scholarly journals Religion and politics as a dangerous mix: Effects of religiosity on intergroup forgiveness and reconciliation in a post-conflict setting.

Author(s):  
Stipe Odak ◽  
Sabina Čehajic-Clancy
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stipe Odak ◽  
Sabina Cehajic-Clancy

Based on two studies with Bosniak and Croatian students in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the paper analyzes the effects of religiosity on intergroup forgiveness and reconciliation. Both Christianity and Islam advance forgiveness and reconciliation as one of the major moral imperatives. Previous studies also indicate that religiosity can increase readiness to grant forgiveness on the inter-personal level and facilitate rapprochement. When it comes to inter-group level, prescripts of religious piety often conflict with norms of group solidarity and care. Another set of research suggests that religion obstructs conflict transformation due to the dogmatic reasoning it promotes, including reframing of immanent disputes in transcendental (and thus non-negotiable) terms. This study initially tested whether adding religious symbols to conflict narratives impacts prosocial attitudes of respondents and came with negative results. In other words, adding religious codes to already known narratives about conflicts did not have a significant impact on participants’ attitudes. In a subsequent SEM analysis, it was found that religiosity in both groups is strongly correlated with group-centricity, which negatively mediates its relationship with both forgiveness and reconciliation. We conclude that collectivistic forms of religiosity that privilege ingroup solidarity might have negative effects on forgiveness and reconciliation in post-conflict settings.


2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Omer Gokcekus ◽  
Clare Finnegan ◽  
Huseyin Cakal

In addition to legal constraints and social-psychological barriers, in a post-conflict setting mutually beneficial economic transactions might not occur due to the widening gap between the health, quality, and environmental standards of the parties. A lack of incentives during the years of conflict prevent the members of the weaker party, the one economically isolated from the rest of the world, from engaging in the collective learning necessary to upgrade the health and packaging standards of their commodities. In this study, we detail the technical, political, and legal challenges external actors must consider in order to successfully help small businesses in a post-conflict environment. Specifically, we explain how the EU helped Turkish Cypriot beekeepers by supplying funds to support training and educational programs, and upgrade the equipment used by the beekeepers. We demonstrate that third parties, like the EU, can provide the impetus for domestic institutions—such as producers associations, chambers of commerce, and cooperatives—to overcome their collective action problem. [JEL codes: D74, H56, O1]


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-22
Author(s):  
Tatjana Gazibara ◽  
Marija Milic ◽  
Milan Parlic ◽  
Jasmina Stevanovic ◽  
Nebojsa Mitic ◽  
...  

Background: Evidence suggests that people who live in regions affected by the armed conflict are more likely to smoke. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess factors associated with smoking status in a sample of students in the northern Kosovo province. Materials and methods: A total of 514 students enrolled in University in Kosovska Mitrovica, Kosovo, were recruited be- tween April to June 2015 at Student Public Health Center during mandatory health checks. Participants filled in socio-demo- graphic and behavioral questionnaire and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Based on responses about smoking, students were categorized in non-smokers, former smokers, light smokers (1-13 cigarettes/day) and heavy smokers (> 13 cigarettes/ day). Results: Of 514 students, 116 (22.6%) classified themselves as smokers. Higher education level of fathers (Odds ra- tio [OR]=2.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30-6.44, p=0.009), not living with smokers (OR=0.42, 95%CI 0.15-0.97, p=0.017) and longer exposure to second hand smoke (OR=1.07, 95%CI 1.01-1.13, p=0.036) was associated with former smoking. Studying medical and natural sciences (OR=2.07, 95%CI 1.05-4.18, p=0.040), consuming alcohol (OR=2.98, 95%CI 1.19-10.03, p=0.020), living with smokers (OR=2.88, 95%CI 1.49-5.56, p=0.002), longer exposure to second hand smoke (OR=1.06, 95%CI 1.01-1.11, p=0.019) and having a more intense depressive symptoms (OR=1.08, 95%CI 1.03-1.13, p=0.002) was associated with light smoking. Being male (OR=0.22, 95%CI 0.07-0.41, p=0.001), older (OR=1.47, 95%CI 1.21-1.78, p=0.001), living with smokers (OR=3.78, 95%CI 1.69-8.07, p=0.001), longer daily exposure to second-hand smoke (OR=1.10, 95%CI 1.04-1.16, p=0.001), and having more severe depressive symptoms (OR=1.12, 95%CI 1.07-1.18, p=0.001) were associated with heavy smoking. Conclusion: Smoking prevention and cessation programs should include the entire community, because exposure to en- vironmental second hand smoke may facilitate initiation and more intense smoking. Screening of student smokers for depression should be prioritized in the process of rebuilding the framework for primary and secondary prevention in the post-conflict period. Keywords: Students; smoking; tobacco; prevention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 317-330
Author(s):  
Ghassan Elkahlout

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study the feasibility of using the agency-driven housing approach in a post-conflict context. This paper aims to identify the challenges in applying the agency-driven approach within the context of post-conflict housing reconstruction in the Gaza Strip. Design/methodology/approach In this paper, a qualitative research approach was adopted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders and representatives of project beneficiaries. Secondary data drawn from academic papers, articles, technical reports and media reports were also obtained. Findings The findings support doubts in the literature about the feasibility of using the agency-driven approach in post-conflict housing reconstruction. The paper concludes that an agency-driven housing project successfully constructed a few thousand housing units and provided thousands of temporary job opportunities. The project encountered challenges in beneficiary selection; affordability of housing units; access to building materials; governance issues; and delays in implementation. Practical implications This paper offers valuable lessons for decision-makers, planners and architects to build on in future endeavours in Gaza and in similar contexts. Originality/value This paper particularly confirms the challenges of using the agency-driven housing approach in a post-conflict setting. These findings are useful for policy-makers to develop relevant strategies to address housing needs in the Gaza Strip.


2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-513 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaisa Hinkkainen Elliott ◽  
Joakim Kreutz

Previous studies on natural resources and civil wars find that the presence of natural resources increases both civil conflict risk and duration. At the same time, belligerents often cooperate over resource extraction, suggesting a temporal variation in the contest over this subnational space. This study argues that parties fight over natural resources primarily when they expect that the conflict is about to end, as the importance of controlling them increases in the post-conflict setting. In contrast, belligerents that anticipate a long war have incentives to avoid fighting near natural resources since excessive violence will hurt the extraction, trade, and subsequent taxation that provide conflict actors with income from the resource. We test our argument using yearly and monthly grid-cell-level data on African civil conflicts for the period 1989–2008 and find support for our expected spatial variation. Using whether negotiations are underway as an indicator about warring parties’ expectations on conflict duration, we find that areas with natural resources in general experience less intense fighting than other areas, but during negotiations these very areas witness most of the violence. We further find that the spatial shift in violence occurs immediately when negotiations are opened. A series of difference-in-difference estimations show a visible shift of violence towards areas rich in natural resources in the first three months after parties have initiated talks. Our findings are relevant for scholarship on understanding and predicting the trajectories of micro-level civil conflict violence, and for policymakers seeking to prevent peace processes being derailed.


2001 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 244-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J. Brennan ◽  
Camilo Valderrama ◽  
William R. MacKenzie ◽  
Kamal Raj ◽  
Robin Nandy

AbstractThe war in Kosovo in 1999 resulted in the displacement of up to 1.5 million persons from their homes. On the subsequent return of the refugees and internally displaced persons, one of the major challenges facing the local population and the international community, was the rehabilitation of Kosovo's public health infrastructure, which had sustained enormous damage as a result of the fighting. Of particular importance was the need to develop a system of epidemic prevention and preparedness. But no single agency had the resources or capacity to implement such a program. Therefore, a unique six-point model was developed as a collaboration between the Kosovo Institute of Public Health, the World Health Organization, and an international, nongovernmental organization. Important components of the program included a major Kosovo-wide baseline health survey, the development of a provincewide public health surveillance system, rehabilitation of microbiology laboratories, and the development of a local capacity for epidemic response. While all program objectives were met, important lessons were learned concerning the planning, design, and implementation of such a project. This program represents a model that potentially could be replicated in other post-conflict or development settings.


2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 168-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
McKenzie F. Johnson

This article examines the development of Afghanistan’s Environment Law to explore the politics of institutional change in a conflict-affected context. Environment was catapulted to prominence in 2002 when it was included in the agenda for reconstruction under the new transitional government. Subsequent efforts to reconstitute Afghanistan’s environmental institutions culminated in the Environment Law written by the United Nations Environment Programme and other international actors, with input from the Government of Afghanistan. The Environment Law was crafted as a model of best practice, intended to modernize Afghanistan’s legislative foundation. However, it experienced significant content drift during the ratification process. As a result, the Environment Law produced institutions that differed in important ways from those initially proposed. Capitalizing on changes made during ratification, I analyze how actors across governance scales interact to translate development models from international to domestic policy spaces. I draw on both structure- and agent-oriented explanations to argue that changes to the Environment Law reflect attempts to increase structural complementarity between global and local systems of governance and cross-scalar contests over authority in the post/conflict landscape. The data suggest that interactions between domestic and international domains provided an opportunity to challenge institutional meaning and content. Ultimately, exploring how global models are incorporated within local contexts provides explanatory power for understanding institutional development. This is important in conflict studies, where the expansion of security theory to include issues like environment has provided new opportunities for strategic intervention by international actors in managing global conflict and its aftermath.


Policy Papers ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 2004 (50) ◽  
Author(s):  

The information provided in this paper supplements the information presented in the main Board paper. The main paper discusses experiences in reestablishing fiscal management in post-conflict countries. On the basis of the Fiscal Affairs Department technical assistance recommendations to these countries, that paper identifies key priorities for rebuilding fiscal institutions in a post-conflict setting. This background paper provides more detailed information for the six selected countries—Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Lebanon, Mozambique, and Timor-Leste.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 1182-1190

This article is about the urgency of creating and proposing development alternatives to reintegrate former members who belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) into civilian life. On the occasion of the signing of the peace treaty between this group and the Colombian government in 2016; also for the victims and territories with the highest incidence of the conflict in the Colombia-Ecuador border. The general objective was to analyze the forms of productive entrepreneurship as facilitators in the process of reintegration into the post-agreement period in Colombia taking into account the successful experiences in the creation of Ecuadorian companies. The methodology used a quantitative approach, analytical empirical method and descriptive research. The tools to collect information were a survey and an interview; with a sample of 128 reinserted FARC members and 47 Ecuadorian social and solidarity-based economy organizations. The results come from reinserted FARC members located in the Municipality of Tallambí (Colombia) and the social and solidarity-based economy organizations in the Canton of Carchi (Ecuador). The information obtained about directing and entrepreneurship policies came from the two governments (Ecuador and Colombia), and models of creating companies according to the characteristics found. It can be concluded that the majority of reinserted people are youngsters between the ages of 26 and 30, that is, in a productive age, willing to train and assume entrepreneurship proposals to continue their reintegration process and improve their quality of life. This can be possible with the help of the two governments, the social institutions and the international community.


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