Search

Begin New Search Topic Security Political Geography Africa

491. Not Always in the People's Interest: Power-sharing Arrangements in African Peace Agreements

Author:
Andreas Mehler
Publication Date:
07-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Peace agreements form a crucial element of strategies to bring security from outside: they involve third-party mediators during the negotiation stage and often peacekeeping troops to guarantee the agreement at an implementation stage. Peace roundtables usually involve top politicians and military leaders, who negotiate, sign, and/or benefit from the agreement. What is usually and conspicuously absent from peace negotiations is broad-based participation by those who should benefit in the first place: citizens. More specifically, the local level of security provision and insecurity production is rarely taken into account. This paper reviews parts of the academic de bate on power sharing and war termination, touching on some key findings by the main researchers working on the topic. The ambivalent African experience with Arend Lijphart's four main ingredients of consociational democracy (grand coalition, minority veto, proportional representation, group autonomy) is summarized. Recent major African peace agreements (1999-2007) are analyzed, and their power-sharing content detailed. Most agreements contain some—though varying— power-sharing devices. Most striking is the variation regarding the important question of who is sharing power with whom. Obviously, only those present at the negotiation table can really count on being included in major ways. Finally, three country cases are analyzed over a longer time period: Côte d'Ivoire (2002-2007), Liberia (1994-2003), and Central African Republic (1996-2007). The conclusion focuses on the factors of failure of peace agreements that place a heavy emphasis on power sharing.
Topic:
Security
Political Geography:
Africa

492. Disaster in the DRC: Responding to the Humanitarian Crisis in North Kivu

Author:
Catherine Morris and Go Funai
Publication Date:
12-2008
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
This USIPeace Briefing discusses a recent event that focused on human security implications of resurgent violence which left hundreds dead, thousands displaced and millions destitute in North Kivu province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conclusions and recommendations from this event highlight the importance of going beyond traditional short-term humanitarian interventions to adopt more comprehensive and sustainable solutions that effectively balance security and development.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Ethnic Conflict, Genocide, Humanitarian Aid, and War
Political Geography:
Africa and Democratic Republic of the Congo

493. North Africa: New Challenges, Old Regimes, and Regional Security

Author:
Claire Spencer
Publication Date:
11-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute (IPI)
Abstract:
North Africa is often loosely defined, but for the purposes of this paper, it encompasses the states of the Arab Maghreb Union (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia) together with Egypt.1 With the exception of Mauritania, this group of states lies on the northern littoral of the African continent, between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Sahara to the south. This contiguity, however, has not automatically made for a cohesive region; differences between political and economic trajectories have overridden the social solidarities that still unite the peoples of North Africa.
Topic:
Security, Islam, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa, Libya, Algeria, North Africa, and Egypt

494. Police Corruption, Crime and Crime Reporting: A Simultaneous Equations Approach

Author:
Omar Azfar and Tugrul Gurgur
Publication Date:
09-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:
We study the causal relationship between police corruption, crime and crime reporting, using data from the International Crime Victimization Survey. Using a simultaneous equations approach we find a number of intuitive relationships, which are statistically significant. The clearest of these is that crime reporting reduces police corruption.
Topic:
Security, Crime, Economics, and Sociology
Political Geography:
Africa

495. Democratic Reform and Injustice in Latin America: The Citizenship Gap Between Law and Society

Author:
Alison Brysk
Publication Date:
01-2008
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Latin America is a paradoxical world leader. In the twentieth century, Latin America led the struggle for democracy—and now, Latin America leads in unjust societies that cannot fulfill the promise of universal human rights despite elections and theoretical rule of law. The “citizenship gap” between developed formal entitlements and distorted life conditions, including massive personal insecurity, is greater than in any other region. While Latin America receives the highest scores on electoral democracy and political participation in the developing world, the region has the worst record on effective rule of law, crime, and corruption except for grossly impoverished Africa and South Asia. Latin America's experience demonstrates how the rule of law can be systematically undermined by private and transnational displacement of power, as well as incomplete democratization of state institutions. The persistence of injustice demonstrates the interdependence of democratic processes in the public sphere and democratization of social relations.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Developing World, and Reform
Political Geography:
Africa, South Asia, and Latin America

496. Governance and Security Sector Reform

Author:
Emmanuel B. Osho Coker
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
The working paper series on Sierra Leone is part of the research programme 'Security System Transformation in Sierra Leone, 1997-2007'. These working papers present perspectives from both Sierra Leone and the United Kingdom regarding the implementation of activities broadly defined as security sector reform (SSR) in the period towards the end of and following the Sierra Leone war.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa and Sierra Leone

497. The Security and Development Nexus: A Case Study of Sierra Leone, 2004-2006

Author:
Mark White
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
In my observations below, I will not focus on the individual successes within the Sierra Leonean security sector itself over the duration of the security sector reform (SSR) process. Instead, I will focus on the interconnections and disjuncture between security and development that occurred during my time in Sierra Leone. I will also attempt to demonstrate that whilst significant progress has been made since 1999 in ensuring that security and development are inter-related , there is still some way to go before they are fully integrated into either policy or programmatic practice.
Topic:
Security, Defense Policy, and Development
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, and Sierra Leone

498. Operation Pebu

Author:
Aldo Gaeta
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This paper documents the history of Operation Pebu (Op PEBU) between April 2003 and March 2006. It is an overview of the progress and development of the project and does not attempt to document every change in contract between the Government of Sierra Leone (GoSL) and its contractors, nor those relating to contracts let by the United Kingdom (UK) Department for International Development (DfID). The focus of the narrative below is the construction of accommodation for soldiers of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) and their families with which Op PEBU has become synonymous.
Topic:
Security and Development
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, and Sierra Leone

499. Formulating Sierra Leone's Defence White Paper

Author:
Al-Hassan Kharamoh Kondeh
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
This paper outlines the process of producing Sierra Leone's 2002 Defence White Paper. Unique to this process was the document's explicit aim of explaining to the general public both the progress and shortcomings of security sector reform (SSR) in Sierra Leone's defence system. The White Paper was produced on the assumption that without making this information publicly available, opportunities to engage ordinary people in future reform initiatives would be limited.
Topic:
Security and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Africa and Sierra Leone

500. Aiming for Holistic Approaches to Justice Sector Development

Author:
Anthony C. Howlett-Bolton
Publication Date:
10-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
Whilst it might be said that one forgets one's heritage at one's peril, it must also be understood that the past does not necessarily dictate the future. The purpose of this paper is twofold: To serve as a basis for ongoing discussion of the need to ensure holistic development approaches for both justice and security sectors and to document justice and security sector progress in Sierra Leone from 1999 to 2007.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Defense Policy
Political Geography:
Africa, United Kingdom, and Sierra Leone