Edward Azar’s Protracted Social Conflict Theory and Drivers of Self-Determination: the Case of Nigeria

Soon after attaining independence on October 1, 1960, the newly created nation-state – Nigeria had to wrestle with post-independent political realities. These combined with the legacies of colonial rule, and the prevalence of ethno-religious politics, led the country into civil war in 1967. Since 1960, Nigeria has experimented with different forms of government and achieved some degree of economic growth but is still plagued by the agitation of self-determination in the form of secessionist campaigns, be it the Biafra or the Oduduwa and Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND). To place the discussion in perspective, the paper reviews the existing literature on the subject and also discusses Edward Azar’s protracted social conflict (PSC) theory as the theoretical base. Upon laying the theoretical foundation, the paper situates and evaluates the agitation for self-determination in Nigeria in the light of PSC. Lastly, the paper concludes that instead of seeking self-determination or territorial disintegration, the polity of Nigeria should historically revert to the practice of congenial and connected regionalism.

KONFLIK UIGHUR DI XINJIANG, CHINA: PEMAHAMAN DARI SUDUT PENDEKATAN SEGI TIGA KONFLIK GALTUNG

Pergolakan antara etnik Uighur dan Kerajaan China sudah lama diperkatakan. Bermula pada tahun 1949 sehingga kini, konflik ini masih belum reda malah mengakibatkan ribuan nyawa terkorban dan harta benda musnah. Kedua-dua pihak masih memperjuangkan matlamat dan kepentingan masing-masing dan belum bersedia untuk mencari penyelesaian. Penulisan ini memfokuskan kepada pendekatan Segi tiga Konflik sebagai alternatif untuk memahami konflik yang bersifat berulang-ulang ini (Protracted Social Conflict). Terdapat tiga elemen utama dalam Pendekatan Segi tiga Konflik iaitu Situasi, Sikap dan Tingkah laku. Ketiga elemen ini saling berkaitan antara satu sama lain yang mendorong kepada turun dan naik intensiti konflik. Penulisan ini merujuk kepada sumber-sumber sekunder yang melibatkan perbincangan dalam buku, jurnal, hasil kajian, laporan media dan lain-lain lagi. Data yang diperoleh ini kemudiannya dianalisis melalui pengaplikasian elemen Segi tiga Konflik sebagai alternatif memahami konflik yang berpanjangan tersebut. Kebergantungan antara tiga elemen ini membolehkan kita memahami punca-punca konflik tersebut terperangkap di intensiti yang ekstrem. Hasil daripada pengaplikasian elemen Segi tiga Konflik ini mendapati bahawa dari sudut ‘Situasi’, konflik tersebut berlaku akibat perebutan Wilayah Xinjiang (konflik material) antara etnik Uighur dan Kerajaan China dan kini telah bertukar kepada konflik nilai (agama dan identiti) sehingga sukar dikompromi dan diselesaikan. Begitu juga dengan elemen ‘Sikap’, apabila konflik yang berpanjangan tersebut telah meningkat elemen psikologi yang tidak terkawal seperti marah, benci, cemburu, imej musuh, stereotaip dan prejudis. Akhirnya, ia membentuk elemen ‘Tingkah laku’ yang memaksa, memujuk, mengugut, ancaman, diskriminasi, asimilasi dan pembunuhan. Salah satu contoh ialah penahanan kem pendidikan dan vokasional ke atas etnik Uighur di Xinjiang yang merupakan tingkah laku asimilasi yang melibatkan ancaman dan ugutan; ia berkaitan dengan elemen psikologi stereotaip dan double standard Kerajaan China ke atas etnik Uighur. The unrest between the Uighurs and the Chinese government has elongated for quite a long time. Since 1949, the conflict has not subsided and resulted in thousands of lives lost and property destruction. Both sides are still fighting for their respective goals and interests, and not ready to find solutions. This paper focuses on the Galtung’s Conflict Triangle Approach as an alternative to understand this recurring conflict (Protracted Social Conflict). There are three main elements in the Conflict Triangle Approach namely Situation, Attitude and Behavior. These three elements are interconnected, leading to escalated and de-escalated of conflict intensity. This paper has made reference to secondary sources involving discussions in books, journals, research results, media reports and others. In order to understand the protracted social conflict, the data obtained are analyzed using the application of the Conflict Triangle. The interdependence between these three elements allows us to understand the causes of this conflict is trapped in extreme intensity. As a result of the application of the Conflict Triangle elements, it is found that from the ‘Situation’ point of view, there is a dispute over Xinjiang province (material conflict) between the Uighur ethnic group and the Chinese government in which has turned into a values conflict (religion and identity) that is difficult to compromise and resolve. Attitude is found as an element from the protracted social conflict which was resulted to an uncontrollable psychological element such as anger,hatred, jealousy, enemy images, stereotypes and prejudice. Eventually, it forms the behavior element of coercion, persuasion, intimidation, threats,discrimination, assimilation and murder. One example is the establishment of educational and vocational detention camps for the Uighur ethnic group in Xinjiang. The camps are part of the assimilation strategy of the government to asimilate the Uighurs. The camps are reported to execute inhuman behavior involving threats and intimidation which relate to the stereotypical psychological elements and the Chinese government’s double standard on the Uighur ethnic group.

Sectarian Divide as a Cause of Protracted Conflict: A Case of Syria (2011-18)

Since the people’s uprising in 2011 against the authoritarian regime of Bashar Al Assad and its oppressive policies, Syria is entangled in a long spiral of violent conflict. Though a number of factors explain the violent nature of war and its longevity, however sectarianism proved to be the most significant and the most dominant factors of all. The dominancy of minority Alawite community in the country led to the discrimination against other sects especially the Sunni majority, comprising 74 percent of the total population. Such prejudices against Sunnis and other sects have pitched Syrian people against the regime which evolved into a long and sectarian civil war that dominates the Syrian society till date. Applying Protracted Social Conflict Model, this paper tries to answer the question that how sectarianism played a role in the perpetuation of the Syrian civil war during 2011-2018. Using qualitative methods of analysis, the paper endeavours to dig out the roots of the current violent conflict in the country. For data collection and analysis, secondary sources in the form of books, research articles and other internet sources have been consulted in an attempt to analyse what is unknown on the basis of what is known.

Protracted Social Conflict in the Globalized World: The Newly Merged Tribal Districts (NMTDs) in Pakistan

The ̳Newly Merged Tribal Districts‘ (NMTDs) of Pakistan have been a historic conflict zone. The area was dragged into protracted social conflict (PSC) once again after Pakistan joined the US in the global war on terror (GWOT). Successful military operations and border fencing between Pakistan and Afghanistan have significantly restricted activities of militancy and terrorism in the region; however, a major problem in conflict management is foreign intervention and lack of development in the social sector in the region. The present study aims to explore the nexus between economy and governance, and its contribution to PSC, in the case of the NMTDs. It attempts to build a cross-sectional theoretical construct of structural realism, capitalism, globalization, and PSC by Edward Azar. The concept of PSC emphasizes that lack of governance and international linkages are predominating factors in PSC. The study identifies the absence of central power in the international system allowing foreign intervention in the region while using tools of globalization; thereby, in the context of NMTDs, the war economy was generated by beneficiaries of conflict. It further argues that the lack of development in the social sector and slow rehabilitation process in the region can undermine sustainable peace.

Attacks on South African monuments: Mediating heritage in post-conflict society

The controversy surrounding the notion of national heritage and what constitutes a proper heritage in post-apartheid South Africa intersects with issues of identity and identity formation in a post-conflict society. That it impinges powerfully on social cohesion has been thrust into the spotlight in view of recent protest action related to colonial and apartheid era monuments. We have made the point elsewhere that conflict resolution in South Africa through negotiations, the National Peace Accord and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has, at best, been partial, that it has not always been taken sufficiently seriously to engage with the fault-lines of protracted social conflict in the country. This article has employed a qualitative methodology because it is both descriptive and explorative in nature. The main aim of this article is to provide a critique on how issues of intersectionality (race, class and gender) coincide with the attacks of the monuments by university students in South Africa. This article utilises two theoretical frameworks, namely, classical Marxism and Black Consciousness, simply because both the psychological and class analysis were invoked by the student bodies to diagnose and prognose the challenges of black South Africans within the context of higher education in South Africa. The central thesis of this article is that the attacks on monuments in South African universities were instigated by a group of young people who claim to be revolutionary in thinking and are calling for transformation, free education, dismantling gender oppression and doing away with institutionalisation of racism.