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This thesis addresses the puzzle of heterogeneous trends in paramilitary violence in the two Colombian regions since the beginning of DDR process in 2003. The usual explanations derived from political conflict theories are improved with insights from organized crime research. The author argues that the occasional escalation of post DDR paramilitary violence at sub-regional level cannot be explained with the weakness of the state argument. In order to support this claim, the paper demonstrates the counter intuitive evidence that paramilitary violence correlates positively with the incidence of the state repressive intervention against paramilitary groups. More specifically, the paper finds that the paramilitaries challenged by the state use more violence either as a way of substituting their non-violent resources most affected by law enforcement activities, or in response to crackdown-related intensification of predatory tendencies within their respective organizations. Implications for future conflict resolution of Colombian Civil War are considered.

The pastoral groups of Karamoja (Uganda) got automatic weapons in the late 70s and since then on, the structural intra- and interethnic conflict in the area has progressively become wilder and wilder, and has been interweaving an ever-growing acute economic, ecological and humanitarian crisis. The international community is working since decades with the aim of promoting development and peace. The place of the conflict, both real and virtual, is twofold. On the one hand, it may be identified with the production theatre (pasture and agricultural lands, herds) marked by historical feuds and periodic clashes between the Karimojong warriors and the Ugandan armed forces; on the other, the virtual negotiation table around which local, national and international institutions play their interests for promoting development and peace projects. The author, comparing his fieldwork carried out in the years 1997-2001 with the most recent literature, critically analyzes the cooperation practices and the conflict-resolution policies in the area. ; Dalla fine degli anni Settanta del XX secolo, i gruppi pastorali della Karamoja (Uganda) sono entrati in possesso di armi automatiche (kalashnikov). Da allora, la strutturale conflittualità intra- ed interetnica nell'area ha assunto caratteri di particolare ferocia e si è progressivamente intrecciata con una crisi economica, ecologica ed umanitaria sempre più acuta. La comunità internazionale si adopera da decenni sia per promuovere lo sviluppo economico e sociale, sia per favorire la pace. Il luogo del conflitto è duplice: da un lato, il teatro economico-produttivo (pascoli, mandrie, aree agricole) segnato da faide storiche e da scontri ciclici tra i guerrieri Karimojong e le forze armate ugandesi; dall'altro, il tavolo di negoziazione intorno a cui ruotano le istituzioni locali, nazionali e straniere con i loro interessi di promozione e gestione di progetti di sviluppo e di pace. L'autore, confrontando la sua esperienza sul campo condotta nel periodo 1997-2001 con la letteratura antropologica e politologica più recente, analizza criticamente le pratiche di cooperazione allo sviluppo e le politiche di conflict-resolution nell'area.

All'inizio del secolo XII i duchi di Puglia e i signori di Nocera nel giro di pochi anni posero fine a un periodo tumultuoso e ridisegnarono l'assetto dei poteri nell'area a Nord di Salerno. La Trinità di Cava fu il punto attorno al quale si cristallizzarono i nuovi equilibri. Confermando una già chiara vocazione a mediare nei conflitti fra i poteri laici, la Trinità orientò in proprio favore gli accordi fra le parti con l'esborso di grandi quantità di moneta. Ottenne così il possesso di un importante castello e di tutte le terre che i contendenti avevano all'interno di una vasta zona, delimitata in quell'occasione da un confine preciso. Lo spazio così creato, privo di difese militari nella sua parte settentrionale, non era però in quel momento un territorio signorile, né uno spazio immune; era piuttosto un'area di compensazione, che impediva il contatto fra le due potenze rivali. Soltanto diversi decenni dopo, quando l'area di Cava non era più posta alla frontiera fra domini diversi, la Trinità se ne appropriò, edificandovi nuove fortificazioni e volgendo la propria presenza in senso signorile. ; At the beginning of the 12th century, in the course of a few years, the dukes of Puglia and the lords of Nocera put an end to a period of contrasts and redrew the map of powers in the area North of Salerno. The Trinità di Cava became the core of this new balance. Confirming its already evident inclination to act as a mediator in the conflicts between secular powers, the Trinità directed the agreements between the parts to its advantage through the payment of large amounts of money. Thus, it came into possession of an important castle and of the whole of the land of the involved parties inside a large area, delimited on in this occasion by neat boundaries. However, such area, lacking military defences in its Northern part, at the time was neither a territory subjected to a lordship nor a free space; it was, rather, a compensation area, avoiding contacts between the two rival powers. Only several decades later, when the Cava area was no more a borderland between different rules, the Trinità got hold of it and built up new fortifications, thus giving its presence in the area a lordship character.

Based on recent IPE contributions on three key themes in international politics (the relation between trade-technology & interstate conflicts, the link between multinationalization in production & world stability, & the political economy of democracy promotion in post-conflict countries), this essay calls the attention on the potential that IPE studies have for the analysis of complex processes (political & economic, with domestic, international & trans-national reach) across long time-spans. Empirical research on these topics has provided new ground to test & refine hypotheses from the three IPE orthodox Schools (Realism-Mercantilism, Liberalism & Marxism), pointing to the advantages of multivariate setups that treat both political & economic determinants of international outcomes as endogenous. Studies on the trade-war links have opened the way to analyses of how growth-inducing mechanisms in war economies may combine with the lasting effects of war-borne protectionist coalitions in producing differential outcomes, according to countries' resource endowments & level of development. Hypotheses on the peace-inducing features of multinationalized production appear in need of revision, especially when applied to the context of North-South relations, in which traditional dynamics identified in the FDI literature do not seem to obtain. Last, scholars interested in the political economy of post-war reconstruction could fruitfully borrow from the comparative literature on transitions, the economic contributions on development & the IR research on conflict, to provide new theoretical tools for the analysis of democracy promotion in post-conflict states. References. Adapted from the source document.

Following a brief overview of historical events leading up to the Irish revolt against the British & to the Peace Accords of Easter 1998, the article discusses the various characteristics that were integral parts of completing the accords as well as public reactions to the accords. Future scenarios conclude the paper, highlighting some of the lingering problems with peace in Ireland & steps to prevent more problems. E. Miller

Over the last few years the diplomatic language of UN resolutions has repeatedly been questioned for the excessive presence of vagueness. In an era of expanding international contacts between different legal systems, international institutions such as the UN are constantly faced with the need to overcome cultural divergences of their recipient countries. In order to meet these requirements, UN diplomatic texts may use vague words quite extensively. Such terms, whose meaning is very flexible, variable and strictly dependent on context and interpretation, have been defined by Mellinkoff (1963: 21) as "weasel words". The use of vague terms could be connected to the genre of diplomatic texts, as resolutions should be applicable to every international contingency. However, excessive vagueness could also lead to biased or even strategically-motivated interpretations of resolutions, undermining their legal impact and triggering conflicts instead of diplomatic solutions. This doctoral thesis is based on two main research aims: A first section aims at investigating on whether the use of strategic vagueness in Security Council resolutions relating to Iraq has contributed to the breakout of the second Gulf war instead of a diplomatic solution of the controversy. Using the qualitative Discourse-Historical approach (Wodak 2000) and quantitative analysis tools (Antconc and Sketch Engine), special attention is given to the historical/political consequences of vagueness used in that framework, and to the study of vague 'weasel words' (Mellinkoff 1963), modals, and adjectives contained in the corpus. The hypothesis of intentional vagueness is further reinforced through an analysis of the American legislation related to the outbreak of the war, to reveal how the U.S. has interpreted UN legislation and to understand the purposes and consequences of vague language contained in it. A second section of the study was originated by the desire to understand whether the same patterns would be used in resolutions relating to the Iranian 2010 nuclear crises revealing a relationship between the choice of vague linguistic features and intent to use intentional vagueness as a political strategy. The findings indicate that: - Vagueness in resolutions has triggered the Iraqi conflict instead of diplomatic solutions. - Similar patterns can also be found in resolutions relating to the Iranian 2010 nuclear crises: although being less vague than the resolutions relating to Iraq in order to avoid the same historical consequences, the legislation related to the Iranian nuclear controversy still suggests the UN intentional use of some vague linguistic patterns as a political strategy.

In this diplomatic letter, the Italian ambassador to Israel indicates reasons for admiring the Israelis: a people unique in maintaining religious, national, & ethnic identity despite persecution & discrimination; the return to their homeland; & their shrewd tenacity in developing & safeguarding the nation. After discussing theories about how to reconcile the Israeli state with Palestinians claiming homeland, the failures of the Middle Eastern peace accords are reviewed. It is suggested that Israelis lay the Holocaust to rest & that the state of Israel is a significant aspect of the eternal Jewish medallion. The text of the Middle East Conflict. Resolution 1245 (2001), adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, is appended. 1 Appendix. J. Sadler

La tesi sostiene che, mentre molte teorie di pianificazione si sono concentrate sulle differenze, il multiculturalismo e risoluzione dei conflitti sociali, non c'è ancora sufficiente approfondimento su come queste differenze possano restare profondamente irrisolte e come questa debolezza possa essere fortemente legata a razionalità contrastanti e a una sorta di "slittamento dei livelli di senso" o "equivoci" cognitivi tra i soggetti coinvolti (Bourdieu e Wacquant, 1992). Soprattutto in termini di conflitti urbani espliciti, generati non da opposti interessi economici o differenti volontà politiche, ma semplicemente da differenti background culturali e comportamentali, il livello cognitivo di com-prensione tra le persone coinvolte ha un ruolo fondamentale in termini di consapevolezza e di effi-cacia delle scelte. Dunque il legame tra pianificazione, governance, contesti istituzionali e partecipazione delle comu-nità è, prima di tutto, una questione di reciproca, profonda e vera comprensione, piuttosto che la continua ricerca di nuovi strumenti e politiche. Partendo dalla convinzione che i conflitti siano una fonte incredibile di soluzioni creative e inaspet-tate all'interno dei contesti urbani, dei sistemi di pianificazione e di condivisione di valori, questo lavoro si propone di sondare come la Mobilitazione Cognitiva (Dalton, 1984), per la cura e la prote-zione di un bene comune, può essere in grado di guidare una comunità nella lotta per i propri diritti, permettendo l'acquisizione di conoscenze politiche e abilità specifiche per il raggiungimento di decisioni condivise collettivamente, la costruzione di nuove forme di azione politica dal basso, nuove processi di educazione (Dolci, 1974) e ampliamento culturale contro il prevaricare di Egemonie politiche e sociali (Gramsci, 2007). Utilizzando metodi quantitativi e qualitativi, l'autore presenta due esperienze di pratiche insorgenti provenienti dall' Europa meridionale: (1) un tradizionale Caso-Studio nell' area marina protetta dell' Arrábida, in Portogallo, per illustrare come la mobilitazione cognitiva, volta alla genuina e profonda comprensione delle istanze portate avanti dalla collettività, può realizzare forme di partecipazione che, guardando ai problemi in termini di risorse, permettono alla comunità di collaborare democra-ticamente cercando soluzioni nuove e condivise in grado di modificare profondamente un piano isti-tuzionale il quale, a causa di una profonda contrapposizione tra poteri gioco e valori espressi, ha ge-nerato forme di conflitto dichiarato, ma anche latente; (2) un caso di Participatory Action Research nella valle del fiume Simeto, in Italia, dove le comunità locali, attraverso una forte mobilitazione collettiva, sono state in grado di difendere e curare il fiume Simeto, il più grande in termini di bacino idrogeologico in un territorio caratterizzato da scarsità idrica come la Sicilia, minacciato dalla scelta istituzionale di collocare un inceneritore proprio in un area fortemente incentrata sull'agricoltura, per il suo sostentamento economico, e profondamente legata al paesaggio circostante, in termini di riconoscimento e senso di appartenenza. Questo lavoro può avere importanti implicazioni sia per la teoria, che per la pratica di pianificazione. La scelta di un approccio multi-disciplinare, inoltre, aiuta nella comprensione di come sia possibile trasformare l'antagonismo in spirito competitivo tra soggetti, diversi per natura e per cultura, concentrandosi principalmente sul rispetto e l'apprendimento reciproco, sulla costruzione di processi veramente inclusivi e sulla scelta di soluzioni davvero condivise. ; The thesis argues that while many planning theories have focused the sight on the social differences, multiculturalism and conflicts resolution, there is not yet sufficient acknowledgement on how these differences can be deeply unsolved and how this weakness could be strongly linked with conflicting rationalities and with a 'cognitive slipping' planes of meaning (Bourdieu & Wacquant, 1992). Especially in terms of inexplicit urban conflicts, generated by not opposite economic interests or political will, but by simply and natural differences of the cultural and behavioral baggage, the cognitive level of understanding between people involved plays a fundamental role in terms of awareness and choices efficacy. So this works wants underlines that the link between planning, governance, institutional adjustments and community engagement is, first of all, a matter of mutual deep and real understanding, rather than new form of tools and policies. Starting from the persuasion that conflicts are an incredible source of unexpected creative solution for urban contexts, planning systems and sharing values, this paper aims to probe how a 'cognitive mobilization' (Dalton, 1984) of a community, for the care and the protection of a common good, can be able to "fight for a right" in terms of acquiring political resource and skills to reach own decisions, and constructing new form of genuine power through education (Dolci, 1974) and culture against a 'dominant discourse' (Gramsci, 2007). Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the author presents two field experiences of insurgent practices in the southern Europe: (1) a traditional Case-Study of a Marine Protected Area in Arrábida, Portugal, to illustrate how a community mobilization, that aims to understand really every form of instance and claim, can realize forms of participation that, first of all, sight problems in term of resources, and then allowed people to work democratically together building new and shared solutions able to modify deeply an institutional plan that, due to a displacement between powers and values, generated forms of conflicts between stakeholders, especially in terms of economic and decision making point of view; (2) a case of Participatory Action Research in the Simeto river valley, Italy, where local communities through a strong mobilization were able to defend and took care the river, the biggest in terms of basin in a scarcity water territory, threatened by the institutional choice to collocated an incinerator in a valley strongly based on agriculture, for its economic sustenance, and deeply linked with the landscape, for its recognition and sense of belonging to . This understanding, it is suggested, has important implications for both planning theory and practice. Choosing a multi-disciplinary approach, this work attempts to explore if and how it is possible to transform the antagonism between enemies in competitive spirit among subjects, different for nature and culture, focusing on respect and mutual learning and on the building up of processes really inclusive and choices really shared

The dynamics of transitional justice have been shifting, in the past decade, from democratization towards a more reconciliation/truth approach. Many scholars have underlined a connection between the concept of reconciliation and that of Christian forgiveness. Some case studies do indicate that there may be a strong link between these two concepts (South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission is probably the most well known example). Nonetheless a number of more recent analysis, such as those dealing with Timor East and the Moroccan IER (Instance Equité et Réconciliation) seem to indicate that reconciliation is neither solely linked with Christian forgiveness nor is a solely religious concept. On the one hand the Timor East experience demonstrates that reconciliation is well known as a process even within other religious experiences and is, often, the outcome of a restitution/compensation process, properly ritualized to guarantee a local acknowledgment .On the other hand the Moroccan experience shows that reconciliation can have a more universal value, without any religious aspects. Furthermore reconciliation is a goal that can be achieved through a well structured legal and social reform and through acknowledgment of the past and compensation for victims. These different experiences may indicate that reconciliation, within transitional justice, may be very different from forgiveness, given the intensity and the high number of individuals involved; therefore defining the reconciliation process as a long term goal of a transitional society which can be obtained through a well defined political and juridical, or quasi juridical, plan and which aim is to guarantee a peaceful coexistence within society more than a personal and interior process like forgiveness. Certainly what we are witnessing today is a broad de-secularization of the transitional justice phenomena due to the increasing number of societies which choose local and traditional rituals/values to achieve reconciliation. Part I of this work concentrates on giving a definition of transitional justice, and its evolution, particularly engaging the issues arisen with the application of new instruments such as truth commissions. Part II concentrates on the religious elements of the Community Reconciliation Process (CRP), and how the traditional values influenced the out come: the importance given to the lisan, a traditional religion, which was the basis for the creation of the CRP and the meta-legal basis for the rituals implemented during the hearings. Furthermore it studies the South African experience, from the perspective of religious faith and religious actors, taking into consideration the role played in the creation and works of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: from the concept of Ubuntu, which played a role in the provisional constitution and therefore in the creation of the Commission; to the importance of forgiveness, constantly indicated as the principal instrument by the president of the commission Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Part III deals with the Moroccan commission (IER) is taken in exam, as a third secular process towards reconciliation: the focus of the commission on human rights and reparation as only mean to obtain reconciliation and social stability. The final part, the conclusions, tries to identify if forgiveness is a universal concept or has a different meaning for different religions. If so, can there be a general instrument for transitional justice which focuses on forgiveness or, maybe, can religions, through their own definition of such concept, influence a transition towards those mechanism of reconciliation best suited for the local traditions.