Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2003. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 160 p. : ill. Advisor: Edward Crenshaw, Department of Sociology. Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-160).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

The failure by the world bodies to provide regime systems that guarantee minority protection is not only due to shortcomings in the peace building processes, but the overall situation based on colonial structural bearings. In the domain of human rights and political freedom; the fundamental principles of rights of individual and or a group of individual who regard themselves different, particularly on conditions arising from geophysical factors. The perpetual social, political and economic crises in the emerging African economies postcolonial conflicts have caused the region enormous pain and incredible human sufferings. The human and resource manifestation costs have been exorbitant. Thus, the region must take stocks to put its structures and functions on a firm, solid and sustainable foundation. Prof Khadigala in Moeletsi Mbeki (189,2011) remark, “African countries seemed to confirm the argument of being unprepared for democracy by virtue of the existence of narrowly based elites who often mobilised their ethnic constituencies against challenges within the same territorial boundaries”.

For the design of power-sharing practices in deeply divided places, there are two main macro-political strategies: consociationalism, developed and defended by Arend Lijphart, and centripetalism, associated with the work of Donald L. Horowitz. In this thesis, I consider the academic debate between advocates of the two approaches and consider the extent to which either model represents a successful tool of ethnic conflict management. Two broad questions are asked: can centripetalism promote political stability in deeply divided places? Can consociationalism? I address these questions by engaging a comparative case analysis of six deeply divided places, three of which have adopted centripetal institutions (Fiji, Sri Lanka, and Nigeria’s Second Republic) and three of which have adopted consociational institutions (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, and Northern Ireland). I present three central arguments in the thesis. First, centripetalism should not be recommended as a strategy of conflict management in deeply divided places. Its track record in such places reveals serious weaknesses. Indeed, it has tended to promote instability and exacerbate division rather than promote moderation. Second, consociationalism is better able to promote stability in deeply divided places. Third, consociationalism’s prospects of promoting stability are further enhanced when it is implemented in a revised and expanded form, labelled here as “comprehensive consociation.” This type of power-sharing addresses issues that go beyond concern with just political institutions, such as security sector reform, property restitution, and the return of refugees. These are the type of issues that are most likely to promote political instability if left unresolved. Failure to deal with such issues, I argue, is likely to make it more difficult for elites to agree to share power, or to maintain such arrangements. / Thesis (Ph.D, Political Studies) -- Queen's University, 2009-02-12 12:11:51.013

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

Ethnic conflict is a persistent and vexing problem for the world today. The intercommunal violence during these conflicts not only significantly alters the social and spatial geography in these regions for decades, but also frequently involves external actors who magnify the social conflict. It is within the urban areas that the impacts of violence are often most acute and deleterious to the once functioning system. Ethnic conflict transforms many urban areas into “divided cities” in which barricades and armed posts dominate the landscape. With this paradigm of conflict in mind, the overarching purpose of this dissertation is two-fold: 1) to examine how and why certain peaceful societies devolve into intercommunal conflict, and 2) to outline how ethnic conflict ultimately, and often irreparably, transforms an urban area into a “divided city.” In this dissertation, Nicosia, the ethnically divided capital of Cyprus, serves as the primary case study used to illustrate the process of social devolution from ethnic conflict to a militarily fortified urban division. The three main research questions are asked concerning Nicosia’s division. 1) What historic factors contributed to the progression and intensification of the social and spatial cleavages that appear in the urban landscape today? 2) To what extent is the urban divide diagnostic of the overarching ethnic conflict on Cyprus? 3) How is Nicosia’s urban division similar to or different from other “ethnically” divided cities and how might this comparison help further the general understanding of the causes and consequences of these entities? These three questions help frame Nicosia within the context of the larger social conflict on Cyprus as well as assist in developing linkages with other divided cities. As articulated throughout this study, Nicosia is a “model” divided city that typifies how the historically-laden process of ethno-territorial polarization can manifest itself in the physical and social geography of a contested region. In the end, divided cities epitomize the “worst-case-scenario” outcome of ethnic conflict and once the urban divisions take root, they prove exceptionally challenging to remove from the social and physical landscape. / text

Using Northern Ireland this study seeks to establish what conditions on the ground must be cultivated in order for this ripe moment to come to pass. This thesis argued that five conditions in particular were necessary, though not necessarily sufficient, for the success of the Belfast Agreement. These five conditions (1) the inclusivity of the negotiation process, (2) efforts to foster positive cross community contact, (3) the positive involvement of external ethno-guarantors(EEGs), (4) the involvement of formal international primary mediators, and (5) the use of targeted economic aid. What emerged was that when taken together, these conditions created the pillars upon which a more stable agreement was reached. What is also important is that none of these conditions are short term investments; they all involved a long term commitment to peacebuilding that began long before the official negotiations of the BA.

Using Northern Ireland this study seeks to establish what conditions on the ground must be cultivated in order for this ripe moment to come to pass. This thesis argued that five conditions in particular were necessary, though not necessarily sufficient, for the success of the Belfast Agreement. These five conditions (1) the inclusivity of the negotiation process, (2) efforts to foster positive cross community contact, (3) the positive involvement of external ethno-guarantors(EEGs), (4) the involvement of formal international primary mediators, and (5) the use of targeted economic aid. What emerged was that when taken together, these conditions created the pillars upon which a more stable agreement was reached. What is also important is that none of these conditions are short term investments; they all involved a long term commitment to peacebuilding that began long before the official negotiations of the BA.

Honors Project--Smith College, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-103).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 361-371) Also available on the Internet.