Suchergebnisse

AbstractThe 2015 general elections were considered a hallmark of Myanmar's transition from an authoritarian regime towards a new form of government. However, the elections did not take place in all parts of the country, and significant portions of the population were excluded from the vote, including voters in areas of contested sovereignty, those who experienced displacement by conflict, and the Rohingya. Against the background of the regulatory framework for elections in Myanmar and its electoral system, this article looks first into a particular understudied element of the electoral process—the cancellation or postponement of elections in areas affected by conflict, which is little understood by voters, election administrators, and outside observers. Second, the article examines the conditions necessary for internally displaced persons (IDPs) to participate in elections. Third, the article recapitulates the gradual legal disenfranchisement of voters and candidates who self-identified as Rohingya, which preceded their mass exodus to Bangladesh in 2017. While in 2015 all these processes of exclusion were arguably of lesser priority for the election administration, which facilitated the first credible Myanmar election in decades, they have not altered significantly since and will affect the electoral participation of disadvantaged communities again in the future.

While the general elections in Myanmar in November 2010 were widely condemned, both national and international actors approached the by-elections of April 2012 as a political rite-de-passage to improve relations between the government and the opposition inside, and between the former pariah state and the international community outside the country. An undercurrent of the government-led transition process from an authoritarian to a formally more democratic regime was the development of a politically oriented civil society that found ways to engage in the electoral process. This article describes the emerging spaces of election-related civil society activism in the forms of civic and voter education, national election observation, and election-related agency in the media. Noting that, in particular, election observation helps connect civil society to regional and international debates, the paper draws preliminary conclusions about further developments ahead of the general elections in Myanmar expected to take place in 2015.

While the general elections in Myanmar in November 2010 were widely condemned, both national and international actors approached the by-elections of April 2012 as a political rite-de-passage to improve relations between the government and the opposition inside, and between the former pariah state and the international community outside the country. An undercurrent to the government-led transition process from an authoritarian to a formally more democratic regime was the development of a politically oriented civil society that found ways to engage in the electoral process. This article describes the emerging spaces of election-related civil society activism in the forms of civic and voter education, national election observation, and election-related agency in the media. Noting that, in particular, election observation offers connections for civil society to regional and international debates, the paper draws preliminary conclusions about further developments ahead of the general elections in Myanmar expected for 2015. (JCSA/GIGA)

While the general elections in Myanmar in November 2010 were widely condemned, both national and international actors approached the by-elections of April 2012 as a political rite-de-passage to improve relations between the government and the opposition inside, and between the former pariah state and the international community outside the country. An undercurrent to the government-led transition process from an authoritarian to a formally more democratic regime was the development of a politically oriented civil society that found ways to engage in the electoral process. This article describes the emerging spaces of election-related civil society activism in the forms of civic and voter education, national election observation, and election-related agency in the media. Noting that, in particular, election observation offers connections for civil society to regional and international debates, the paper draws preliminary conclusions about further developments ahead of the general elections in Myanmar expected for 2015.

"Erfolgreiche Bemühungen der Europäischen Union (EU), zu Krisenprävention, -management und -nachsorge beizutragen, müssen auf der Basis des Konzeptes 'menschlicher Sicherheit' erfolgen. Nur wenn Grundbedürfnisse nach physischer, sozialer, ökonomischer, ökologischer und kultureller Sicherheit befriedigt werden, besteht die Chance, Konfliktursachen zu beseitigen und nachhaltig zu einer Konfliktlösung beizutragen. Für Analyse, Planung (einschließlich Rekrutierung und Entsendung), Implementierung und Evaluierung solcher Bemühungen sind adäquat ausgebildete Fachkräfte auf der strategischen Ebene, in EU-Institutionen in Brüssel, in diversen Ministerien der Mitgliedsländer, aber auch in Hauptquartieren von Nichtregierungsorganisationen (NGOs) erforderlich, die entsprechend des Konzeptes menschlicher Sicherheit fach- und organisationsübergreifend tätig werden können. Da es an entsprechender Fachkompetenz mangelt, versucht das Österreichische Studienzentrum für Frieden und Konfliktlösung (ÖSFK) mit Unterstützung des Bundesministeriums für Landesverteidigung und Sport (BMLVS) in Wien einen Beitrag zur Ausbildung in diesem Bereich zu leisten und damit die strategische Kompetenz der EU zu stärken. Im Jahr 2009 wurden zwei Kurse entwickelt und erfolgreich pilotiert: Mit einem Peacebuilding-Kurs wird ein Überblick über den gesamten Bereich der Sicherung menschlicher Bedürfnisse gegeben, ein Kurs in Security Sector Reform (SSR) beschäftigt sich schwerpunktmäßig mit dem Sicherheitssektor unter Berücksichtigung einer umfassenden Perspektive auf menschliche Sicherheit. Beide Kurse sollen im nächsten Jahr im Rahmen des Programms des European Security and Defence College (ESDC) angeboten werden." (Autorenreferat).