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11. Before and Beyond Al-Shabaab: National Islamic Councils, Contentious Politics and the Rise of Jihadism in East Africa

Author:
Jannis Saalfeld
Publication Date:
01-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Following the 2010 Kampala bombings and the high-profile attack on Nairobi’s Westgate shopping mall in 2013, research on violent extremism in East Africa has focused on Al-Shabaab’s evolution into a persistent transnational security threat. However, the regional advent of Jihadism(s) predates the onset of Somalia’s present civil war. Examining broader historical patterns of politico-religious mobilisation, the report argues that the genesis and expansion of militant Islamist networks in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Mozambique can be attributed, among other things, to the failure of largely non-Muslim post-colonial ruling elites to effectively regulate the Islamic sphere. Specifically, it shows how the disintegration of Muslim contestation movements created a political environment conducive to collective radicalisation. By shedding light on this development, the report provides evidence that while the timing and escalatory dynamics of Jihadist violence and radicalisation have depended on specific domestic context conditions, the overarching trajectories of contentious Muslim politics that have unfolded in East Africa’s religiously heterogeneous societies share crucial similarities.
Topic:
Terrorism, Violent Extremism, Conflict, and Jihad
Political Geography:
Africa and East Africa

12. Cooperation in a Post-Western World: Challenges and future prospects

Author:
Michèle Roth and Cornelia Ulbert
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The post-Cold War world has been characterised by global cooperation, largely driven by Western actors and based on the norms of Western liberalism. Today, global power shifts are accelerating. The Western liberal order finds itself in deep crisis. Its previous anchor, the United States (US), is no longer willing or able to run the system. Its most important former ally, the European Union (EU), is struggling with inte- gration fatigue. New nationalist movements in many Western countries are proliferating. In other parts of the world, too, people fear the impact of globalisa- tion and are seeking to regain national autonomy. What does this mean for the future of global cooper- ation? How can the wish for more national autonomy be reconciled with the need to cooperate in the face of unsustainable development, global inequality, conflict and gross violations of human rights? How do changing power constellations affect global cooper- ation? We suggest that new forms of governance will contribute to sustaining global cooperation. This paper uses the example of the Paris Agreement to illus- trate new forms of polycentric and multi-stakeholder transnational governance that are bottom-up rather than top-down. Moreover, constructive coalitions of the willing and more flexibility in global governance provisions might also be key for successful future cooperation.
Topic:
Climate Change, International Cooperation, Governance, European Union, and Post Cold War
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, and North America

13. The UN Security Council: From a 20th Century Relic to Effective Security Governance

Author:
Jakkie Cilliers
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The United Nations Security Council lies at the heart of the global security architecture. It was established in 1945 to maintain international peace and security, but reform has been stuck for decades. Beyond a nuclear conflagration and the enduring challenge of interstate conflict, future global security challenges include the impact of climate change, the threat of pandemics, dirty bombs, nuclear terrorism and cybercrime. These risks are exacerbated by the rise of new nationalism in the West with countries such as the USA turning away from multilateralism, eschewing collaboration and accelerating change away from a global system hitherto dominated by the West. At a time of great power transitions, mul- tipolarity without sufficient multilateralism is a dan- gerous trend. Without comprehensive change that includes the end of permanent seats and the veto, the Council is fading into irrelevance. Such reform is possible, but requires a very different approach compared to efforts to find a compromise between different negotiating blocks in New York. Instead, detailed proposals should be agreed upon amongst like-minded states outside of the intergovernmental negotiating process and tabled in the General Assembly as a non-negotiable amendment to the Charter of the United Nations (UN). Even then only the threat from key countries to withdraw coopera- tion from the UN is likely to change things.
Topic:
Security, International Cooperation, United Nations, Multilateralism, and UN Security Council
Political Geography:
Global Focus

14. The Global Refugee Crisis: Towards a Just Response

Author:
B.S. Chimni
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
More than two-thirds (68 %) of the 24 million refugees worldwide come from just five countries: Syria (6.3 mil- lion), Afghanistan (2.6 million), South Sudan (2.4 million), Myanmar (1.2 million) and Somalia (almost 1 million) (UNHCR 2018b, p. 3). At least in three of these, there has been overt Western intervention and in four cases there is a failed developmental state. In keeping out asylum seek- ers and refugees from their territories, Western nations also forget the migration of millions of people in the 19th century from Europe to the rest of the world. Furthermore, the limits of contemporary movement of forced migrants to the West cannot be discussed without talking about slave trade, the movement of indentured labour, and the occupation of territories declared terra nullius. Contem- porary economic and political policies of Western nations and the institutions they control also need to be factored in. These historical episodes lend perspective to current numbers with refugees constituting less than 0.3 % of the world’s population (Amnesty International 2016, p. 6). Moreover, according to United Nations High Commis- sioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 85 % of the world’s refu- gees under its mandate are hosted in the Global South (UNHCR 2018b, p. 2). Against this backdrop, the author seeks to contest the justifications offered by Western com- mentators for the non-entrée or restrictive asylum regime established in the Global North. Instead, he proposes a multipronged strategy consisting of short, medium, and long-term measures to address the global refugee crisis.
Topic:
United Nations, Refugee Crisis, Asylum, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Global Focus

15. The Strong Nation-State and Violence

Author:
Christian Tischmeyer
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Our world is still massively violent. This is in harsh contrast to Elias' civilisation process, implying ever more peaceful conduct as modernity manifests. The very organisation he designates for pacifying society, the modern state, is itself central cause for ongoing violence. In fact, most of modernity's notorious massacres, genocides, and ethnic cleansings could not have been committed by lesser organ- isations than strong states. I seek to explicate this connection, using an historical- institutionalist approach, from a perspective critical of established orders. Modern statehood will be conceptualised as ascribed status, depending on external de- mands from an ‘international community’. This ascription is based on existence of five sets of institutions, or dimensions of state activity. A state is considered strong when perceived to perform effectively in the dimensions of monopolising the mili- tary draft, direct taxation, bureaucratic organisation, promotion of formal economy, and keeping internal order. As meeting these conditions depends on direct rule, strong modern states are necessarily nations. Using an actor-centred concept of violence, I assess the violence necessary in creating and maintaining such orders. I conclude that nation-states have an institutional disposition towards mass- violence. Thus one has to think beyond this political order when seeking less vio- lence.
Topic:
Governance, Discrimination, Ethnic Cleansing, Violence, and State Building
Political Geography:
Global Focus

16. Effects of TVET on the Well-Being of Youth from Low Socioeconomic Backgrounds

Author:
Christina Reitz
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Considered by policy-makers of the global South as a tool to fight youth unem- ployment and alleviate poverty, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) has experienced resurgence in the course of the last decade. While aca- demic research appears to focus on (macro-)economic effects of TVET and qual- itative empirical research on micro-level effects of TVET participation is limited, this paper broadens the perspective on education and training by exploring the effects of TVET participation on overall well-being of youth from low socio-eco- nomic backgrounds. This thesis bases its findings on indicative data derived from a field study conducted in late 2014 and encompassing personal interviews with graduates from the Don Bosco Technical Institute in Ashaiman, Ghana and em- ployer representatives from the industry for data triangulation.
Topic:
Youth, Training, Unemployment, and Job Creation
Political Geography:
Global South

17. Local-International Relations and the Recalibration of Peacebuilding Interventions Insights from the ‘Laboratory‘ of Bougainville and Beyond

Author:
Volkder Boege, Patricia Rinck, and Tobias Debiel
Publication Date:
01-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The report addresses the micro-level as a key dimension of post-conflict peacebuilding interventions, with a particular focus on the relationships and interactions of international and local actors. What changes do occur with regard to their perceptions, expectations, attitudes and activities in the course of interactions? Can we identify experiences and mechanisms that lead to a re-articulation of relationships and interactions and, consequently, a recalibration of the overall peacebuilding exercise, e.g. with regard to more (or less) cooperation, more (or less) mutual trust, more (or less) animosities and misunderstandings, and more (or less) legitimacy? These questions are addressed through an in-depth case study, at the core of which are narrative, problem-centred interviews with international and local actors who were and/or are engaged in the peacebuilding process on Bougainville. Bougainville is regarded as a kind of ‘laboratory’ in which international/local relations and interactions are rather direct, because national institutions play a relatively small role, and external actors are present upon invitation not only by national, but also local actors. The exploration of the Bougainville case is complemented by a plausibility probe in a case with contrasting conditions, Sierra Leone.
Topic:
Peacekeeping, Conflict, Local, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, West Africa, and Sierra Leone

18. Corruption and Political Stability in Post-Conflict Countries: Its There Really a Trade-Off?

Author:
Franziska Perlick
Publication Date:
03-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
The assumption of a trade-off between the levels of corruption and political stability in a post-conflict situations is not new to the peacebuilding debate, but expert opinions deviate significantly on how the former may affect the latter. The study at hand asks whether corruption is a significant obstacle for peacebuilding in post-conflict societies, or might even have a stabilizing effect. The concept of Hybrid Political Orders is used to model post-conflict societies. The basic assumptions of the literature analysis of central concepts of peacebuilding and corruption are tested against the case study of Sierra Leone for the period 2002-2012. Assuming different concepts of factors of political stability, such as legitimacy, it becomes clear that the effect of corruption on political stability can vary significantly, depending on the socio-economic and socio-cultural context, and is not necessarily destabilizing.
Topic:
Corruption, Political stability, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa and Sierra Leone

19. Paving the Way for Investment in Geothermal Power Deployment in Developing Countries

Author:
Thomas Adisorn
Publication Date:
05-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Geothermal power represents a unique source of electricity, for instance due to its low-carbon and base-load character. Some developing countries have a great potential for deploying geothermal power and, thus, for providing climate-friendly electricity to their economies and people. However, in order to reap the benefits of geothermal power substantial barriers must be overcome. By having screened the relevant literature, important hurdles to geothermal power deployment were defined: financing barriers, institutional barriers and uncertainty, lack of human resources, information barriers and social opposition. Through desk research carried out for Indonesia and Kenya, both of which are frontrunners in terms of installed geothermal power capacity, this study identifies options that contribute to overcoming aforementioned barriers. Hence, it offers recommendations primarily to developing countries in order to realize geothermal power production and, thus, to contribute to climate change mitigation.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Energy Policy, and Renewable Energy
Political Geography:
Kenya, Africa, Indonesia, and Asia-Pacific

20. Why do Wine Producers seek a Fairtrade Ceriicaion?

Author:
Mirjam Fusenig
Publication Date:
07-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute for Development and Peace
Abstract:
Fairtrade’s engagement in South Africa is unique as it emerged from an initiative of local producers seeking the certification in 2003. Since then, the number of Fairtrade wine farms has steadily increased. The inclusion of hired labour plantations has resulted in a vivid discussion amongst scholars. However, research on the perspectives of management on hired labour plantations about Fairtrade remains limited. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the motivation behind South African wine producers’ pursuit of a Fairtrade certification. Having constructed a conceptual framework incorporating isomorphic drivers and legitimation strategies, the study draws on theoretical concepts mainly used to assess companies’ motivation for social and environmental reporting. The overarching finding of this study supports scholars who claim that Fairtrade rests on the same market forces as conventional trade. The tide in South Africa’s wine industry has turned; initiated by local producers, but gradually being taken over by international retailers. It remains questionable whether such enforced standards can lead to a sustainable change within the industry.
Topic:
Agriculture, Local, Trade, and Farming
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa