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1372. Constitution Writing and Conflict Resolution
- Author:
- Jennifer Widner
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Over 1975-2003 nearly 200 new constitutions were drawn up in countries at risk of conflict, as part of peace processes and the adoption of multiparty political systems. The process of writing constitutions is considered to be very important to the chances of sustaining peace, and The Commonwealth and the US Institute for Peace have developed good practice guidelines in this area. These emphasize consultation, openness to diverse points of view and representative ratification procedures. But assessing the impact of constitution-writing processes on violence is methodologically difficult, since there are many channels of influence in the relationship. This paper reports on preliminary findings from an ongoing research project into the effects of processes in constitution-writing. Regression analysis is used to control for important contextual features such as differences in income levels and ethnic diversity across countries. A key finding is that differences in the degree of participation in the drafting of constitutions has no major effect on post-ratification levels of violence in some parts of the world, such as Europe, but does make a difference in Africa, the Americas, and the Pacific together.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Peace Studies, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Africa, United States, America, and Europe
1373. Transforming Conflict with an Economic Dividend: The Sri Lankan Experience
- Author:
- Saman Kelegama
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Peace can generate an economic dividend, which can be further increased by appropriate economic reform. This dividend can in turn be used to raise popular support for conflict resolution measures along the road to achieving a final political settlement, a strategy that characterizes the recent period in Sri Lanka. However, despite an increase in economic growth following the cessation of hostilities between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the government, no substantial dividend materialized for either government supporters in the South or LTTE supporters in the war-torn Northeast. The causes of this failure include delays in disbursing aid which would have eased adjustment to economic reforms—resulting in cuts to public spending that affected Southern households—and weak institutions that impeded the effective use of aid in the Northeast. The Sri Lankan experience highlights some important lessons for both government and donors on making use of an economic lever for consolidating a peace process and conflict resolution. It also highlights some of the dangers in relying too much on economic levers to consolidate a peace process when levels of mistrust are very high.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Asia and Sri Lanka
1374. Conflicts, Poverty and Human Development in Northern Uganda
- Author:
- Justine Nannyonjo
- Publication Date:
- 08-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- The long-running conflict in northern Uganda has led to major violations of human rights against civilians, destruction of infrastructure, reduced access to social services, and paralysed economic activity. Creating peace and fostering reconciliation in the region have not been successful either, thereby hindering development and relief activities, which are further constrained by in sufficient funding, and lack of capacity at the district and community levels. The main challenges for reconstruction in northern Uganda are therefore to: (i) achieve peace and reconciliation (ii) provide basic social services to the affected areas (iii) strengthen government capacity to coordinate development and relief activities and (iv) harmonize interventions by the various stakeholders to achieve increased flexibility and transparency.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Poverty
- Political Geography:
- Uganda and Africa
1375. 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
1376. Post-Conflict Recovery: Does the Global Economy Work for Peace?
- Author:
- Tony Addison
- Publication Date:
- 06-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- United Nations University
- Abstract:
- Countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Angola, and Sierra Leone are now attempting to recover from major wars, often amidst continuing insecurity. The challenge is to achieve a broad-based recovery that benefits the majority of people. The economic and social recovery of conflict-affected countries cannot be separated from their interaction with the rest of the world through flows of finance, goods, and people. Unfortunately, the global economy is not working well for peace. Trade reform, in particular, must take account of the need to create better, and non-violent, livelihoods for the world's poor: rich-country protectionism in agriculture hinders broad-based recovery and thereby harms the new international security agenda. Post-conflict economies also need more external finance to support early institutional development and reform, thereby increasing the effectiveness of longer-term aid inflows.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Globalization
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Middle East, Sierra Leone, and Angola
1377. (In)accessibility of the knowledge society: a critical reading of the production of modern sociology
- Author:
- Daniel Muriel
- Publication Date:
- 12-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- CONfines de Relaciones Internacionales y Ciencia Política
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this article is to develop an approximation of the concept of a society of knowledge while trying to avoid the risks that this implies when using a modernist perspective of sociology. The author reviews the different major phases of change described by modern sociologists since the second half of the 20th century. The article provides a critical review of modern sociological thought in relation to a plausible formulation of a knowledgable society as a conceptual tool that helps us to understand certain contemporary problems.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civil Society, Development, and Education
1378. PRTs in Afghanistan: Successful but not Sufficient
- Author:
- Peter Viggo Jakobsen
- Publication Date:
- 04-2005
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Danish Institute for International Studies
- Abstract:
- The report analyses the contributions made by the provincial reconstruction teams (PRTs) on the ground in Afghanistan. It concludes that the PRTs are successful because they have helped to extend the authority of the Afghan government beyond Kabul, facilitated reconstruction and dampened violence. At the same time, it is equally clear that they cannot address the underlying causes of insecurity in Afghanistan. The PRTs only make sense as part of an overall strategy in which they serve to buy time while other instruments are employed to tackle the military threat posed by the Taliban and Al Qaida; the infighting between the warlords; the increased lawlessness and banditry; and the booming opium poppy cultivation and the drug trade. A comprehensive strategy that couples the deployment of more PRTs by NATO with determined action against these causes of instability is therefore required. Future PRTs should be based on the UK PRT model, which is generally considered the most successful. To heighten its profile in Afghanistan, Denmark should consider establishing a PRT of its own or contributing to the establishment of a joint Nordic PRT.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, NATO, and Development
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, United Kingdom, Middle East, and Denmark
1379. The Impact of Unemployment on Individual Well-Being in the EU
- Author:
- Namkee Ahn, Juan Ramón García, and Juan Francisco Jimeno
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Centre for European Policy Studies
- Abstract:
- Among the working-age population, one of the most damaging individual experiences is unemployment. Many previous studies have confirmed the devastating effects of unemployment on individual well-being, both pecuniary and non-pecuniary. Using the data from the European Community Household Panel survey, we examine the factors that affect unemployed workers' well-being with respect to their situations in their main vocational activity, income, housing, leisure time and health in Europe.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Human Welfare
- Political Geography:
- Europe
1380. CATO Institute: Downsizing the Federal Government
- Author:
- Chris Edwards
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Cato Institute
- Abstract:
- The federal government is headed toward a financial crisis as a result of chronic overspending, large deficits, and huge future cost increases in Social Security and Medicare. Social Security and Medicare would be big fiscal challenges even if the rest of the government were lean and efficient, but the budget is littered with wasteful and unnecessary programs.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Economics, and Government
- Political Geography:
- United States