scholarly journals Sustaining the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: The Role of UN Peacekeeping in Africa

2020 ◽  
pp. 103-121
Author(s):  
Lisa Sharland
Keyword(s):  
Peace Operations ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Peace Operation ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Women And Girls

Abstract Peacebuilding is less likely to succeed without the participation and consideration of women. In the last two decades, peace operations deployed on the African continent under the banner of the United Nations and the African Union have included mandates focused on strengthening women’s participation in peace processes, ensuring the protection of women and girls, and integrating gender considerations into the approach of missions at building sustainable peace. This chapter examines the approaches undertaken in two case study countries—Liberia (where a long-standing UN peace operation has recently departed) and South Sudan (where a UN peace operation continues to operate with significant constraints)—in order to examine some of the challenges and opportunities that UN engagement has offered in terms of advancing equality and women’s security in each country.

scholarly journals Towards Sustainable Mobility? The Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Romanian Mobile Citizens in Spain

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 4023
Author(s):  
Silvia Marcu
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development Goals ◽  
Human Mobility ◽  
Sustainable Mobility ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
New Models ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Depth Interviews

Using the case study of Romanians in Spain, this article highlights how the COVID-19 crisis presents both challenges and opportunities when it comes to human mobility and sustainability. Drawing on in-depth interviews with mobile people during the period of lockdown and circulation restrictions, and in accordance with the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the paper advances and contributes to the relevance of sustainability and its impact on people’s mobility in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. I argue that even in the midst of the crisis, sustainable ways may be found to promote and protect human mobility. The paper raises the way sustainability acts as a driver, gains relevance and influence, and contributes to the creation of new models of resilient mobility in times of crisis. The conclusions defend the respect for the SDGs regarding human mobility and emphasise the role of people on the move as sustainable actors learning to overcome distance and the barriers to their mobility during the pandemic.

scholarly journals Hybridizing UN Peace Operations: The Role of the European Union and Canada

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine St-Pierre
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

The prevalence of hybrid peacekeeping missions on the international stage underscores the increasing flexibility with which the UN can meet the peacekeeping demand. This flexibility results from the growing number of actors that the UN can rely on, allowing in turn for more diverse responses to conflict. However, current confusion surrounding hybrid missions points to the need to further clarify the role of regional actors in hybrid missions and elaborate on the implication of these missions for UN peacekeeping. This paper thus discusses the importance of hybrid missions in peace operations by examining the current nature of European Union (EU) and Canadian contributions to peace operations, and by analysing the implications of these contributions for hybrid missions and UN peacekeeping in general.

scholarly journals The political economy of peacebuilding: The case of women's cooperatives in Nepal

2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Smita Ramnarain
Keyword(s):  
The Political ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Everyday Activities ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Credit Cooperatives ◽  
Peace Initiatives ◽  
Definition Of

Critiques of liberal, top-down approaches to peacebuilding have motivated a discussion of alternative, locally-led, and community-based approaches to achieving and maintaining sustainable peace. This article uses a case study of women's savings and credit cooperatives in post-violence Nepal to examine the ways in which grassroots-based, locally-led peace initiatives can counter top-down approaches. The article presents ethnographic evidence from fieldwork in Nepal on how cooperatives expand through their everyday activities the definition of peace to include not only the absence of violence (negative peace) but transformatory goals such as social justice (positive peace). By focusing on ongoing root causes of structural violence, cooperatives problematize the postconflict period where pre-war normalcy is presumed to have returned. They emphasize local agency and ownership over formal peace processes. The findings suggest ongoing struggles that cooperatives face due to their existence within larger, liberal paradigms of international postconflict aid and reconstruction assistance. Their uneasy relationship with liberal economic structures limit their scale and scope of effectiveness even as they provide local alternatives for peacebuilding.

scholarly journals What can the African diaspora contribute to innovation and knowledge creation? The case study of Zimbabwean innovators

2021 ◽  
Vol 9s1 ◽  
pp. 101-125
Author(s):  
Juliet Thondhlana ◽  
Roda Madziva ◽  
Evelyn Chiyevo Garwe
Keyword(s):  
Brain Drain ◽  
Knowledge Production ◽  
Knowledge Creation ◽  
Highly Qualified ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Rich Countries ◽  
Innovation And Development

The importance of diaspora and transnational knowledge production, innovation, and development is of growing interest, particularly in the developing world. The phenomenal increase in high human capital migration from poor to rich countries has historically led to what is commonly known as brain drain, which has negatively impacted the capacity of such countries to innovate. Yet more recently the emergence of the phenomenon of transnationalism has demonstrated the potential to transform brain drain into brain circulation, for the mutual benefit of both sending and receiving contexts. This article uses the case of Zimbabwe to explore the role of diasporan professionals, scholars, and entrepreneurs in contributing to knowledge production, innovation, and development initiatives in their countries of origin. Zimbabwe is an example of many African countries that have experienced substantial attrition of highly qualified knowledge workers for various reasons. A qualitative approach, involving interviews and documentary evidence, enabled the researchers to engage with the Zimbabwean diaspora to capture their narratives regarding the challenges and opportunities, which were then used to develop successful transnational knowledge production initiatives.

The Opportunities and Challenges of using Email for Political Communication in Authoritarian States

2015 ◽  
pp. 1488-1507 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Takavarasha, Jr. ◽  
Eldred V. Masunungure
Keyword(s):  
Political Communication ◽  
Information Age ◽  
Email Marketing ◽  
Big Brother ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
State Surveillance ◽  
Media Monitoring ◽  
Communicative Space

This chapter uses Illich's (1973) concept of conviviality for analysing the challenges and opportunities of using email for political communication in authoritarian states. Based on evidence from a case study of Zimbabwe's Media Monitoring Project (MMPZ), it contends that while conviviality allows the use of ICTs for political mobilisation, it also enables a counterproductive “big brother” effect. In addition to constant censorship and overt operations, covert strategies are often used for disrupting communication platforms. This calls for a framework for harnessing ICTs for political mobilisation. This chapter is a case study on how perceived state surveillance disrupted a vibrant communicative space in Zimbabwe. Based on evidence from the volumes of email traffic transacted over two weeks of panic, anger, and heroism, the chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities of using email for political mobilisation and warns against uncritical celebration of the role of ICTs in political mobilisation. It concludes by suggesting how the adaption of e-strategies from email marketing to political communication is among the skills that could break the tie between political opponents armed with the same convivial tools for political communication in the information age.

The Case for ‘Trust Awareness’ as a Key Soft-Skill for Peacekeepers

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 224-245
Author(s):  
Sara Singleton ◽  
Anne Holohan
Keyword(s):  
Local Institutions ◽  
Local Ownership ◽  
Soft Skill ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
South Lebanon ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Military Engagement ◽  
Organizational Cooperation

This article uses the case study of the unifil mission in South Lebanon to explore the role of trust in facilitating or obstructing inter-organizational cooperation and local ownership in a traditional UN peacekeeping mission. Peacekeeping is distinct from many other forms of military engagement in the level of cooperation it requires, not only between different national military contingents, but between militaries and international police and civilian staff, personnel from local institutions and municipalities, and local communities. This article argues that the inter-organizational cooperation necessary for effective interoperability will not happen unless there is trust between the militaries working together. Equally, local ownership is not possible unless local populations trust peacekeepers to be impartial. However, this soft skill – awareness of the role of trust and how to engender it – is not included in pre-deployment training for military personnel. We outline the soft skill of ‘trust awareness’, including a typology of trust relevant for peacekeeping, and ‘trust mechanics’- practical actions and behaviors that foster trust.

IHL and Peace Operations: Sharing Canada's lessons learned from Somalia

1998 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 362-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert M. Young ◽  
Maria Molina
Keyword(s):  
Armed Forces ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Background Information ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Canadian Forces ◽  
Peace Operation ◽  
Key Issues

This note briefly reviews certain aspects of international humanitarian law (IHL) arising from the civilian Commission of Inquiry established in Canada on 20 March 1995 to investigate the role of Canadian forces during the multinational peace operation in Somalia in 1992 and 1993.After some background information, we focus on two key issues concerning IHL arising from the Commission's work:(1) The applicability of IHL to a peace operation such as the Canadian deployment to Somalia; and(2) Canada's obligation to provide IHL training to die members of its armed forces.We conclude with some observations on die Commission's impact, including die responses of die Canadian government and die Canadian Forces.

Justice and the Geographies of Moral Protest: Reflections from Mexico

10.1068/d6708 ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa W Wright
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Political Action ◽  
Protest Movements ◽  
Spatial Transformations ◽  
Northern Mexico ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
Women And Girls ◽  
Do So

Protest movements offer a rich vernacular for investigating how the connections between social justice and creating political subjects always involve spatial transformations. In this paper, I put Jacques Derrida's contemplations regarding justice as incalculable in conversation with critiques of public witnessing and the role of empathy for catalyzing political action, and I do so to present some speculations over why a social justice movement in northern Mexico has weakened domestically as it has gained steam internationally. The movement has grown since 1993 in response to the violence against women and girls and the surrounding impunity that has made northern Mexico famous as a place of ‘femicide’. By examining these events in relation to the debates on calculating justice and on the politics of witnessing, I hope to add to the growing literature within and beyond geography on the interplay of emotion and social justice politics while illustrating what is at stake in these dynamics for Mexico's democracy and for women's participation in it.

scholarly journals Inclusion, Justice, and Peace in Colombia

2020 ◽  
pp. 329-344
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Easterday
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Promote Gender Equality ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
Just Peace

This chapter discusses the interplay between inclusion and accountability, using the Colombian peace process as an example. The chapter examines how inclusive input into the peace process, including a referendum, can shape the nature of accountability in post-conflict situations. Drawing on the ‘peace before justice’ debate, the chapter asks whether extensive inclusion can be an impediment to peace, or a guarantor of just peace. It discusses the role of women in the negotiations and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace It concludes that peace processes should be inclusive and promote gender equality to support sustainable peace.

scholarly journals Interrogating the Liberal Peace in East Timor

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Margaret Behrend
Keyword(s):  
East Timor ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Sustainable Peace ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
Liberal Peace ◽  
Immanent Critique ◽  
Human Rights Norms ◽  
Liberal Peacebuilding

<p>Peace operations from the 1990s have increasingly been driven by the assumption that conflict and social unrest can be ‘solved’ through the establishment and support of liberal structures. Known academically as liberal peace, this approach advocates the liberalisation of politics and economics, and the establishment of rule of law and international human rights norms, claiming such liberal structures offer the necessary foundation to lasting peace. This claim has become unquestioned logic for many of the international bodies and individual actors that participate in the peace industry and has led to a standardised approach to post-conflict situations. However, is this “peacebuilding consensus” justified? Does liberal peace foster sustainable peace? This thesis interrogates the concept and application of liberal peace to assess the extent to which liberal peacebuilding delivers on its claims and provides the foundations of sustainable peace. Due to the enormous size of such a project and the limitations of this thesis, I focus on one case study in my analysis of the liberal peace approach – East Timor. Relying on a single example of peacebuilding allows for a more in depth discussion of efforts, however, it is insufficient to draw broader conclusions about liberal peace. This body of research, therefore, is intended to contribute to existing academic work that evaluates liberal peace. Where this thesis deviates from existing research, however, is in the application of an immanent critique to assess liberal peacebuilding in East Timor...</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document