Conflict-Related Sexual Violence and the Re-Escalation of Lethal Violence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert U Nagel
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Group Dynamics ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Intrastate Conflict ◽  
Lethal Violence ◽  
Rebel Group ◽  
Conflict Termination

Abstract To what extent does sexual violence influence the likelihood of re-escalating lethal violence after a period of inactivity? Despite a substantive body of research that explores conflict recurrence, the literature has largely neglected the role of rebel group dynamics. I address this gap arguing that reports of rebel sexual violence in periods deemed inactive because of low numbers of casualties are associated with greater risks of escalating lethal violence. Specifically, building on research that shows an association between recruitment and rape as a socialization method during civil war, I argue that reports of sexual violence indicate that rebels are maintaining and mobilizing fighters in inactive conflict years. I systematically test this argument on all inactive intrastate conflict years from 1989 to 2015 using the updated Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict dataset and Armed Conflict Termination dataset. The results provide robust support for the argument that a re-escalation of lethal violence following inactive periods is more likely when rebels are reported to perpetrate sexual violence in both active and subsequent inactive periods.

Rebel Fragmentation and the Recruitment of Child Soldiers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher M Faulkner ◽  
Austin C Doctor
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Child Soldiers ◽  
Recruitment Strategies ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Rebel Group ◽  
Cross National

Abstract The recruitment and use of children in armed conflict remains a prevalent feature of modern civil war. But which conflict actors are more likely to recruit children? We argue that the process by which rebel groups form shapes their recruitment strategies. Specifically, we contend that rebels that form as splinter factions from the ranks of pre-existing rebel organizations are more likely to recruit child soldiers than other rebel groups. Splinter groups face unique constraints as they materialize in the midst of an active conflict environment, necessitating that they mobilize a sufficient force to contend with existing competitors. As a result, rebel factions are more likely to pursue recruitment strategies that are low cost vis-à-vis alternatives, focusing on their immediate survival. Under such conditions, children become especially attractive recruits. Leveraging the Foundations of Rebel Group Emergence Dataset, our cross-national investigation of 237 rebel groups active between 1989 and 2011 provides robust support for our hypothesis that splinter factions are strongly associated with the recruitment of children.

The Response to Violence against Women in Côte d’Ivoire

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-120
Author(s):  
Peace A. Medie
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Cote D'ivoire ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Police Force ◽  
Security Sector ◽  
The Government

This chapter covers the state’s, the women’s movement’s, and international actors’ responses to rape and domestic violence before, during, and after the Ivoirian conflict. It explains that unlike Liberia, there was some government and civil society attention to violence against women before the outbreak of armed conflict in 2002. Pressure from the UN and other international actors also contributed to the introduction of initiatives within the security sector to address violence against women during the conflict, including a specialized mechanism within the police force. The chapter explains how the UN’s attention to sexual violence during the Ivoirian conflict increased after the second civil war and generated pressure on the government to create the gender desks.

Talking to the Shameless?: Sexual Violence and Mediation in Intrastate Conflicts

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (8) ◽  
pp. 1832-1859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Ulrich Nagel
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Conflict Management ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Public Knowledge ◽  
Ir Theory ◽  
Intrastate Conflict ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Intrastate Conflicts ◽  
Gender Lens

To what extent, does sexual violence influence the likelihood of conflict management in intrastate conflicts? Despite a growing body of research that explores conflict-related sexual violence, the literature presents little insight on its effects on conflict resolution. Extending feminist international relations (IR) theory to intrastate conflicts and applying a gender lens to the power to hurt argument, I argue that when rebel sexual violence is public knowledge, the likelihood of conflict management increases because the state perceives it as a threat to its masculinity. I systematically test this argument on all intrastate conflict years from 1990 to 2009 using the Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict and the Civil War Mediation data set. The results provide robust support for the argument. This presents an important refinement of traditional rationalist conflict bargaining theories and opens new avenues for the research and practice of conflict management.

The dialogue of difference: gender perspectives on international humanitarian law

2010 ◽  
Vol 92 (877) ◽  
pp. 31-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Durham ◽  
Katie O'Byrne
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Potential Usefulness ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Gender Perspective ◽  
Gender Perspectives ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Do So

AbstractThis article examines the meaning and potential usefulness of a ‘gender perspective’ on international humanitarian law (IHL). In order to do so, it considers a number of ‘gendered’ themes found within IHL, including the role of women as combatants, and the gendered use of sexual violence during times of armed conflict. The authors suggest that further development and understanding of a gender perspective will contribute to the resilience and effectiveness of IHL as a system of law, and will strengthen the protection of those who are victimized and disempowered during times of war.

scholarly journals A criminal tribunal and a wide-ranging reparation programme is necessary for the victims of sexual violence and torture in Iraq

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 110-124
Author(s):  
Bojan Gavrilovic ◽  
Stephanie Schweininger
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Violence ◽  
International Law ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Sexual Slavery ◽  
Primary Object ◽  
International Discourse ◽  
Forced Prostitution ◽  
Legal Frameworks

The frequency and extreme nature of sexual violence committed in Iraq, primarily by the self-declared Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from 2014 onwards, has shocked the international community. Now, four years later, victory over ISIL has been proclaimed but addressing past atrocities and their consequences has barely begun. There is a wide discrepancy between Iraq’s human rights obligations, stressed by the United Nations (UN), and the reality on the ground, shaped by the Iraqi authorities. The present paper aims to highlight this discrepancy by providing an overview of the crimes committed, their qualification under international law, and the efforts of Iraqi authorities to punish those responsible. It will also discuss legal frameworks and the role of the UN, before positing some possible solutions. Object of the inquiry. The primary object of this inquiry is the conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) that has taken place in Iraq since 2014. The term CRSV is used in the international discourse to designate sexual violence occurring during or following armed conflict. UN bodies have set a gravity threshold for defining CRSV—incidents or patterns of acts of sexual violence such as “rape, sexual slavery, forced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity” (UN Action Against Sexual Violence in Conflict, 2011, p. 3)

scholarly journals ‘No peace, no war’ proponents? How pro-regime militias affect civil war termination and outcomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 64-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huseyn Aliyev
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
War Termination ◽  
Intrastate Conflicts ◽  
State Actors ◽  
War Outcomes ◽  
Conflict Termination ◽  
Extra State ◽  
Conflict Outcomes

Previous research on non-state actors involved in civil wars has tended to disregard the role of extra-dyad agents in influencing conflict outcomes. Little is known as to whether the presence of such extra-dyadic actors as pro-regime militias affects conflict termination and outcomes. This article develops and tests a number of hypotheses on the pro-government militias’ effect upon civil war outcomes. It proposes that pro-regime militias involved in intrastate conflicts tend to act as proponents of ‘no peace, no war’, favouring low-activity violence and ceasefires over other conflict outcomes. These hypotheses are examined using an expanded dataset on pro-government militias and armed conflict in a statistical analysis of 229 civil war episodes from 1991 to 2015. These findings shed new light on the role of extra-state actors in civil wars.

Intrastate Armed Conflict Termination and Foreign Direct Investment

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daehee Bak ◽  
Hoon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Direct Investment ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Direct Investment ◽  
Intrastate Conflict ◽  
Peace Agreement ◽  
Major Power ◽  
Fdi Inflows ◽  
Internal Armed Conflict ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Conflict Termination

Abstract Does intrastate conflict termination increase foreign direct investment (FDI)? Why do some countries receive rapid FDI inflows after an internal armed conflict ends, while others do not? As a key explanation, we focus on the different types of conflict termination that send different signals to foreign investors. We argue that post-conflict countries receive more FDI when an intrastate conflict ends in a decisive manner because decisive termination lowers the risk of conflict resumption that creates precarious investment climates. Using the UCDP armed conflict termination data from 1970 to 2009, we empirically find that countries emerging from an intrastate conflict that ends in one side's victory, in particular government victory, and that ends in a peace agreement with major power involvement attract more FDI over the course of post-conflict years.

Civil Conflict and Development

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Håvard Hegre
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Cognitive Ability ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Indirect Effect ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
State Capacity ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Future Prospects ◽  
The Relationship

This article examines the relationship between civil conflict and development. After outlining definitions of conflict and development, it considers a number of explanations of why they are empirically related. The extent to which conflict, such as civil war, is due to development is discussed, along with how conflict affects development. The article then describes the routes through which conflict reduces development, namely destruction, disruption, diversion, and dis-saving. It also considers why development reduces the risk of conflict, paying particular attention to poverty as motivation for conflict, opportunities for violence entrepreneurs, poor state capacity, decreased lootability in diversified economies, higher costs to violence in densely interacting societies, indirect effect through political institutions, and education and the cognitive ability to maintain peaceful relations. The article concludes by assessing future prospects for the conflict–development linkage, as well as the role of development in reducing incidences of armed conflict worldwide.

Impact of Rebel Group Ideology on Wartime Sexual Violence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehwish Sarwari
Keyword(s):  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
The Other ◽  
Religious Groups ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Rebel Group

Abstract Does rebel group ideology influence variation in wartime sexual violence? While existing studies have explored country-level and conflict-specific factors to explain wartime sexual violence, it is important to recognize that rebels vary in their characteristics and sexual violence behavior. Specifically, rebel groups differ in their values regarding gender equality. I argue that the ideological preferences held by rebels and their foreign supporters can influence sexual violence during armed conflict. Particularly, I make the claim that rebels influenced by a leftist ideology are less likely to commit wartime sexual violence, whereas religious groups, Islamist and non-Islamist, are more likely to perpetrate such violence. Using a statistical analysis to explore the effects of ideology of rebel groups on sexual violence during the period of 1989–2008, I find that leftist rebels commit lower levels of wartime sexual violence. Furthermore, findings reveal that leftist organizations that receive support from leftist third parties are less likely to perpetrate sexual violence. Religious rebels who receive support from conservative supporters, on the other hand, are more likely to commit sexual violence.

The Role of Regional Organizations in Reducing Organized Rape

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 102-110
Author(s):  
Amal Annooz ◽  
Qasem Janabi
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Sexual Violence ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
European Convention ◽  
International Peace ◽  
Regional Organizations ◽  
Peace And Security

Abstract Organized rape in armed conflict is one of the most serious violations of human rights, which creates a clear crisis in the identity of the other party and solidifies the sense of bitterness of defeat. Rape in armed conflicts is thus different from that of others, which can have a negative impact on social and international peace and security. Conservative and racially conservative societies are also affected by systematic organized gang rape, which occurs systematically from parties to a non-international armed conflict or within the policy of the aggressor State in the event of an international armed conflict. In contrast to the efforts made by the United Nations to curb organized rape, regional organizations have made little effort in this direction. The role of regional organizations in the framework of Chapter VIII of the UN. Charter in reducing armed conflicts and protecting human rights, and in cooperation of the United Nations and the Security Council in the task of maintaining international peace and security. The European Convention on Human Rights has established a mechanism to monitor the extent to which individuals enjoy their rights and freedoms and the extent to which States parties respect them. The US Convention on Human Rights followed the same approach as the European Convention, but through the regulatory body of the American Commission on Human Rights and the American Court of Human Rights. Although women and children suffered systematic rape as a result of armed conflict on the African continent, the African Charter on Human Rights did not provide the necessary mechanisms to curb crimes of sexual violence, and the Arab Charter on Human Rights did not play a role in the face of organized rape. We therefore considered the adequacy of the provisions of the International Bill and the mechanisms of action of regional organizations in curbing the crimes of sexual violence, organized rape in particular in places of non-international armed conflict, and whether organized rape can be considered a violation of personal liberty and dignity. Or is it a crime against humanity? And other questions that can be raised, which we will try to answer in the context of this research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document