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1361. Responding to Crisis in Nigeria

Author:
Paul Wee
Publication Date:
04-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Nigeria currently faces a three-pronged crisis involving Muslim-Christian relations, the Niger Delta region, and presidential term limits. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) held a public workshop in March 2006 for the purpose of assessing the situation in Nigeria and considering ways in which the international community might respond.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Nigeria

1362. Lebanon's Confessionalism: Problems and Prospects

Author:
Imad K. Harb
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Over the past year and a half, Lebanon has witnessed tremendous political upheaval. In September 2004, Parliament extended the term of the country's president, Emile Lahoud, for three years after heavy-handed Syrian interference. Attempts were made on the lives of several public figures; among those killed was former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. A popular uprising forced Syria to withdraw the troops it had deployed in Lebanon since 1976. New parliamentary elections were held in May and June, 2005, and resulted in a new majority coalition of reform-minded, albeit sectarian, leaders who promised an overhaul of Lebanese politics.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:
Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria

1363. Religion and conflict in Africa with a special focus on East Africa

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
06-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
The report provides a brief overview of the religious landscape of Africa with a special focus on the role of religion in the continent's several conflicts. It then proceeds to look at East Africa, where the three religious “families” of traditional religion, Islam and Christianity are all present in large numbers. It does not find any significant correlation between conflict propensity or terrorism and religion, neither in the sense that religious diversity gives rise to any “clash of civilizations” nor in the sense that the predominance of any one religion (e.g. Islam) make a country more prone to conflict or terrorism. It then proceeds to country case studies of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, providing a brief overview of the history of religion and conflict and an assessment of the present situation and the prospects for the future.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Religion
Political Geography:
Uganda, Kenya, Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea, and East Africa

1364. Diasporas and Conflict Resolution - Part of the Problem or Part of the Solution?

Author:
Eva Østergaard-Nielsen
Publication Date:
03-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Diaspora and exile groups may play an important, but sometimes also controversial role in conflicts and political unrest in their countries of origin. This is by no means a new phenomenon. Yet, the growing number of intra-state conflicts, the enhanced possibilities for transnational communication, mobilization and action as well as the upsurge in domestic and international security concerns after 9/11, have heightened attention to the role of diasporas.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa

1365. EU Civilian Rapid Reaction - trouble ahead!

Author:
Peter Viggo Jakobsen
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
This brief takes issue with the prevailing view that the ESDP capacity building process is easier and has been more successful in the civilian than in the military field. It argues that civilian capacity building is harder than military capacity building, demonstrates that the EU's civilian rapid reaction capacity is considerably smaller and less integrated than it is generally assumed, and that the capacity goals set for 2008 are unattainable. Yet another major EU expectations-capability gap has been created and there is now a real danger that this gap will seriously damage the EU's reputation as the global leader in civilian crisis management.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, and Development
Political Geography:
Europe

1366. Post-Conflict Security Sector Reform and the Challenge of Ownership - The Case of Liberia

Author:
Louise Riis Andersen
Publication Date:
07-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Security Sector Reform has become a pivotal part of international peacebuilding efforts. Donor agencies and Western government are devoting substantial resources to strengthen the legitimacy and efficiency of war-torn societies' security systems. At the same time, it is commonly accepted that lasting solutions cannot be imposed on societies. In order to be sustained, reforms must be locally owned. Based on an outline of the concept of Security Sector Reform and a presentation of two different approaches to ownership, the brief discusses the ongoing SSR-process in Liberia in view of the recent shift from a transitional to a democratically elected government. It identifies dilemmas between the current SSR-agenda and the objective of ownership, and argues that a more inclusive and less state-centred approach is needed.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and International Cooperation
Political Geography:
Africa

1367. African Diaspora and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Africa

Author:
Abdullah A. Mohamoud
Publication Date:
02-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
Abstract:
Many domestic conflicts in numerous countries in Africa have not only been regionalised but they are also largely internationalised among other factors through the activities of diaspora groupings. Avail-able evidence suggests that homeland conflicts also directly affect the lives and well-being of the diaspora despite the fact that they are far away from the conflict zones. This reality therefore makes it imperative to address also the international dimension of the conflict, particularly the critical role that African diaspora groups play with regard to homeland conflicts. The connection between the African diaspora's activities and the dynamics of conflict in their homelands is a dimension that has been largely overlooked in research and policy analysis despite its critical significance.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa

1368. Diversity, Conflict, and State Failure: Chances and Challenges for Democratic Consolidation in Georgia after the after the "Rose Revolution"

Author:
Pamela Jawad
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Abstract:
The events of November 2003, taking place against the backdrop of extensive election fraud and mass demonstrations in Georgia, resulted in the non-violent change of government known as the Rose Revolution. It brought a young administration under Mikheil Saakashvili into power and gave rise to hopes for an advance in the democratic consolidation that has been stalled since 2001, thus unfolding a political dynamic of unexpected chances and challenges.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Europe, Eastern Europe, and Georgia

1369. Managing ethnic divisions in the Philippines and Malaysia

Author:
Peter Kreuzer
Publication Date:
12-2006
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Judith Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies
Abstract:
Another lesson of history may be lost, a lesson that can teach not only Malaysians but others as well about the conduct of Government, the behaviour of politicians, and the discipline required in a democracy in order to prevent a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multicultural country from going up in flames and destroying itself.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Ethnic Conflict, Islam, and Post Colonialism
Political Geography:
Malaysia, Asia, and Philippines

1370. The Impact of Spoilers on Peace Processes and Peacebuilding

Author:
Edward Newman and Oliver Richmond
Publication Date:
01-2006
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
Many ceasefires and peace agreements in civil wars are initially unsuccessful and give way to renewed violence. In other cases, peace processes have become interminably protracted: lengthy and circular negotiations in which concessions are rare and even if agreements are reached they falter at the implementation phase. State-building and peacebuilding processes are also often subject to outbreaks of violence, as recent experience in Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Kosovo and East Timor illustrate. Given the huge material and human costs of a failed peace process, the consolidation of conflict settlement and dealing with threats to peacebuilding are critical challenges for the international community. After a history of painful experience in cases such as Angola and Bosnia, the importance of this was finally addressed in December 2005 by the UN Security Council in Resolution 1645 which calls for the creation of a UN Peacebuilding Commission. Th is new organ is expected to improve coordination amongst, and effectiveness of, all agencies involved in peacebuilding, peacekeeping, disarmament and demobilization, development, human rights issues, and the administration of former conflict zones.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Peace Studies, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Afghanistan and Kosovo