scholarly journals Rebuilding health post-conflict: case studies, reflections and a revised framework

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-245
Author(s):  
Spencer Rutherford ◽  
Shadi Saleh

Author(s):  
Lise Rakner ◽  
Vicky Randall

This edition examines the changing nature of politics in the developing world in the twenty-first century, with emphasis on the complex and changing nexus between state and society. It analyses key developments and debates, and this is illustrated by current examples drawn from the global South, tackling a range of issues such as institutions and governance, the growing importance of alternative politics and social movements, security, and post-conflict state-crafting. The text also discusses the Arab Spring and South–South relations and offers new case studies of Syria and the Sudan as well as China, India, and Brazil. This introduction considers the question of the meaningfulness of the Third World as an organizing concept, whether politics is an independent or a dependent variable, and a number of major interconnected global trends that have resulted in a growing convergence in the developing world. It also provides an overview of the organization of this edition.



Author(s):  
Stephen Hopkins

Abstract This article analyses the Irish Provisional Republican movement and the evolution of its approach to the politics of apology. The first section analyses recent scholarship regarding ‘political apologies’, and provides a challenge to the existing literature, which concentrates upon ‘official’ or state apologies, rather than examples involving non-state armed groups (paramilitary or ‘terrorist’ organisations). This section argues that it remains difficult to discern an adequate general model for establishing criteria for a ‘successful’ or ‘sincere’ political apology involving such groups. The second section considers a number of case studies, including the statements of the IRA in 2002, and after the Enniskillen bombing in 1987. It is argued that the Provisional movement’s apologies have not generally proven helpful to its declared aim of post-conflict reconciliation. This article argues that attempted apologies or quasi-apologies by non-state groups may not ameliorate the sense of grievance experienced by victims/survivors, and may also serve to revivify social and political ‘framing battles’ over the past.



2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric-Hans Kramer ◽  
Matthijs Moorkamp ◽  
Max Visser

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide insight in how military expeditionary task forces cope with the dual challenge of organizing and learning, by reflecting on the experiences of Dutch expeditionary task forces in post-conflict missions in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Design/methodology/approach This paper reflects on the outcomes of a research project into the experiences of operators of different specific expeditionary task forces of the Dutch Armed Forces in dealing with everyday problems in their working environment. The case studies were based on interviews with military personnel of all ranks and focused on relating the process of making sense of environmental dynamics to characteristics of the organizational context. Findings The case studies indicate that designing and learning become intertwined in the realities of everyday problem-solving in the more complex missions. As task forces are essentially tailor-made for the purpose of specific missions, units initially need to be selected. Subsequently, the design of the task force needs to be adapted to suit local conditions. This challenge interrelates with the everyday challenge for operators of making sense of their environment and finding pragmatic solutions for the everyday problems they are confronted with. In pragmatically solving everyday problems, operators in the cases engaged in working out incomplete or ill-fitting aspects of the task force design. Practical implications The findings are relevant for military task forces and more in general for organizations that are confronted with dynamically complex environments that rely on temporary structures. Originality/value Existing literatures on learning and on organizing generally treat these as two related but essentially separate phenomena. In the expeditionary military task forces, operators that aimed to develop pragmatic solutions to everyday problems, the processes of learning and organizing became intertwined: units needed to organize to learn and to learn to organize. The paper ends by suggesting a combination of specific circumstances that influences the nature of the interrelation between these processes.



Author(s):  
Adam Kamradt-Scott ◽  
Frank Smith

The participation of military personnel in health-related activities remains highly controversial. Drawing on four case studies that extend from peacetime to post-conflict situations, this chapter analyses where, and under what circumstances, military actors have previously engaged in providing health assistance. It also examines the controversies, criticisms, and perceived benefits that have accompanied that activity. The chapter advances an analytical framework for understanding the types of situations in which military actors have been called upon to assist, and what these signal for future health crises.





Policy Papers ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 2004 (49) ◽  
Author(s):  

This paper provides background information to the paper “MFD Technical Assistance to Recent Post-Conflict Countries.” The paper presents case studies on eight countries: Afghanistan, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Iraq, Kosovo, Serbia, Sierra Leone, and Timor-Leste.



2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-43
Author(s):  
Binod P. Bista

Peace, harmony and development are essential conditions for any society, developed or developing, to progress. The 2011 World Development Report revealed that growing recognition of the link between social services, conflict and peace has helped in inclusion of social services’ provision in peace agreements. A report from ‘Policy Link’ gives equitable development as the key to peace. Music plays a great role in building peace in conflict situations, so does religion, media, performance, theatre. For achieving peaceful conditions there is a need to strike a balance between two extremes including inner and outer peace. Salzburg Global Seminar (2014) focused on using soft power, especially arts and culture, since cultural engagement helps transform perceptions. Case studies referred to in this write up provide sufficient evidence of the high usefulness of arts and culture in every phase of conflict. A detailed portfolio of case studies covering seven countries including Nepal of Asia describes the importance of ‘narratives’ and ‘story telling’, preservation of historical artifacts, photographs etc. for building peace mostly in post conflict stage. The researchers were of the view that the affected persons or beneficiaries needed to be involved right from the beginning of a peace project. British Council’s publication named ‘The Art of Peace’ emphasizes on the importance of local actors’ engagement as well as arts and cultural programs in linking culture, security and development. A project launched by the World Bank and the United Nations, entitled pathways to peace, offered guiding principles, namely, target institutional failure responsible for conflict, to be of inclusive nature, and form sustainable overtime character. Arts and Culture have a distinct place in resolving conflict thus it deserves adequate government support and a networking with other actors such as local municipalities, societies and groups.



PLoS ONE ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. e0139120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Primus Che Chi ◽  
Patience Bulage ◽  
Henrik Urdal ◽  
Johanne Sundby


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Avis

Governments and political parties with an armed history are not unusual, yet how these groups function during and after the transition from conflict has largely been ignored by the existing literature. Many former armed groups have assumed power in a variety of contexts. Whilst this process is often associated with brokered peace agreements that encourage former combatants to transform into political parties, mobilise voters, and ultimately stand for elections, this is not always the case. What is less clearly understood is how war termination by insurgent victory shapes patterns of post-war politics. This rapid literature review collates available evidence of transitions made by armed groups to government. The literature collated presents a mixed picture, with transitions mediated by an array of contextual factors that are location and group specific. Case studies are drawn from a range of contexts where armed groups have assumed some influence over government (these include those via negotiated settlement, victory and in contexts of ongoing protracted conflict). The review provides a series of readings and case studies that are of use in understanding how armed groups may transition in “post-conflict” settings.



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