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A research report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities of the University of Witwatersrand in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in International Relations, 2017 / The international community's dynamics have undergone significant changes since 1990s. Famine, economic, security, and ethnic and religious animosities have greatly contributed to the emergence of conflicts globally. Preventive approaches, tools and structures in dealing with emerging conflicts rapidly became global trend. Early warning systems (EWS) were such preventive tools that bodies such as the African Union (AU) and the three regional economic communities (RECs) in Southern and West Africa and the Horn of Africa adopted to prevent conflicts on the African continent. [Abbreviated Abstract. Open document to view full version] / XL2018

The literature on civil war termination has argued that comprehensive peace agreements and third-party guarantees that provide verification, support, or enforcement of agreement implementation contribute to the successful settlement of civil wars. Yet, there is to date no systematic study of the complex process by which guarantees are first given and then fulfilled while accounting for the strategic context within which this process occurs. This dissertation explores how potential guarantors’ perceptions of their own and of the conflict parties’ interests and means influence whether and what type of guarantee they give. I show that a guarantor’s interests and capacity as well as its expectations of the conflict parties’ commitment problems and preferences affect its decision to give a specific type of guarantee in support of intrastate conflict resolution. In particular, a potential guarantor’s material and structural capacity determines the type of guarantee they are likely to give. In addition, a potential guarantor’s perception that the conflict parties prefer a negotiated settlement over continued fighting increases its expectations of a successful guarantee and thus makes a guarantee more likely. I test the theoretical hypotheses using statistical analysis, case study research, and in-depth interviews. The dissertation contributes to a better understanding of when and what types of third-party guarantees are given with the aim of supporting the successful implementation of peace agreements to end civil conflict. My findings provide a foundation for subsequent research on the effects of third-party guarantees on the peace process.

This project investigates states' strategies in the management of contentious interstate disputes asking why disputants select a particular approach, or forum, to serve as the stage for negotiations. The conflict bargaining process reveals incentives to reach peaceful solutions to war, but peace may be elusive due to bilateral bargaining problems (Fearon 1995; Schelling 1960). In general, third parties provide a useful service in interstate conflict management. However, not all third parties equally benefit the bargaining process. Recent research especially points to the efficacy of legal dispute resolution, such as arbitration and adjudication. The robustness of these results over different types of conflicts and disputants provides a clear prescription for substantive dispute resolution: If states are sincere about peacefully resolving conflicts, then the best way to achieve that - in terms of probability of reaching a settlement and ensuring compliance - is to submit to legal management fora. Despite the strength of this prescription, states rarely submit to legal dispute resolution. A majority of the time states, instead, negotiate bilaterally. Alternatively, they turn to one of the other, useful, but less effective forms of third party management, such as mediation. Drawing on these observations, the specific puzzle this dissertation addresses is why states avoid the types of conflict management that have been demonstrated empirically to be highly effective at resolving conflicts. In response to this puzzle, this dissertation defines a conflict management forum as as a venue for the substantive settlement of interstate conflicts, which is characterized by three different features: transparency, decision control, and expectations about distributional outcomes. This definition then serves as the basis for two formal bargaining models that explain forum selection in interstate conflict management. Empirical implications from these models were tested through a set of three laboratory experiments conducted at the University of Iowa. Through this series of theoretical models and experimental analyses, this project suggests that states select management fora that best balance their capabilities and interests. The features of a conflict management forum, which include decision control, transparency, and distributional biases, directly affect the outcome and long-term viability of negotiated settlements. States' ability to manipulate these features is an important part of the conflict bargaining process. In conclusion, the dissertation provides three answers to the motivating puzzle: States select management fora in order to balance power asymmetries and to enhance commitment to settlement, to identify focal points for settlement negotiations, and to break stalemates that could lead to violent breakdowns.

This case study began as a peer mediation program for a class of Year 4 students, implemented over an eighteen-month period as part of the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education syllabus. The program developed into a process that integrated skills development, an understanding of interpersonal interactions, emotional responses and self understanding. Using an action research model and analysis based in grounded theory it became an interactive, interpretative analysis of conflictual issues between student/student and student/teacher as together they explored a major psychological and philosophical issue, conflict resolution, on a local and personal level. This thesis seeks to authenticate the participants? attempts to change the way in which learning about conflict occurs, to change the ambience of the classroom and to develop a web of interrelationships that work towards a greater understanding of the problem area and ultimately of the wider social and cultural network in which we choose to li / Master of Education (Hons)

<p>Denna studie behandlar hur konflikthantering på arbetsplatsen, ett alltid aktuellt och</p><p>ekonomiskt viktigt område för många större organisationer, kan appliceras på mindre</p><p>företag och deras förutsättningar. Forskningen har hittills varit fokuserad på hur stora</p><p>organisationer kan hantera och förebygga konflikter, men det här arbetet menar att</p><p>mindre organisationer har fundamentalt annorlunda förutsättningar som gör att ett</p><p>nytt synsätt måste tillämpas i deras fall. Det finns ekonomisk och social vinning även</p><p>för mindre företag att förebygga och hantera konflikter och studien visar att för att</p><p>vara framgångsrika i det avseendet måste de fokusera på att utveckla sina icke-påtagliga</p><p>resurser.</p> / <p>This thesis discusses how workplace conflict management, an always current and econom-</p><p>ical important topic for many large organisations, can be applied to smaller businesses</p><p>and their conditions. Research have so far been focused on how large organisations can</p><p>handle and prevent conflicts, but I argue that smaller organisations have fundamentally</p><p>different conditions that forces us to treat them in a different way. There is a economic</p><p>and social value in handling and preventing conflicts for smaller organisations too, and</p><p>this study shows that to be successful with that they must focus on developing their</p><p>intangible resources.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (March 5, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Ohio University, June, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 55-58)

Denna studie behandlar hur konflikthantering på arbetsplatsen, ett alltid aktuellt och ekonomiskt viktigt område för många större organisationer, kan appliceras på mindre företag och deras förutsättningar. Forskningen har hittills varit fokuserad på hur stora organisationer kan hantera och förebygga konflikter, men det här arbetet menar att mindre organisationer har fundamentalt annorlunda förutsättningar som gör att ett nytt synsätt måste tillämpas i deras fall. Det finns ekonomisk och social vinning även för mindre företag att förebygga och hantera konflikter och studien visar att för att vara framgångsrika i det avseendet måste de fokusera på att utveckla sina icke-påtagliga resurser. / This thesis discusses how workplace conflict management, an always current and econom- ical important topic for many large organisations, can be applied to smaller businesses and their conditions. Research have so far been focused on how large organisations can handle and prevent conflicts, but I argue that smaller organisations have fundamentally different conditions that forces us to treat them in a different way. There is a economic and social value in handling and preventing conflicts for smaller organisations too, and this study shows that to be successful with that they must focus on developing their intangible resources.

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