scholarly journals Political Representation of Minorities as Collateral Damage or Gain: The Batwa in Burundi and Rwanda

2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stef Vandeginste
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Military Victory

There is a remarkable discrepancy between the political representation of the Batwa ethnic minority group in Burundi compared to in Rwanda. Whereas Rwanda's focus on citizenship prevents the Batwa from claiming recognition as a politically salient societal segment, Burundi's governance model, characterized by ethnic, consociational power-sharing, guarantees the political representation of the Batwa in the legislative assemblies. The difference is mainly due to the various modalities of political transition that both countries have experienced. While in Rwanda, regime change came about through a military victory, Burundi's transition from conflict to peace involved a long and complex peace-negotiations process, with international mediators viewing the armed conflict and its resolution in explicitly ethnic terms. The Arusha Peace and Reconciliation Agreement was a foundational moment for the recognition of the political participation rights of the Batwa in Burundi, despite the fact that they were not actively involved in Burundi's armed conflict, or in the peace negotiations. The comparative analysis in this paper offers insights into the potential of peace processes with respect to improved minority-rights protection following violent conflict.

scholarly journals German Policy in the Eastern Baltic Sea in 1918: Expansion or Anti-Bolshevik Crusade?

Slavic Review ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-357
Author(s):  
Holger H. Herwig
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Military Operations ◽  
The West ◽  
Bolshevik Revolution ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Foreign Office ◽  
Military Victory ◽  
The Military ◽  
Clear Conception

The Bolshevik Revolution in November 1917 offered Germany the first serious prospect of ending the two-front war dilemma. General Erich Ludendorff, anticipating resultant cessation of major military operations in the East, decided to seek a military victory in the West. But the ensuing peace negotiations with the Bolsheviks at Brest-Litovsk revealed basic policy differences within the German camp. Richard Kühlmann, state secretary of the Foreign Office, felt that the Bolshevik victory had sufficiently crippled Russia's armed might and had thereby eased the military burden in the East. Kühlmann as well as his successor, Admiral Paul von Hintze, successfully opposed all proposals to oust the Bolsheviks. Because they both believed that Bolshevik rule would assure long-term chaos in Russia, they sought a compromise peace in the East. The Foreign Office, through the first German ambassadors to Moscow, Count Wilhelm von Mirbach-Harff and Karl Helfferich, even extended financial aid to the Bolsheviks in order to keep them out of the Entente camp. In short, Germany's diplomats possessed a clear conception of their policies regarding the Bolsheviks and were consistent in them, desiring no armed conflict in the East but rather a concentration of military might in the West. The Army Supreme Command, and especially Ludendorff, rejected any compromise formula in the East, despite the decision of November 1917 to seek a military victory in the West. Ludendorff sought to end the war with either victory or defeat. Nonetheless, in the summer of 1918 he proved willing temporarily to accept the plan of the Foreign Office to cooperate with the Bolsheviks and “use” them to attain German goals, a decision that paralleled his original agreement in April 1917 to transport the Bolshevik leaders in Switzerland to Russia.

Consciousness, Identification, and Resistance in South Africa

1983 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M. Du Toit
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Political Power ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Power Sharing ◽  
The Political ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Absence Of Power

Colonial and neo-colonial situations are characterised by an absence of power-sharing, though those who have the political power may allow token participation by others. Tokenism exists in many aspects of life, though typically minority-group members enjoy greater economic and adminstrative rights than political and legislative rights. In the last analysis, the governmanet is not accountable to such minorities because they are not part of the electorate.

scholarly journals Inclusion and Political Representation in Peace Negotiations: The Case of the Colombian Victims’ Delegations

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 272-297 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isa Mendes
Keyword(s):  
Transitional Justice ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
Peace Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Peace And Conflict ◽  
Political Contention

This article discusses the issue of inclusion in peace negotiations, in particular the Colombian peace process with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionárias de Colombia, with special emphasis to a perceived tension between “direct” and “indirect” inclusive initiatives. It argues that, as currently discussed by the Peace and Conflict literature, inclusion tends to be seen as neutral and benign, which leaves little room for critical discussions about the political contention behind peace negotiations deemed “inclusive.” It thus proposes to discuss inclusion through the theoretical lens of political representation and apply such reflections to the specific case of the Colombian victims’ delegations that travelled to Havana in 2014 in order to take part in the table’s discussions on the victims and transitional justice topic. Ultimately, I will argue there was simultaneous utilisation and rejection of the language of representation.

Devine qui s’invite aux élections cette année ! Les minorités visibles et leur représentation politique en Ontario et en Colombie-Britannique (Canada)

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 380-404
Author(s):  
Pascasie Minani Passy ◽  
Abdoulaye Gueye
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Minority Groups ◽  
Political Representation ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
White Majority ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The One ◽  
Représentation Politique

This article deals with the level of political representation of ethnoracial minority groups in the legislative assemblies of Ontario and British Columbia. It aims at evaluating several theories on the level of political representation of ethnoracial minorities on the one hand, and on the difference between the levels of political representation of these groups on the other hand. One of its main inputs is theoretical. First, it introduces a complexification of the residential concentration theory and, above all of the premise of ethnic affinity by suggesting that a distinction should be made between two concepts: on the one hand centripetal ethnic affinity and, on the other hand, transversal ethnic affinity. The first concept deals with emotional tendencies – expressed by concrete acts – of members of an ethnic group to answer favorably to the incitement of individuals (As) who have the same ethnic identity than them (the As), against individuals of a different ethnicity (the Bs). Moreover, the concept of transversal ethnic affinity is of foremost importance here, as we talk about the political dynamism of pluriethnic societies where the distinction between majority and minority is far from enlightening, as each of these entities is composite, including indeed several ethnic groups whose interests converge as much as they differ according to the situations. This concept also draws its usefulness from the opportunity it offers to measure the meaning within the political space of the dichotomy between ‘white majority group’ and ‘racialized minority.’ On the methodological side, this article proceeds from the complete counting of legislative elections’ results that took place in 2018 in Ontario and 2017 in British Columbia, according to two main criteria: a) the ethnoracial identification of elected candidates, and b) the ethnic distribution of the population living in the electoral districts that elected a member of an ethnoracial minority.

Peace Talks and Valid Spokespersons: Explaining the Onset of Negotiations in Southern Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 495-518
Author(s):  
Anders Engvall ◽  
Isak Svensson
Keyword(s):  
Peace Process ◽  
Political Context ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
The Political ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Southern Thailand ◽  
Two Sides

Abstract There have been several attempts to find negotiated solutions to the armed conflicts in Southern Thailand. Yet, these attempts of accommodation and mediated peace negotiations were aborted without any concrete results, with the exception of a formal peace process being officially launched in 2013. What explains the readiness of the parties to the conflict to enter negotiations at this stage, but not at earlier attempts? We argue that the political context can help to explain why some negotiation attempts result in negotiations, whereas others do not. We analyze the factors behind the readiness of the two sides – the Thai state and the Patani separatist insurgency – to sit down for official peace negotiations, focusing on the presence of valid spokespersons, which is an understudied element of ‘ripeness’. This case demonstrates that the problem of finding valid spokespersons may be an obstacle for peace processes especially in religiously defined conflicts.

Современный образ войны и проблема ее трасформации

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
D. A. Abgadzhava ◽  
A. S. Vlaskina
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Armed Conflicts ◽  
Social Progress ◽  
The Political ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
The Past ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Boundaries ◽  
Modern War

War is an essential part of the social reality inherent in all stages of human development: from the primitive communal system to the present, where advanced technologies and social progress prevail. However, these characteristics do not make our society more peaceful, on the contrary, according to recent research and reality, now the number of wars and armed conflicts have increased, and most of the conflicts have a pronounced local intra-state character. Thus, wars in the classical sense of them go back to the past, giving way to military and armed conflicts. Now the number of soldiers and the big army doesn’t show the opponents strength. What is more important is the fact that people can use technology, the ideological and informational base to win the war. According to the history, «weak» opponent can be more successful in conflict if he has greater cohesion and ideological unity. Modern wars have already transcended the political boundaries of states, under the pressure of certain trends, they are transformed into transnational wars, that based on privatization, commercialization and obtaining revenue. Thus, the present paper will show a difference in understanding of terms such as «war», «military conflict» and «armed conflict». And also the auteurs will tell about the image of modern war and forecasts for its future transformation.

Educating Monks

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Borchert
Keyword(s):  
High Schools ◽  
Southeast Asia ◽  
Minority Group ◽  
Junior High Schools ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
The Political ◽  
Theravada Buddhism ◽  
National Politics ◽  
Reform Era ◽  
And Training

Educating Monks examines the education and training of novices and young Buddhist monks of a Tai minority group on China’s Southwest border. The Buddhists of this region, the Dai-lue, are Chinese citizens but practice Theravada Buddhism and have long-standing ties to the Theravāda communities of Southeast Asia. The book shows how Dai-lue Buddhists train their young men in village temples, monastic junior high schools and in transnational monastic educational institutions, as well as the political context of redeveloping Buddhism during the Reform era in China. While the book focuses on the educational settings in which these young boys are trained, it also argues that in order to understand how a monk is made, it is necessary to examine local agenda, national politics and transnational Buddhist networks.

scholarly journals Exploring the role of gender and women in the political economy of health in armed conflict: a narrative review

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Meagher ◽  
Bothaina Attal ◽  
Preeti Patel
Keyword(s):  
Political Economy ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Narrative Review ◽  
Health Systems Strengthening ◽  
The Political ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Political Economy Of Health ◽  
And Gender

Abstract Background The ripple effects of protracted armed conflicts include: significant gender-specific barriers to accessing essential services such as health, education, water and sanitation and broader macroeconomic challenges such as increased poverty rates, higher debt burdens, and deteriorating employment prospects. These factors influence the wider social and political determinants of health for women and a gendered analysis of the political economy of health in conflict may support strengthening health systems during conflict. This will in turn lead to equality and equity across not only health, but broader sectors and systems, that contribute to sustainable peace building. Methods The methodology employed is a multidisciplinary narrative review of the published and grey literature on women and gender in the political economy of health in conflict. Results The existing literature that contributes to the emerging area on the political economy of health in conflict has overlooked gender and specifically the role of women as a critical component. Gender analysis is incorporated into existing post-conflict health systems research, but this does not extend to countries actively affected by armed conflict and humanitarian crises. The analysis also tends to ignore the socially constructed patriarchal systems, power relations and gender norms that often lead to vastly different health system needs, experiences and health outcomes. Conclusions Detailed case studies on the gendered political economy of health in countries impacted by complex protracted conflict will support efforts to improve health equity and understanding of gender relations that support health systems strengthening.

scholarly journals The effects of armed conflict on forest cover changes across temporal and spatial scales in the Colombian Amazon

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oscar V. Bautista-Cespedes ◽  
Louise Willemen ◽  
Augusto Castro-Nunez ◽  
Thomas A. Groen
Keyword(s):  
Armed Conflict ◽  
Forest Cover ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Peace Negotiations ◽  
Post Conflict ◽  
Forest Cover Changes ◽  
The Government ◽  
Colombian Amazon

AbstractThe Amazon rainforest covers roughly 40% of Colombia’s territory and has important global ecological functions. For more than 50 years, an internal war in the country has shaped this region. Peace negotiations between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) initiated in 2012 resulted in a progressive de-escalation of violence and a complete ceasefire in 2016. This study explores the role of different deforestation drivers including armed conflict variables, in explaining deforestation for three periods between 2001 and 2015. Iterative regression analyses were carried out for two spatial extents: the entire Colombian Amazon and a subset area which was most affected by deforestation. The results show that conflict variables have positive relationships with deforestation; yet, they are not among the main variables explaining deforestation. Accessibility and biophysical variables explain more variation. Nevertheless, conflict variables show divergent influence on deforestation depending on the period and scale of analysis. Based on these results, we develop deforestation risk maps to inform the design of forest conservation efforts in the post-conflict period.

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