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631. Mapping nomad-farmer conflict in Afghanistan

Author:
Antonio Giustozzi
Publication Date:
07-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU)
Abstract:
In December 2016, the Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit (AREU) launched a European Union-funded project, ‘A three-pronged research effort into essential areas of Natural Resource Management (NRM), Food Zone policy, ground water, and the shifting interests of stakeholders in the conflict opposing sedentary and nomad populations,’ that includes a component about nomad-farmer conflict. The project will unfold over a period of three years and is organised in stages. Project fieldwork involves a total of 16 case studies spread around Afghanistan, of which seven saw a first wave of fieldwork carried out during the first stage. It also includes interviews with government officials, community leaders and other conflict observers, both in Kabul and in the provinces. This brief summarises the preliminary findings of stage one, drawn from the seven case studies. Follow-up work will include not only nine more cases studies and the bulk of interviews with conflict observers, but also additional interviews in the seven case studies that feed into this preliminary briefing.
Topic:
Agriculture, Conflict, Rural, Farming, and Nomad
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Middle East

632. "Saving Gaza" - Dr. Shaddad Attili

Author:
Shaddad Attili
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Israel/Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives (IPCRI)
Abstract:
On June 1st, IPCRI launched its forum series with a special forum focusing on the future of Gaza.
Topic:
National Security, Conflict, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

633. From Belfast to Jerusalem: Eran Tsidkyahu (12)

Author:
Eran Tsidkyahu
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Israel/Palestine Creative Regional Initiatives (IPCRI)
Abstract:
The Jerusalem Belfast Forum was established by IPCRI in 2016, based on the belief that cities which have endured prolonged conflict and divisions can learn from each other, while acknowledging that the conflicts are different and manifested differently in each city. 12 Jerusalemite activists, Palestinian and Israeli from a variety of professions, were accepted into the Forum, with the aim of infusing creativity and best practices into their efforts to improve the experience of Jerusalem for all who live there. The members took a series of seminars, using the latest research on Jerusalem from an urban perspective, including demographic trends, gender, and implications of current policies on the local communities. Following these seminars, they traveled to Northern Ireland to tour Belfast and meet a variety of local players, all of whom were deeply and directly involved in the violent conflict and building the peace, and who strive to overcome the persisting divisions that still exist in Belfast today.
Topic:
Conflict, Violence, Peace, and Cities
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Northern Ireland

634. Women’s Economic Participation in Conflict-Affected and Fragile Settings

Author:
Peace and Security (GIWPS) Georgetown Institute for Women
Publication Date:
08-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
Globally, women continue to face significant cultural, institutional, and structural barriers to meaningful economic participation. These challenges are intensified for women living in or coming from countries embroiled in conflict. Yet, we know that women’s economic empowerment strengthens women’s rights and grants them increased control over their own lives, allows them to better provide for their families, and contributes to the advancement of their communities and societies. When women are empowered economically, they are safer and less likely to fall victim to domestic violence and sexually transmitted diseases, their children are more likely to go to school and stay in school longer, their daughters marry at later ages, their families are healthier, more sustainable, and more stable. As research clearly shows, women’s increased participation in the economy confers universal benefits. However, failure to analyze and understand how women uniquely contribute to the political, social, and economic environment hampers these societies’ abilities to codify viable peace and promote lasting prosperity. The inaugural volume of the Institute’s Occasional Paper Series reflect the Institute’s recent thematic workshop on women’s economic participation in post-conflict and fragile settings held at Georgetown University in December 2015. As part of Bridging Theory and Practice, this recent symposium brought together leading practitioners and academics to problematize the varied ways women’s full economic participation in fragile settings can and does contribute to more viable peace and lasting prosperity, as well as the myriad political, cultural, and structural barriers that hamper the realization of women’s agency in such contexts. At the conference, practitioners and scholars compared cases from across the globe, gained valuable insights from successful approaches, and uncovered lessons on how to overcome remaining barriers. Presenters covered a range of issues within the field, from gendered resiliency programming during humanitarian crises to the security and developmental implications of women’s land tenure, from the economic status of Syrian refugee women to protecting spaces for women’s economic participation in post-conflict settings. There was also significant discussion on the data that is missing and still needed, particularly surrounding women’s economic participation in conflict-affected areas, how that research can be pursued in the future, and how integral these missing pieces are to fully understanding the economic challenges that women face during conflict, as well as the opportunities that arise out of these difficult times. While it would be impossible to detail the entirety of the thought-provoking discussions that occurred, this volume attempts to share some of the ideas outlined in that symposium. In the following pages, Ann Hudock identifies the key spaces women need safeguarded in fragile contexts if they are to unleash their economic potential. Subsequently, Karen Sherman and Sarah Williamson dive deeply into case studies on South Sudanese women and Syrian refugee women, respectively. Sherman elucidates the obstacles South Sudanese women face in achieving any semblance of economic stability, the methods they employ to overcome such obstacles, and the perils of not facilitating women’s full economic participation in this fragile setting. Williamson unpacks detailed data surrounding the limited employment and economic opportunities Syrian women enjoy both in Syria and across the larger Middle East and North Africa region as refugees. In doing so, she not only unveils the coping mechanisms families in crisis must deploy to meet the challenges of living in protracted crisis and how those mechanisms uniquely and adversely impact women and girls, but she also paints a way forward. Each article provides a rich and nuanced story of how women participate in the economies of war-torn and fragile states. In the end, we hope this volume gives policy makers, practitioners, and academics a unique understanding of and head start in the continued work to implement successful programming to economically empower women in post-conflict and fragile settings.
Topic:
Economics, Women, Refugees, Conflict, and Participation
Political Geography:
Middle East, North Africa, Syria, and South Sudan

635. The Arab Peace Initiative at 15 Years, March 21 2017, Third Session: Future

Author:
Arie Kacowicz, Celine Touboul, Walid Salem, Nimrod Goren, and Abdullah Swalha
Publication Date:
03-2017
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Mitvim: The Israeli Institute for Regional Foreign Policies
Abstract:
The Arab Peace Initiative at 15 Years, March 21, 2017 - Third Session: Future: Chair: Prof. Arie Kacowicz, The Hebrew University; Ms. Celine Touboul, The Economic Cooperation Foundation; Mr. Walid Salem, The Center for Democracy and Community Development; Dr. Nimrod Goren, The Mitvim Institute; Dr. Abdullah Swalha, The Center for Israel Studies, Jordan.
Topic:
Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, Conflict, and Peace
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Arab Countries

636. Towards Sustainable Food Security in the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Strengthening rangeland governance

Author:
Naama Baumgarten-Sharon
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Bedouin and herder communities are among the poorest and most marginalized populations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In the West Bank, an estimated 30,000 Bedouin live in 183 communities in Area C, under complete Israeli control. In the Gaza Strip, there are some 75,000 Bedouin living in 18 Bedouin communities, many in border areas where there are access restrictions enforced by the Israeli army. These communities suffer from lack of access to basic services and are some of the most marginalized in Gaza. Better rangeland management would enable the available resources to be optimized and would increase the productivity of the agricultural sector, increasing food security under the existing constrained conditions. The aim of this paper is to describe the challenges facing rangeland management in the OPT and the possibilities for change.
Topic:
Agriculture, Natural Resources, Territorial Disputes, Food Security, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, Gaza, West Bank, and Irsael

637. Yemen on the Brink of Famine: Forging a pathway to peace. Oxfam Fair Share Analysis April 2017

Author:
Larissa Alles
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The number of people in need as a result of Yemen’s conflict continues to rise, but the international aid response has failed to keep up. International donors should immediately commit to fully funding the Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan. As the tables in this briefing show, some donor governments are pulling their weight, while others are not. Aid alone, however, cannot solve Yemen’s crisis or put the country back on its feet. All sides and their international backers should stop the de-facto blockade and the conflict that are pushing Yemen towards famine.
Topic:
Famine, Food Security, Conflict, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, and Persian Gulf

638. Gender and Conflict Analysis in ISIS Affected Communities of Iraq

Author:
Simone E. Carter and Luisa Dietrich
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This gender and conflict analysis of ISIS-affected communities of Iraq aims to improve understanding of gender dynamics in the context of conflict and displacement. The report sets out to identify the differential impact of ISIS occupation on women, girls, men and boys in order to explore shifts in prevailing gender norms held by study participants in Anbar, Salah Al Din and Nineveh governorates of Iraq. The objective is to enhance the understanding of the social pressures women and men experience when aiming to conform to context-specific gendered expectations of masculinity and femininity, in order to derive concrete recommendations for gender-responsive and conflict-sensitive humanitarian and recovery programming.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Terrorism, ISIS, Conflict, Local, and Community
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

639. Now is the Time: Research on Gender Justice, Conflict and Fragility in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
Kristine Anderson and Henri Myrttinen
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This study examines the impact of fragility and conflict on gender justice and women’s rights in the MENA, as a part of an Oxfam project entitled ‘Promoting the Needs of Women in Conflict in the Middle East and North Africa’ funded through the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. It specifically aims to understand how conflict and fragility in four different contexts – Egypt, Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Yemen – have impacted the realization of gender equality and gender justice in the past several years of political and social upheaval.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Territorial Disputes, Feminism, Conflict, and Equality
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

640. We Have Forgotten What Happiness Is: Youth perspectives on displacement and return in Qayyarah sub-district, Mosul

Author:
Antonio Massella
Publication Date:
10-2017
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The current internal conflict in Iraq, its ensuing displacement and emerging returns, coupled with political and economic crises facing the country, are just the latest in a series of ongoing upheavals that Iraq’s youth are experiencing. This is a grim set of circumstances for any young person, and is particularly troubling in Iraq where pre-crisis figures indicate that 61% of the population is below the age 24 and 20% between the ages of 15 and 24. With the support of ECHO, Oxfam conducted an in-depth qualitative study of youth perspectives on experiences of displacement and return in newly retaken areas around Mosul. The main objective of this study is to investigate how circumstances for youth in Iraq may spur further conflict and shape displacement and return experiences; inform current policies around stabilization; influence the development of a durable solutions framework for displacement in Iraq; and support further development of conflict-sensitive programming as Oxfam moves its response from humanitarian to early recovery.
Topic:
Education, Displacement, Youth, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East