How Policy Institutions Filter Conflict: The (De)Escalation of Policy Conflict through Closing Down or Opening Up the Space for Contestation

This article argues that in situations of policy conflict, policymaking institutions that act as de facto conflict arbiters may escalate the conflict they are trying to settle. The role of institutions in policy conflicts is studied in the lengthy and highly contested policymaking process of the multibillion-euro 'Oosterweelconnection' highway in Antwerp (Belgium). The article concludes that while narrowing the scope of conflict through standardized institutional procedures initially disciplined the Oosterweel conflict, it ultimately drove further escalation, as residual topics of conflict remained and sought new institutional outlets. At the same time, more flexible institutions, while being able to finally settle the Oosterweel conflict, produced an agreement that remained institutionally unembedded and therefore more vulnerable to exploitation because it was not formally enforceable.

The Impact of Internal Conflict on Customary Institutions and Law: The Case of Uganda

Customary institutions are used successfully in some Ugandan communities, but not in others. There may be several explanations for this. First, the nature of social institutions clearly changes over time; it is likely that the utility of traditional practices has also changed accordingly. Secondly, the presence of protracted civil conflict in various parts of the country has altered the manner in which people are able to live and deal with conflict. Thirdly, the scope of conflict may have caused traditions to become dislocated or modified beyond any recognizable or useful form, which may have caused traditional mechanisms to become less useful or entirely obsolete. Fourthly, societies in Uganda are stratified very differently; this organization has had a major role to play in whether and how such mechanisms are used. Fifthly, the homogeneity of the population could be a key factor in whether, and whose, “traditions” are used in a given community.