Migrations internationales. Entre enjeux traditionnel et nouveaux défis

Le premier semestre de l’année 2015 est dominé sur le plan médiatique par une crise migratoire caractérisée par des milliers de ressortissants syriens, afghans pour la plupart qui traversent la Méditerranée en vue de trouver asile, sécurité et, sans doute, de nouvelles perspectives de vie dans les pays européens et en Amérique du Nord. D’autres migrants, Erythréens, Sud-Soudanais, entre autres, viennent également grossir les rangs des migrants forcés au niveau régional et international. Pourtant, les migrations constituent un phénomène mondial et historique. La campagne médiatique qui s’en est suivie fait découvrir la tragédie qui sévit dans les pays d’origine des demandeurs d’asile faute de solution politique durable. Par la présente contribution, l’auteur revisite les différents cas de figure de migrations forcées à travers le monde, leurs causes possibles, leur typologie et analyse ensuite les enjeux et défis que posent ces déplacements en portant particulièrement le focus sur l’Afrique en général et la Région des Grands Lacs africains en particulier.

An Evaluation of Peace Building Strategies in Southwestern Nigeria: Quantitative and Qualitative Examples

This paper evaluated the peace building architecture by United Nations using Southwestern Nigeria as a reference point. Quantitative data were generated from responses to the questionnaire. In addition, the qualitative data were gathered from two sources: interview response and theme coding of Focus Group Discussion. Data collected were analysed using frequency, percentage, mean value and standard deviation as well as content analysis methods. From the descriptive statistics, this paper found out that quick intervention, cross-examination, negotiation, and mediation of differences were evaluated to be the key building strategies adopted for the enhancement of peaceful co-existence in local communities within Southwestern Nigeria. In spite of those good remarks, poor nature of ethnic cooperation underlines the causal reason for incessant communal conflicts in Southwestern Nigeria. It therefore concluded that peace building strategies in Southwestern Nigeria were evidently operationalised with observable inconsistencies from the qualitative data.

State Building in Post Conflict Rwanda: Popular Participation of Citizen in Local Conflict Mitigation

When studying local state building this article addresses the questions how does state led conflict mitigation in post conflict Rwanda work? How is it experienced by the citizens in terms of participation, accountability and local state legitimacy? Theoretically, the study engages with literature on state-building, state society relations and local conflict mitigation. The study’s findings have indicated that the citizens’ contribution to local state-building was still modest due to low motivation among the citizens involved in the conflict mitigation process due to insufficient resources and infrastructure in the conflict mitigation process, despite the fact that the state has granted legal authority. Another important finding is that heterogeneity of conflicts is an important factor in the understanding of local-level conflicts, and especially in relation to local-level state building. Hence, it focuses on the local perspective of state building, which has mainly been studied as a top-down affair.

The Facets of Transitional Justice and 'Red Terror' Mass Trials of Derg Officials in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Reassessing its Achievements and Pitfalls

At the end of the state perpetrated largescale violence, two important puzzling questions need to be addressed by post-conflict states. The first one chiefly concern how to ensure accountability or fight impunity, and the second is concerned with how to transform a society wrecked by prolonged conflicts into a durable peace in a non-violent means (Jarstad & Sisk, 2008). One such effort to deal with these questions was implementation of a transitional justice measures which evolved to encompass broader themes in addition to criminal accountability and it has shown a considerable relevance and expansion since the end of Cold War. After the demise of Marxist military junta of Derg regime in 1991, the Transitional Government of Ethiopia attempted to respond to the Derg-era atrocities of Red Terror through the establishment of Special Prosecution Office (SPO) in 1992. Ethiopia’s SPO undertook one of the most extensive criminal investigations after Nuremburg trials by its own resources and domestic tribunals and the mass trials lasted for nearly two decades. However, the assessment about its significance for domestic political transformation and its legacy remained largely untold. The aim of this paper is to make a critical review of available works on the ‘red terror trials’ and reconsider its achievements and pitfalls and to interrogate as to whether it can still provide important lessons for today’s reality. By critically reviewing available literatures and official reports, the paper found that the efforts of Red Terror trials partly succeeded in ending impunity, averting tendency of summary executions and revenge killings, and in eliciting some ‘truths. However, the measure was affected by severe limitations including the adopting the narrower model of transitional justice measures chiefly focusing on criminal prosecutions, and also questioned legitimacy of trials amidst human rights violations by the new regime itself. These limitations coupled with other factors constrained the capacity of the Derg’s Red Terror trials so that it remained short of being translated into a lasting legacy in terms of meaningful political transformation.

Women, Peace and Security in Zimbabwe - The Case of Conflict in Non War Zones

The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda is the United Nation’s (UN) key policy instrument for addressing gender violence in conflict zones. However, the agenda has been preoccupied with “hot” conflicts, and its application and relevance to sustained, but “low level” conflict situations is poorly conceptualized. This research considers this issue through a case study of Zimbabwe since 2000. I make the case for broadening the understanding of conflict as found in the WPS agenda. This paper addresses the question: ‘How does the case of Zimbabwe exemplify the need for a broader understanding of conflict within the WPS agenda as it applies to non-war settings?’ I first consider the nature of non-war zones, adopting a feminist international relations theory perspective, incorporating elements of postcolonial feminist theory and critical race theory. We then review Zimbabwe’s recent history and situate it as a country in non-war conflict zone. We situate Zimbabwe’s recent history clearly within the concept of non-war zones and discuss the nature of gender violence in this setting. My analysis adds to the body of literature and research on non-war zones and argues for broadening the WPS agenda to encompass a broader understanding of conflict, specifically arguing for the centrality of gender-based violence in non-war situations, as exemplified in Zimbabwe’s recent history.

Contextualizing the Politics of Ten-Household Cluster Initiatives (Nyumba Kumi) for Human Security in Kenya

National security has been a preserve of the State to the detriment of the welfare of the masses. Human security on the other hand incorporates the basic security elements that are globally recognized and touch on the daily lives of the masses. The Ten Household Cluster Initiatives that have been practiced in East Asia, Caribbean and parts of Western Europe and adapted in Eastern Africa are an avenue through which human security can be addressed though they are tightly controlled by the state and characterized by human rights flaws. Their rationalization is anchored in theories of individualism and communitarianism that locate the roles of individuals and groups in power relations. Kenya's Nyumba Kumi initiative should be redesigned and implemented with hindsight onto the global and continental initiatives. It is imperative to hybridize the initiative with elements from East Asia, Western Europe and Africa for it to make impact on human security. An ideological backup is also needed to entrench it in the population that has been convinced that the initiative is basically a socialist strategy to control the masses. Yet this strategy can be modernized to address not only security but also social, economic and enviornmnetal concerns in neighborhoods and communities.

The Impacts of Political Conflicts in Africa

The number of conflicts and deaths in Africa is rooted in the complex constructions and conjectures of Africa’s political economies, weak institutions, social identities, and cultural ecologies, as configured by specific local, national, regional, and historical experiences. Using real-time data of violent and nonviolent events in Africa, this paper analyzes the most significant indicators. The paper finds that Gross Domestic Product, corruption, state legitimacy, ethnic fractionalization, political effectiveness, and polity are significant in modeling the likelihood of political instability. The paper concludes that African countries require reconfiguration of the public and social institutions without ignoring the human factor that accelerate polarization and aggravation. Any marginalized groups should feel economically empowered and in control of their resources. The existential benefit of strong political institutions cannot be underrated as a way to ensure smooth power transition and curb of greed, which is a motivator.