ABSTRACT JUST NOT ENOUGH: REFRAMING JUST PEACE IN AN ERA OF PERSISTENT CONFLICT Derek M. Pottinger, ThM The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2016 Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Mark T. Coppenger Just peace is the proper end of an offensive just war. An ideally just peace is impossible must not be abandoned as a goal. This thesis argues peace is best viewed through a peace prism creating a six-level spectrum from war to ideally just peace. Levels 2 and 3 (marginally effective and substantially effective peace) do not qualify as jus post bella, while levels 4 and 5 (optimally effective and reasonably just peace) do because they address politics, economics, societal structure, international relations, and personal liberty postwar. Further the peace prism should be integrated into ad bellum decision-making as a precondition to meeting jus ad bellum criteria by using the maximum obtainable peace equation to estimate whether a just peace can be obtained at a reasonable expense in blood and treasure. Doing so will result in fewer decisions to go to war and a more ethically sound application of Just War Theory.

abstract: ABSTRACT In this thesis, I probe into the ways in which the much-debated word Jihad lends itself to multifarious meanings within the Mourid Sufi Order and examine the foundations of the principles of peace and non-violence that informed the relationships between Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, the founder of Mouridism (1853 ca - 1927) and the French colonial state from 1883 to 1927. As a matter of fact, unlike some Senegalese Muslim leaders who had waged a violent Jihad during the colonial conquest and expansion, Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba promoted peaceful forms of Jihad which partook of his reform and revival movement in the Senegalese society. Yet, it is worth pointing out that the Mourid leader's ethics of peace and philosophy of non-violence as methods of struggle (the etymological sense of the word Jihad) during colonial times have been largely unexplored within academia. The contours of these new forms of resistance were grounded on a peaceful and non-violent approach which, according to Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba, was the only way to reach his spiritual, educational and social goals. This thesis proffers a counter-example to religious violence often associated with and perpetrated in the name of Islam. I argue in this thesis that a close investigation into Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba's epistemology of Jihad evidences that the term Jihad has spiritual, educational, social, cultural and economic functions which naturally contrast with its one-sided and violent connotation spotlighted over the last two decades. In conducting research for this work, I used a transdisciplinary approach that can allow me to address the complex issues of Jihad, peace and non-violence in a more comprehensive way. Accordingly, I have used a methodology that crosses the boundaries of several disciplines (historical, anthropological, sociological and literary). / Dissertation/Thesis / M.A. Religious Studies 2013

<p> This study aimed to answer the following question: What is the transformative learning process, if any, undergone by soldiers who apply for status as a conscientious objector? Answers to this question were sought through a comparative case study that involved four soldiers who while serving in the military during the Iraq War applied for status as conscientious objectors. Semi-structured interviews, documents submitted by soldiers involved in the study while in the military, archival data, and autobiographical material, both written and documented through audio-visual media, were used as data sources to inform each of these cases. </p><p> The case study methodology was selected for its exploratory capacity, as it can provide rich insight into the attitudes, beliefs and worldviews of the study&rsquo;s participants by triangulating multiple sources of data. The researcher used semi-structured interviews to elicit openness of response by the participants, allowing for a process of discovery. Data analysis involved extraction of themes and statements that represented each individual&rsquo;s thought process and experiences that contributed to his decision to apply for status as a conscientious objector. The themes and statements elicited from the study&rsquo;s subjects were then evaluated from a transformative learning theory framework as developed by Mezirow (1991) to identify the degree to which the individuals underwent a transformative learning process. </p><p> Findings of this study indicated themes extracted from narratives of the four participants that could be categorized within Mezirow&rsquo;s 10 phases of the transformative learning process. A disorienting dilemma was present within all participants&rsquo; interviews and rational discourse was the theme least reflected within the narratives. Each of the participants engaged in reflective thinking in making his decision to apply for status as a conscientious objector and then took action in submitting his application. Of interest is that each entered a period of participation in activism, which over time subsided. However, despite departure from participation in activism a change in worldview related to conflict resolution remained. Participants&rsquo; enlistments stemmed from a combination of factors including lack of employment opportunities prior to joining, family tradition, desire for structure, the desire to help others, family dynamics and a sense of patriotic duty and security within communities. </p><p> This exploratory research provided a starting point for potential future research within peace studies. Follow up inquiry may include further qualitative research into the experiences of soldiers who join the anti-war movement after completion of their term of enlistment.</p><p>

The study explores the plausibility of the democratic peace as an approach to world peace in the information era by analysing causality and deductive structures associated with the variables world peace, democracy and information technology as found in text. It also pursues a normative objective, namely to propose ways in which information technology can be employed to further democracy and world peace. The advent of the information era challenges scholars of International Relations to evaluate theories and concepts of International Relations within the framework of information technology. Traditionally placed within the realm of liberal internationalism, the democratic peace contends that democracies are unlikely to wage war with one another because they perceive one another to be constrained by norms and institutions unique to their democratic nature. The spread of democracy will thus enhance world peace. Information technology contributes to the spread and institutionalisation of democratic norms by providing access to abundant information through channels difficult to bring under government control, facilitating the mobilisation and organisation of pro-democracy movements and creating unprecedented opportunities for civil participation in the political process. Through deductive reasoning it can therefore be argued that the democratic peace and thus world peace, are likely to be enhanced in the information era. This conclusion is based on a neo-liberal definition of world peace, that is, the absence of lethal violence between states amounting to battle fatalities of at least I 000. In the information era, such a definition is too limited to underlie a comprehensive approach to peace. Most wars are no longer fought between states or at the state level. They are protracted, deeply structural conflicts that involve a mix of state and non-state actors, private interests, professional armies or mercenaries and ethnic or religious factions. World peace is thus better defined along human security as opposed to national security lines, namely to remove the institutional obstacles and promote the structural conditions that will facilitate the growth of socio-cultural, economic and political trends to achieve conditions congruent with peace values such as security, non-violence, identity, equity and well-being. It is possible to expand the democratic peace approach theoretically to achieve world peace thus defined, by drawing on the Kantian origins of democratic peace theory. Kant emphasised that individuals are citizens of a universal state of mankind governed by universal morality. Such a cosmopolitan interpretation of the democratic peace grasps the interconnectedness and interdependencies of the information era, going beyond the state level and state actors. The approach is plausible because information technology enables global civil society through the help of the global media, to promote and institutionalise democratic norms such as security, freedom, justice and community. Civil society movements expose information about the often hidden interests or structural factors characteristic of wars. By mobilising public opinion and putting pressure on governments, international organisations and the private sector to act in ways congruent with democratic values, they promote global democracy and globalise the democratic peace. The plausibility of this approach to world peace is conditioned on the extent to which Internet governance and civil society are democratised, the digital divide bridged and the global media oriented towards promoting peace. / Dissertation (MA (International Politics))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

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Throughout American history, physicians and their close professional associates, including pharmacists, have been asked to participate in both public health and national security efforts. While these efforts are not inherently contradictory, some physicians within the medical community began to perceive them as such, especially following World War II. These physicians gave birth to an anti-nuclear “physicians’ movement” that challenged the notions of national security and used public health as a basis for doing so. They did this alongside two very important allies: natural scientists and concerned citizens, particularly middle-class women. This dissertation focuses on the two ways in which activist physicians were most directly tied to national security: as purveyors of information on the health effects of radiation (especially that resulting from nuclear testing) on people and the environment, and as participants in civil defense programs and exercises. Cold War physicians and pharmacists were expected to be the arbiters of information concerning the physical impacts of nuclear testing on Americans. Indeed, civil defense programs often described them as the “liaison” between the science community and the general public. Consequently, those within the “physicians’ movement” used their positions to challenge nuclear testing through medical activism. The Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), alongside various other anti-nuclear groups like the Women Strike for Peace (WSP) and Committee for Nuclear Information (CNI), presented information which contested the narratives of federal and state agencies, which often claimed that radioactive levels resulting from nuclear testing remained and would continue to remain safe for Americans. This challenge was largely manifest through the national conversation on the consequences of radioisotopes on public health, in particular Strontium 90 and Iodine 131. These radioisotopes fell from the skies in the form of fallout and worked their way back up food chains and into the American diet. This was especially disconcerting to young mothers, as infants and small children were particularly susceptible to these toxins. The “physicians’ movement” mobilized these radioisotopes and challenged civil defense throughout the early Cold War. Its leaders largely did so in the name of public health and were even credited by Kennedy’s science advisor, Jerome Wiesner, for their influence in garnishing American support for the passing of a Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT) in 1963. The LTBT was a monumental achievement of the anti-nuclear movement, as it eliminated atmospheric (above ground or aquatic) nuclear testing in both the United States and the Soviet Union. While underground nuclear testing continued, and other nations soon entered the nuclear club, this legislation greatly limited the two largest nuclear powers from further contaminating the global atmosphere to the degree that they had in the early Cold War. During the early Cold war, physicians and pharmacists were also expected to continue the tradition of supporting and preparing for war on the home front via civil defense exercises and practices. With civil defense administrators shifting their focus from conventional toward nuclear arsenals following World War II, they also began to predict the disproportionate destruction of physicians in post-war scenarios. Pharmacists and others within the medical community were being trained to take the place of these theoretically deceased physicians in preparation for a post-attack environment. The idea that pharmacists could replace physicians in a post-nuclear environment, as proposed by civil defense planners, alerted some physicians that something must be done. In response, the PSR participated in several congressional hearings, influenced the narratives of other anti-nuclear groups, funded anti-nuclear media, and fostered citizen-science projects in order to challenge notions of civil defense and nuclear testing in the name of public health. Medical activism, however, did not end with the signing of the LTBT. The PSR, in particular, only grew stronger as the Reagan Revolution and heightened Cold War tensions rose in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The PSR mutated from a local and national organization into an international participant in the Freeze movement and the anti-nuclear resurgence of the early 1980s. Medical activists again used many of the same methods they had relied on during the early Cold War period to challenge militarism such as professional journals, newspaper editorials, and popular media. They also began to use newer forms of media. In particular, the PSR funded the airing of several well-known and influential anti-nuclear films, like Day After and Threads, which challenged the foundations of civil defense throughout the 1980s. The story of Cold War medical activism illuminates the various tensions which have existed, and continue to exist, which are fundamental to balancing the necessities of national security with those of public health. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2018. / October 8, 2018. / Civil Defense, Cold War, Medical Activism, National Security, Nuclear Testing, Public Health / Includes bibliographical references. / Ronald E. Doel, Professor Directing Dissertation; Victor Mesev, University Representative; Andrew Frank, Committee Member; Rafe Blaufarb, Committee Member; Joseph Gabriel, Committee Member.

The Republic of Cyprus is often thought of as a tourist destination and hot spot for sun thirsty expats. Hidden from plain sight amongst holiday homes and blue waters, it may thus seem counterintuitive that Cyprus is home to a toxic ethno-nationalist political conflict that has mandated one of the longest running United Nations peace interventions to date. Still, life in Cyprus does not resemble a conflict zone. This beckon the conceptual debate of peace as more than the absence of war and raises questions of how peace is perceived by involved actors and subsequently, how it is influenced by subjective ideas. With negotiations stuck in a cycle of stalling and reassuming, the peace process is often described as the Cypriot deadlock. The cause of the deadlock is debated without consensus, but frequently boils down to disagreements over policies and issues of intercommunal mistrust. Looking to nuance these notions, this thesis aims to explain the deadlock ideationally by analysing ideas of peace as expressed by political elites and assess how they influence the peace process. The research presents a typological method for mapping ideational biases corresponding to meta-ideas of International relations theory. The central argument of this thesis is that the Cypriot peace process is deadlocked due to divergent ideational biases of political elites, rendering the rationales and strategies (the ideational underpinnings) behind the peace process ideationally unviable. This desktop study of Cyprus is based of primary data from the official websites of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and the United Nations, published between January of 2019 and April of 2021.

Although it has been more than twenty years since the end of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country is still on its path to recovery, which has been very slow and very painful. The unemployment rate is staggering high, the brain drain presents a serious issue, and the country's political system looks like anything but sustainable. The Dayton Agreement may have stopped the war, but it also created a complex political structure that does not encourage the cooperation among the three constituent peoples on the scale as it was envisioned. The aim of this work is to investigate to what extent the Dayton Agreement has solidified the constructed divisions and hatreds between the ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to examine in which ways the Dayton Agreement facilities and legitimizes the political elites' quest for securitizing the ethnic identity of the respective groups. It will also try to explain the reasons behind the rapid rise of nationalism that led to the brutal war as some of these motives may still reflect the current situation in the post- Dayton period. It does so by providing a theoretical framework, which reflects the constructivist approach that will be reflected upon when examining the empirical data from post-conflict situation in Bosnia and...

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