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131. Three Scenarios for Sudan: From non-violent revolution to democratic reform?

Author:
Katariina Mustasilta
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
On 11 April, Sudan’s long-standing head of state, President al-Bashir, was removed from office by his military generals following a large-scale non-violent uprising against the regime. Four months later, on 17 August, the Transitional Military Council (TMC) and the opposition coalition Forces of Freedom and Change (FFC) signed a power-sharing agreement establishing a three-year transitional regime set up to steer the country towards democratic elections. The agreement forged in August was underpinned by the same dynamics that led to the overthrow of the regime in April: determined non-violent resistance demanding a transition to civilian-led rule. These events in Sudan demonstrate the potential of strategic non-violence in bringing about societal change, even in the face of violent repression. Indeed, research has found that non-violent resistance, defined as ‘the application of unarmed civilian power using non-violent methods such as protests, strikes, boycotts, and demonstrations, without using or threatening physical harm against the opponent’, is not only increasingly frequent but also more effective in achieving its goals than violent rebellion. Moreover, recent studies show that non-violent resistance creates better foundations for building democratic institutions than armed or elite-led transitions. In the light of these research findings, there is genuine potential for democratic transition in Sudan.
Topic:
War, Social Movement, Reform, Conflict, Protests, and Revolution
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

132. War Crimes and Punishment: The Terrain Compound Attack and Military Accountability in South Sudan, 2016–18

Author:
Flora McCrone
Publication Date:
08-2019
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
On 11 July 2016, government forces stormed Terrain, a residential compound in Juba, South Sudan. Systematic violence, looting, and vandalism ensued—including one fatality, multiple incidents of rape and torture, as well as destroyed property. War Crimes and Punishment: The Terrain compound attack and military accountability in South Sudan, 2016–18, a Briefing Paper from the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment for Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) project, examines both the attack and the subsequent special court martial that followed from May 2017 to September 2018. Despite the SPLA’s sub-par record of providing justice for victims of war crimes, the paper finds that when certain individuals and their interests align, accountability can be achieved through formal justice mechanisms.
Topic:
War Crimes, Conflict, Accountability, and Justice
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

133. Displaced and Immiserated: The Shilluk of Upper Nile in South Sudan’s civil war, 2014–19

Author:
Joshua Craze
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
The civil war that began in South Sudan in December 2013 has had dire consequences for the Shilluk people of Upper Nile, with civilians killed, villages and buildings destroyed, and humanitarian aid blocked. Although exact figures are elusive, estimates suggest that as much as 50 per cent of the Shilluk population has left the country during the current civil war—a figure that rises to 80 per cent if internally displaced people are included. Displaced and Immiserated: The Shilluk of Upper Nile in South Sudan’s civil war, 2014–19, a report from the Small Arms Survey’s Human Security Baseline Assessment for the Sudan and South Sudan (HSBA) project, places events in Upper Nile from 2014–19 in their historical context and analyzes the main military tactics employed by government forces in Shilluk areas.
Topic:
Civil War, Displacement, and Violence
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

134. Youth Politics in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:
Sean Yom, Wael ak-Khatib, Begum Uzun, Matt Gordner, Giulia Cimini, Yousra Kadi, Dina El-Sharnouby, Sarah Fischer, Aziza Moneer, Curtis R. Ryan, Sara Ababneh, Yazan Doughan, Aydin Ozipek, Makiko Nambu, Sarah A. Tobin, Justin Gengler, and Sarah Anne Rennick
Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:
Youth political activism has been challenging Middle East and North African political systems frequently and forcefully over the last decade. This is not a new phenomenon, of course. Young people have historically stood at the forefront of popular uprisings and cultural movements. Demographic realities in the Middle East have increased the latent potential for disruptive youth activism. Nearly 60 percent of people in the region fall under the age of 30, half of whom are aged between 15 and 29, and in almost every country, unemployment for working-age youth exceeds the overall jobless rate. The failures of the 2011 Arab uprisings to achieve lasting democratic change revealed the limits of street protests, but the underlying problems remain profoundly unresolved. How are young people questioning, subverting, and transforming the boundaries of politics in the post-uprising Middle East and North Africa? In June 2019, the Project on Middle East Political Science convened a workshop on youth politics in Amman, Jordan, in cooperation with the Phenix Center for Economic and Informatics Studies. The workshop’s papers and deliberations sought to unpack the meaning of youth politics. What characterizes the latest wave of youth mobilization? How is youth activism, and youth politics, changing public attitudes and government policies? Can any generalizations be made about youthfulness, and the experience of being young and political, in the Middle East today? The essays contained in POMEPS Studies 36: Youth Politics in the Middle East and North Africa attempt to answer these questions. They come from scholars who, through intensive fieldwork in varying countries, study the origins and processes of activism among young people through diverse methodologies and orientations.
Topic:
Politics, Political Activism, Women, Youth, Protests, Sexual Violence, and Revolution
Political Geography:
Sudan, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, North Africa, Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia

135. Diversity in International Relations, Volume XXI, Number 1

Author:
Sushant Naidu, Harold Kent Heredia, Luka Biong Deng Kuol, Sheelagh Daniels-Mayes, Kristina Sehlin MacNeil, Westmin R. A. James, Priscila Ribeiro Barros, and Erica Neeganagwedgin
Publication Date:
09-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations
Institution:
School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University
Abstract:
Diversity and Inclusion are terms that are commonplace across various industries, including the hiring practices of corporations and in representation at educational institutions. We see diversity and representation play an important role in the democratic nomination race for the 2020 U.S. presidential election, sometimes mentioned only to gain political advantage. Diversity, in terms of whose story gets told and whose doesn’t, is a theme that is woven throughout a variety of global issues, but often takes a backseat to the bigger news stories that tend to dominate media outlets. Yet, diversity or lack thereof is often implicated upon closer examination of global issues. Climate change, development, violent conflict, terrorism, human rights violations, reform of global governance, and problems of democratic representation throughout the globe are closely tied to issues of diversity. Increasingly, questions of diversity and inclusion present a pathway to solutions to many of these problems. For the 21st volume of the Journal, we wished to showcase and champion diversity and representation in academia by bringing the voices of diverse writers and less familiar topics to our readers. This issue features three articles on indigenous rights. Sheelagh Daniels-Mayes and Kristina Sehlin MacNeil write on the concept of diplomacy, focusing primarily on the lesser recognized diplomacies of First Peoples in Australia and Sweden. Priscila Ribeiro Prado Barros posits that the growing involvement of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil, in the defense of their own affairs, have triggered the emergence of a new organizing logic, which considers rights as more important than territorial authority. Finally, Erica Neeganagwedgin examines the Canadian federal government’s 1969 Statement of the Government on Indian Policy and the recent Indigenous Rights Framework that the Canadian government introduced in 2018. The remaining three articles discuss diversity in employment at the UN, the issue of ethnic diversity in the two Sudans, and how international law affects refugees in the Caribbean. Harold Heredia discusses the importance of diversity at the UN as stated in the organization’s charter in Article 101. Luka Kuol examines the case of the two Sudans to argue that ethnic diversity can become a curse when there is a governance deficit that is manifested in social contracts and systems of government that abhor and detest diversity. Westmin James’ article asserts that both international treaty law and customary international law may appropriately aid constitutional interpretation and can protect asylum seekers or refugees from being repatriated to their home country. Our strong desire to provide a platform for less familiar topics was the driving force behind the creation of this issue. We hope you enjoy this issue and the diverse topics that it touches on.
Topic:
Diplomacy, United Nations, Political Activism, Refugees, Ethnicity, Diversity, Legislation, Assimilation, Indigenous, Sustainability, Geography, and Self-Determination
Political Geography:
Sudan, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Caribbean, North America, Sweden, and Africa

136. Global Peace Operations Review: 2019

Author:
Alexandra Novosseloff, Paige Arthur, and Marc Jacquand
Publication Date:
12-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
After several years at a crossroads, United Nations peace operations took a definitive turn in 2019, shifting away from large, multidimensional, “conflict management” operations toward models that are smaller, more flexible, and have greater reliance on partnerships. This edition of Peace Operations Review surveys a year of reforms, the twentieth anniversary of the first protection of civilians mandate, and innovative approaches to peace operations transitions. Peace Operations Review 2019 takes stock of recent trends in peace operations. With articles from Alexandra Novosseloff, Marc Jacquand, and Paige Arthur, the review: Summarizes five key trends in peace operations, touching on the issues of UN reform, the role of the Security Council, transitions, an enhanced “spectrum” of peace operations, and resources vs. mandates Examines UNAMID’s innovative approaches to the forthcoming transition in Darfur Surveys the current state of affairs of protection of civilians mandates, with proposals for greater focus on risk management
Topic:
United Nations, Peacekeeping, Reform, UN Security Council, and Protection
Political Geography:
Sudan, Darfur, and Global Focus

137. The Ethnic Conflicts and Mass Media

Author:
Graham Ebenezer Kurtis
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Liberty and International Affairs
Institution:
Institute for Research and European Studies (IRES)
Abstract:
The media have played and continue to play a significant role in many ethnic conflicts and wars that ever took place in history and through its reportage humankind has become informed and aware of ethnic-conflict on the globe through various forms. Irrespective of the increase in knowledge, media has negatively impacted the ethnic conflict by several escalations that took place because of the manner information that was provided. This study investigates what these negative impacts are by examining the literature and sorting them to consider media location, outlets, and presentation impact of media. An overlapping discovery has gingered the reclassification of the impact of media in the face of dilemmas. They are Psychoanalysis propaganda and profiteering, freedom and ethics, distortion of reality, and public safety. The media tries to balance in order to choose the lesser consequential path to survive. However, they have all steered to an escalation of ethnic conflicts.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Communications, Media, and Social Media
Political Geography:
Sudan, Indonesia, Syria, Rwanda, Myanmar, and Global Focus

138. The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD): Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan push for cooperation

Author:
Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:
The African Union (AU) held its 30th Summit from 22 – 29 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The central theme of the Summit was a clarion call to strengthen African unity and fight against corruption and the eradication of poverty on the continent. President Paul Kagame of Rwanda was elected the new AU chairperson at the Summit, however, it is a significant development that transpired on the sidelines of the Summit among Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan that this policy update seeks to address pursuant to an earlier published policy brief, The construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) and geopolitical tension between Egypt and Ethiopia with Sudan in the mix.2 President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi of Egypt, Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn all signaled their resolve to avoid misunderstandings cognizance of Ethiopia’s construction of its dam, The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) during a sideline meeting at the Summit. A statement released by the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that, “we (the three country heads) have agreed to work as one on matters among the three countries, particularly on the construction of the GERD” (Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2018).
Topic:
Regional Cooperation, International Affairs, Infrastructure, and African Union
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Egypt

139. The Loss of Arms And Ammunition In Peace Operations: Mapping And Addressing The Challenge

Author:
Jefferson Brehm
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Peace Operations Review
Abstract:
In January 2016, al-Shabaab militants attacked an African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forward operating base in El Adde, Somalia. They held the base for several days before the Kenya Defence Forces managed to reclaim it. Media reporting has understandably focused on the loss of life among the Kenyan peacekeepers—widely reported to be upwards of 100 men and women. The loss of materiel has received considerably less attention, but is of great importance. Al-Shabaab potentially put AMISOM’s personnel and local communities in even greater peril by seizing their weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and communications equipment. The El Adde attack resulted in one of the largest recorded single incidents of diversion of materiel from peacekeepers, but was far from an isolated incident. As the Small Arms Survey has documented, the loss of equipment during peace operations is routine and widespread. In fact, thousands of small arms and light weapons, and millions of rounds of ammunition have entered the black market from more than a dozen missions undertaken by the United Nations (UN) and several regional organizations. Logistical challenges to security management are not specific to UN missions but pose challenges for all organizations that engage in peace operations because all peacekeepers who deploy with military hardware face the risk of losses. Small Arms Survey research suggests a number of ways that these losses can be resisted or better managed, including through improved record-keeping, tailoring procedures to the specific operational environment, and respecting the operational limitations of inspection regimes.
Topic:
Security, Military Strategy, Weapons, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan

140. Accessing South Sudan: Humanitarian Aid in a Time of Crisis

Author:
Erol Yayboke
Publication Date:
11-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)
Abstract:
Since gaining its independence from Sudan in 2011, South Sudan has struggled to fulfill the promise of a new nation, eventually descending into civil war in late 2013. The country is now bearing the devastating human and financial costs of a complex conflict with ever-changing armed and political actors. Aid organizations face an array of humanitarian access constraints while working to address the acute needs of 7 million people, roughly half of the country. Although there is cause for cautious optimism after a peace agreement was signed in September 2018, these humanitarian needs will only grow in the absence of sustainable peace and a political solution to the man-made crisis in South Sudan.
Topic:
Humanitarian Aid, Conflict, Peace, State Building, and Humanitarian Crisis
Political Geography:
Africa, Sudan, and South Sudan