Search

Begin New Search Publishing Institution United States Institute of Peace

351. Rape in War: Motives for Militia in DRC

Author:
Jocelyn Kelly
Publication Date:
06-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1820 signals a new movement in the international community to recognize widespread sexual violence against women in conflict as a threat to international peace and security. Research on sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) has predominantly focused on victims and survivors of rape. A better understanding of the roots of SGBV in conflict, however, can only be gained by examining the experiences and motivations of perpetrators. SGBV has been a pervasive and highly destructive feature of the conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Soldiers from the Mai Mai militia group, one of many armed groups operating in this conflict, describe a number of factors that promote sexual violence in the ranks of this group. Soldiers have a complex and sometimes contradictory relationship with civilians. Interviewees express a desire to reintegrate into civilian life and return to pre-war norms, and they see themselves as protectors of civilians. However, civilians are also seen as a resource that can be exploited for money, food, and other needs. For the Mai Mai, sexual violence against women by other armed groups, particularly foreign groups, is seen as a motivation to fight. Nevertheless, at least some soldiers justify sexual violence perpetrated by members of their own group. Some commanders explicitly support rape by treating women as a spoil of war. Men also describe rape as a result of individual motives, such as the desire of a particular woman. The most effective interventions to address SGBV are tailored to the motivations and decision-making structures of each armed group. An understanding of militia group attitudes is especially important as these groups are currently being integrated into the national army. Mai Mai commanders should be held responsible for the violence perpetrated by themselves and the men under their command. High levels of concern about contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections pose an opportunity to discourage combatants from engaging in sexual violence.
Topic:
United Nations and Sex Trafficking
Political Geography:
Democratic Republic of the Congo

352. The Link Between DDR and SSR in Conflict-Affected Countries

Author:
Sean McFate
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR) processes should be interrelated and mutually reinforcing. As DDR and SSR share the same objective—consolidation of the state's monopoly of force to uphold the rule of law—they succeed or fail together and should be planned, resourced, implemented, and evaluated in a coordinated manner. The natural point of intersection for DDR and SSR is in the reintegration phase, as many ex-combatants find employment in the security apparatus that SSR creates. DDR helps ensure the long-term success of SSR, as it shifts ex-combatants into the new security forces, where they no longer threaten the state's monopoly of force. If done properly, this re enforces the peace settlement by fostering mutual trust between former enemies, encouraging further disarmament and transition into civilian life. SSR helps ensure the long-term success of DDR, as security-sector governance includes ministry programs that provide for the welfare of former combatants. This focus prevents ex-combatants from becoming insurgents or joining criminal gangs. At the same time, effective SSR produces professional security forces that can control spoilers and contain violence. DDR and SSR together promote development by preserving resources and infrastructure, freeing and managing labor, and supporting reconciliation that encourages investment and entrepreneurship. They also promote the interests of women, minorities, and former child soldiers, who should be supported in a consistent manner between the two programs.
Topic:
Security and Labor Issues

353. When Should We Talk to Terrorists?

Author:
Audrey Kurth Cronin
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The longer a terrorist group has been in existence, the more likely it is to engage in negotiations. Even so, only about 18 percent of terrorist groups engage in talks on strategic issues at all. When groups do enter talks, the most common pattern is for negotiations to drag on, with the conflict occupying a middle ground between a stable cease-fire and high levels of violence. Negotiations do not necessarily result in a cessation of the violence: about half of the groups that have entered negotiations in recent years have continued to be active in their violence as the talks unfolded, typically at a lower level of intensity or frequency. A wide range of variables can determine the efficacy of negotiations. A crucial element in the success or failure of such talks is the ability of policy makers to devise a plan in advance for what will happen when violence does again occur. Those policymakers who are able to unite with their non state negotiating partners in condemning violence are more likely to sustain talks and make progress. Talks with some global affiliates of al-Qaeda, as well as some smaller factions of the Taliban, may hold promise. Talks should not be seen as a “silver bullet” but rather as a way to manage and channel the violence over the long term, a process that often contributes to the decline of groups or their demise, along with other factors.
Topic:
Terrorism
Political Geography:
Taliban

354. Turkey's New Engagement in Iraq: Embracing Iraqi Kurdistan

Author:
Henri J. Barkey
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
In August 2009, the Turkish government announced that it would undertake a major initiative toward Turkey's Kurdish minority. In addition to being a major development in the long saga of Turkey's relations with its sizeable Kurdish minority, this initiative, known as the “democratic opening,” is also a testament to the distance the Turkish government has traveled in its policy toward Iraq. Turkey, which had once spearheaded opposition to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), is implementing a 180-degree turn in its policy toward the KRG. It is developing close economic and political ties with the KRG, and the two are collaborating on a gamut of issues, including efforts to pacify the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). At the heart of these changes lay a confluence of developments. They include the new geopolitics of the region, the new foreign policy conception of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey's domestic institutional context, changing perceptions within Turkey of the domestic Kurdish question, and efforts by key individual actors within Turkey. On the geopolitical level, the announced withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq has helped shift Turkey's approach to Iraq. Whether it is part and parcel of a conscious strategy by Ankara, Turkey's ability to influence events on the ground is greatest in northern Iraq. In Baghdad, Turkey has to contend with not just American competition but, far more significantly, the Iranian presence. Ironically, any increase in Turkish influence in the KRG translates into more in Baghdad because of the Kurds' critical role in Iraq's capital. On the foreign policy level, the AKP took advantage of the vacuum created by the war in Iraq and began to fashion itself as a regional power. In a policy that some have come to call “neo-Ottomanism,” Turkey is expanding the contours of its influence in regions that were once part of the Ottoman Empire, including Iraq.
Political Geography:
Iraq, Turkey, and Kurdistan

355. Can Economic Reform Open a Peaceful Path to Ending Burma's Isolation? (Burmese edition)

Author:
Raymond Gilpin and Lex Rieffel
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
After decades of domestic conflict, military rule and authoritarian governance, Burma's economy could provide a viable entry point for effective international assistance to promote peace. Doing so would require a detailed understanding of the country's complex and evolving political economy.
Topic:
Development, Political Economy, and Foreign Direct Investment
Political Geography:
Asia

356. Iraq is Spinning Its Wheels, But in the Right Direction

Author:
Daniel Serwer
Publication Date:
07-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The political situation in Baghdad is still blocked almost four months after the national elections signaled change while denying any one of the four main coalitions a clear mandate to govern. The complications are real, but so too is a political culture that is increasingly appealing to democratic norms and factors to sort out the difficulties.
Topic:
Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:
Iraq

357. Mapping the Russian Blogosphere

Author:
Anand Varghese
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Analysis of more than 11,000 Russian-language blogs reveals an active political blogosphere comprising internationally linking bloggers; Russian media-focused bloggers; nationalists; members of the democratic opposition; bloggers focused on business, economics, and finance; and social and environmental activists. Russian bloggers tend to be less politically polarized than their counterparts in the American blogosphere, and they prefer to blog about political issues from a nonpartisan position. Future research should focus on the offline outcomes of online political blogging, the effect of blogging platforms on polarization, the responses of the Russian government, and mapping the effects of newer social networking platforms.
Topic:
Globalization, Science and Technology, and Mass Media
Political Geography:
Russia and America

358. Conflict and Post-Conflict Governance: The Stakeholder Perspective

Author:
Jacleen Mowery, Demis Yanco, and Ryan McClanahan
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Post-conflict governance requires simultaneous and complementary action on three levels. national governance, local governance, and civil society. Norbert Mao, a parliamentary leader from Uganda, offered this progression for managing the trade-off between short-term stabilization and long-term capacity building: "In the emergency phase, you should do it for us. In the reconstruction phase, you should do it with us. And in the development phase, you should do it through us." Efforts to develop the capacity of local governments to deliver services may be more responsive to external assistance than programs aimed at overcoming systemic dysfunctions in the central government, in part because municipal officials are more accountable to their communities. Civil society should be a prominent player in transitioning to “local ownership,” which may erroneously be conceived in terms of ownership by national and perhaps local governments. Building the capacity of civil society entails connectivity with international partners and ideas, not just financing. There are trade-offs involved among the three stakeholders. Among the most salient, when a legacy of abuse of power by the national government and repression of opposition groups must be confronted, an active civil society is essential. An invigorated civil society can fundamentally challenge illicit structures of power that profited from conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, Government, Peace Studies, War, Governance, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Uganda

359. Transcending the Past to Build Haiti\'s Future

Author:
Robert Maguire
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Efforts to build a better Haiti following the catastrophic earthquake of January 2010 are complicated by the challenges of addressing urgent needs, including elections and the cholera outbreak, that run parallel to the rebuilding process and that present an enormous challenge to Haiti\'s under-resourced and weakened government. Enactment of the Haitian government\'s internationally-endorsed and ambitious action recovery plan is hindered by the apparent lack of an over-riding operational framework that will help to ensure not only implementation, but also coherence. Donors and other international actors would be wise to embrace Haiti as a country that has highly propitious fundamentals for successful economic growth, and to build on them. Without important shifts in political, economic and social paradigms, the prospect for Haiti\'s future as a better country that can sustain and expand progress and can improve prospects for all its citizens is clouded.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Migration, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

360. Chad's 2007 Peace Agreement Plagued by Poor Implementation

Author:
Delphine Djiraibe
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Political crises and armed opposition movements have plagued Chad for several years. After several failed peace initiatives, the August 13 Agreement was reached in 2007. The agreement is the most viable framework for bringing peace to Chad. It calls on the Chadian government to reform critical electoral institutions, undertake a credible electoral census and demilitarize politics in order to ensure fair and transparent elections. To date, the agreement has been poorly implemented. It jeopardizes the credibility of the upcoming legislative elections, currently scheduled for February 2011. Only comprehensive reform that addresses the development and governance challenges facing Chad will definitively end its political crisis.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Peace Studies, Treaties and Agreements, War, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Africa