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91. Economic Agendas in Civil Wars: Defining and Developing the Role of the UN

Author:
Alexandra Guaqueta
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The main objectives of this Symposium were: to examine the emerging empirical evidence on the local and global resources mobilized for internal conflicts; to take stock of the policy responses and tools that are being developed by states, private sector actors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international institutions to manage conflict-promoting economic activities; to examine the effectiveness of emerging initiatives within the United Nations system to address the economic agendas of combatants and to stem the illicit financial and material resource flows that help sustain armed conflict; to identify ways to strengthen the UN's capacity to manage the economic dimensions of armed conflict and complement those of other actors.
Topic:
Civil Society, Economics, International Cooperation, and United Nations

92. Sustainable Peace as Democratization: The Experiences of Haiti and Guatemala

Author:
Sara Lodge, Chetan Kumar, and Karen Resnick
Publication Date:
03-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
This comparison of international efforts to encourage and sustain peace in Guatemala and Haiti derives from the heavy involvement of the international community in peacebuilding in both countries during the 1990s. Civil conflict in both countries has resulted from a combination of exclusionary politics and domination by predatory economic elites. The conclusions advanced below should assist in the assessment of international strategies for addressing political and economic turmoil in similarly distressed countries in the future.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Haiti and Guatemala

93. Discussions at the Release of The Responsibility to Protect

Author:
Simon Chesterman
Publication Date:
02-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Canadian Foreign Minister William Graham and United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan were keynote speakers at a seminar in New York on 15 February to discuss the final report of the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS). Entitled The Responsibility to Protect, the report was released at UN Headquarters last December. The seminar was organized by the International Peace Academy with the support of the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade to allow a frank discussion of the Commission's findings and recommendations. Although journalists were invited to the event, all statements except the keynote speeches were off the record.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Canada

94. Lessons Learned: Peacebuilding in Haiti

Author:
Lotta Hagman
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Peacebuilding is not merely a technical exercise — it is highly political. In a combustible political atmosphere as in Haiti, effective peacebuilding requires careful and sustained management. The importance of a long-term approach cannot be overestimated. In Haiti, the international community was successful in restoring the constitutional government, improving the respect for basic human rights, and initiating economic development. However, for these efforts to take hold and lead to a self-sustaining democratic process, continuous international engagement in Haiti is vital. From this perspective, the cutback in the UN involvement in February 2001 was premature.
Topic:
Civil Society, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Latin America, Caribbean, and Haiti

95. From Promise to Practice: Strengthening UN Capacities for the Prevention of Violent Conflict

Author:
Chandra Lekha Sriram
Publication Date:
01-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
In the fall of 2000, the International Peace Academy commissioned a series of nine case studies examining the practice of preventive action. This study builds on earlier work by IPA identifying important issues for further examination in preventive practice. The cases examined were representative of the broad and increasing scope of preventive action geographically and in terms of approaches deployed—from structural prevention to post conflict peacebuilding as prevention. These cases were Kenya, Fiji, Tanzania (Zanzibar), Tajikistan, Burundi, Georgia (Javakheti), East Timor, Liberia, and Colombia. The cases are being edited and compiled for publication in a subsequent book; this report seeks to draw out central policy lessons for preventive action by the United Nations (UN). Important lessons can be drawn out with implications for each specific situation; more cross-cutting lessons for the UN and other preventive actors can also be derived from the collected cases.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States

96. Empowering Local Actors: The UN and Multi-Track Conflict Prevention

Author:
Ben Rawlence
Publication Date:
12-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
The International Peace Academy convened an international policy workshop in New York on 10 December 2001 in the conference room of Chadbourne and Parke LLP bringing together approximately fifty members of the UN system and civil society representatives from around the world. The purpose of the workshop was to follow up on the June 2001 report of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Prevention of Armed Conflict and address some of the opportunities and challenges involved in working to prevent the outbreak of armed conflict in tandem with relevant local actors.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
New York

97. The Economics of War

Author:
Jake Sherman
Publication Date:
09-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Greed and grievance, or “need, creed and greed,” are all important sources of conflict, though the relative weight of each factor varies across cases and across time. Poverty, social inequality, rapid economic decline, large numbers of young unemployed males, and polarized identity politics may all provide the necessary catalyst for conflict, particularly when accompanied by repressive, illegal or extralegal behavior on the part of governments. Yet, as World Bank economist Paul Collier cautions, what motivates conflict and what makes it feasible are separate issues. In general, the existence of some form of grievance, whether economic, political, or social in nature, appears to be the most persuasive motivation for conflict. Greed, or, more broadly, economic motivations — whether the pursuit of resources for war-financing or for elite self-enrichment—appear more significant in sustaining, prolonging, and transforming conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations

98. Kosovo in Limbo: State-Building and "Substantial Autonomy"

Author:
Simon Chesterman
Publication Date:
08-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
Complex peace operations that involve state-building functions are difficult even when the political outcome is clear, as it is in East Timor. In situations such as Kosovo, where the final status of the territory under administration remains unclear, every aspect of state-building is more politically sensitive and more operationally complex. When this occurs in a highly militarized environment and in an unstable region, any departure from a supposedly “interim” solution becomes more difficult still. The Dayton Accords in Bosnia show the dangers of a difficult peace agreement evolving into a constitutional framework that is both unworkable and impossible to change. The conclusion of hostilities may provide the best incentive for belligerents to compromise, but it may subsequently become impossible to reopen such questions without the threat of renewed violence. Future peace agreements are therefore likely to contain state-building provisions that international institutions will assume the task of overseeing, in some situations without a clear political endpoint and exit strategy. In Kosovo, the elections slated for November 17, 2001, reflect a desire for measurable progress and an indication of when the mission will end. An April 2001 report by the UN Secretary-General on this topic was entitled “No exit without strategy”, warning that the UN has too often withdrawn or dramatically altered a peacekeeping operation, only to see the situation remain unstable or sink into renewed violence. Unfortunately, the attitude of lead actors within the Security Council is too often “no strategy without an exit”. State-building after a war will always take years, perhaps decades, and it is disingenuous to suggest otherwise to domestic publics. Elections and limited devolution notwithstanding, the international community will remain in Kosovo and Bosnia for the foreseeable future, certainly with a strong military presence and with at least a supervisory civilian authority. This is an undesirable outcome of what NATO styles as humanitarian interventions, but it is better than all the alternatives. The fact that UNMIK will remain in control of Kosovo for the foreseeable future raises the question of how it should govern. Within UNMIK, there is an increasing tension between those who regard respect for human rights and the rule of law as central to the institution-building aspect of UNMIK's mandate, and those who see this as secondary to the over-riding concerns of peace and security.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Europe, Bosnia, and Kosovo

99. Managing Security Challenges in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

Author:
Sheila Coutts and Kelvin Ong
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
While a functioning security sector provides the cornerstone for stable and democratic post-conflict societies, the record of the international community in establishing this critical function is mixed. Despite repeatedly having to manage the immediate post-conflict situation in various peace operations in Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America, the international community still fails to take the state of the local security sector adequately into account when planning its own intervention.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Asia, and Latin America

100. The Challenges of Strategic Coordination: Containing Opposition and Sustaining Implementation of Peace Agreements in Civil Wars

Author:
Bruce D. Jones
Publication Date:
06-2001
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Peace Institute
Abstract:
“Strategic coordination” is shorthand for efforts to respond to three common challenges facing thirdparty implementers of peace agreements: incoherence between the mediation and the implementation phases; conflicting approaches within a given phase; and fragmented, contradictory efforts to implement a given strategy. At worst, failure to deal with these challenges can undermine a peace process; at best, they add costs, reduce effectiveness, and slow success.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Human Rights, International Law, International Organization, Migration, and United Nations