scholarly journals The Political Conditions for Local Peacemaking: A Comparative Study of Communal Conflict Resolution in Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (13-14) ◽  
pp. 2061-2096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Elfversson

How does government bias affect prospects for peace agreements in communal conflicts? Government bias has been shown to have a strong impact on the incidence and dynamics of localized ethnic conflict, but the way that it affects conflict resolution remains underexplored. I argue that government bias makes the conflict parties less likely to overcome the commitment problem, because they cannot trust the government’s willingness to guarantee or uphold any agreement they reach. Consequently, bias reduces the chances that the parties are able to reach a peace agreement. A systematic comparison of four cases in Kenya provides support for this argument. I also distinguish between bias related to strategic interest and bias related to relationships, and find that the former is more durable, whereas the latter is more likely to be influenced by political turnover, thereby opening up possibilities for peacemaking.

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-132
Author(s):  
Kazuhiro Obayashi

Most of the previous studies of power-sharing arrangements (PSAs) find the political PSA to be ineffective in stabilizing post-agreement peace. These studies argue that the political PSA is a signal that is not costly enough to moderate the information asymmetry or commitment problem among the signatories. In this article, I develop an alternative theory of the political PSA that identifies its “negative” effect on post-agreement stability by highlighting two issues that have attracted little attention in the previous studies, i.e. distributional effects of the political PSA and shifts in the bargaining power among the signatories. To assess the validity of the theory, I first conduct a logistic regression analysis of inclusion of political PSA provisions in peace agreements, and then conduct a survival analysis of post-agreement peace duration.


2010 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 813-827
Author(s):  
Oana Sînziana Păltineanu

This article focuses on Miroslav Hroch's book titled Social Preconditions of National Revival in Europe and it tries to build on Hroch's model of small nation-formation mainly on a methodological level. The aim is to incorporate the “subjective” dimension in Hroch's analysis of the “objective” factors that lead to nation-formation, by opening up the discursive level to investigation. I suggest that the comparative study of nation-formation needs to remain connected to the study of nationalism as a phenomenon, including the investigation of the discursive plane, of the political languages, and histories of concepts. In this sense, the article seeks to link Hroch's work to Begriffsgeschichte and to present a range of interpretations on how these two could work together, on a methodological level. The answers come mainly from Reinhart Koselleck's theorizing on the relation between social history and the history of concepts. This article also addresses compatibility problems that aim to encourage a more integrative type of analysis that would entail an in-depth and critical revisiting of Hroch's model. At the same time, Hroch's model proves to be flexible enough to be situated at the intersection of more types of history writing.


Author(s):  
Jok Madut Jok

Abstract Common to most protracted conflicts that relapse into war is a disconnect between elites and local communities, which typically suffer the most when the former undermine peace agreements to further their own narrow interests. The central argument in this chapter, drawing heavily on the recent history of Sudan/South Sudan and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), is that African conflict resolution and peacebuilding relies too heavily on political agreements between politico-military elites. These deals focus largely on elite power and resource-sharing arrangements. Mostly ignored are the communal and societal dynamics that initially fed the violence. Sudan/South Sudan’s persistent conflict and instability is a prime example of what happens when peace agreements are signed without due regard for the true nature and genesis of the conflict.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 82
Author(s):  
Mhd Alfahjri Sukri

This research was conducted to see how Mohammad Natsir thought about the relationship between Islam and Pancasila. This study also explains the causes of Natsir's change of mind which initially supported Pancasila as part of Islam and later turned into an opponent of Pancasila in Konstituante on 11 November to 6 December 1957. The methodology used was a qualitative method by describing the results of the analysis carried out. The research data is obtained through a review of documents and scientific literature. The results of the study show that Mohammad Natsir's change of mind regarding the relationship between Islam and Pancasila was influenced by Mohammad Natsir's political socialization which began from Natsir's view of Islam influenced by the childhood environment (conditional and socio-cultural) in Minangkabau; direct influence from national figures such as Ahmad Hassan, H. Agus Salim, Sheikh Ahmad Syurkati and H. O Tjokroaminoto; the indirect influence of international figures throughout reading book such as Hassan Al-Banna, Amir Syakib Arselan, Rashid Ridha and Muhammad Abduh; the influence of Natsir's organization and political parties, namely Jong Islamieten Bond (JIB), Islamic Unity (Persis), and Masyumi political parties; and the influence of the political conditions at that time which made Natsir's views change, which initially accepted Pancasila and then became an opponent of the Pancasila. This research shown there are two patterns of Natsir's relationship with Pancasila, namely (1) Natsir accepted Pancasila and, (2) Natsir opposed Pancasila.


Author(s):  
Herman T. Salton

This chapter assesses the role of the Department of Political Affairs (DPA) in the Rwanda genocide. It situates DPA within the Secretariat of the early 1990s, explains the importance given to it by Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, and analyses the department’s reaction to the crisis. The DPA’s role in monitoring the Arusha Peace Agreements and in providing the ‘political’ analysis of the Rwandan context is also reviewed, as is Boutros-Ghali’s desire for a powerful ‘political’ department to be juxtaposed to member states’ preference for peacekeeping and DPKO. The chapter also considers the leadership change of March 1994 when, a month before the genocide, Marrack Goulding took over the whole of DPA.


Author(s):  
Michael I. Shevell

Abstract: It is commonly thought that the horrific medical abuses occurring during the era of the Third Reich were limited to fringe physicians acting in extreme locales such as the concentration camps. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that there was a widespread perversion of medical practice and science that extended to mainstream academic physicians. Scientific thought, specifically the theories of racial hygiene, and the political conditions of a totalitarian dictatorship, acted symbiotically to devalue the intrinsic worth to society of those individuals with mental and physical disabilities. This devaluation served to foster the medical abuses which occurred. Neurosciences in the Third Reich serves as a backdrop to highlight what was the slippery slope of medical practice during that era. Points on this slippery slope included the “dejudification” of medicine, unethical experimentation in university clinics, systematic attempts to sterilize and euthanasize targeted populations, the academic use of specimens obtained through such programs and the experimental atrocities within the camps.


2006 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 131-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raúúl Beníítez Manaut ◽  
Andrew Selee ◽  
Cynthia J. Arnson

Mexico's democratic transition has helped reduce, if not eliminate, the threat of renewed armed conflict in Chiapas. However, absent more active measures from the government and the Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) to seek a permanent peace agreement and come to terms with the legacies of the past, the conflict will linger on in an unstable déétente, which we term ““armed peace.”” While this situation is far better than the open hostilities of the past, it also belies the promise of a fully democratic society in which all citizens are equally included in the political process. La transicióón democráática en Mééxico ha contribuido a reducir, si no eliminar, la posibilidad de que el conflicto armado en Chiapas se reanude. Sin embargo, sin esfuerzos mas activos por parte del gobierno y del Ejéército Zapatista de Liberacióón Nacional (EZLN) para buscar un acuerdo de paz permanente y saldar cuentas con el pasado, el conflicto permaneceráá en un estado inestable que llamamos ““paz armada””. Aunque esta situacióón es mucho mejor que las tensiones y agresiones del pasado, no cumple los requisitos de una sociedad plenamente democráática en que todos los ciudadanos participan en condiciones de igualdad en el proceso políítico.


The stage which the question of the function of the pelvic filaments of the male Lepidosiren had reached before the researches described in this paper can be seen by reference to the paper by Carter and Beadle (1930) and that by Cunningham in the previous year. The researches of Carter and Beadle as well as those previously carried out by Graham Kerr were made in the Gran Chaco of Paraguay, in the swamps of which region Lepidosiren is rather abundant. But when direct experiments on the function of the filaments were contemplated the political conditions made it inadvisable to attempt to visit this region, and it was suggested that Lepidosiren would be found in sufficient abundance on the island of Marajó at the mouth of the River Amazon. No evidence was obtained that the fish had recently been taken in that island, but three specimens, all from the same locality, namely a “papyrus meadow” near Fazenda Dunas on the north coast of the island, were recorded in 1896 and 1898 by Dr. Goeldi, Director and founder of the Muséu Goeldi at Belem. It was therefore decided to organise and carry out an expedition to Marajó. The equipment was prepared in the Physiological Department of the London Hospital Medical College and consisted of large glass tubes from 18 inches to 30 inches in length and 1½ inches to 3 inches in diameter; and weighed quantities in hermetically sealed tubes or bottles of the reagents required for the estimation of dissolved oxygen in water, together with the necessary accessories, and a special pump for obtaining water from below the surface of swamp pools.


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