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162. The March 2013 Elections in Kenya and the Responsibility to Protect
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Abstract:
- On 4 March Kenyans will vote in highly anticipated elections. These elections will be Kenya's first since widespread violence following the December 2007 presidential election shocked the country and world. The 2007/8 violence lasted two months, during which time 1,133 Kenyans were killed, over 600,000 driven from their homes and more than 110,000 private properties were destroyed. The stakes during the upcoming elections are high and, while not inevitable, there is a serious risk of a recurrence of widespread violence.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Civil Society, Democratization, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and Governance
- Political Geography:
- Kenya and Africa
163. Transitional Justice for Syria
- Author:
- Nicholas Rostow
- Publication Date:
- 09-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Abstract:
- Transitional justice is the provision of justice in the transition from one form of government, often perceived as illegitimate, unjust, and tyrannical, or an anarchic society, to one that observes the rule of law and administers justice. It also is about choices: how to allocate scarce prosecutorial, judicial, police, and prison resources. The goal is to make the rule of law ordinary. A 2004 report of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General on the rule of law and transitional justice in conflict and postconflict societies observed that most examples of transitional justice involved states emerging from civil war or widespread civil unrest such that government became impossible.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Islam, Peace Studies, Treaties and Agreements, and Insurgency
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Arabia, United Nations, and Syria
164. Children and Armed Conflict: How to Deal with Persistent Perpetrators
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination, Princeton University
- Abstract:
- The Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination at Princeton University (LISD), the Permanent Mission of Liechtenstein to the United Nations, and the nongovernmental organization, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, convened a workshop, “Children and Armed Conflict: How to Deal with Persistent Perpetrators?” on February 7-8, 2013, at Princeton University. The workshop brought together representatives of United Nations member states, members of the Security Council, United Nations offices including the Office of the Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, Department for Peacekeeping Operations, Department of Political Affairs, and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, representatives of NGOs, and academics to discuss strengthening Security Council action toward perpetrators of violations against children in situations of armed conflict.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, Civil War, Demographics, Health, Human Welfare, Peace Studies, and Youth Culture
- Political Geography:
- United Nations
165. Sudan: Preserving Peace in the East
- Publication Date:
- 11-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Crisis Group
- Abstract:
- The situation in Sudan’s forgotten East – without deadly conflict since the 2006 Eastern Sudan Peace Agreement (ESPA) – stands in contrast to the fighting besetting the country’s other peripheries. But this peace is increasingly fragile. Seven years after the ESPA’s signing, the conflict’s root causes remain and in some respects are more acute, due to the failure to implement many of the agreement’s core provisions. Mirroring elsewhere in the country, with no sign of genuine efforts by Khartoum to address the situation, conflict could erupt in the East again and lead to further national fragmentation. All ESPA stakeholders urgently need to reconvene and address the deteriorating situation; the leading sign atories need publicly to concede that the promises of the original agreement have not met expectations and reach a consensus on remedial measures.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Development, and Fragile/Failed State
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sudan
166. Building Police Institutions in Fragile States
- Author:
- Richard Downie
- Publication Date:
- 01-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Center for Strategic and International Studies
- Abstract:
- The police are one of the most critical institutions of the state. This is particularly true in nations emerging from conflict, which are characterized by insecurity and high levels of crime. Without security, governments cannot begin rebuilding their economies and improving the lives of their citizens. As a result, they will continue to struggle for legitimacy, and a return to conflict will remain an ever-present risk. A nation's military has an important role to play in dealing with external threats and establishing basic security in the immediate aftermath of conflict, but the police are the institution best suited for dealing with internal security and addressing the safety needs of the public. For citizens, a police officer is the symbolic representation of state authority. Their view of the state and their acceptance of its authority are partially shaped by their interactions with the police.
- Topic:
- Security, Political Violence, Civil Society, Corruption, and Crime
- Political Geography:
- Africa
167. The Assad Regime: From Counterinsurgency To Civil War
- Author:
- Joseph Holliday
- Publication Date:
- 03-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Institute for the Study of War
- Abstract:
- The conflict in Syria transitioned from an insurgency to a civil war during the summer of 2012. For the first year of the conflict, Bashar al-Assad relied on his father's counterinsurgency approach; however, Bashar al-Assad's campaign failed to put down the 2011 revolution and accelerated the descent into civil war. This report seeks to explain how the Assad regime lost its counterinsurgency campaign, but remains well situated to fight a protracted civil war against Syria's opposition.
- Topic:
- Political Violence and Armed Struggle
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Syria
168. Post-revolutionary Politics in Libya: Inside the General National Congress
- Author:
- Karim Mezran, Fadel Laman, and Eric Knecht
- Publication Date:
- 05-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- Piecing together the nascent political picture in Libya is essential to understanding the current roadblocks to democracy. Unlike Egypt, no single party, force, or personality anchors the political scene. Unlike Tunisia, no coalition provides a gauge of the relative strength of political groups. In Libya, where parties were banned even before the reign of Muammar al-Qaddafi, post-revolution politics remain fluid, loyalties fleeting, and ideological fault lines less defined than in its North African neighbors. Nevertheless, ten months after the country's first free elections, an early snapshot of the contemporary political scene is coming into focus.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Democratization, Regime Change, and Reform
- Political Geography:
- Libya, North Africa, and Tunisia
169. Beyond Spillover: Syria's Role in Lebanon's Drift Toward Political Violence
- Author:
- Faysal Itani and Sarah Grebowkski
- Publication Date:
- 07-2013
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Atlantic Council
- Abstract:
- To describe the increase in violence and instability in Lebanon since the civil war in Syria began as simply a spillover is misleading. it risks casting Lebanon as a victim to negative externalities divorced from its own political dysfunction. in truth, Lebanon's troubles long preceded the war in Syria, and the conflict's more complex and pernicious effect on Lebanon has been the exposure and deepening of pre-existing rifts among Lebanese.
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Human Rights, Terrorism, Armed Struggle, and Refugee Issues
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Lebanon, and Syria
170. Ceasefire agreements will not work: activation of the peace process is the solution
- Author:
- Omar Shaban
- Publication Date:
- 02-2013
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- IEMed/EuroMeSCo
- Abstract:
- The ceasefire agreement signed on Wednesday evening, 22nd November 2012 in Cairo between Hamas and Israel, which ended eight days of fighting between the two sides, was certainly not the first ceasefire since the Hamas takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007, and unfortunately will not be the last. There are many indicators that warn that the cycle of violence may start not after years but after months" writes Omar Shaban.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Treaties and Agreements, War, Territorial Disputes, and Peacekeeping
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Arab Countries