Search

Begin New Search Topic Conflict Resolution Publication Year within 25 Years

141. Addressing the Threat of Violent Extremism in Southern Africa

Publication Date:
11-2019
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
On 27 November 2019, the EU Delegations to Mozambique and South Africa, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the EU Institute for Security Studies (EUISS) co-organised a seminar in Pretoria on ‘Addressing the threat of violent extremism in Southern Africa’. The event was financed by the Service of Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI) and also supported by the Finnish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, both having also contributed to this report. The seminar was a first of its kind in Southern Africa, bringing together the diplomatic community, United Nations agencies, government officials, practitioners, policy makers and researchers to discuss the emergence of violent extremism in the region and the necessary measures to combat this phenomenon. Specifically, the seminar provided an opportunity to further understand the drivers and root causes of violent extremism in Southern Africa through a regional approach that takes into consideration context specificities, while also acknowledging transnational spill-over factors and linkages with organised crime and illicit trafficking. Discussions placed a special emphasis on Northern Mozambique, given the risk of the region becoming a hotspot for radical extremism in Southern Africa, and the impacts an escalation into a full-blown security crisis could have on political stability and social and economic development in the country and the entire region. The final panel explored conflict sensitive prevention and mitigation strategies, which could be a basis for EU’s engagement with governments and regional organisations, underpinning future EU assistance. This report summarises the main takeaways of the conference and makes recommendations for follow-up actions, including supporting a regional dialogue within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the EU on how to tackle the growing threat of violent extremism in the region.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Violent Extremism, and Political Extremism
Political Geography:
South Africa

142. Spring 2019 edition of Contemporary Eurasia

Author:
Ruben Safrastyan
Publication Date:
07-2019
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Contemporary Eurasia
Institution:
Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia
Abstract:
TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE MIDDLE EAST 1. LILIT HARUTYUNYAN PALESTINIAN REFUGEE CAMPS IN LEBANON: GOVERNANCE AND VIOLENCE .............................................................................. 5 2. LEVON HOVSEPYAN DIMINISHING INSTITUTIONAL AUTONOMY OF TURKISH ARMED FORCES: IS POLITICIZATION AND TRANSFORMATION OF ITS INSTITUTIONAL IDENTITY ON THE WAY? ............................................................................................. 20 3. ARAKS PASHAYAN SAUDI ARABIA ON THE ROAD TO MODERNIZATION: REALITY OR MYTH?. .................................................................................... 34 SMALL STATES BETWEEN GREAT POWERS 4. MAXIMILIAN OHLE, RICHARD J. COOK, ZHAOYING HAN & RYSBEK MAMAZHANOV CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE: WHAT IS BISHKEK’S HEDGING STRATAGEM? ................................................................................ 45 5. BENIAMIN MAILYAN IMPERATIVES OF GEORGIAN DIPLOMACY AND THE COOPERATION OF TBILISI AND BEIJING ................................. 63 CONFLICT RESOLUTION 6. YULONG DAI STRATEGIES ON TERRITORIAL ACQUISITION- A CASE STUDY ON THE PEDRA BRANCA DISPUTE ........................................... 76 4 7. NAREK SUKIASYAN TERRITORIAL AUTONOMY AND SECESSION AS STRATEGIES OF CONFLICT MANAGEMENT: CASE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH .................................................................................... 90 FIELD PROJECT RESULTS 8. BEATA BOEHM THE UN “SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAMME” IN UNPA SECTOR WEST, CROATIA ............................................... 104 BOOK REVIEW MATTHEW CROSSTON CHINA'S ONE BELT, ONE ROAD INITIATIVE AND ARMENIA by MHER SAHAKYAN ................................................................................ 126
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, United Nations, Governance, Armed Forces, Violence, Modernization, and Palestinians
Political Geography:
Eurasia, Turkey, Middle East, Armenia, Saudi Arabia, Georgia, Lebanon, and Nagorno-Karabakh

143. Searching for a Historic Agreement between Serbs & Albanians on Kosovo: From Ambiguities to Clarity

Author:
Dimitris A. Moschopoulos
Publication Date:
02-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:
The paper takes as starting point the call by President Vucic of Serbia for a dialogue on the future of Kosovo with a view to reaching a historic agreement between Serbs and Albanians that would help his country deal with the Kosovo issue and would make it possible for it to secure a future in the European Union. The author attempts an assessment of various efforts for settling the dispute between Serbia and Kosovo, including the Ahtisaari Plan of 2007 and the Brussels Dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina currently going on, and tries to clarify some ambiguities and misunderstandings still prevailing about basic parameters of the conflict and of the European integration of the two sides. An analysis of the principles set by Mr. Vucic to guide the debate between Serbs and Albanians, namely that (a) Serbia does not covet what doesn’t belong to her and will not relinquish what belongs to her, and (b) the protection of the Serbian religious and cultural heritage in Kosovo is of paramount importance to Serbia, leads to the conclusion that the envisaged agreement should have (a) Serbia recognize that it does not own Kosovo’s statehood, which rightfully belongs to Kosovo, and (b) Kosovo accord an exceptionalism status to the Serbian religious and cultural heritage in its territory. The author further argues that the ideal agreement between the two sides turns out to also be a possible one.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Religion, Treaties and Agreements, and Culture
Political Geography:
Europe, Kosovo, and Serbia

144. Southern African anchor state: A renewed strategic commitment to South African conflict management as a central function of smart power

Author:
Priyal Singh
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
This paper considers the potential future role of South Africa as an anchor state in Africa, whose legitimacy and credibility – in spite of domestic constraints – is underwritten by a strategic commitment to maintaining regional peace and security. To achieve this, the paper draws upon the “hard” and “soft” power dichotomy first alluded to by Joseph Nye, to frame an understanding of current South African international relations against a conceptual backdrop largely influenced by liberal institutionalism – as well as certain constructivist propositions, to a lesser extent. The paper considers three distinct periods in the evolution of the country’s foreign policy thinking, before discussing the most significant aspects of the current international peace and security order from the perspective of a system facing fundamental ontological change, and one which subsequently necessitates new approaches and strategies by international stakeholders. Finally, the paper puts forward an argument that privileges the idea of a renewal of aspirational South African leadership in the region. This is specifically premised on a central commitment to conflict management and the subsequent maintenance of peace and security through better application of the country’s “smart power” reserves, as well as in terms of the demands and opportunities associated with an international system in flux.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Security, Leadership, Crisis Management, and Peace
Political Geography:
Africa and South Africa

145. Justice through Transitions: Conflict, Peacemaking and Human Rights in the Global South

Author:
César Rodríguez and Meghan Morris
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Dejusticia
Abstract:
The chapters in this volume illustrate many complexities of transitional justice processes from the perspective of young human rights advocates involved in these struggles, many with their own complicated personal connections to the search for justice. These advocates hail from countries that have divergent relationships with the notion of transitional justice, from places deeply embedded in its norms and processes, such as Argentina and Colombia, to countries undergoing various kinds of transitions on very different terms, such as Turkey and Mexico. All of the chapters, however, write the messiness of seeking justice through transitions, spanning from the personal and intimate to the national and global. Together, these chapters beautifully illustrate both the pain and the political possibilities that come from the inability to leave history in the past, as well as the creativity of individual and collective efforts to seek justice through transitions.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, Transitional Justice, Justice, and Transition
Political Geography:
Global South

146. To Achieve Lasting Security, Invest in Young Peacebuilders

Author:
Ghazal Keshavarzian
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Elevate Children Funders Group
Abstract:
Young people are often among the most affected by conflict. But to engage with them solely as victims or perpetrators of war obscures the vital role they play in peacebuilding, writes Ghazal Keshavarzian of Elevate Children Funders Group and Catherine Thompson of Peace and Security Funders Group.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Youth, and Peace
Political Geography:
Global Focus

147. Ako-na-Uche versus Nzogbu-nzogbu: Interrogating the Rupture between Igbo Elite and their Lumpen in Igbo Nationalism

Author:
Chikodiri Nwangwu
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage)
Abstract:
Post-war Igbo ethno-nationalism has witnessed two distinct but interconnected generations. Both of them emerged as a response to the ineffective and objectionable implementation of post-war peace-building initiatives as well as the progressive victimisation of the Igbo since the end of the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. While the first generation is championed and dominated by conservative Igbo petty bourgeoisie, the second is revolutionary and commonly associated with populist youth-led lumpen neo-Biafran separatist movements. In line with the philosophy of akona-uche, the former seeks mainstream inclusivism through democratic and non-confrontational approach in its response to the perceived widespread victimisation of the Igbo. On the contrary, the latter is inspired by the principle of nzogbu-nzogbu and seeks radical separatism as the most sustainable solution to the Igbo question in Nigeria. The reinvention of the nzogbu-nzogbu approach to Igbo nationalism in 1999 has attracted substantial public and scholarly attention. However, extant studies are mainly awash with explanations of the recurrent agitation for Biafra. There has not been any systematic investigation of how the fissure between the lumpen and aristocrats (Oha-na-Eze) of Igbo extraction undermines the pursuit of Igbo nationalism. Using the Marxist social class analysis, the study found that the Igbo question will remain a wild goose chase until the contradictions in the material conditions of the Igbo petty bourgeoisie and their masses are conscientiously harmonised.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil War, Ethnic Conflict, Nationalism, Peacekeeping, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

148. In Praise of Conflict Management

Author:
Eran Lerman
Publication Date:
10-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security (JISS)
Abstract:
Amidst violent events, it is easy to be tempted to seek decisive “solutions” to the Palestinian problem(s) – in both the PA areas and in Gaza – through drastic military action, or through equally dramatic concessions. But given the lessons of recent history, as well as the unpredictable nature of regional events, it makes sense to adhere to “conflict management” and piecemeal arrangements. This is not as a cowardly choice by hapless political and military leaders, but as a rational choice in irrational circumstances; even more so when the Iranian challenge looms larger than ever on Israel’s immediate horizons. Patience has its own merits.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Conflict
Political Geography:
Iran, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

149. Palestine and the Arab–Israeli Conflict: 100 Years of Regional Relevance and International Failure

Author:
Karim Makdisi
Publication Date:
12-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
This paper asserts that the Arab–Israeli conflict, and in particular the question of Palestine, has been the major issue of regional concern across the Middle East for over a century. It claims that the failure to resolve the question of Palestine will continue to impact on the region’s stability and its geopolitical dynamics and to shape popular opinion while limiting Arab leaders’ options. It first situates the Arab–Israeli conflict as a core regional issue in historical context – which is crucial for understanding where we are today – before critically reviewing the Oslo “peace process” and its failure to deliver a just and sustainable peace within the framework of a “two-state solution”. It suggests that this failure has resulted in the ramping up of lingering regional problems (e.g. southern Lebanon, the Golan Heights, refugees and in Palestine itself) and the rise of new challenges and frameworks (e.g. the Resistance Axis and the BDS movement). It concludes that the time has come for the international community – including the European Union, which has contributed to the failure of the two-state solution – to consider alternative paradigms and actions.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Refugees, Syrian War, Negotiation, and Peace
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria

150. Enhancing Peacekeeping Training Through Cooperation

Author:
Adriana Erthal Abdenur, Giovanna Kuele, and Ariane Francisco
Publication Date:
06-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Igarapé Institute
Abstract:
There is growing recognition at the UN and among member states that peacekeeping must be made more effective, especially in face of major budget cuts and wavering leadership by traditional actors. Against this backdrop, how can member states improve the quality of pre-deployment and mission preparation for UN peacekeeping? This policy brief focuses on one area in which innovation has become more urgent than ever: enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping through better training. More specifically, we analyze the emerging configurations, innovations, and challenges of international cooperation for peacekeeping training centers (PTCs), drawing on the case of Latin America.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Peace Studies, Regional Cooperation, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Training, and Peace
Political Geography:
Latin America