Human Security and the Limits of International Intervention: a Comparison of Post-conflict Angola and Mozambique

Author(s):  
Chris Alden
Author(s):  
Sarah G. Phillips

For all of the doubts raised about the effectiveness of international aid in advancing peace and development, there are few examples of developing countries that are even relatively untouched by it. This book offers us one such example. Using evidence from Somaliland’s experience of peace-building, the book challenges two of the most engrained presumptions about violence and poverty in the global South. First, that intervention by actors in the global North is self-evidently useful in ending them, and second that the quality of a country’s governance institutions (whether formal or informal) necessarily determines the level of peace and civil order that the country experiences. The book explores how popular discourses about war, peace, and international intervention structure the conditions of possibility to such a degree that even the inability of institutions to provide reliable security can stabilize a prolonged period of peace. It argues that Somaliland’s post-conflict peace is grounded less in the constraining power of its institutions than in a powerful discourse about the country’s structural, temporal, and physical proximity to war. Through its sensitivity to the ease with which peace gives way to war, the book argues, this discourse has indirectly harnessed an apparent propensity to war as a source of order.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 6-15
Author(s):  
Kristina Proulx

Whereas much of the existing scholarship focuses on the implications of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict reconstruction as a tool of war, this paper instead seeks to explore the implications of sexual exploitation and abuse at the hands of peacekeepers. As allegations of sexual violence by peacekeepers have continued to persist, these reports identify a potential legitimacy crisis not only for peacekeeping operations and the United Nations, but of the evolving concept of human security. Constituting a paradigm shift of sorts, the streamlining of the concept of ‘human security’ has visibly begun to influence and change global politics and institutions. This paper explores these additional considerations while identifying two specific challenges to addressing the problem, specifically militarized masculinity and the fragile and complex environments in which peacekeeping operations operate in.


Author(s):  
Paul Jackson

Africa is a place of enormous variation and its countries have had very different postcolonial experiences. However, it is clear that since the 1940s peace has been elusive for many across the continent. A series of wars driven by poverty, identity, political economy, and failing states led to a widespread crisis of governance and extensive international intervention. Reductions in the security capabilities of states have also led to the growth of violent transnational groups, particularly those related to Islamic extremism in the Maghreb, Nigeria, and Somalia but also criminal networks involved with drug and people smuggling. This wide variety of conflicts also generated an equally wide range of responses as the international community began to develop ways of combating conflicts through reform of its own peacekeeping capacity. The optimism of the 1992 Agenda for Peace, which called for the UN to become the central instrument in the prevention and ending of conflicts, has given way to a more sanguine approach, as mixed results have led to diverse outcomes for African countries and Africa’s own peace and security architecture. In the end, despite the rapid development of important local and localized bottom-up peacebuilding initiatives, the state remains central to the overarching aims of peace and stability across the continent. It is here where the variations in performance can be found in conflict prevention, peacekeeping, and post-conflict reconstruction.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Siitonen

There is a possible conflict between two current policy guidelines in post-conflict countries, human security, and state rebuilding. This article analyzes how weak statehood and low human security are mutually interlinked in complex ways in the case of post-conflict Nepal. The analysis is based on economic, political, and social data, recent reports by international organizations and NGOs, as well as on statements by major politicians and political parties. A dilemma can be identified in post-conflict Nepal: in order to remedy weak statehood and decrease the level of crime, the presence of the state in the rural areas needs to be enhanced. Yet people feel mistrust toward the police and state administration, which keep many people marginalized. Therefore external actors, particularly the EU, should strengthen their support for democratization of the state while at the same time keeping an eye on the peace process.Spanish Existe un posible conflicto entre dos orientaciones de las políticas actuales en los países post-conflicto: la seguridad humana y la reconstrucción del Estado. Este artículo analiza cómo la debilidad estatal y la seguridad humana están mutuamente relacionadas entre sí de manera compleja en el caso del post-conflicto en Nepal. El análisis se basa en los datos económicos, políticos y sociales, en los últimos informes de las organizaciones internacionales y no-gubernamentales, así como en las declaraciones de los más importantes políticos y partidos políticos. Es posible identificar un dilema en el Nepal post-conflicto: con el fin de fortalecer al Estado débil y disminuir el nivel de la criminalidad, es preciso mejorar la presencia del Estado en las zonas rurales. Sin embargo, la gente siente desconfianza hacia la policía y la administración estatal, que mantienen a un gran número de personas en la marginalidad. Por lo tanto los actores externos, especialmente la UE, deben fortalecer su apoyo a la democratización del Estado a la vez que deben estar atentos al proceso de paz.French Il existe une possibilité de conflit entre les deux actuelles lignes directrices en matière de politiques dans les pays en sortie de guerre, à savoir entre la sécurité humaine et la reconstruction de l'État. Cet article analyse comment un état défaillant et une faible sécurité humaine sont reliés mutuellement de façon complexe dans le contexte d'après-guerre au Népal. L'analyse est basée sur des données économiques, politiques et sociales, des rapports récents d'organisations internationales et d'ONG, ainsi que sur les discours des plus importants politiciens et partis politiques. Un dilemme apparaît dans le cas du Népal : afin de renforcer le pouvoir de l'État et de diminuer les taux de criminalité, la présence de l'État doit être accrue dans les milieux ruraux. Or, la population montre une certaine méfiance envers la police et l'administration publique, instances considérées comme responsables de la marginalisation d'une grande partie de la société. C'est pourquoi des acteurs externes, telle l'Union Européenne, devraient renforcer leur aide à la démocratisation de l'État et surveiller en même temps le processus de paix.


10.5334/bcm ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oya Dursun-Özkanca

This Security Sector Reform (SSR) Paper offers a universal and analytical perspective on the linkages between Security Sector Governance (SSG)/SSR (SSG/R) and Sustainable Development Goal-16 (SDG-16), focusing on conflict and post-conflict settings as well as transitional and consolidated democracies. Against the background of development and security literatures traditionally maintaining separate and compartmentalized presence in both academic and policymaking circles, it maintains that the contemporary security- and development-related challenges are inextricably linked, requiring effective measures with an accurate understanding of the nature of these challenges. In that sense, SDG-16 is surely a good step in the right direction. After comparing and contrasting SSG/R and SDG-16, this SSR Paper argues that human security lies at the heart of the nexus between the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations (UN) and SSG/R. To do so, it first provides a brief overview of the scholarly and policymaking literature on the development-security nexus to set the background for the adoption of The Agenda 2030. Next, it reviews the literature on SSG/R and SDGs, and how each concept evolved over time. It then identifies the puzzle this study seeks to address by comparing and contrasting SSG/R with SDG-16. After making a case that human security lies at the heart of the nexus between the UN’s 2030 Agenda and SSG/R, this book analyses the strengths and weaknesses of human security as a bridge between SSG/R and SDG-16 and makes policy recommendations on how SSG/R, bolstered by human security, may help achieve better results on the SDG-16 targets. It specifically emphasizes the importance of transparency, oversight, and accountability on the one hand, and participative approach and local ownership on the other. It concludes by arguing that a simultaneous emphasis on security and development is sorely needed for addressing the issues under the purview of SDG-16.


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