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112. Agitations for Separation and Non-Negotiability of Nigeria’s Unity: Bottling the Bomb?
- Author:
- Mbanefo Odum
- Publication Date:
- 09-2018
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- African Heritage Institution (AfriHeritage)
- Abstract:
- The Nigerian state came into being through conquest and forceful imposition of foreign rule, which denied the indigenous peoples the opportunity to negotiate and choose what they wanted. Successive regimes have continued to hold the state together in a seeming forceful manner, creating the impression that the country must remain as crafted by the colonialists and that her unity is non-negotiable. However, the state has continued to experience swirling lava of agitations for self-determination. Relying on documentary evidence, observations, and descriptive analysis, this paper explores the nature of Nigeria’s unity; pattern of coexistence among the different groups within the Nigerian state vis-a-vis the extent they exhibit the proclivity for, as well as the factors that militate against, national integration; the manner the government promotes national unity; and the factors that ignite the separatist tendencies. The finding of this paper is that the inability to foster sense of common identity and national consciousness among the different groups, the continuing promotion of inter-ethnic hatred and unhealthy rivalry, as well as the bad governance rooted in corruption and divisiveness are the main factors that fuel the agitation for separation. The basic recommendation is that the government should reverse her non-negotiable stance about Nigeria’s unity and realize that any sincere move aimed at enthroning lasting peace and unity must begin with good governance and a general understanding and agreement reached by the constituent groups on how to proceed with the Nigerian project.
- Topic:
- Development, Politics, Separatism, Self-Determination, Peacebuilding, and National Integration
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
113. Women’s Peacebuilding Strategies Amidst Conflict: Lessons from Myanmar and Ukraine
- Author:
- Roslyn Warren, Anne Applebaum, Holly Fuhrman, and Briana Mawby
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
- Abstract:
- In both Myanmar and Ukraine, broad-based and inclusive peace is still a work in progress. Amidst these challenges, women are developing effective strategies to participate in peace and security mechanisms and to advance women’s rights. Based on field interviews with civil society leaders and government officials in Myanmar and Ukraine and a review of the literature, this study examines how women are building peace amidst ongoing conflicts. The study finds that, in both countries, women use a variety of strategies to advance peace and security. While national plans and formal peace processes have had mixed results for women, alternative steps – notably including informal relationships and utilizing other international frameworks and norms – can be highly effective for advancing women’s interests. Several findings emerge that have broader relevance for policymakers and practitioners seeking to advance women’s rights amidst ongoing conflict: Women can leverage regional and international standards and norms to advocate for women’s rights and peace. This is evident in Myanmar, where women promote frameworks such as CEDAW, UNSCR 1325, and the Beijing Platform for Action. In Ukraine, women additionally promote standards in line with EU gender equality policies as a way for peace process stakeholders to improve their international reputation.
- Topic:
- Security, Women, Conflict, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Ukraine, Southeast Asia, and Myanmar
114. Global Peace Operations Review 2016: Annual Compilation
- Author:
- Sarah Cliffe, Hanny Megally, Richard Gowan, Jason Stearns, and Ryan Rappa
- Publication Date:
- 01-2017
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Global Peace Operations Review
- Abstract:
- For those implementing and studying UN peace operations, 2015 was the “year of reviews.” In June there was the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, formally titled Uniting Our Strengths for Peace, but affectionately known as the HIPPO report. In the same month, the Advisory Group of Experts (AGE) for the 2015 Review of the UN Peacebuilding Architecture delivered its report, The Challenge of Sustaining Peace. In October 2015, Preventing Conflict, Transforming Justice, Securing the Peace was the report of the Global Study on the Implementation of UNSC Resolution 1325. 2016 was the year the system digested this vast body of information. These reports identified many complex issues beyond the mandate of the outgoing UN Secretary-General. His so-called implementation report picked the low-hanging fruit from the HIPPO, but much remained to be debated. The content of the Review in 2016 can therefore be regarded as capturing much of this unfinished business. These are the difficult challenges being passed to the new Secretary-General for implementation in 2017 and beyond.
- Topic:
- Human Rights, United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
115. Enter and exit: everyday state practices at Somaliland’s Hargeisa Egal International Airport
- Author:
- Tobias Gandrup
- Publication Date:
- 08-2016
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS)
- Abstract:
- The airport of Hargeisa, the capital of the officially unrecognized Republic of Somaliland, has been refurbished and upgraded over the past years in order to live up to international standards for security, immigration control and handling. In a new DIIS working paper, Tobias Gandrup (University of Antwerp) describes the contested role of the airport since colonial times and the collapse of the Somali state in 1991. By analysing the everyday practices of the airport as a way of 'performing the state', controlling entry and exit, Gandrup shows how the international standards act as external drivers for the formation of a new state in Somaliland. In this way, the licensed airport also provides a degree of international recognition to Somaliland.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Development, Fragile States, Economy, Conflict, Peacebuilding, and Airports
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Somaliland
116. Peace Education as a Post-conflict Peacebuilding Tool
- Author:
- Vanessa Tinker
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
- Institution:
- Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
- Abstract:
- This article provides a critical analysis of the literature and reports on peace education programmes in countries emerging from violent conflicts. First, it begins with an overview of peace education’s history. Next, it examines how peace education has been conceptualised, and highlights why it remains poorly defined. The article then proceeds by looking at the development of the international community’s use of peace education as a tool to contribute to their peacebuilding efforts in countries emerging from protracted contexts. After that, it reviews the research and evaluation work that has been done on peace education programmes. The article concludes with a survey of peace education programmes in ethnically/religiously linked post-conflict environments that have made mainstreaming their goal, and identifies areas of future research.
- Topic:
- Education, Reconstruction, Peace, Post-Conflict, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
117. Global Peace Operations Review 2015: Annual Compilation
- Author:
- Jim Della-Giacoma, Richard Gowan, Alischa Kugel, Jean Arnault, W.P.S. Sidhu (ed), and Alexandra Novosseloff
- Publication Date:
- 01-2016
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Global Peace Operations Review
- Abstract:
- The Review covers more than one hundred multilateral peace operations active in the previous year including missions fielded by the UN, AU, EU, ECOWAS, OSCE, OAS and coalitions. It uses a broad definition of peace operations that includes multilateral and ad hoc military and police missions, as well as civilian led political missions. Neither type of mission has a simple definition. Alongside more straightforward peacekeeping missions, the Review, mindful of the need for peace operations to adjust to the changing nature of conflict, also includes peace enforcement operations that employ the use of force and engage in active combat. Under political missions, we include multilateral civilian-led missions that have political engagement in the form of launching and supporting political processes at their core. This includes, for example, the EU’s Special Representatives and the African Union Liaison Offices that support the implementation of peace agreements and accompany political processes. We have excluded missions, such as EU delegations and other liaison offices that may engage in political activities, but as their core function serve more as regular diplomatic or developmental presences. Along the same reasoning, we have also excluded election observer and human rights monitoring missions.
- Topic:
- Security, International Cooperation, Politics, United Nations, Peacekeeping, Women, Multilateralism, Peacebuilding, and Gender
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
118. Education and Transitional Justice: Opportunities and Challenges for Peacebuilding
- Author:
- Lucía Ramírez-Bolívar and Roger Duthie
- Publication Date:
- 11-2015
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
- Abstract:
- This report, part of a joint research project by ICTJ and UNICEF on the intersections of education, transitional justice, and peacebuilding, explores how a transitional justice framework can help to identify educational deficits relating to the logic of past conflict and/or repression and inform the reconstruction of the education sector. Drawing on comparative experiences from around the world, it looks at how formal and informal education can help facilitate the work of transitional justice measures and vice versa.
- Topic:
- Education, Reform, Institutions, Reparations, Peacebuilding, Truth and Reconciliation, and Youth Engagement
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
119. Peace and Religion
- Author:
- Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP)
- Publication Date:
- 10-2014
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP)
- Abstract:
- This report presents empirical research conducted by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in conjunction with the Religious Freedom and Business Foundation1 that aims to get beyond ideology to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how religion interacts with peace. Quantitative analysis has revealed that many of the commonly made statements surrounding the relationship between peace and religion are not supported by the analysis contained in this study. This report answers five common questions relating to religion and violence. To determine the list of questions the most common themes of discussion and opinions expressed in the media were identified. The scope of the research highlights key relationships between peace and religion and provides a platform and opportunities for further research. The five questions addressed in this report are: Question 1 — Is religion the main cause of conflict today? Question 2 — Does the proportion of religious belief or atheism in a country determine the peace of the country? Question 3 — In Muslim countries, does the demographic spread of Sunni and Shia determine peace? Question 4 — Is religion key to understanding what drives peace? Question 5 — Can religion play a positive role in peacebuilding?
- Topic:
- Islam, Religion, Conflict, Peace, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Global Focus
120. Norway and Turkey: Possibilities of Cooperation through the Eyes of Turkish Opinion-Makers
- Author:
- Daniel Heradstveit, Siri Neset, and G. Matthew Bonham
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
- Institution:
- Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
- Abstract:
- The authors conducted interviews with opinion-makers in Turkey in 2012 to explore the feasibility of cooperation between Turkey and Norway on issues of peacebuilding. Norway was viewed by respondents as a country with softpower capabilities and a focus on human rights, democratic values, and the rule of law. Some opinion-makers also emphasized that both countries have a similar position on Palestine, a pivotal issue in the Middle East. Obstacles to cooperation include the geographical distance between the two countries, the lack of common institutions, Norway’s lack of experience with different ethnicities and faiths, Norway’s failure to object to the 2005-2006 Danish cartoon scandal regarding Mohammed, Norwegian criticism of Turkey’s policies toward the Kurds, and its imprisonment of dissidents without due process of law. Despite these issues, respondents expressed enthusiasm about future cooperation, and view Norway as a far better potential collaborator than any other European country, in part because it, like Turkey, is outside the EU but a member of NATO. The issue of trade-offs between Norway’s use of soft power and its economic aspirations, namely oil investments in other countries, was also explored. The article concludes with a discussion of the possibility that increased cooperation between Turkey and Norway may give rise to “Turkophobia”, an extension of “Islamophobia”, a simplistic interpretative framework that rests on cultural misunderstanding and miscommunication.
- Topic:
- International Cooperation, Bilateral Relations, Democracy, Soft Power, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Norway