Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Peace and Conflict Studies'

Violence, insurgency, and terrorism have been a recurring problem in Nigeria. Efforts to address these challenges through the use of force have proved ineffective. The purpose of this study was to explore the application of peace education in the educational curriculum with a view to promoting consensual peace building in Kafanchan Town, Jema'a Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. Although peace education has been applied in some countries, this approach has not been applied to these challenges plaguing Nigeria. This study adopts the survey research method and utilizes the tripodal theoretical framework of ethnic conflict theory, enemy system theory, and the integrative theory of peace. Ethnic conflict theory stipulates that the internecine conflict between ethnic groups results from denial of their biological and psychological needs. Enemy system theory postulates that humans have a predisposition to discriminate. Integrative theory of peace projects peace as the interface between all aspects of human life, psychological, spiritual, ethical, or sociopolitical. A purposeful sampling technique was used to select 25 participants who were interviewed, and their responses analyzed first by synthesizing and isolating main themes and then by using the Nvivo statistical software. The emergent themes resulting from the data include: changing the mindset of individuals; lack of peace education; mainstreaming of peace education; holistic curriculum content; and a dynamic, participatory as well as integrated approach to peace education. Positive social change results from rejection and abhorrence of violence on a permanent basis and embracing a more peaceful approach to resolving contentious issues that may arise in the course of daily human interaction. This change will lead to peaceful coexistence at the individual, family, organizational, and societal level.

This thesis is a critique on contemporary counterterrorism and peacebuilding. It uses a single case study approach to answer the question: How can we, by studying the Mindanao conflict - which has characteristics of both ‘new wars' and ‘new terrorism' - find a juncture between peace and conflict studies and terrorism studies that could help us to better understand terrorism and thereby create more efficient frameworks and tools for countering terrorism, and addressing the root causes of intrastate conflict in order to build a lasting peace? In addressing this question the thesis aims to contribute to International Relations and more specifically the emerging literatures of ‘critical terrorism studies' and ‘critical peace and conflict studies'. Ontologically, the thesis is positioned in between the two subfields, peace and conflict studies and terrorism studies, of International Relations and draws on theories from both literatures and the more recent ‘critical' turns of each sub-discipline; critical terrorism studies and critical peace studies. The case study of the Philippines and in particular the Mindanao conflict is relatively under-researched and functions as a comparative element as it, arguably, represents a microcosm of almost every type of conflict. It is the understanding of the thesis that there is a need to understand local realities and grievances in order to build a lasting peace in Mindanao where the root causes of the conflict is being addressed. Hence, the thesis seeks to understand the root causes of the conflict by focusing on Filipino history of governance and conflict. The roots of conflict is found to be the grievances of being deprived of self-rule, autonomy, and independence and of the right to its ancestral domain after centuries of various levels of oppression as well as corruption within the embedded, archaic power structures of Filipino political dynasties. Furthermore, the thesis tests the theoretical frameworks on the on-going peace process suggesting that the institutions and ‘one size fits all approaches' in liberal peacebuilding can be found in the embedded power structures in the social, political and economic levels of the Philippines. The main contribution the thesis aims to achieve is to apply post-liberal peacebuilding theories to the Mindanao conflict by identifying and assigning the role of the liberal institutions to local elites. Therefore, the main argument of the thesis is that the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF is merely reshuffling the power within the archaic power structures of governance and political, economic and social life within the Philippines, without addressing the root causes of the conflict. Consequently, this will not lead to a long-term lasting peace in the Philippines.

This research is the product of a qualitative research design in the field of Peace and Conflict Studies Research. The design of this study is Evaluation as Research and Monitoring of the Theory and Practice of Research in Conflict Zones. Syria as a multiple case study post-2011 conflict.  The objectives underlying this explorative research are three-fold. First, it seeks, from applied research, to produce and contribute to building better-suited methodological self-conscious and evidence-based approaches to building peace in conflict zones (Bush and Duggan, 2013; 2015); that also, can serve to propose new approaches and research practices within the state-of-the-art of Peace and Conflict Studies Research. Second, it proposes pertinent knowledge for researchers and practitioners in all spheres of humanitarianism, development, and peacebuilding that can influence policy-making and designing processes aid in the humanitarian crisis in extreme contexts of conflict conditions. By utilising Syria as a multiple case study post-2011 conflict, the overall goal of this study is to generate new knowledge for a better understanding and systematically reinforcing the political, economic and social infrastructures considered by the author as requisites to enable locally-oriented paths to a prosperous and dignified life, peace-reinforcing dynamics and a just future (Ibid., 2013, p.20; 2015). The findings and analysis are based on the conceptual framework built and developed by the author in this thesis, adopted and employed theories, specific methodology, and the author grounded experience in humanitarian action.

Countries emerging out of armed conflicts face immense challenges in their efforts to build electoral democracies. Contrary to our intuition that elections can transform violent competition to peaceful political contests, past research suggests that holding post-conflict elections only increases the chance of renewed violence. Why are elections unable to build sustainable democracies as expected? In this dissertation, I examine the question by focusing on two levels of analysis. First, I study the effects of violence on political behavior of mass publics at the individual level using the World Values survey Dataset. I argue that citizens are more inclined to support undemocratic leaders, when they are faced with threats from armed violence. Empirically, I find that presence of pre-election violence in post-conflict elections leads voters to prefer parties that are stronger in terms of their violence-wielding capacities over more moderate and peaceful parties. Second, I investigate how such an outcome might influence the risk of renewed conflicts in a country emerging out of armed conflict. The hypothesized mechanism can only be described as tragic. At individual level, fearful voters support violent parties mainly to maintain the status quo, fearing that parties with a violent reputation are likely to renew conflict if they lose the election. Tragically, however, placing undemocratic and violent parties in power only increases the likelihood of renewed conflicts. I test this expectation using an event history model to analyze all post-conflict countries from 1950 to 2010 and find that the presence of pre-election violence in a country increases its risk of renewed armed conflicts. The study has important implication for policymakers and election monitoring bodies. Rather than the current practice of observing only a single event Election Day, this study emphasizes the importance of creating a secure environment during the pre-election phase, about six months prior to the first election, in order to achieve a sustainable peace in post-conflict countries.

Peace negotiation is a complex political process used to end a conflict and establish peace. This thesis provides a qualitative analysis of the FARC-EP documents in preparation for the peace negotiations. Using Neocleous concept of pacification and Hannah Arendt’s concept of the political, I explored the ways in which the FARC-EP resist liberal peace by re-politicizing the conflict, addressing the sources of the inequalities and injustices generated by and for capitalism, and implying alternative ways of thinking about politics, power, justice and security to transform society. The analysis revealed that the FARC-EP thinks about peace and conflict resolution as a political process requiring social transformation of deep structural conditions through negotiation and deliberation in order to create a more just society. The FARC-EP conceptualizes peace as a complex political process that must be under local ownership and domestically rooted. In doing so, the FARC-EP addresses the root causes of the conflict by calling for transformative justice, replacing national security with integral security, extending politics beyond representative democracy and demanding equality to end the power imbalances that are so prominent in Colombia. By negotiating with the Colombian state, the FARC-EP accepts that not all their proposals will be implemented, given that it is in fact a negotiation. As a result, I conclude that peace negotiations can have the opposite effect and pacify political-military organizations in order to protect capitalist order after armed conflict has failed to succeed.

Nonviolent strategies have been shown to be more effective than violent insurgencies for countering oppression while increasing the subsequent degree of democracy in the country and reducing its chances of civil war. But we still do not know why some campaigns work and others do not. This dissertation develops a methodology for reframing our understanding of nonviolent conflict according to the all quadrants all levels (AQAL) model of integral theory that can also be used to investigate other topics as well.

The literature review covers terms, definitions, and misconceptions about nonviolent conflict, a historical lineage, and an overview of current theories and personalities. The terms simple and complex AQAL are introduced, and the AQAL model is contextualized with current knowledge as relevant to the five elements of integral theory: quadrants, types, states, and lines and levels of development. The model is then overlaid with each of the five primary debates in the field to show how integral theory reduces the polarization that often defines academic disputes and better informs our understanding of nonviolent conflict by allowing inclusion of all valid lines of truth. Integral methodological pluralism (IMP) is then used to bring forth the disciplinary subquestions in each methodological zone that, if answered, would begin to fill in the disciplinary gaps in our knowledge and better complete the process of contextualizing the AQAL model. I then offer suggestions for six integral research projects that use IMP to take a transdisciplinary approach to researching the more complex dynamics that happen between all of the factors identified previously and in context of the evolving situation. This process advances our understanding of how to use integral theory to reframe our approach to a field of inquiry, reduces the confusion surrounding nonviolent conflict by basing the investigation on perspectives not perceptions, and produces a model that is inclusive of all valid lines of truth and weighs their importance based on the context of the situation.

Thesis (MMil (Security and Africa Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the cause(s), the nature, and characteristics of the conflict in Burundi, and 10 explore the conditions for sustainable peace and prospects for peace. The study is intended as a descriptive analysis of conflict and peace in a case study of Burundi. Since independence in 1962, intermittent conflict has characterised the state of Burundi. There are various accounts of the conflict, of which a popular, but superficial, relates an 'ethnic' conflict between Hutus and Tutsis. Equally disparate, is the prescription of solutions, the most dominant of which is power sharing based on ethnic quotas. The conflict is played out in the context of a failing state with sharp structural weaknesses. In addition, Burundi is mired in the wider instabilities of the Great Lakes region and the communicable effects thereof. The study breaks away from the tendency to analyse only the current (since 1993) bout of conflict. It is proposed that the various incidences of conflict mark different phases in the life cycle of a single conflict. The study also breaks away from the tendency to view the conflict as only opposing Hutus and Tutsis. These two tendencies in analysis generate serious distortions and omissions and may account for the wrong conclusions regarding the conflict in Burundi. Another contribution of the study resides with the proposal of the necessary and sufficient conditions for peace in Burundi. The contention brought forward by this study is that exclusion would appear to be the strongest theoretical approach to understand and describe the conflict in Burundi. In this regard, one particular contentious issue has remained constant throughout all the incidences of conflict involving different groups. The central issue has been about the political economy of Burundi that has systematically denied social mobility for the 'other'. The Burundian state is a repository of political, economic and social security where the 'other', defined in ethnic, intra-ethnic, clanic, regional, elitist (and historically dynastic) terms, is excluded and subordinated. Exclusion (and the consequent inequalities and injustices) is a source of acute grievance and motivation for collective violence. The resultant conflict has manifested in a struggle for the control of the state. Inter alia, the conflict has been pemicious, genocidal, protracted and intractable. The notion of institutionalised power sharing, based on ethnic quotas, has been put forward by the actors in the peace process as the fundamental principle guiding the search for a solution to the conflict in Burundi. The study concludes that power sharing may be necessary, as a confidence building measure, however, power Sharing in itself is not a sufficient condition for sustainable peace, and may well in fulure prove to be Ihe weakest link in the peace process. Inter alia, the conditions in Burundi are not amenable to institutionalised power sharing as such, e.g. the presence of an overwhelming majority, and deep socio-economic inequality along ethnic lines. Further, the current power sharing structure in Burundi tilts the democratic framework in favour of Tutsi participation and security, awards the Tutsi with a de facto veto power, fixes the ethnic balance of power, and thus perpetuates conflict generating Tutsi domination of the political economy of Burundi. This study proposes the reconstruction of the state (state building) as a necessary precondition for peace. II is concluded that political representation, economic opportunity and social mobility, must transcend social categories in Burundi. The continuing instabilities in the Great Lakes region are also a point of concem. Thus, peace in Burundi is also contingent upon greater efforts to curb the communicable conflicts in this region.

Many mediators exercise power across borders, facilitating talks, formulating agendas and manipulating interests of hostile parties. However, the problem of how mediators justify their use of power and how the terms of this justification legitimate mediators’ strategic conduct has not been systematically theorized and tested in the leverage literature yet. A configurational theory can provide varied combinations of mediator authority types and strategy. Two types, legal-rational authority and expert authority, will be conceptualized in relation to formulation strategy. The theory hypothesizes that an authoritative mediator’s acceptable formulation suppresses strategic bargaining and nurtures principled bargaining, propitious for agenda-based mediation success. The theory will be tested by an empirical puzzle. UN mediation on Kosovo (2005-2007) and NGO mediation on Aceh (2004-2005) have both been conducted by a directive approach but negotiations failed in the former case and succeeded in the latter. While the general co-variation supports the hypothesis from authoritative formulation, tracing the causal mechanism reveals that the theory cannot explain agenda-based mediation success in Aceh. Among other questions, a new puzzle suggests the viability of mediators’ varied speech acts as a fruitful research problem.

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The paper examines patterns of post-conflict aid in a sample of 14 countries, with in-depth, qualitative analysis of seven cases (Bosnia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mozambique and Rwanda). The study takes previous work by Paul Collier and associates in this area as a starting point, but disaggregates the data by type of aid, time intervals, and historical period. The findings significantly qualify the Collier conclusion to the effect that donors respond to a CNN-effect in a dysfunctional manner by rushing in aid soon after a peace agreement is concluded and scaling back too soon. Rather, disaggregated analysis shows that post-war aid follows several patterns and can best be understood as strategic behavior designed to promote a range of economic and political objectives. This paper also questions the related policy recommendation of the Collier research on post-conflict aid, namely that post-conflict aid should be phased in so as to maximize economic growth on the grounds that this is important to sustain peace during the first post-conflict decade. Instead, this paper finds, aid strategies that demonstrate early and firm donor commitment to the new order are more likely to stabilize peace in the short run, and aid strategies that address the underlying sources of conflict are important to sustain peace in the longer run.

Mexico is not a country at peace. Despite the government's fight to restore stability, violence has erupted since 2006 in several areas of the territory. According to Vygotsky's social constructivism and to Galtung's integral perspective of peace, some elements of peacelessness are informed by values, perceptions, and conceptions about violence and peace. These topics have not been qualitatively investigated in Mexico. The purpose of this case study was to explore the process involving the social construction of values, perceptions, and conceptions in regard to organized criminal violence and peace possibilities in Mexico. Research questions focused on the role of mass media and oral conversations in the social construction of perceptions about the government, criminal organizations, and peace. This study employed semistructured interviews of 15 residents from a neighborhood in a large Mexican city. A purposeful sample stratified by gender, age, and profession, according to the neighborhood demographics, was used. Data from the interviews were coded for patterns using preexisting theory-based categories along with new emerging categories. Findings showed that among these residents, the process of social construction of perceptions was primarily formed through individual experiences and observations, and nurtured by conversations. Social constructors, such as traditional mass media, were much less important. Residents constructed their perception that the basic causes of criminal violence are rooted in the structures of the political and economic system, which, if correctly addressed, would foster peace. This study contributes to positive social change.by informing regional policymakers about the need to design local policies directed towards mediating structural and systemic transformations that are respectful of experiences and needs of citizens.

Since the end of the Cold War, recurring civil conflicts have been the dominant form of violent armed conflict in the world, accounting for 70% of conflicts active between 2000-2013. Duration and intensity of episodes within recurring conflicts in Africa exhibit four behaviors characteristic of archetypal dynamic system structures. The overarching questions asked in this study are whether these patterns are robustly correlated with fundamental concepts of resiliency in dynamic systems that scale from micro-to macro levels; are they consistent with theoretical risk factors and causal mechanisms; and what are the policy implications.

Econometric analysis and dynamic systems modeling of 36 conflicts in Africa between 1989 -2014 are combined with process tracing in a case study of Somalia to evaluate correlations between state characteristics, peace operations and foreign aid on the likelihood of observed conflict patterns, test hypothesized causal mechanisms across scales, and develop policy recommendations for increasing human security while decreasing resiliency of belligerents. Findings are that observed conflict patterns scale from micro to macro levels; are strongly correlated with state characteristics that proxy a mix of cooperative (e.g., gender equality) and coercive (e.g., security forces) conflict-balancing mechanisms; and are weakly correlated with UN and regional peace operations and humanitarian aid. Interactions between peace operations and aid interventions that effect conflict persistence at micro levels are not seen in macro level analysis, due to interdependent, micro-level feedback mechanisms, sequencing, and lagged effects.

This study finds that the dynamic system structures associated with observed conflict patterns contain tipping points between balancing mechanisms at the interface of micro-macro level interactions that are determined as much by factors related to how intervention policies are designed and implemented, as what they are. Policy implications are that reducing risk of conflict persistence requires that peace operations and aid interventions (1) simultaneously increase transparency, promote inclusivity (with emphasis on gender equality), and empower local civilian involvement in accountability measures at the local levels; (2) build bridges to horizontally and vertically integrate across levels; and (3) pave pathways towards conflict transformation mechanisms and justice that scale from the individual, to community, regional, and national levels.

Compassion is often misunderstood. To live with compassion does not mean to give up one’s own well-being or to jeopardize the well-being of her family in order to serve the needs of others. Compassion means one must first take care of herself before she is able to tend to another. True compassion can exist only within the framework of well-balanced psychology or even-mindedness. It takes healthy self-esteem to realize one’s own limits and set clear and direct boundaries to protect those limits. Compassion means being deeply human and at the same time honoring one’s self and others.

Compassion, like muscle memory and rote memorization, is cultivated through practice. The current research from the field of neuroscience interprets compassion as a learned behavior as well as delineating that meditation is one of the most powerful tools for cultivating compassion and other balanced neurological states of being.

If we cultivated meditation, as we do reading and writing, as a part of the educational process for children from toddlers, through higher education, would that, in time change, what seems to be our addiction to the Ares archetype—war? At the very least, some students will see more compassionately, relate to life with more empathy, meet challenges with more optimism, and live with a greater sense of well-being and resilience. At best most of our children will grow up with these life affirming qualities that have power beyond measure to heighten the collective to live in a more peaceful state of consciousness.

This dissertation discusses the relationship between compassion and peace. As humanity becomes more compassionate, peace becomes a more viable state.

This thesis is confronting literature on art and peace and on peace education with reflections of young performing artists. The artists have been interviewed on their experiences in theatre, music and dancing. From comparing the interview outcomes with the literature this thesis is trying to add an artist’s perspective to existing knowledge of cooperation of art and peace. The research concludes that within the examined performing artists’ reflections, there are similarities and differences to the literature detectable, which might indicate possibilities and concerns for the cooperation of art and peace and the use of performing arts in peace education. It also indicates that there is a lot more room for further research.

This study seeks to demonstrate connections between theatre and conflict, as inspired by metaphor and embodied by case studies of four theatrical organizations working in conflict zones: The Freedom Theatre in Palestine, Ajoka Theatre in Pakistan, DAH Teater in Serbia, and Belarus Free Theatre in Belarus. In so doing, it attempts to name the overlaps and relationships as sub-concepts that exist as connective tissue between conflict and theatre, writ large. These sub-concepts - subverting to play, imagining hidden histories, embodying the unspeakable, and blurring illusion and reality - offer a taxonomy of various dimensions of the theatre-conflict relationship. This taxonomy explores the symbiotic embeddedness of theatre and conflict as a possible explanation for the existence of theatrical organizations in conflict zones.

Recent years have seen an increasing emphasis on local ownership in UN peacebuilding. Advocates of local ownership assert that it boosts the legitimacy and sustainability of UN peacebuilding by helping to preserve the principles of self- determination and non-imposition of externally-conceived solutions onto post-conflict countries in an activity that can contravene them. However, while the UN perceives local ownership as enabling it to act in accordance with these principles, it also perceives local ownership to imperil the achievement of its operational goals, thus bringing its normative and operational objectives into conflict. This thesis evaluates the UN’s discourse, understandings, and operationalizations of local ownership in peacebuilding. Drawing on examples from the UN peace operation in DR Congo, it shows that despite the UN’s regular invocation of local ownership discourse, it operationalizes ownership in restrictive and selective ways that are intended to protect the achievement of operational goals but that consequently limit self-determination and increase external imposition on the host country. This gap between the rhetoric and reality of ownership suggests that the UN uses local ownership primarily as a discursive tool for legitimation, one intended to reconcile the organization’s normative and operational imperatives. However, because its actions do not match its rhetoric, the UN’s attempts to generate legitimacy through discourse appear to fall flat, particularly in the eyes of local actors. Moreover, because of contradictions in the ways that the UN operationalizes local ownership, it not only deepens the curtailment of self-determination and the degree of external imposition, it also undercuts its ability to realize the very operational goals it is trying to protect. Ultimately, because it is a contradictory and contested concept, local ownership fails to eliminate or ‘fix’ the trade-offs the UN faces in peacebuilding, suggesting that the UN must instead accept them and incorporate them into its goals and expectations.

The purpose of this study is to consider the relevance and applicability of the spirit and insights of the Axial Flowerings to the modern practice of conflict resolution.

Jaspers, a German philosopher, articulated the term Axial Age in his book that was translated into English in 1953. Jaspers identified, in the context of history, the Axial Age as a pivotal change in human condition that was marked by the emergence of reflexivity, historicity and agentiality of the individual in four distinct and distant areas - China, India, eastern Mediterranean, and Greece.

Jaspers' focus on the Axial Age was Eurocentric, and rooted in the ethos of Christianity. In recent years, Jaspers' term has been expanded and elaborated to include Axial civilizations more broadly, and Axial Age civilizations to bring into consideration the undocumented civilizations, as also other contemporary ancient civilizations that did not feature in Jaspers' thesis.

Ideas have been the well spring of intellectual development of mankind. Ideas agitated by seminal thinkers have been agents of change, for better or for worse, throughout history. There is, thus, a direct nexus between the history of ideas, and the Axial Flowerings. Modern scholars have debated religion, ethics, culture, power distribution, social justice, as also individuals and their relationship to associational living, that were the core concerns of society of the Axial epochs. Religion, and its contradictory proclivities of violence and non-violence; ethics and its binding force; culture and its varied manifestations; individuals and communities and their varying values; power and its asymmetries; are as germane to the present day discourse of conflict resolution, as they were in those far away times. Moreover, recently, additional subjects such as other civilizations, cultures, education, and the global ramifications of each, have entered the discourse of Axial Age, Axial Flowerings and other Axial breakthroughs.

The current convention of the conflict resolution discipline is that it is a 20^th century dispensation. My study argues that looking through the lenses of the history of ideas and the Axial Flowerings, points to ancient and noble ancestry for conflict resolution. It is, after all, a trite saying that from time immemorial conflict has been ever present in associational living, and that all conflicts are ultimately settled by each society through culturally legitimated processes.

I, therefore, argue detailed study of the Axial Flowerings together with the history of ideas is a fit and proper paradigm for conflict resolution, and presents a great opportunity to learn and profit from multi-disciplinary, and multi-dimensional insights of the Axial Age and the Axial breakthroughs, and to relate these to the present conditions.

This thesis aims to study Colombia’s post-conflict processes and peacemaking politics. Over the years, the numerous attempts at peace lacked solutions prioritizing a sustainable process for peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Yet since 2003, the government has implemented and prioritized a three-pronged policy known as Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) in an attempt to bundle the disparate elements that appear to be necessary components for long-term peace. Chapter one evaluates the turbulent history of peacemaking, focusing on the factors rendering peace elusive, examining the failed peace attempts, and chronologically arriving at DDR. Chapter two provides an in-depth analysis of the “R” in DDR through a theoretical framework of cooperation, its dimensions and logistics, and a compilation of narratives. It insists that Reintegration be more than a word or a theoretical concept. Chapter three analyzes the current peace negotiations and the winding road to a failed deadline through current events and political scandals. Taking into account the sociopolitical atmosphere into which DDR policies need to be implemented, the final chapter analyzes future scenarios and concludes: DDR processes are key to transition to peace; Reintegration is the most difficult and important aspect, as it
involves the cooperation from all segments of society and leads to a long-lasting peace; DDR must consider the nation’s politics to be successfully implemented; and finally, whether the peace attempt with the FARC is yet another elusive peace attempt or 
whether it initiates a road to peace, Colombia will be able to achieve peace through community archipelagos of peace.

“Armaments and Economic Performance”. The literature on military expenditure (milex) is scrutinized with respect to five areas. Investment is reduced when milex increases. Most studies have found economic growth hindered by higher milex. No clear association between milex and employment is found. However, the same amount of other public expenditure creates more jobs. There is some evidence for milex as counter-cyclical instrument in the US. The result for studies if milex is used in electoral cycles in the US is contradictory. Disaggregated data are emphasized as a possible solution to get more definite results.

“The Economic Costs of Civil Wars”. The empirical studies of the economic costs of internal armed conflicts are divided into accounting and modelling methods. Cost is seen as the difference between the counterfactual production without conflict and the actual production. The average economic cost of internal armed conflict is a 3.7% yearly reduction of GDP. There are large differences between the estimates. One of the reasons for pursuing such studies is to give improved basis for more cost-effective post-conflict reconstruction, which is better achieved with an accounting method.

“War and Economic Performance – Different Data, Different Conclusions?” This article studies the importance of armed conflict for economic growth by replicating an earlier analysis with new data on conflicts. The basic model investigates how conflicts in 1960-1974 affect economic growth in 1975-1989. Koubi finds that “wars are conducive to higher growth”. Koubi’s finding is confirmed when different conflict data is used in a similar research design.

“The Role of External Factors in Economic Growth: A Comparative Analysis of Thailand and the Philippines 1950-1990”. Can differences in economic performance be explained by external factors? Both historical and regression analyses are utilised to answer the question. Three external factors are analysed: International trade, foreign direct investment, and external debt. In the regression analysis none of the external factors qualify as statistically significant. The historical analysis finds two external factors discriminating between the two countries. Thus, they might explain the differing growth rates of Thailand and the Philippines: Manufactured exports and external debt.

In “Humanitarian Encounters in Post-Conflict Aceh, Indonesia,” I examine the humanitarian involvement in Aceh, Indonesia following two momentous events in Aceh’s history: the earthquake and tsunami on 26 December 2004 and the signing of the Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that brought a tentative, peaceful settlement to the Free Aceh Movement’s (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka, GAM) separatist insurgency against Indonesia on 15 August 2005. My research focuses on the international humanitarian engagement with Aceh’s peace process but frequently acknowledges the much larger and simultaneous tsunami recovery efforts along Aceh’s coasts that preceded and often overshadowed conflict recovery. Using ethnographic data based on five years working with four different international humanitarian organizations concerned with post-conflict recovery in Aceh, I address two main topics in my dissertation. The first is an insider’s perspective on the anthropology of humanitarianism. From one chapter to the next, I recreate and situate a particular humanitarian world’s relation to local structures of power and suffering that expands upon and complicates some of the prevailing debates in the anthropological literature on humanitarianism. From the unique vantage point within various humanitarian organizations, stories of Aceh’s post-conflict recovery filter through with selective and idiosyncratic ethnographic clarity. The accumulation of these stories reveals, by way of mosaic example, a logic of humanitarian intervention. The second topic I address in my dissertation is the story of Aceh’s peace process within the larger context of Indonesia’s post-New Order transition to democracy. I situate my data within a rapidly growing literature of insightful histories and critiques of Aceh’s conflict and subsequent transformations since the tsunami and the formal end of hostilities between GAM and Indonesian security forces. My focus on the ethnographic details in each chapter is set against some of the broadly taken-for-granted histories that have come to define Aceh’s recent successes and failures in its transition to peace.
Anthropology

Within an aid discourse which emphasises the importance of civil society and Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs) to development and a renewed focus by the international community on civil conflicts in the developing world, conflict-resolution NGOs (CROs) have come to assume a greater role in peace negotiations. Conceptions of peace as a process of making society more just and harmonious (cf. Lederach, 1997) overlap with holistic conceptions of development, such as human development, that seek to expand people's meaningful choices and freedom (Sen, 1999), allowing for the controversial merging of development and security agendas (Duffield, 2001). This study investigates the role and implications of CROs, which as civil society actors using NGO forms and development techniques to further peace, embody this new hybrid field. It centres around two longitudinal case studies of CRO interventions initiated in the mid-1990s, in northern Ghana and Sierra Leone, capturing change in the role and nature of CROs through a dual historical and contemporary focus. The thesis argues for the importance of path dependency (North, 1990). It shows how in the Ghanaian case a CRO affected outcomes by influencing starting points and steering talks, through choices of which actors to portray as the relevant participants and the language and goals of the mediation process. Conversely, in the Sierra Leonean case study the initiating CRO was unable to chart a path out of violence. It argues that discourses are an important form of CRO practice and develops the term 'conflict narratives' proposed by Varshney (2002) to conceptualise how they can be used to build support for certain outcomes. While refuting the assumption that sponsoring peacebuilding work is harmless (cf. Dolan, 2000) this study argues that the merging of development and security provides a conceptual arena in which lessons from CRO practice may provide inclusive and innovative ways forward.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 203-210).
In the 1990s, at same time that the United States was bombing Baghdad, Medellin was the most dangerous city in the world. Since 2003, the city has undergone an internationally renowned urban transformation, part of a controversial nationwide peace process. Implemented under Sergio Fajardo's term as Medellin mayor (2003-2007), the city, now perceived as a totally different place with a homicide rate 10 times lower, is seen as an example of how to engage with conflict and violence as urban peace process. The policies involved were physical and programmatic interventions in violent neighborhoods through the planning and construction of new facilities. This thesis seeks to understand if these physical and political policies and practices are directly related to the reduction of homicides in Medellin during the same period. The main objective of this research project is to explore the real success or failure of these policies, in a search to find successful strategies that can be implemented in other cities around the world with similar manifestations of conflict and violence.
by Jose Jaime Samper Escobar.
M.C.P.

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 2010.
Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 100-104).
This thesis examines the ways in which the phenomena of walling, ethnic segregation, sectarian violence, and imbalanced urban development have continued to reproduce themselves and reinforce one another in the present day, post-Good Friday city of Belfast. Situated within an understanding of the historic patterns of urban development and sectarian conflict in Belfast, as well as the city's emerging socio-spatial divergence, three case studies of present-day management and development at key 'interface' areas in North, West, and East Belfast are presented. These case studies highlight the continued legacy of violent conflict on present-day development outcomes, as well as help to frame the impact that these outcomes have on the emergence of divergent visions of desired post-conflict urban development. Ultimately, this thesis underlines why interface management, urban development, and the mitigation or escalation of violent conflict must not be addressed as separate functions within the context of chronic violence by examining how the Belfast's legacy of urban violence has conditioned the restructuring of physical space at various scales, and has itself subsequently been conditioned by those outcomes.
by Alexander M. Keating.
M.C.P.

Orientadora: Raquel Cabral
Banca: Maximiliano Martin Vicente
Banca: Marcos Alan Shaikhzadeh Vahdat Ferreira
Resumo: O jornalismo para a paz (Peace Journalism) é um conceito que nasce a partir dos Estudos para a Paz (Peace Studies). Neste âmbito, são pensadas em maneiras pelas quais as práticas jornalísticas podem colaborar para a desconstrução das estruturas de violência, representando o interesse público e fortalecendo a democracia e uma cultura de paz. Neste estudo, tomando como objeto o caso das movimentações de refugiados sírios a partir do ano de 2015, foi conduzida uma análise de conteúdo de matérias dos sites de notícias G1 e Al Jazeera English (AJE) utilizando o jornalismo para a paz como suporte metodológico. As categorias de análise incluem tipologia de violência, contextualização sociopolítica, progressão temporal, utilização de fontes, terminologia, iniciativas de cultura de paz e adaptação e cultura dos refugiados. Os resultados das análises de 104 unidades de informação mostram que há, nos dois veículos jornalísticos, a presença tanto de elementos do jornalismo para a paz quanto do modelo do jornalismo de guerra ou violência, teoricamente oposto ao Peace Journalism. Por exemplo, ambos os sites dão destaque a matérias que têm a violência estrutural em primeiro plano e trazem informações sobre o contexto social e político relacionado ao tema dos refugiados. Em contrapartida, uma análise detalhada indica que essa contextualização é feita de maneira breve. Em relação às fontes, as matérias da AJE são as que mais incorporam depoimentos de autoridades políticas. No G1, apesar de es... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo)
Abstract: Within the context of Peace Journalism, as a concept that emerges from the Peace Studies, this research investigated in which ways the journalistic activity can assist in deconstructing the structures of violence, hence representing public interest and strengthening democracy and a culture of peace. The present study performed a content analysis of news websites Brazilian G1 and Qatari Al Jazeera English (AJE) based on the Peace Journalism framework. The case of the Syrian refugees movements from 2015 on was the main theme of the analyzed news stories. The categories of the content analysis were typology of violence, sociopolitical context, timeline, usage of sources, terminology; culture of peace initiatives, and adaptation and culture. The results of the analyses of 104 stories show that in both websites there are elements of Peace Journalism, as well as War Journalism's ones - the latter theoretically opposes the Peace Journalism framework. For instance, G1 and AJE prioritize news that foregrounds structural violence, and include in their content information on social and political conjuncture of the Middle Eastern refugees case. Nevertheless, a detailed analysis shows that this contextualization is not covered in a thorough manner. Regarding the sources, AJE stories are the ones that incorporate statements from political authorities the most. Although those sources are also frequent on G1, in this website there is a strategy to bring the displacement issue closer to the B... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)
Resumen: El periodismo para la paz (Peace Journalism) es un concepto que nace desde la Investigación para la Paz (Peace Studies). En este ámbito, son pensadas en las maneras por las cuales las prácticas periodísticas pueden colaborar para la deconstrucción de las estructuras de violencia, representando el interés público y fortaleciendo la democracia y la cultura de paz. En esta investigación se ha desarrollado un análisis de contenido del sitio web de noticias brasileño G1 y del catarí Al Jazeera English (AJE) basado en el modelo teórico del periodismo para la paz. El caso de los desplazamientos de los refugiados sirios desde 2015 fue el tema principal de las noticias analizadas. Las categorías del análisis incluyen tipología de violencia, contextualización sociopolítica, progresión temporal, utilización de fuentes, terminología, iniciativas de cultura de paz y adaptación y cultura de los refugiados. El resultado del análisis de 104 noticias muestra que hay en los dos sitios web tanto elementos del periodismo para la paz como del periodismo de guerra o violencia, modelo que se contrapone teóricamente al primero. Por ejemplo, ambos priorizan noticias que tiene la violencia estructural en primer plano y incluyen en sus contenidos informaciones sobre el contexto social y político relacionado al tema de los refugiados. Sin embargo, un análisis detallado indica que esta contextualización es hecha superficialmente. En relación a las fuentes, las noticias de AJE son las que más incorporan d... (Resumen completo clicar acceso eletrônico abajo)
Mestre

Higher education is arguably critical for healing and stabilization in postconflict contexts, by developing leaders who value peace and have the skill sets to achieve it in various sectors. A rapidly growing body of literature concludes that peace education in particular has great potential to transform postconflict communities, both in higher education and at other levels of schooling. Yet there exists little rigorous analysis of the decisions faced by educational leaders responsible for implementing such programs, particularly those in postconflict settings where the needs are uniquely challenging. This qualitative investigation documented the M.A. in Peace Studies and Conflict Transformation program, managed by the Centre for Conflict Management (CCM) within the University of Rwanda’s College of Arts and Social Sciences (CASS), one of the first of its kind in the region. The goal of this study was to use interviews and field notes collected during a six-week fieldwork period to highlight lessons from the experiences and perspectives of colleagues who have typically been on the outskirts of the conversation about how formalized peace education can contribute to leadership development and national stability. Participants included faculty members, administrators, and alumnae, as well as leaders affiliated with the Rwandan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) and various civil society organizations. The study led to twelve key findings aligned with the three research questions, each of which is similarly aligned with a corresponding discourse theme and three clusters of interview questions, as well as three related overarching researcher recommendations for policy and practice, grounded in participant perspectives. Abstract (French) On peut soutenir que l’enseignement supérieur est essentiel pour la guérison et la stabilisation dans les contextes d’après-conflit, en formant des leaders qui attachent de la valeur à la paix et possèdent les compétences nécessaires pour l’atteindre dans divers secteurs. Un corpus de littérature en croissance rapide conclut que l’éducation à la paix, en particulier, a un grand potentiel pour transformer les communautés après un conflit, à la fois dans l’enseignement supérieur et à d’autres niveaux de scolarité. Cependant, il existe peu d'analyses rigoureuses des décisions des responsables de l'éducation chargés de la mise en œuvre de tels programmes, en particulier dans les situations d'après-conflit où les besoins sont particulièrement difficiles. Cette enquête qualitative documentait le programme de maîtrise en études sur la paix et la transformation des conflits, géré par le Centre de gestion des conflits (CCM) du Collège des arts et des sciences sociales de l’Université du Rwanda (CASS), un des premiers du genre dans la région. L’objectif de cette étude était d’utiliser les interviews et les notes de terrain recueillies au cours d’une période de travail sur le terrain de six semaines pour mettre en évidence les leçons tirées des expériences et des points de vue de collègues qui se trouvaient généralement à la périphérie de la discussion sur la manière dont une éducation à la paix formalisée pouvait contribuer au développement du leadership. et la stabilité nationale. Parmi les participants figuraient des membres du corps professoral, des administrateurs et des anciennes élèves, ainsi que des dirigeants affiliés au Ministère rwandais de l'éducation (MINEDUC) et à diverses organisations de la société civile. L'étude a abouti à douze résultats clés alignés sur les trois questions de recherche, chacune correspondant également à un thème de discours correspondant et à trois groupes de questions d'entretien, ainsi qu'à trois recommandations de recherche globales relatives à la politique et à la pratique, basées sur les perspectives des participants.

Can individual differences moderate the deleterious effects of nationalistic attitudes on post-conflict peacemaking? In this work we investigate the relationship between national identification and attitudes toward reconciliation as moderated by dispositional and situational empathy. We hypothesize that the relationship between the socio-ideological concept of national identity and conciliatory attitudes is moderated by an individual difference variable unrelated to group processes, dispositional empathy, as well as by state-induced empathy. We tested this hypothesis in the Balkans, which have been the theatre of two wars in the 1990s, using samples of the Serbian population, and in the U.S., which has engaged in a drone war victimizing the Pakistani people. Study 1 results demonstrate the negative impact of national identification on attitudes toward reconciliation and reveal a moderating role of trait-level perspective-taking (a key aspect of empathy) in the relationship between national identification and conciliatory attitudes. Study 2 results confirm the effects of dispositional empathy and national identification on attitudes facilitating reconciliation. However, moderating effects of trait-empathy are absent and the state-empathy induction yields results that are inconsistent with those dispositional empathy effects found in Study 1.

Like an elephant, while it may be difficult to describe, corruption is generally not difficult to recognize when observed (Tanzi, 1998, p. 564). Many countries have been, or are currently typified by both lethal conflict and massive corruption. Historically, post-conflict development programs have imposed policies of zero corruption, yet they routinely fail. Initial research into “corruption” also identified significant ambiguities and self-contradiction with the definition of corruption, itself. This study used an Existential Phenomenological methodology with 8 participants from Iraq, Afghanistan, Uganda, South Sudan and Sudan to: 1) redefine and model corruption within a global construct, 2) examine the current doctrine mandating zero tolerance for corruption, and 3) examine the potential for tolerating moderate levels of corruption in favor of reduced lethal violence. Corrupt behavior is alleged by this research to include financial as well as non-financial mechanisms, and is motivated by Human, Institutional and Cultural Factors of Corruption. This research robustly redefines corruption, and develops new theories/models to better explain corrupt behavior. These include the Corruption Hierarchy, the Corruption Pyramid and the Universal Corruption Model. The research was inconclusive with respect to the tolerance of corruption mitigating lethal conflict, but confirmed strong support for policies of zero tolerance. In redefining corruption, many political, social and cultural norms currently exhibited by nation states, including the United States, are corrupt if/when properly classified. I’m desperate about my country. You’ve got to be strong in my country. If you are weak, they will take you. (Jeremy from Iraq)

Even though women who have been abandoned by their fathers at a young age are more likely to exhibit destructive behaviors as adults, there are cases in which women develop new social skills and become successful at building new relationships (Stolberg, Complair & Wells, 1987). The main purpose for this phenomenological research wasto understand the shared experiences of Hispanic women who were abandoned by their fathers at a young age and explore their conflict management skills. This research wasguided by the following research question: What are the lived experiences of Hispanic women who were abandoned by their fathers before the age of seven? Through conducting and analyzing phenomenological interviews with 25 participants and using the lenses of attachment theory, social construct and phenomenology, this research will contribute to scholarshipin different arenas. Findings of this research used the participant?s shared recommendations and suggestions as a means for discussion to help women who were abandoned as children prevent and cope with conflict effectively. Finally,this research will help social scientists understand whether being abandoned by a father at a young age has any effects in a Hispanic woman?s conflict resolution skills.

In the last fifteen years, conflict resolution, a collaborative, problem-solving approach to social conflicts, was introduced to new democracies in an attempt to develop civil society's capacity for conflict management (Mayer, 2000). Conflict resolution provides people with an opportunity to advocate effectively for their own interests in a non-violent, constructive manner through systematic educational efforts, skills trainings, dialogue initiatives, and mediation practices (Mayer, 2000). It empowers people to address, manage, and transform difficulties and antagonism into a source of positive social change and, thus, change people's negative psychological responses to conflicts (Bush & Folger, 1994). In this view, conflict resolution in new democracies' civil society provides citizens as well NGO practitioners with the skills and opportunities to practice how to express and resolve differences in a safe and constructive environment (Shonholtz, 1997). In an effort to provide additional information about civil society's conflict resolution practices and their affect in new democracies, this dissertation examines the existing efforts of South Korean civil society organisations to promote conflict resolution methodologies. Specifically, three organisations are examined to understand better South Korean civil society's response to PCR issues. Furthermore, by closely examining these three civil society organisations, this dissertation aims to explore what affect increased awareness and engagement in conflict resolution methodologies have on the democratic quality of civil society.

For decades, unresolved conflicts have negatively influenced the general public through increased violence, overwhelming the judicial system. A literature review suggested that between 15% and 20% of conflicts result in an impasse. This study was designed to understand how the implementation and application of the transformative meditation technique (TMT) is used to resolve conflicts. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the interpretation and implementation of TMT. This qualitative case study was grounded in the conceptual framework of interest-based negotiation (IBN) principles. The research questions focused on mediators' perceptions, interpretations, and depth of knowledge, as well as the effectiveness of the transformative mediation technique (TMT) as an improvement over evaluative or facilitative techniques in resolving conflicts and reducing impasses. Twenty face-to-face interviews were conducted with purposefully selected mediators. Data were coded and analyzed to identify recurring themes: interests, needs, responsibility, relationship, empowerment, problem solving, and negotiation. The findings of the data analysis revealed that mediators were familiar with TMT; interpretation and implementation varied with mediator style. Moreover, most mediators were not highly educated in TMT. In addition, it was found that simply having knowledge of TMT did not prepare mediators to apply the technique appropriately. Mediators were more attracted to the hybrid transformative mediation technique (HTMT). This study has the potential to create positive social change by reducing the number of litigations, giving relief to the overburdened justice system, and thus decreasing the use of limited courts resources.

This dissertation assesses the influence of international standards and guidance on peace education on education policy and practice at the national and local levels in a fragile state. It also explores the critical factors that affect this influence—or the lack thereof. Utilizing a vertical case study approach that draws comparisons across multiple levels, this research examines the case of Afghanistan from 2002 to 2015. The author explored the origins and content of these recommendations at the global level, investigated their influence at the national level, and assessed what then is implemented at the local level through the work of a local non-governmental organization (NGO).

While there has been a growing presence of peace education in international recommendations and instruments promulgated by the United Nations, this study demonstrates how challenging it is for the international community to coordinate and harmonize its discourse on peace education—let alone to influence significantly a fragile state’s national education policy and practice. The international community’s recommendations on peace education had only a limited influence on the Afghan government’s education policy and practice. At the local level, the global recommendations did influence the work of a local Afghan NGO, Help the Afghan Children, and its peace education program launched in 2002. The success of this program has triggered the interest of the Ministry in developing and testing a national school-based peace education curriculum that could be taught in all government schools in the country. However, the lack of resources and political will represent a great obstacle for the program to be scaled up at the national level. Overall, this vertical study underlined different potentials for the integration of peace education in schools at the national versus the local level.

As a critical case, Afghanistan provided sufficient positive conditions to implement some global recommendations on peace education, despite the complexity of the local context. The critical factors that explain the limits of this influence are not specific to Afghanistan and can be found in other fragile states. If they are not addressed, the international community will face similar obstacles to the integration of peace education in other fragile states.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Security Studies
Dale R. Herspring
North Korea and the ruling Kim regime continues to present a unique security dilemma to both East Asia and the international community. The Kim regime's actions, which often include hostile military and diplomatic foreign policy actions, often seem inconsistent with parallel efforts to peacefully engage the international community. This research examines the following question: what has been the historic relationship between North Korea’s domestic conditions and its propensity to engage in “hostile” diplomatic and military activities? I also consider whether the concept of diversionary theory, the idea that leaders pursue external conflict when faced with domestic problems, is an explanation for these actions. The study initially proposes there is a relationship between North Korea’s domestic challenges and its willingness to engage in conflict activities aimed primarily at South Korea and the United States. To test these ideas, I conduct a quantitative analysis of North Korean event data collected from both US and Korean sources from 1960-2011 and a qualitative analysis of three case studies. My findings provide only limited support to the idea that internal conditions faced by the Kim regime influence its conflict behavior. More influential are a select number of external conditions, especially those involving South Korea, which often prompt North Korean responses and heightened conflict levels. This research also finds that the ruling Kim regime has often turned to diversion-type actions as a means to achieve domestic goals, yet diversionary theory itself is insufficient to explain these activities. North Korea represents an ongoing security dilemma for both East Asia and the international community and in this study, I demonstrate how historical and political science methods can be used to examine and explain the actions of this reclusive state.

Several researchers have found a link between inequality across groups within a country and armed conflict. However, this research has focused almost exclusively on inequalities in income and political access, forsaking other key societal dimensions such as education. In this article, I examine the link between educational inequality across groups within a country and armed conflict. I use data from the Worldwide Inequality Database on Education to create measures of educational inequality by gender, wealth, and country region for developing countries across the world. I combine these measures with data on income and political inequality in order to better establish the unique association between educational inequality and armed conflict. Overall, I find a positive association between educational inequality and the likelihood that a group within a given country and year will be involved in armed conflict. This association is particularly strong across gender groups and country regions. These findings have implications for conflict prediction, preventative diplomacy efforts, and domestic and international organizations focused on educational and human development.

The aim of this paper is to examine if the two latest Peace Plans in the Palestine-Israeli con-flict observes the sources of the conflict and presents measures in the purpose of solving them. The point of departure is William Azar’s theory of protracted social conflict (PSC). According to Azar, the internal sources of a PSC lies in three clusters of variables: the com-munal content of a society, the deprivation of human needs as an underlying source of PSC, and the role of the state in the deprivation or satisfaction of human needs. The study is de-signed as a multiple-case study where the units of analysis are the Roadmap to Peace and the Geneva Initiative. An analyze instrument, based on operationalization of Azar’s three clusters of internal sources of a PSC, is developed and used to analyze the Roadmap to peace and the Geneva Initiative. The conclusions are that the two Peace Plans observes and present meas-ures to solve the communal content of the conflict, but both Peace Plans are unsatisfactory in presenting measures aiming to solve problems related to the role of the state and human needs. Especially the acceptance need within the state is missing in the contents of the Peace Plans.

Conflict management style preference and use of mediation within the Black population in the United States (US) is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a significant difference in conflict management style preference and use of mediation by African Americans and Afro-Caribbean (Jamaicans) living in the United States. Based on Hofstede's theory of individualism-collectivism cultural orientation, the US culture emphasizes individualism while Jamaica’s culture emphasizes collectivism. Responses were collected from 108 African American and Jamaican respondents anonymously, of which 96 were deemed usable. The Rahim (1983) Organizational Conflict Management Style Inventory was used to collect data on the five styles and was analyzed with the appropriate statistic test. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the text-based data gathered from the two open-ended questions at the end of the survey. The thematic analysis revealed two major themes: personal and workplace relationship conflict situations. It is recommended that future study includes three groups of Blacks instead of two groups. The preferred conflict management style from the combined group result is the compromising style. A significant difference was found in the obliging and compromising conflict management styles between African Americans and Jamaicans. No significant difference was found between the groups’ conflict management style and willingness to use mediation. The open-ended questions and individual textual description of conflict experience and willingness to use mediation were used to clarify the quantitative results and provide a better understanding of the similarities and differences among people of African descent from different cultural orientations.

This paper argues that the interactive problem-solving workshops created by political scientist John Burton and applied to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by social psychologist Herbert Kelman, while not, as yet, resulting in a just and permanent peace agreement, are effective in resolving intractable conflict, and, if persistently used, can significantly help to produce such an agreement. This is done by closely examining two books of Burton and a series of articles by Kelman to describe their process; the characteristics of intractable conflict are also reviewed from the work of social psychologist Daniel Bar-Tal. It is then argued that the psychological elements of intractable conflict and the satisfaction of basic human needs are addressed in the interactive problem-solving workshops, exactly what is needed in intractable conflict. It is also suggested that the many outsider recommendations for the resolution of this conflict will not work because they do nothing to address the psychological elements. Recommendations are made to use the workshops to resolve disputes between the Hamas and Fatah political parties and various elements on the Israel side of the conflict; the top leaders of both sides of the conflict are also urged to participate in a workshop. This paper also notes that a fully completed peace agreement already exists in the form of the Geneva Initiative, assembled by Israeli and Palestinian persons exhibiting the qualities promoted by the workshops.

The collective nature of group affiliation may inhibit an individual from exhibiting prosocial behavior regarding acts of religiously-motivated terror. This study's purpose was to investigate the nature of bystander intervention as it relates to religious group affiliation. Darley and Latane's bystander effect theory provided the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions examined the impact of religious group affiliation and group size on the dependent variables of civic moral disengagement (CMD) and commitment to the war on terror (CWT). Three validated survey instruments were administered to a random participant pool of 206 respondents. An ANCOVA and Spearman's rho correlation were employed to address the research questions. Findings revealed that neither religious group affiliation nor group size significantly predicts either CWT or CMD after controlling for the degree of religious commitment. Further research should test alternative theories associated with leadership and group dynamics. Positive social change is advanced by acknowledging that bystanders to acts of terrorism may not be influenced by factors such as group affiliation or size of religious group affiliations. These findings underscore the complexity of the relationship between behavior and religious affiliation. Policy makers and future researchers may benefit by redirecting their focus for prevention and intervention toward influences such as the motivational dynamic between religious leaders and their followers.

Abstract: This thesis argues that taking a strategic sustainable development (SSD) approach to conflict resolution in areas of the world in long-term intractable conflict with intermittent violence could support an effective process and lasting outcome. SSD proposes a holistic systems perspective and decision-making framework to address challenges and opportunities at the largest scale, including identifying root causes and drivers of the conflict as well as finding common ground internally and externally. The currently unbalanced dynamics between the two fundaments of sustainability, a robust ecosystem and social fabric, are the basis of deeply unsustainable patterns of behaviour which are often also at the heart of conflicts. Socio-ecological unsustainability can be both a threat, and an opportunity for resolution and social change. The framework offers a proven way of organizing, evaluating and using tools that can aid in dealing with sustainability issues constructively, and evidence is presented to suggest its usage can be extended to conflict issues. This thesis analyzes the links between sustainability, strategic sustainable development and conflict resolution work in the areas of conflict described, and proposes a set of guidelines for approaching conflict resolution with SSD.

Thesis (MA (Political Science))--University of Stellenbosch, 2010.
Bibliography
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis explores whether sustainable peace can be achieved in post-conflict societies using the transitional justice approach. In particular, the truth commission is investigated as a mechanism of transitional justice. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was selected as a case study to investigate the relationship between sustainable peace and transitional justice. This thesis analyses whether the TRC Commission followed its mandate, and whether there are any specific definitions, conclusions or recommendations that the TRC through its Final Report undertakes in order to fulfill a specific part of the mandate, namely “to ensure that there would be no repetition of the past” (TRC vol. 5, chap. 8, paragraph 14). This is done through a textual analysis of the Final Report of the South African TRC, where inherent weaknesses of the Final Report in its aim of achieving sustainable peace are read critically and deconstructively. It is further analysed through linking the issue of sustainable peace to the field of transitional justice and the study of political development on how future TRCs can deal with the issue of sustainable peace. This thesis comes to the conclusion that the South African TRC failed to contribute to a significant analysis of how to prevent the repetition of the past. It is argued that this is based on a lack of a coherent theoretical framework, as the Final Report mixes two different truth finding mechanisms: micro-truth finding and macro-truth finding, together with the just war theory. By analysing the TRC’s theoretical framework through textual analysis, it becomes clear that micro- and macro-truth finding is difficult to combine in one report, and that in the South African case the micro-truth finding part is prioritised. However, the macro-truth finding mechanism would have provided a more in depth analysis towards sustainable peace – which in this thesis is read as Galtung’s positive peace and Lederach’s structural peace – and is a necessary prerequisite in order to achieve sustainable peace. Also the use of a traditional reading of the just war theoryThis thesis explores whether sustainable peace can be achieved in post-conflict societies using the transitional justice approach. In particular, the truth commission is investigated as a mechanism of transitional justice. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was selected as a case study to investigate the relationship between sustainable peace and transitional justice. This thesis analyses whether the TRC Commission followed its mandate, and whether there are any specific definitions, conclusions or recommendations that the TRC through its Final Report undertakes in order to fulfill a specific part of the mandate, namely “to ensure that there would be no repetition of the past” (TRC vol. 5, chap. 8, paragraph 14). This is done through a textual analysis of the Final Report of the South African TRC, where inherent weaknesses of the Final Report in its aim of achieving sustainable peace are read critically and deconstructively. It is further analysed through linking the issue of sustainable peace to the field of transitional justice and the study of political development on how future TRCs can deal with the issue of sustainable peace. This thesis comes to the conclusion that the South African TRC failed to contribute to a significant analysis of how to prevent the repetition of the past. It is argued that this is based on a lack of a coherent theoretical framework, as the Final Report mixes two different truth finding mechanisms: micro-truth finding and macro-truth finding, together with the just war theory. By analysing the TRC’s theoretical framework through textual analysis, it becomes clear that micro- and macro-truth finding is difficult to combine in one report, and that in the South African case the micro-truth finding part is prioritised. However, the macro-truth finding mechanism would have provided a more in depth analysis towards sustainable peace – which in this thesis is read as Galtung’s positive peace and Lederach’s structural peace – and is a necessary prerequisite in order to achieve sustainable peace. Also the use of a traditional reading of the just war theoryThis thesis explores whether sustainable peace can be achieved in post-conflict societies using the transitional justice approach. In particular, the truth commission is investigated as a mechanism of transitional justice. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was selected as a case study to investigate the relationship between sustainable peace and transitional justice. This thesis analyses whether the TRC Commission followed its mandate, and whether there are any specific definitions, conclusions or recommendations that the TRC through its Final Report undertakes in order to fulfill a specific part of the mandate, namely “to ensure that there would be no repetition of the past” (TRC vol. 5, chap. 8, paragraph 14). This is done through a textual analysis of the Final Report of the South African TRC, where inherent weaknesses of the Final Report in its aim of achieving sustainable peace are read critically and deconstructively. It is further analysed through linking the issue of sustainable peace to the field of transitional justice and the study of political development on how future TRCs can deal with the issue of sustainable peace. This thesis comes to the conclusion that the South African TRC failed to contribute to a significant analysis of how to prevent the repetition of the past. It is argued that this is based on a lack of a coherent theoretical framework, as the Final Report mixes two different truth finding mechanisms: micro-truth finding and macro-truth finding, together with the just war theory. By analysing the TRC’s theoretical framework through textual analysis, it becomes clear that micro- and macro-truth finding is difficult to combine in one report, and that in the South African case the micro-truth finding part is prioritised. However, the macro-truth finding mechanism would have provided a more in depth analysis towards sustainable peace – which in this thesis is read as Galtung’s positive peace and Lederach’s structural peace – and is a necessary prerequisite in order to achieve sustainable peace. Also the use of a traditional reading of the just war theory contributes to an individualisation of the truth finding process and does not sufficiently support the macro-truths. Finally, by deconstructing the term never again it is shown that this approach should not be used in the TRCs or in the wider field of transitional justice v
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ondersoek of volhoubare vrede in postkonfliksamelewings met behulp van die oorgangsgeregtigheidsbenadering bereik kan word. Meer bepaald word die soeklig gewerp op die waarheidskommissie as meganisme van oorgangsgeregtigheid. Die Suid-Afrikaanse Waarheids-en-Versoeningskommissie (WVK) dien as gevallestudie om die verwantskap tussen volhoubare vrede en oorgangsgeregtigheid te bestudeer. Die tesis probeer vasstel of die WVK sy mandaat uitgevoer het, en of die Kommissie se finale verslag enige bepaalde omskrywings, gevolgtrekkings of aanbevelings bevat “om te verseker dat die verlede hom nie herhaal nie” (paragraaf 14, hoofstuk 8, volume 5 van die WVKverslag). Dít vind plaas deur middel van ! tekstuele ontleding van die finale WVKverslag wat die inherente swakpunte van dié dokument in sy strewe na volhoubare vrede krities en dekonstruktief benader. Die verslag word voorts ontleed deur die kwessie van volhoubare vrede te verbind met die gebied van oorgangsgeregtigheid sowel as ontwikkelingstudies oor hoe toekomstige WVK’s die kwessie van volhoubare vrede kan hanteer. Die tesis kom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die Suid-Afrikaanse WVK nie ! bydrae gelewer het tot ! sinvolle ontleding van presies hoe om ! herhaling van die verlede te voorkom nie. Daar word aangevoer dat dít te wyte is aan die gebrek aan ! samehangende teoretiese raamwerk, aangesien die finale verslag twee verskillende waarheidsoekende meganismes vermeng – die mikrowaarheidsoeke en die makrowaarheidsoeke – en ook van die geregverdigde-oorlog-teorie gebruik maak. Deur die tekstuele ontleding van die teoretiese raamwerk van die WVKverslag word dit duidelik dat ! mikro- en makrowaarheidsoeke moeilik in een verslag te kombineer is, en dat, in die Suid-Afrikaanse geval, die mikrowaarheidsoeke voorkeur geniet. Tog sou die makrowaarheidsoeke ! grondiger ontleding bied vir die suksesvolle verwesenliking van volhoubare vrede, wat in hierdie tesis as Galtung se ‘positiewe vrede’ en Lederach se ‘strukturele vrede’ 5 verstaan word. Trouens, die makrowaarheidsoeke is ! voorvereiste om volhoubare vrede te bereik. ! Tradisionele lesing van die geregverdigde-oorlogteorie dra ook by tot ! individualisering van die waarheidsoekende proses, en bied nie voldoende ondersteuning vir die makrowaarhede nie. Laastens word daar deur die dekonstruksie van die uitdrukking nooit weer nie getoon dat hierdie benadering nie in WVK’s of op die groter gebied van oorgangsgeregtigheid tuishoort nie.