No description available.

Despite the fact that the majority of scholars agree that Paul’s letter to the Romans was written to address the Judean-Gentile ethnic divide in Rome, there is still a continued failure to follow through with the avenues that this position opens up for the study of Romans. Traditionally, Paul’s letter to the Romans has been read as a theological tractate, a reading that assumes an ideational or theological interpretation of the letter to the exclusion of Paul’s ethnic rhetoric present in the letter and how it might have related and even addressed the tangible relations between real-world Judeans and Gentiles in first century antiquity. This study investigates just that: how might Paul’s ethnic rhetoric have addressed the Judean- Gentile ethnic divide in Rome. After the introduction, the study reviews the current state of scholarship with regard to Paul and ethnicity in Romans. This then is followed by an elaborate socio-historical exploration of Judean-Gentile ethnicities and relations in ancient antiquity and the specific Roman context into which Paul’s letter was addressed. The impact of those relations to the origins of the early Christian movement in Rome and significant points of coherence between the socio-historical context and Paul’s letter are also established. Having established the socio-historical context, Paul’s ethnic rhetoric in Romans 1-4 is probed for how it might have addressed the Judean-Gentile ethnic divide and realised unity among them. / MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Despite the fact that the majority of scholars agree that Paul’s letter to the Romans was written to address the Judean-Gentile ethnic divide in Rome, there is still a continued failure to follow through with the avenues that this position opens up for the study of Romans. Traditionally, Paul’s letter to the Romans has been read as a theological tractate, a reading that assumes an ideational or theological interpretation of the letter to the exclusion of Paul’s ethnic rhetoric present in the letter and how it might have related and even addressed the tangible relations between real-world Judeans and Gentiles in first century antiquity. This study investigates just that: how might Paul’s ethnic rhetoric have addressed the Judean- Gentile ethnic divide in Rome. After the introduction, the study reviews the current state of scholarship with regard to Paul and ethnicity in Romans. This then is followed by an elaborate socio-historical exploration of Judean-Gentile ethnicities and relations in ancient antiquity and the specific Roman context into which Paul’s letter was addressed. The impact of those relations to the origins of the early Christian movement in Rome and significant points of coherence between the socio-historical context and Paul’s letter are also established. Having established the socio-historical context, Paul’s ethnic rhetoric in Romans 1-4 is probed for how it might have addressed the Judean-Gentile ethnic divide and realised unity among them. / MA (New Testament), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

No abstract available in dissertation / Politicisation of identities, negotiations and transition in a conflict society / Ethics of a genocide-free Burundi / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.A. (Philosophy)

Since independence, Burundi has lost over a million of its inhabitants to ethnic conflict. Political collaboration is divided along ethnic lines and this has destroyed the ethnic solidarity and good social relationships that characterized the pre-colonial period. Ideally, the mission of the Evangelical Church of Central Africa (ECCA) when faced with Burundi’s tragic and successive socio-ethnic wars should have been to promote peace, social justice, ethnic cohabitation, national reconciliation, respect for human rights, national reconstruction and to denounce all harm and discrimination against the human being. The ECCA has a sacred mission to announce the gospel to all humanity and to assist the people towards the positive socio-economic and political transformation of Burundi. This study will be of help to missiological scholars and to the church so that it may better carry out its prophetic mission according to God’s vision and with the purpose of positively transforming Burundian society. / Christian Spritituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

There has been a growing understanding in recent years of the links between conflict emergence and horizontal inequalities and increased focus on the role which development policies can play in both ameliorating and exacerbating the root causes of violent conflict. This study tests the empirical relationship between horizontal inequalities and conflict causation using the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict as a case study. The analysis shows robust support for the empirical relationship between horizontal inequality (which encompasses political, economic, social and cultural dimensions) and the emergence of violent conflict in Sri Lanka. In this context of inequality, Tamil leaders, who faced political exclusion, and their followers, who themselves experienced inequitable access to employment, education opportunities, assets, were inspired to mobilise and engage in armed violence. Thus, the ethnic conflict stemmed from the disillusionment, frustration and increasing radicalisation of Tamils in their attitude towards the Sri Lankan state, rejecting what they perceived as exclusionary policies. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerged as a key protagonist in the conflict, with an expressed view to establish a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. While most post war development policies are strongly aligned to government objectives, there are very little steps taken towards the design and adoption of policies to ameliorate horizontal inequalities. Instead, the government has identified security issues and economic growth as the cornerstone in the post war development process, and they are given greater emphasis in policies compared to underlying causes of violent conflict: inequalities in access to political power, economic resources and/or cultural status. Most Sri Lankan state actors are either not mandated to address equality issues or prefer conflict sensitive approaches to post war development. In general, there is a weak approach to conflict sensitivity in early post war development and reconstruction strategies (from 2009 to 2013). Likewise, there is relatively little attention paid to other conflict sensitive causes and dynamics such as the nature of the political system ii and problems of human rights. The failure to address fundamental issues relating to minority Tamil grievances has the potential to re-ignite the conflict. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / As the ethnic militias increased in strength after the transition to democracy, voices were raised whether they could pose a threat to the consolidation of democracy. In order to understand the problems that ethnic militias pose for the consolidation of democracy we try to show how they were established and how they have influenced the consolidation of democracy in Nigeria. Further, we ask if the ethnic militias have outplayed their role in Nigerian society. The main results show that the ethnic militias arose because of necessity, in an environment where ethno-nationalism was prevalent because of a repressive state’s inability to take care of its own people. The violent activities of the ethnic militias was not good for democracy in the short run, but as a counterweight to the state the ethnic militias played an important role in what can be described as civil society taken up arms. This militarising of society seems to have forced the state to take the ethnic militias more seriously. Hence, it can be claimed that the ethnic militias served as a midwife to the current Nigerian transitional democracy. However, as the state recognised the ethnic militias as a part of the political realm, and not just violent groups, the legitimacy for the ethnic militias eroded. The Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), which was the most influential ethnic militias in Nigeria, has now changed its agenda, and has not gone back to being the socio-cultural organisation as they were formed as. There is an important role for the OPC and the Niger Delta ethnic militias as a counterweight to the state, but dialogue should be the main way of communication, as violence will only foster violence. It seems clear that the state needs to take the first step in order to make this happen. The conclusion is that ethnic militias have had, and still have an effect on the consolidation of democracy by holding the state responsible for its actions, and by punishing the state when it does not act according to its people’s wishes. It can be claimed that they forced out democracy by highlighting the flaws of the Nigerian state even if the way they operated, was not democratic. By highlighting corruption, lack of law enforcement and unnecessary use of force, they were able to bring down the authoritarian rule and make way for the transition to democracy. However, they do not seem to pose a threat to consolidation in the short term, rather they can have a positive effect, as they can act a counterweight to the ruling elite and other forces obstructing democracy. As we show, ethnic militias are and have been a part of civil society, and the focus of the future should be how to incorporate them into civil society, especially the Niger Delta ethnic militias as they are still active. Ethnic militias (except for some ones in the Niger Delta) were a brief phenomena in Nigerian history, and the focus should be on understanding the reason for them coming into being, in order to avoid it happening again. This thesis tries to give a holistic view of the Nigerian political situation. This thesis fills a gap in the literature concerning ethnic militias, by incorporating the most important factors into a framework. This makes it easier to make an accurate conclusion on how they have affected democracy, and questions the opinion that militias were only harmful to Nigerian development. It is the author’s opinion that this thesis will give scholars a more nuanced perspective of the ethnic militias, and lead to more accurate research in the future.

Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Nigeria is a country that has witnessed ongoing – albeit sporadic – violent conflict since its independence in 1960 from Britain. A brutal civil war, known as the Biafra war, lasting from 1967 to 1970, was not to end social tensions in this ethnically diverse country. Violent conflict has been an ongoing reality since the end of the Biafra war in 1970. In addition, Nigeria has exhibited substantial environmental degradation and resource scarcity during this time. Hence, this study assesses whether environmental degradation and resource scarcity are independent causes of domestic violent conflict in Nigeria since the end of the Biafra war. Additionally, rich reserves of natural non-renewable resources – in particular the prevalence of oil – are analysed vis-à-vis the degradation and growing scarcity of renewable resources in order to consider the impact both these aspects have on post civil war conflict in Nigeria. In order to achieve this, this study concerns itself primarily with causation. It considers two aspects in this regard. Firstly, it evaluates the assertion that the environment is an independent cause of conflict. That is to say, it investigates the notion that the environment impacts independently on human behaviour. Secondly, it examines the components of the social structure that create conditions that manipulate the environment in such a way that conflict is the ultimate outcome. This study asserts that the agency-structure composite is important to understand in order to examine violent conflict and its relationship with the environment in Nigeria. This relationship-structure-cause premise is examined by using a complex theory framework. Consequently, importance is placed on the causal relationship between violent conflict, environmental degradation and scarcity, natural non-renewable resource dependency and the social, economic and political milieu in which this transpires. This study ascertains that severe environmental change can only be considered a cause of conflict when its impact is considered with other important factors such as economic and political anonymity, which – for the most part – create the milieu in which subsequent violent conflict is the outcome. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Nigerië is 'n land wat deurlopend kan getuig, alhoewel sporadies, dat daar sedert sy onafhanklikheid van Brittanje in 1960, geweldadige konflik was. 'n Brutale burgelike oorlog wat geduur het vanaf 1967 to 1970, het geensins die sosiale spanning ge-eindig vir hierdie etniese diverse land nie. Gewelddadige konflik is 'n deurlopende werklikheid sedert die einde van die burgeroorlog in 1970. Daarbenewens het Nigerië uitgestaan vir hul aansienlike agteruitgang van die omgewing en hulpbron-skaarste gedurende hierdie tyd. Vandaar hierdie studie om te bepaal of die omgewing se agteruitgang en hulpbron-skaarste 'n onafhanklike oorsaak is van binnelandse geweldadige konflik in Nigerië, sedert die einde van die burgeroorlog. Daarby, ryk reserwes van natuurlike nie-hernubare hulpbronne, in die besonder die voorkoms van olie wat betref die agteruitgang en die toenemende skaarsheid van hernubare hulpbronne, word ontleed ten einde die impak van hierdie twee aspekte op post-burgeroorlog konflik in Nigerië te oorweeg. Ten einde dit te bereik, gebruik hierdie studie oorsaaklikheidsleer. Daar is twee aspekte in hierdie verband wat in aanmerking geneem word. Eerstens is die bewering dat die omgewing die onafhanklike oorsaak is van konflik. Dit wil sê, dit ondersoek die idée dat die omgewing 'n onafhanklike impak het op menslike gedrag. Dit ondersoek, tweedens, die komponente van die sosiale struktuur wat die omstandighede skep wat die omgewing op so 'n wyse manipuleer, dat konflik die uiteindelike uitkoms is. Hierdie studie beweer dat die agent-struktuur verhouding belangrik is om te verstaan ten einde geweldadige konflik en die verhouding met die omgewing in Nigerië te ondersoek. Hierdie verhouding-struktuur-oorsaak uitgangspunt is ondersoek deur gebruik te maak van 'n komplekse teorie raamwerk. Gevolglik word die belangrikheid geplaas op die oorsaaklike verband tussen gewelddadige konflik, die agteruitgang van die omgewing en skaarsheid, nie-hernubare afhanklikheid en die sosiale, ekonomiese en politieke milieu waarin dit voorkom. Hierdie studie stel vas dat ernstige omgewingsverandering slegs oorweeg kan word as 'n oorsaak van konflik as die impak daarvan oorweeg word met ander belangrike faktore soos ekonomiese en politieke anonimiteit, wat, vir die grootste deel, die omgewing skep waarin die daaropvolgende geweldadige konflik die uitkoms is.

This dissertation focuses on international actors' response to the ethnic cleansing perpetrated during the 1992 – 1995 Bosnian War. The work illuminates the multilateral attempt to reverse one of the outcomes of ethnic cleansing following the war, through the return of displaced people. The policy emphasis on "re-mixing" people, interpreted through a strategy of minority returns, and supported and coordinated on an international scale, was unprecedented. This dissertation asks: why did powerful states and international organizations pursue a re-mixing policy as a response to ethnic cleansing in Bosnia? At first glance, the choice seems counterintuitive. The policy was expensive. Post-1989, the West no longer needed "to keep Yugoslavia afloat." Furthermore, reversal required a degree and duration of international involvement that, at the time, was thought to be politically, militarily, and financially impossible. There are two existing explanations for this surprising phenomenon: international moralism and norm evolutionism. International moralists posit that international actors were moved to re-mix Bosnians out of a sense of guilt. Norm evolutionists argue that international norms governing appropriate responses to ethnic cleansing have shifted during the twentieth century towards support for re-mixing. In contrast to these two dominant views, this dissertation argues that the re-mixing policy initially emerged as a practical fix to a series of pressing, context-specific political challenges. State policymakers justified the re-mixing policy, however, on normative grounds. Though not the original incentive for action, international organizations on the ground then adopted the policy, empowered by states' normative justifications and thereby transformed the political rhetoric into concrete action. This dissertation corrects a common assumption that the origins and motivations behind the re-mixing policy were normative in nature, it contributes to a better understanding of how normative discourses emerge, mature, and transform into policy and it offers policy recommendations based on lessons learnt from this important and seemingly contradictory case.

There has been a growing understanding in recent years of the links between conflict emergence and horizontal inequalities and increased focus on the role which development policies can play in both ameliorating and exacerbating the root causes of violent conflict. This study tests the empirical relationship between horizontal inequalities and conflict causation using the Sri Lankan ethnic conflict as a case study. The analysis shows robust support for the empirical relationship between horizontal inequality (which encompasses political, economic, social and cultural dimensions) and the emergence of violent conflict in Sri Lanka. In this context of inequality, Tamil leaders, who faced political exclusion, and their followers, who themselves experienced inequitable access to employment, education opportunities, assets, were inspired to mobilise and engage in armed violence. Thus, the ethnic conflict stemmed from the disillusionment, frustration and increasing radicalisation of Tamils in their attitude towards the Sri Lankan state, rejecting what they perceived as exclusionary policies. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) emerged as a key protagonist in the conflict, with an expressed view to establish a Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka. While most post war development policies are strongly aligned to government objectives, there are very little steps taken towards the design and adoption of policies to ameliorate horizontal inequalities. Instead, the government has identified security issues and economic growth as the cornerstone in the post war development process, and they are given greater emphasis in policies compared to underlying causes of violent conflict: inequalities in access to political power, economic resources and/or cultural status. Most Sri Lankan state actors are either not mandated to address equality issues or prefer conflict sensitive approaches to post war development. In general, there is a weak approach to conflict sensitivity in early post war development and reconstruction strategies (from 2009 to 2013). Likewise, there is relatively little attention paid to other conflict sensitive causes and dynamics such as the nature of the political system ii and problems of human rights. The failure to address fundamental issues relating to minority Tamil grievances has the potential to re-ignite the conflict. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)