Drawing together contributions from key thinkers in the field who discuss the sources, causes, duration, nature and recurrence of civil wars, as well as their political meaning and international impact, the Handbook is organised into five key parts:Part I: Understanding and Explaining Civil Wars: Theoretical and Methodological Debates Part II: The Causes of Civil WarsPart III: The Nature and Impact of Civil Wars Part IV: International Dimensions Part V: Termination and Resolution of Civil Wars Covering a wide range of topics including micro-level issues as well as broader debates, Routledge Handbook of Civil Wars will set a benchmark for future research in the field. This volume will be of much interest to students of civil wars and intrastate conflict, ethnic conflict, political violence, peace and conflict studies, security studies and IR in general"--

Many ceasefires and peace agreements in civil conflict are initially unsuccessful. Some give way to renewed, and often escalating, violence. In other cases, peace processes have become interminably protracted: lengthy and circular negotiations in which concessions are rare. Given the huge material and human costs of a failed peace process, the international community has a strong interest in helping these processes succeed and addressing threats to their implementation. Challenges to Peacebuilding approaches this problem by focussing on 'spoilers': groups and tactics that actively seek to obstruct or undermine conflict settlement through a variety of means, including terrorism and violence. It considers why spoilers and spoiling behaviour emerge and how they can be addressed, drawing upon experience from Northern Ireland, the Basque region, Bosnia, Colombia, Israel-Palestine, Cyprus, the Caucasus and Kashmir. This volume takes a 'critical' approach to the concept of spoiling and considers a broad range of actors as potential spoilers: not only rebel groups and insurgents, but also diasporas, governments, and other entities. It also demonstrates that ill-conceived or imposed peace processes can themselves sow the seeds of spoiling.