Conflict Resolution and the Strategies of the Prophet Muhammadﷺ

The primary aim of this article is to analyze the life events and strategies of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ to reveal conflict resolution (CR) forms that may offer solutions to contemporary global problems and challenges faced by contemporary human societies. This study also aspires to contribute to world peace and interfaith harmony by discussing the ideal personality of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, who is stereotypically quoted in the west. The main characteristics of a successful leader and examples from the life of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, are included. It is evident from the given literature that he greatly respected for other religions, cultures, and ideas; even in case of disagreement, he showed tolerance and took great care to handle the situation. In this study, the existing literature is examined and a qualitative exploration is carried out in order to formulate a better understanding of the dynamics of the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ, with regard to peace and conflict resolution. In the end it reveals that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, employed all his energies and divine assistance to resolve the conflicting issues through negotiations and peacefully. He showed an appreciation of the dignity of all living beings irrespective of their gender, race, or societal status. The article covers the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ and analyzes the historical events of the life of the Prophet Muhammad. Some of the questions addressed in this research are: how can this knowledge be used to solve difficulties that the Muslims are witnessing after 9/11? What is status of the Qur'an and the Hadith related to peace and conflict? And above all, how does Islam handle conflict resolution?

Religion, community resilience and countering violent extremism in Dir Valley, Pakistan

The post 9/11 terrorism and subsequent wave of violent extremism has generated a significant interest in the role of religion in both peace and conflict. Religion is a significant part of the lives of a significant majority the global population. This realization has led policy makers to seek ways in which religious leaders can and had impacted the community resilience towards violent extremism. Swat and Dir valleys have seen the brunt of violent extremism in the recent past. This extremism was generated and exploited by a few religiously motivated violent organizations. However, we believe there were religious leaders who opposed this surge of violent extremism in those specific communities. This research aims at finding out whether religious leaders mobilized the communities for countering violent extremism. In order to do that, a quantitative survey was designed whereby a community perception was measured. The data was collected from 180 respondents from both the districts of Dir valley, i.e., lower Dir and upper Dir. Our data shows that religious leaders played some role in building community resilience. In terms of bonding, they played a significant role. In terms of bridging, they also played a significant role. However, in terms of linking, the religious leaders played a little role.

THE ROLE OF THE 18TH ASIAN GAME IN THE PEACE OF THE KOREAN PENINSULA

This journal examines the role of the 18th Asia Game as a diplomatic tool in the Korean peninsula conflict in 2018, specifically in promoting peace on the Korean Peninsula. This journal aims to describe and analyze the effectiveness of sports or Olympics affiliated with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) as a unifying tool in pushing for reunification opportunities on the Korean Peninsula. The 18th Asian Games, on the other hand, has played an essential role in uniting North and South Korea into one unit under the same flag in a variety of ways that have had a positive impact on peace between the two countries. This study employs qualitative research methods, such as literature review and triangulation, to collect data. A descriptive-analytical approach was used to collect and analyze data. This study's analysis employs sports diplomacy theory to examine the effectiveness of sports in resolving conflicts on the Korean Peninsula. Because the current state of the Korean peninsula has not entirely resulted in the ideals of the two countries' reunification, the theory of sports diplomacy can identify the factors that support the reduced intensity of the Korean Peninsula's cold war. One of the factors is the role of sport as a tool of sports diplomacy, which has increased opportunities for promoting peace and conflict resolution to reach a peace agreement between the two parties and eventually lead to reunification.

Theory of Institutional Peace and Peacebuilding in Transboundary River Basins

ABSTRACT Social developments have led to prompt the significance of concentrating on peace and the factors influencing it throughout history. In order to analyze this concept, various theories have been proposed in the field of international relations and peace and conflict studies. Institutional peace theory is one of the prominent theories that emphasizes the role of international institutions to achieve meaningful change and cooperation among governments at the international level. Most researchers in the field of environmental challenges in general and water challenges in particular have also based liberal institutionalism in their research at the international level. Attention to the role of institutions in dealing with water conflicts and peacebuilding in transboundary river basins has led to the need to analyze the theory of institutional peace in the management of water conflicts. Accordingly, the purpose of the present study is to analyze the capacity of institutional peace theory in dealing with water conflicts in transboundary river basins. With this goal in view, while using library resources, the effectiveness of institutional peace theory in the management of water conflicts is analyzed. Based on the analyses, it can be acknowledged that despite the positive effect of water institutions in relieving water conflicts in some river basins, there are significant criticisms of this theory. KEYWORDS: Water Conflicts, Institutional Peace, Transboundary river basins, Institutionalism

'Youth': Victim, Troublemaker or Peacebuilder? Constructions of Youth-in-Conflict in United Nations and World Bank Youth Policies

<p>Examination of how the United Nations ('UN') and World Bank construct youth affected by armed conflict and political instability (referred to as 'youth-in-conflict') in their respective youth policies reveals that the UN constructs youth-in-conflict as 'victims' requiring protection. This results in humanitarian/rights-based approaches to youth development. In contrast, the World Bank constructs youth-in-conflict as 'capital' that has potential to bring about economic growth, resulting in economics-driven policies. Such divergent identity constructions are because 'youth' and 'youth identity' are fluid concepts used in various ways by different people in different contexts. In peace and conflict studies, the dominant discourses in relation to youth-in-conflict are that youth are either 'victims' of war or 'troublemakers'. Both discourses are contested by an emerging third discourse of youth as peacebuilders, which challenges the representation of youth-in-conflict as passive victims or as negative threats. While the UN and World Bank’s respective humanitarian/development and neo-liberal economic approaches shape these divergent youth-in-conflict constructions, both institutions are also influenced by the global trends in youth-in-conflict discourses. This 'discursive' relationship means that as the UN and World Bank engage in the global youth debate and are shaped by more complete understandings of youth-in-conflict, they will also have an influential role in perpetuating or challenging dominant discourses.</p>

'Youth': Victim, Troublemaker or Peacebuilder? Constructions of Youth-in-Conflict in United Nations and World Bank Youth Policies

<p>Examination of how the United Nations ('UN') and World Bank construct youth affected by armed conflict and political instability (referred to as 'youth-in-conflict') in their respective youth policies reveals that the UN constructs youth-in-conflict as 'victims' requiring protection. This results in humanitarian/rights-based approaches to youth development. In contrast, the World Bank constructs youth-in-conflict as 'capital' that has potential to bring about economic growth, resulting in economics-driven policies. Such divergent identity constructions are because 'youth' and 'youth identity' are fluid concepts used in various ways by different people in different contexts. In peace and conflict studies, the dominant discourses in relation to youth-in-conflict are that youth are either 'victims' of war or 'troublemakers'. Both discourses are contested by an emerging third discourse of youth as peacebuilders, which challenges the representation of youth-in-conflict as passive victims or as negative threats. While the UN and World Bank’s respective humanitarian/development and neo-liberal economic approaches shape these divergent youth-in-conflict constructions, both institutions are also influenced by the global trends in youth-in-conflict discourses. This 'discursive' relationship means that as the UN and World Bank engage in the global youth debate and are shaped by more complete understandings of youth-in-conflict, they will also have an influential role in perpetuating or challenging dominant discourses.</p>

Bridging the gap between cyberwar and cyberpeace

The conceptual debate around the term cyber warfare has dominated the cybersecurity discipline over the last two decades. Much less attention has been given during this period to an equally important question: what constitutes cyber peace? This article draws on the literatures in peace and conflict studies and on desecuritization in critical security studies, to suggest how we might begin to rearticulate the cybersecurity narrative and shift the debate away from securitization and cyberwar to a more academically grounded focus on desecuritization and cyber peace. It is argued that such a move away from a vicious circle where states frame cybersecurity predominantly within a national security narrative and where they seek to perpetually prepare for cyberwar, to a virtual cycle of positive cyber peace, is not only a desirable, but a necessary outcome going forward. We assert that this is particularly important if we are to avoid (continuing) to construct the very vulnerabilities and insecurities that lead to the prioritization of offence and destruction in cyberspace, rather than transformative, human-centred development in information and communications technology innovation.