Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 287-298).

Saturday Night and Sunday Morning marks the tenth anniversary of the Bradford riot of Saturday 7 to Sunday 8 July 2001. The day began with a peaceful demonstration against a banned Far Right march but ended in one of the most violent examples of unrest in Britain for 20 years. More than 320 police officers were injured as they battled rioters who hurled missiles and petrol bombs, pushed burning cars towards them and torched buildings. Criminal acts of looting characterised the final hours. Riot damages amounted to GBP7.5 million. In the aftermath, nearly 300 arrests took place and nearly 200 were charged with riot leading to prison sentences of four years or more. Images of the riot, and of a smaller disturbance which followed on one of its traditionally 'white' estates, have haunted Bradford ever since. Nine years later, in August 2010, Bradford faced another Far Right provocation. The English Defence League came in force to demonstrate against Bradford's Muslim population. Bradford braced itself. However this time, Asian lads mostly stayed off the streets and the police worked with the council, communities and local activists to keep order against the threat of violence. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning traces Bradford's journey over the decade, beginning with the voices of rioters, police and others interviewed after the 2001 riot and ending with those of former rioters, citizens, police and politicians following the EDL protest. The authors argue that while 2001 reflected a collective failure of Bradford District to address a social legacy of industrial decline in a multicultural context, 2010 revealed how leadership from above combined with leadership from below restored its confidence and opened up possibilities for a new era in Bradford's history and prospects. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning is written by two authors from the University's renowned Department of Peace Studies who balance research with an active commitment to peace, economic regeneration and social justice in Bradford.

The purpose of this study is to ascertain and explain the effectiveness of Roma political activism in contesting state oppression in Macedonia and Serbia. More specifically, this thesis seeks to investigate the divergent treatment of Roma communities in the respective states by analyzing the role of state institutions, civil society, political parties and international organizations. The thesis seeks to provide a multi-level analysis of Roma mobilization in Macedonia and Serbia by addressing the domestic and international factors that influence Roma political activism, and relies on two main theoretical concepts within the social movement literature: the Political Opportunity Structure (POS) model and 'transnational advocacy networks.' The POS model is a comprehensive framework to assess if Roma political activism has been effective in Macedonia and Serbia. This study uses the following components to describe the domestic factors that may facilitate or constrain Romani activism in the respective states: state repression and/or facilitation, institutional access, influential domestic and international allies. This thesis attempts to provide a detailed analysis of movement dynamics by taking into account the inter-relationship between actors and contesting groups. The limitations of the domestic opportunity structure regarding Roma advocacy in Macedonia and Serbia are outlined by describing the political context concerning minority inclusion, institutional mechanisms, and NGO/political party activities. As domestic opportunity structures are 'closed,' Roma activists and NGOs seek international allies to influence and change domestic policy on Roma inclusion. This study, while recognizing the importance of other international initiatives, specifically focuses on various institutions of the European Union as the main international actor influencing Roma inclusion policies in Eastern Europe. The thesis outlines the main EU initiatives on Roma inclusion to provide an overview of the opportunities and challenges in the international arena. Furthermore, it analyzes the interaction between international and civil society organizations assessing the effectiveness of the 'transnational advocacy networks.' Finally, the thesis provides a comparative analysis of Roma political activism in Macedonia and Serbia, indicating coordinated action has not been successful.

Desecration of religious places has drawn the attention of the world media, academics and policymakers on a number of occasions. The desecration of the Church of the Nativity, the cross-desecration by both Orthodox and Muslims of the Balkans, the desecration of the Sikh Golden Temple, the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha Monolith by the Taliban in Afghanistan and many others have attracted world condemnation. However, there has been little or no cross-sectional research or academic enquiry into the causes or impacts of desecration. The question of what constitutes desecration and what are the impacts of desecration are the subject of this study. This study attempts to establish that desecration could be a factor for protest, rebellion and violence, often independent of political, economic and social factors. The study begins with a discussion about the concept of the sacred and profane followed by an analysis of what factors influence sacredness. Based on a historical perspective of desecration and pollution a causal relationship is established to explain why believers consider desecration to be a challenge and resort to protests, rebellion or violence. Finally, the hypotheses are demonstrated qualitatively, through a number of cases studies.

The international community adopted DDR programs at the end of the Cold War in 1989 as a means to end violent conflicts in various parts of world. The traditional DDR programs were designed either to disband the defeated enemy forces, or to integrate excombatants where the fighting has not been conclusive. Exclusion of ex-combatants has resulted in renewed conflict. This thesis argues that conventional DDR has neglected two important aspects that are crucial for sustainable stability and societal reconciliation: military integration and a sensitization program. In contrast, an approach that integrates former enemy forces and equally reintegrates ex-combatants and government forces into civilian society not only ends violent conflict, but also bridges the social gap among ethnic groups and, consequently, enhances societal reconciliation. The Rwandan DDRI program considers integration/reintegration of ex-combatants that precedes the sensitization phase that takes 3-4 months; this has led to stability and reconciliation after the 1994 genocide. Ingando is a reconciliation tool that transforms negative perceptions that cause ethnic hatred; mitigates conflict influence factors; and manages defeat, shame, and remorse on the part of the loser. Therefore DDRI programs that integrate a sensitization program and exit strategy lead to sustainable stability and reconciliation.

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy: Public Management (Peacebuilding), Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Conflicts in Zimbabwe have triggered communities to be divided along political party lines. Violence has been prevalent and this has intensified economic ruin and social polarity. In high density urban areas this violence continues to divide communities. The overall aim of this research study was to facilitate reconciliation in divided communities in Mashonaland province, Zimbabwe with the Alternative for Violence Project (AVP), an international non-profit organisation that provides experiential training to individuals and organisations in nonviolence and pre-emptive conflict resolution. The objectives of the study were to explore the underlying causes of violence in Zimbabwe, its consequences and impact since 2000, and also to explain the concepts of conflict transformation, forgiveness and reconciliation as used by AVP. In addition, the study explored AVP’s outcomes in different contexts and examined its potential as an instrument for reconciliation by implementing several AVP workshops in the divided communities. Hatcliffe, a high density area outside Harare, was used as a sample population for the study which drew from Lederach’s theory of conflict transformation and from Azar‘s model of protracted social conflicts. The researcher used a qualitative approach in the field research and interviewed both the victims and perpetrators of violence as well as elected leaders in the Hatcliffe community. The main findings of the study were that reconciliation efforts are best begun with an orientation towards peace-building for community residents and local ownership of all reconciliation processes. All community members directly or indirectly involved in a conflict situation are critical to reconciliation efforts and third parties must ensure that these people are empowered to make their own decisions. The study concluded that AVP is an effective tool which can be used to change people’s perspectives about conflict and that creating safe spaces where people can articulate their issues in a relaxed atmosphere can be deeply healing. Because the findings are not disconfirmed by prior theories and research based on similar efforts, but rather add to knowledge already gained, one can assume that there also is a degree of external validity to the study. / D

The study of terrorism has been both broad in scope and varied in approach. Little work has been done, however, on the territorial aspects of terrorist groups. Most terrorist groups are revolutionary to one degree or another, seeking the control of a piece of territory; but for the supportive population of a terrorist group, how important is the issue of territory? Are the intangible qualities of territory more salient to a given population than other factors? Are territorially based terrorist groups more durable than their ideologically or religiously motivated cohorts? This paper aims to propose the validity of the territorial argument for the study of political terrorism.

Can institutions successfully reduce ethnic conflict? Institutions such as autonomy and federalism are often advocated as a means to prevent ethnic conflict, however empirical evidence is largely mixed with regards to their effectiveness. In a similar manner, political parties have begun to receive more scholarly attention in determining their relationship with ethnic conflict, but their evidence is also mixed. In this research I examine autonomy, federalism, and the banning of political parties within ongoing ethnic group self-determination movements. While I do not find evidence for a relationship between autonomy and conflict, I do find that federalism increases the likelihood of ethnic conflict. Additionally, the banning of ethnic political parties indicates a strong increase the likelihood of ethnic conflict, while the banning of regional political parties significantly reduces the likelihood of ethnic conflict.

Thesis advisor: Kathleen Bailey / Although the Croatian and Bosnian wars of the early 1990s were brought to a peaceful conclusion over ten years ago, they remain pertinent events today both for the study of political science and future attempts at global conflict resolution. While they are often characterized as ethnic conflicts, this study poses the question of whether a conflict can ever truly be ethnic in the sense that the sole motivation for violence is ethnic hatred rather than strategic considerations. This question brings the motivations for violence in the Yugoslav case into question. This project explores relevant literature on contemporary theories of ethnic conflict and surveys events in the region from the arrival of the Slavic people to the Balkans in the sixth century to occurrences as recent as 2006. The conflicts are viewed in terms of more general views about conflict prevention and resolution as well as being more specifically applied to the current conflict in Iraq. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2007. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science. / Discipline: College Honors Program.

Civil conflict is a complex multi-layered event. As an outcome it represents a product of both the structural framework in place and decision-making between the different elite groups. From a historical neoinstitutionalist perspective, this dissertation will provide an answer as to why some illiberal democracies fall into civil conflict while others do not. It argues that horizontally unequal elites bargain for (re)distribution of political participation, economic assets and social services through formal and informal institutions in order to expand the shares of the goods distributed. The presence of cleavages and grievances amongst groups are enhanced when exclusion through inefficient redistribution takes place; therefore, a bargain failure with the potential to activate violent means, implies a disagreement amongst the elites over the allocation of resources to different societal groups. Bargain failures occur in the presence of non-credible commitments and information asymmetries. Inefficiency in the distribution can also be captured through informal institutions in the form of patronage networks, a side of the transaction spectrum which has been understudied. The contribution of this thesis to the general debate stems from this acknowledgement and alleviates this by incorporating the full spectrum of institutions which operate effectively within illiberal democratic regimes. Patronage networks despite being a fundamental part of how politics is conducted in illiberal democratic regimes have surprisingly been neglected in the contemporary study of conflict onset. By conducting two-level fsQCA along a selection of 21 cases of illiberal democracy across 1980-2012 including cases of ethnic conflict onset, the analysis will show that distribution through patronage networks does play a role in triggering conflict or in aiding to control violence depending on the efficiency of the distribution across grieved groups. Further comparative analysis of a most likely and least likely case for cases of conflict (Thailand and India Bodo conflict) and peace (Namibia and Bolivia) reveals that the effect of the patronage mechanisms when redistributive, plays a larger role as an instrument of preventing violent disputes across horizontally unequal ethnic groups.