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71. Distributional Conflict, the State, and Peacebuilding in Burundi

Author:
Léonce Ndikumana
Publication Date:
08-2005
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
United Nations University
Abstract:
This paper examines the causes of conflict in Burundi and discusses strategies for building peace. The analysis of the complex relationships between distribution and group dynamics reveals that these relationships are reciprocal, implying that distribution and group dynamics are endogenous. The nature of endogenously generated group dynamics determines the type of preferences (altruistic or exclusionist), which in turn determines the type of allocative institutions and policies that prevail in the political and economic system. While unequal distribution of resources may be socially inefficient, it nonetheless can be rational from the perspective of the ruling elite, especially because inequality perpetuates dominance. However, as the unequal distribution of resources generates conflict, maintaining a system based on inequality is difficult because it requires ever increasing investments in repression. It is therefore clear that if the new Burundian leadership is serious about building peace, it must engineer institutions that uproot the legacy of discrimination and promote equal opportunity for social mobility for all members of ethnic groups and regions.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa and Burundi

72. Resolving the Boundary Dispute in Sudan's Abyei Region

Author:
Dorina Bekoe, Kelly Campbell, and Nicholas Howenstein
Publication Date:
10-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The Arab Misseriya and the Ngok Dinka ethnic groups have long held competing claims for access to the cattle grazing pastures and resources of the oil-rich Abyei region in Sudan. Unable to resolve the dispute during negotiations on the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the government and southern representatives agreed to the establishment of the Abyei Boundary Commission (ABC) and tasked it with evaluating historical and conflicting claims to the land and demarcating a border between the groups. The final report of the ABC was completed in July 2005, but the Government of Sudan has yet to publicly release the document or accept its findings, as stipulated in the CPA. The Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM), in contrast, supports the release of the ABC's findings. While the decision by the Government of Sudan to remain silent on the ABC report is unlikely to derail the peace process, releasing the findings of the ABC, one of the first steps in the CPA's implementation process, is an important component of the government's credibility to abide by its commitments in the peace agreement.
Topic:
Ethnic Conflict, Government, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa and Sudan

73. Strategies for Peace in the Niger Delta

Author:
Dorina Bekoe
Publication Date:
12-2005
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The Niger Delta, an area of dense mangrove rainforest in the southern tip of Nigeria, comprises nine of Nigeria's thirty-six states: Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers. The region's oil accounts for approximately 90 percent of the value of Nigeria's exports, but the Niger Delta remains one of Nigeria's least developed regions.
Topic:
Development, Economics, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

74. SIPRI Yearbook 2004: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security (Pocket-size Summary Edition)

Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Abstract:
There were 19 major armed conflicts in 18 locations in 2003. The number of major armed conflicts and the number of conflict locations were slightly lower in 2003 than in 2002, when there were 20 major armed conflicts in 19 locations. Four of the 19 conflicts in 2003 were in Africa and eight in Asia. In the 14-year post-cold war period, there were 59 different major armed conflicts in 48 different locations. The number of major armed conflicts in 2003 was the lowest for the entire period except for 1997, when there were 18 major armed conflicts. Two interstate conflicts were active in 2003: the conflict between Iraq and the multinational coalition; and the conflict between India and Pakistan. The majority of the major armed conflicts today are intra- state. The persistence of intra-state wars, and their resistance to quick solutions, was reflected in 2003 by the continuation of the Colombian and Israeli–Palestinian conflicts. The potential for sudden and rapid escalation of intensity was evident in conflicts such as Burundi, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Liberia and Sudan (Darfur). The current international focus on the threat of terrorism is affecting the strategies, intensity and course of intra-state conflicts such as those in Indonesia and the Philippines. Outside actors cannot enforce a quick peace, as demonstrated in Afghanistan, Côte d'Ivoire, Iraq and Sri Lanka. The year demonstrated that intra-state conflicts can be brought to an end only through sustained and comprehensive external engagement. As illustrated by the peace agreements in 2003 in Liberia and Sudan, external assistance, mediation and support are vital to help bring warring parties to a negotiated end to conflict.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Africa, Sudan, Indonesia, Middle East, India, Asia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Colombia, Liberia, and Burundi

75. CERI: Sudan. From one conflict to the next

Author:
Roland Marchal
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Centre d'Etudes et de Recherches Internationales
Abstract:
The peace agreements that were signed in May 2004 may imply the end of the war in South Sudan. In order to assess the likelihood of success, one has to discuss the changes after the Islamists were brought to power in 1989 by a military coup. Of special interest are the impacts of their internal divisions, the emergence of oil money as significant revenues for the State and the consequences of 9/11 in the Middle East. Moreover, difficulties to implement the agreements in South Sudan should not be underplayed. The underdevelopment of this region, the existence of militias still supported by Khartoum and the history of the civil war among Southern Sudanese could give room to bitter divisions and proxy wars involving Khartoum's government. The current crisis in Darfur reflects the weaknesses of the peace process despite a strong international involvement. Structural issues such as citizenship have not been addressed and this very crisis shows how little the regime intends to reform itself.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa, Middle East, and South Sudan

76. Providing Security for People: Enhancing Security through Police, Justice, and Intelligence Reform in Africa

Author:
Chris Ferguson and Jeffrey O. Iisma
Publication Date:
09-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform
Abstract:
Security Sector Reform has continued to emerge as a powerful organising force among international actors dedicated to conflict prevention and poverty reduction. As the broader strands of the SSR concept are becoming increasingly recognisable and understood it will be important to emphasise that effective SSR implementation requires a balanced approach across the whole security sector.
Topic:
Security, Development, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa

77. The Pros and Cons of Subsidiarity: The Role of African Regional and Subregional Organisations in Ensuring Peace and Security in Africa

Author:
Bjørn Moller
Publication Date:
12-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The paper critically analyses the emerging international norm of subsidiarity according to which "Africa are responsible for African conflicts", which is found to be a possible justification for "buck-passing" on the part of the West, leaving the continent with the fewest military means to deal with the largest number of the most destructive armed conflicts. The paper then provides an overview of the various regional and subregional organisations in Africa, including the African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) as well as a host of less important organisations. It concludes with a survey of the various forms of support promised to these organisations by the West.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa

78. Strengthening African Security Capacities

Author:
Lousie Mørup
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
In preparation for the expected Danish membership of the UN Security Council in 2005 DIIS organised a conference to discuss how to strengthen African conflict prevention and management capacities and make the most of Denmark's Africa Programme for Peace. This brief sums up some of the main ideas which were presented at the conference. The discussion bore witness to the complexity of the issue and the tremendous tasks ahead facing the African regional organisations, and made it clear to this author that Denmark has to prioritise its efforts to a few areas where it can make a difference in the two years of its expected UN Security Council membership.
Topic:
Security, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa

79. The Dignity of Difference: A Salute to Jonathan Sacks

Author:
Fred Dallmayr
Publication Date:
12-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame
Abstract:
In the teeth of its modern despisers, religion has made a comeback in our time — for good or ill. Too often, the negative side is in the limelight. What Gilles Kepel has called the “revenge of God” on inspection usually turns out to be the ill will and vengefulness of religious communities and their leaders. The litany of contemporary religious clashes — or conflicts in good part spawned by religious motives — is long and depressing: Christians pitted against Muslims in Africa and the Balkans; Jews against Palestinians in the Near East; Hindus against Muslims in India and Kashmir; Hindus against Buddhists in Sri Lank, not to forget the old feud between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Globalization, Peace Studies, and Religion
Political Geography:
Africa, India, Kashmir, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Balkans, and North Ireland

80. The Carter Center News, Spring 2003

Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
Leaders from the Western Hemisphere called on their governments at the conclusion of a Carter Center conference to implement partial public funding of campaigns and fully disclose election donations and expenditures to help restore confidence in government.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Development, and Peace Studies
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, and South America