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71. Indonesia: Trouble Again in Ambon

Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Clashes on 11 September between Muslims and Christians in Ambon, capital of Maluku province, and sporadic incidents thereafter raised fears of a return to the communal fighting that wracked the region from 1999 to 2002. This time, an extraordinary effort by grassroots “peace provocateurs” and local officials largely kept the violence from spreading further in Maluku. But the unrest triggered efforts by extremists elsewhere to manipulate communal tensions, apparently motivating the bombing of a church in Solo, Central Java on 25 September.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Post Colonialism, and Sectarian violence
Political Geography:
Indonesia and Southeast Asia

72. Do Failed States Produce More Terrorism: Initial Evidence from the Non-Traditional Threat Data (1999-2008)

Author:
Bridget L. Coggins
Publication Date:
10-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre for International Peace and Security Studies
Abstract:
Today, Americans are more threatened by weak and failed states than they are by the strong. Or so we believe. A growing developed-world consensus sees failed states as the preeminent global threat. But that consensus - and any new security policy derived from it - rests upon an uncertain foundation; insights into the nature and intensity of threats emanating from failed states remain surprisingly tentative and unsystematic. Using new panel data on state weakness, failure and terrorism (1999-2008), this study examines the relationship between internal anarchy and terror. Among the so-called non-traditional threats, terrorism has received by far the most scholarly and policy attention, but the literature is too incoherent to draw any reliable conclusions regarding internal weakness' influence on a country's likelihood to generate terrorism.
Topic:
Political Violence, Post Colonialism, Terrorism, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
America

73. Shaky Foundations: An Assessment of the UN's Rule Of Law Support Agenda

Author:
Bruce Jones and Camino Kavanagh
Publication Date:
11-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:
As we began the process of drafting this review, citizens across the Middle East and North Africa took to the streets to demand an end to the abusive practices of the security services, more representative and responsive government institutions, the protection of their rights, greater access to economic opportunity, participation in decision-making, and access to justice. They began demanding, in short, the rule of law.
Topic:
Security, Cold War, Democratization, International Cooperation, Post Colonialism, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

74. Cutting Bread or Cutting Throats? – Findings from a New Database on Religion, Violence and Peace in Sub – Saharan Africa, 1990 to 2008

Author:
Matthias Basedau, Johannes Vüllers, and Georg Strüver
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
German Institute of Global and Area Studies
Abstract:
Despite the religious diversity in sub–Saharan Africa and the religious overtones in a number of African conflicts, social science research has inadequately addressed the question of how and to what extent religion matters for conflict in Africa. This paper presents an innovative data inventory on religion and violent conflict in all sub–Saharan countries for the period 1990–2008 that seeks to contribute to filling the gap. The data underscore that religion has to be accounted for in conflict in Africa. Moreover, results show the multidimensionality (e.g. armed conflicts with religious incompatibilities, several forms of non‐state religious violence) and ambivalence (inter‐religious networks, religious peace initiatives) of religion vis–à–vis violence. In 22 of the 48 sub–Saharan countries, religion plays a substantial role in violence, and six countries in particular—Chad, Congo‐Brazzaville, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Sudan and Uganda— are heavily affected by different religious aspects of violence.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Political Violence, Post Colonialism, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa

75. New Research on Transitional Justice

Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
The Harriman Institute
Abstract:
Participants: Aryeh Neier (Founder, Human Rights Watch and President, Open Society Institute), Monika Nalepa (Political Science Department, Notre Dame University), Lara Nettelfield (Post-Doctoral Fellow, Harriman Institute, Columbia University), Tina Rosenberg (Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Haunted Land: Facing Europe\'s Ghosts after Communism), Ruti Teitel (Ernst C. Stiefel Professor of Comparative Law, and Associate Director, Center for International Law, New York Law School, and Visiting Professor, London School of Economics), and Leslie Vinjamuri (School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London). This event is part of the "Human Rights in the Post-Communist World: Strategies and Outcomes " series (Harriman Core Project 2010-2011).
Topic:
Human Rights, Human Welfare, International Law, Post Colonialism, and Law
Political Geography:
Africa, New York, and Europe

76. Côte d'Ivoire's Political Stalemate: A Symptom of Africa's Weak Electoral Institutions

Author:
Dorina Bekoe
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The political stalemate in Côte d'Ivoire following the November 28, 2010, presidential election continues. The majority of the international community recognizes Alassane Ouattara as the winner, but Laurent Gbagbo, the sitting president, insists he won. Financial and diplomatic sanctions imposed on the Gbagbo administration have thus far not forced Gbagbo from power. Maintaining international pressure and focus is critical to resolving the Ivorian crisis, but African states are increasingly divided on how to proceed. The power-sharing arrangement settled on by five African nations in recent elections sets a dangerous precedent. Losers with a strong militia may find it easier to use threats of violence or actual violence to retain a critical power role, thus subverting the intent of the election. African states will continue to experience violence during elections until the security sector is reformed, states refrain from holding elections while militias remain mobilized and armed, elections can be clearly and independently verified, institutions are politically independent, and policies exist to discourage the violent acquisition of power.
Topic:
Democratization, Politics, Post Colonialism, and Governance
Political Geography:
Africa

77. Policing the People, Building the State: Authoritarian Transformation in the West Bank and Gaza

Author:
Yezid Sayigh
Publication Date:
02-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:
As rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza have sought to strengthen their respective Palestinian Authority Security Force (PASF) sectors in recent years, they have adopted very different approaches. The Fayyad government in the West Bank largely relies on financial and training support from the West, while the Haniah government of Hamas in Gaza, lacking significant outside help, has been forced to streamline its operations.
Topic:
Post Colonialism, Foreign Aid, and Law Enforcement
Political Geography:
Middle East, Arabia, and Gaza

78. Complex power relations in Yemen provide opportunities for al-Qaeda

Author:
Ahmed Abdelkareem Saif
Publication Date:
02-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:
Yemen's problems have frequently been ascribed to neocolonialism, regional politics and domestic power struggles. Though these factors are contributory, they are only the tip of the iceberg. The real problems are endemic and deeply rooted in the nature of society and the evolution of the state. Although modern political institutions exist in Yemen, such as a supreme court, parliament, political parties, trade unions and a free press, these institutions do not necessarily operate as might be expected. In fact, what exists in Yemen is merely a despotic authority, where decision-making usually takes place outside the formal institutions. The weakness of the state limits its capacity to penetrate society, creating a void that has been filled by intermediaries who benefit from the regime's durability. These intermediaries also play a crucial role in the survival of the regime by controlling the peripheries.
Topic:
Islam, Post Colonialism, and Terrorism
Political Geography:
Middle East, Yemen, and Arabia

79. Does Fairness Matter in Global Governance?

Author:
Hakan Altinay
Publication Date:
10-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Brookings Institution
Abstract:
Worldwide, there has been a recent increase in expressions of cynicism. We are reminded that all power is hard power, and that being loved or respected is no substitute for being feared. The great power game of nations always continues, we are forewarned, even when a higher goal or rhetoric is evoked. Superpowers are selfish, arbitrary, and dangerous nations, and they should not be embarrassed to be so and not feel constrained by international legitimacy and laws. We are cautioned against assuming that the rise of the world's emerging powers is doing anything to the status of the United States as the sole superpower. Naturally, it would be a folly to think that global public opinion is, in effect, a “second superpower,” or is even a crucial factor. Such concerns are akin to the Lilliputians binding an unsuspecting Gulliver. Anyone harboring naive views needs to be told that good intentions are, at best, a distraction and a nuisance and, at worst, a recipe for disaster, given their imprudence. Cynics prefer to be unconcerned about the achievements of transnational normative actions, such as abolishing the slave trade or establishing the International Criminal Court.
Topic:
Globalization, Post Colonialism, Power Politics, and Governance
Political Geography:
United States

80. Die Herausforderung lokaler Vielfalt jenseits der westlichen Welt

Author:
Anke Draude and Sonja Neuweiler
Publication Date:
05-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 700
Abstract:
In this paper we intend to examine how postcolonial approaches can be used productively for governance research. The research of the research center (SFB) 700 focuses mainly on areas of limited statehood in postcolonial settings. Postcolonial theories are relevant to this research because they critique the application of Western categories to non-Western contexts. Eurocentric conceptions of governance tend to see the development of Western modernity as a norm by which social phenomena in the non-Western world are measured. By employing such a conception, SFB 700 risks overlooking the diversity of local governance configurations. In this paper we explore the potential of postcolonial critique, when applied to governance research, to better capture these alternative developments in non-Western contexts. The postcolonial discourse focuses on a variety of social, cultural and political developments in postcolonial settings. As a result, it seems particularly qualified to provide insights into concrete governance phenomena in the postcolonial world and to reveal the contingency of Western ideas about governance. To what extent can postcolonial approaches in the humanities and social sciences help us understand the geographical, institutional, and social diversity of governance in postcolonial areas of limited statehood?
Topic:
Political Economy, Post Colonialism, Political Theory, and Governance