Suchergebnisse

Die gute Wissenschaft trägt gewonnene Erkenntnisse immer auch zu ihren Gegenständen zurück. Auch in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung sind das die unmittelbar Betroffenen: Kriegsversehrte, Kriegsbedrohte, Kriegsberührte, Politiker, Militärs, Zivil-Gesellschaften. In einer Disziplin, deren Praxisbezug sie normativ mitbegründet, gilt es deshalb umso mehr, Lobbyist des Wissens, also relevant zu sein. Sich um die Vermittlung von Erkenntnissen zu mühen ist wissenschaftliche Bürgerpflicht. Wie die aussehen muss, darüber ist zu streiten, noch mehr, wenn man verschiedenen Forschergenerationen angehört und unterschiedlichen Forschungskulturen zugerechnet wird.

"In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech of late 2009, US President Barack Obama stated that 'the resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts; the growth of secessionist movements, insurgencies, and failed states; have increasingly trapped civilians in unending chaos' (Obama 2009). Claims that the world is becoming an ever more violent place have widespread currency in the media and in policy communities, but there is little evidence to support them. On the contrary, cutting-edge data show that most forms of organized violence around the world have been declining, not increasing. The importance of quantitative data in monitoring trends in armed conflict and organized violence has grown, as pressures for evidence-based policy intensify among donor governments, international agencies and non-governmental organizations. The study of global and regional security trends can enhance our understanding of why and where conflicts occur, and, in turn, how they may be resolved. This is essential in formulating effective conflict prevention and resolution policies. In addition, conflict data can also help to evaluate the impact of such policies. Patterns in the frequency and location of conflicts can indicate which conflict mitigation and prevention strategies are succeeding and which are not. This chapter presents and analyses the most systematically compiled and updated set of quantitative data on global organized violence. The discernable trends challenge some popular beliefs about war and peace in the contemporary world and can inform evidence-based conflict prevention and resolution policy. In section 2, the authors will introduce the different methods of collecting and coding conflict data. In section 3, the authors will highlight some of the most salient results of the authors' descriptive data analysis. The number of conflicts has been declining since the end of the Cold War, and there has been a downward trend in battle-related deaths since 1950. However, the data also reveal that there are several challenges ahead. Conflict numbers have begun to increase again in recent years and there are a significant number of conflicts that seem to defy attempts at long-term resolution, recurring regularly. Finally, section 4 will conclude with proposed explanations of the trends presented and policy recommendations to meet some of the challenges uncovered by the data." (excerpt)

Mit seiner Forschung zum Nationalsozialismus ist Leibniz-Preisträger Ulrich Herbert bekannt geworden, ein Geschichtspriester ist er nicht. Der deutschen Gesellschaft wünscht er vor allem Gegenwartsbewusstsein. Denn im Wesentlichen sind wir so: Schweden plus Ostdeutschland. Ein Gespräch über Fähnchenschwinger, prägende Generationen und die deutsche Wandlungsfähigkeit.