This essay explores the cultural and socio-economic barriers for women’s political representation in Zambian politics as well as the importance of women’s representation for their human security. Due to a Western focus on earlier research, a developing country was chosen in order to investigate any differing perspectives that would emerge. The guiding research problem was why Zambia despite being relatively stable and peaceful still ranked lower in gender equality indexes when compared to their more unstable neighbours.A theoretical model outlined by Nadezhda Shvedova was used to formulate interview questions. The main material used for the study was semi-structured interviews conducted with members of the National Assembly in Lusaka Zambia as part of a Minor Field Study. The results allowed for an expansion of Shvedova’s model with one more category. The main conclusion reached is that all barriers outlined in Shvedova’s model were present in Zambia but that there is a slow but constant progress in eliminating these barriers mainly through political will and representation of women in politics. Suggested continuations of the study are to do a comparative study with a country in the region as well as conducting non-elite interviews and surveys outside the capital city Lusaka.

This thesis examines processes of peace-promotion in the Balkans since the end of the Cold War. It is conducted from the perspective of International Relations theory and as such identifies peace as a pattern of order defined by the analytical framework of security communities. In this respect, the thesis argues that the initiation of a security community in the Balkans is a result of the post- 1999 international socialisation of regional decision-making by the EU and NATO. It, therefore, advances the concept of an elite security community as the embryonic stage of securitycommunity- building. The focus on state-elites is an outcome of the procedural dynamics of socialisation, where it is the decision-making behaviour that signifies compliance with externallypromoted standards. The conjecture is that the promotion of peace in the Balkans is the result of the extension of the Euro-Atlantic security community. The inference is that both the EU and NATO tend to be more convincing agents of socialisation as a result of their association/partnership and accession programmes. Being a complex and context specific process, the conditioning of Balkan states into a security-community-pattern of relations is underwritten by the Euro-Atlantic exercise of socialising power. This notion of power, however, is not defined as the control of policy-outcomes, but instead emphasises the ability of external actors to cause change in decision-making behaviour. The thesis also argues that the process of international socialisation has different effects depending on the nature of statehood in the target entities - in integrated states the external agency is both more immediate to discern and implement, while in awkward states the process tends to be longer and more intricate. Yet, as the case of the Balkans attests, the extension of the Euro-Atlantic security community to the region depends on the viable (even if distant) prospect of membership in the EU and NATO. In this way the thesis contributes to understanding the early stages of initiating a security community, as well as the role played by international actors in its promotion.

In 2015, the United Nations Global Pulse launched an experimentation process assessing the viability of big data and artificial intelligence analysis to support peace and security. The proposition of using such analysis, and thereby creating early warning systems based on real-time monitoring, warrants a critical assessment. This thesis engages in an explanatory critique of the discursive (re-)definitions of peace and security as well as big data and artificial intelligence in the United Nations Global Pulse Lab Kampala report Experimenting with Big Data and Artificial Intelligence to Support Peace and Security. The paper follows a qualitative design and utilises critical discourse analysis as its methodology while using instrumentarian violence as a theoretical lens. The study argues that the use of big data and artificial intelligence analysis, in conjunction with data mining on social media and radio broadcasts for the purposes of early warning systems, creates and manifests social relations marked by asymmetric power and knowledge dynamics. The analysis suggests that the report’s discursive and social practices indicate a conceptualisation of peace and security rooted in the notion of social control through prediction. The study reflects on the consequences for social identities, social relations, and the social world itself and suggests potential areas for future research.

Exploring the question of 'where are the women', this study undertakes a narrative thematic analysis of data collected from interviews and field visits with a grassroot women's organization called Machsom Watch in Israel. This study questions the missing link between Women, Peace and Security Agenda and the Responsibility to Protect, which both have defining themes of participation and prevention. Grounded in Feminist Security Studies and the activities and roles of the women of Machsom Watch are investigated.

The global Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has been established to address the widerange of issues and challenges faced by women in conflict and post-conflict situations, and acknowledge the vital role that women play in peace processes. Previous research has shown that although the women refugees are more vulnerable than their male counterparts, this group is still widely underrepresented in WPS policy. There is a gap between the WPS agenda and research on refugees. Women are only recognised as actors within the WPS agenda when they are geographically in the zone of conflict, and this does not extend to women who have been forced to flee. This thesis aims to investigate the policy representation of refugee and displaced women within African WPS national action plans (NAPs). In doing so, the research explores the theoretical concept of human security, and how it is related to feminist security studies and refugees, in order to understand the importance and relevance of including refugee and displaced women into national WPS policy. Within the theoretical discussion, the theories that have guided this thesis are also discussed, namely feminist research methodology and ‘What’s the Problem Represented to Be?’ (WPR) as an analytical tool. The material for analysis is all available African WPS-NAPs, there are 22 of them used in this research. These NAPs are analysed using a multi-method approach, three methods used to answer the research questions. First, a qualitative case study to ascertain if refugees and displaced people are represented in these WPS-NAPs, secondly, a thematic analysis to critically analyse these representions as they relate to four pillars central to the WPS framework, and finally, an illustrative case study of the Cameroon to offer descriptive insight into how policy problem representations are implemented in the practical world. The main conclusions reveal that African states do mentioned refugees and displaced people in WPS-NAPs, acknowledging the validity of the ‘women in conflict on the move’ actor within WPS; secondly, it concludes that each African WPS-NAP analysed creates a multitude of problem representations, and discusses the policy implications of this according to WPR theory. Finally, it concludes that the actual implementation of WPS-NAPs in the realm of refugee and displaced persons is still not fullyrecognised, despite the inclusion in policy. Therefore, more specific policy actions should be integrated into WPP-NAP policy planning and drafting in order to prevent fueling the real life insecurity of these groups, making them more marginalized and vulnerable.

"Peace and security in Africa is defined as the condition for elaborating the humanity of Africans and the promise of the place of Africa in economic reconstruction in the next centruy. Apart from being a recognised right in the African human rights system, it is also present amongst the objectives and principles of the AU political agenda enshrined within the Constitutive Act, with its attainment seen as the gateway to Africa's economic development. Furthermore, this undeniable synergy between the maintenance of peace and security and the attainment of development, also determines the realisation of other human and peoples' rights. Therefore, peace and security is of utmost importance in the current affairs of the continent and, a right being attached to peace and security, adds extra weight to its attainment as it places a duty on other entities for its realisation. Notwithstanding this importance, the concept of the right to peace and security is still quite elusive and underdeveloped, a reality which is incomprehensible taking into consideration the infamous characteristic of the African continent for its political unrest and civil wars. With 14 current internal conflicts, Africa hosts more than one third of the ongoing conflicts in the world. The countries not engaged in civil wars are faced with civil and political unrests, refugee influxes, terrorism threats and attacks, the HIV/AIDS epidemic and other contagious diseases, high crime rates, and natural disasters to name a few. It is against this background that a study into the conceptualisation of the right to peace and security is warranted and, as well , the available mechanisms for its protection within the AU." -- Introduction. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2003. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/academic_pro/llm1/dissertations.html / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

The African Union's Panel of the Wise was inaugurated on 18 December 2007. The prospects of the Panel as a conflict prevention and peace and security promotion tool in the AU Peace and Security architecture may remain dim unless its concept is understood and the Panel is effectively operationalised. To this end therefore, the objectives of this study are as follows: (1) To examine the need for the Panel in the AU Peace and Security Architecture. (2) To examine the institutional design of the Panel. (3) To explore the prospective roles for the Panel in the AU Peace and Security Architecture. (4) To identify how the Panel can promote the internalisation of peace and security in Africa. The study will propose key strategies to improve the relevance of the Panel as a tool of the PSC in facilitating peaceful interventions and promotion of peace and security in Africa. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2008. / A Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Law University of Pretoria, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Masters of Law (LLM in Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa). Prepared under the supervision of Dr Christopher Mbazira, Faculty of Law, Makarere University, Uganda / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

Student Number : 0400454M - MA research report - School of Social Sciences - Faculty of Humanities / The debate about the legality and legitimacy of third party intervention in the “domestic” affairs of sovereign states has been ongoing. This research focuses on the intervention by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the Sierra Leone conflict. The research inquires into the legality and legitimacy of the intervention, against the backdrop of existing international law prohibition on the use of force, and the principle of non-intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign states. An analysis of the emerging trend of humanitarian intervention and the current emphasis on human security is made in order to determine whether the intervention in Sierra Leone fits into this paradigm. While acknowledging the importance of states in international relations, this study inquires into the shift of security from “state centric” to “people centric”. This study makes a case for sustained efforts in the area of intervention on humanitarian grounds. It further argues that regional organizations should have a pre-emption right to intervene in conflicts that affect their regions of influence. However, the study also recognizes that this concept might be subject to abuse by powerful nations if not well managed. The study therefore recommends the importance of a well articulated framework that will serve as a standard for future interventions.

Studies on the inclusion of non-warring parties in peace agreements have risen significantly in the research community. Focus has mostly been on civil society and women’s inclusion while youth inclusion has rarely been studied. At the same time, in 2015, the United Nations Security Council adopted resolution 2250 on youth, peace, and security arguing that youth can contribute to lasting peace. However, this statement has not been substantiated with evidence of this relationship. This paper will therefore study the relationship between meaningful youth inclusion in peace agreements and vertical legitimacy, the people’s belief in the government’s right to rule. Using a comparative case study, the suggested hypothesis, that meaningful youth inclusion will lead to higher vertical legitimacy is tested in Colombia and Guatemala. The results do not find support for the theory. Meaningful youth inclusion in the Colombian peace agreement did not lead to a higher vertical legitimacy later. Of note is that there was limited information available for Guatemala which is a big problem for the study as I cannot estimate the change in vertical legitimacy and thus not draw any certain conclusions from the study. More research should therefore look further into this theory using field research.

This report analyses the work on implementing the Women Peace and Security(WPS) agenda in Myanmar. As the conflict in the country is excessively complex withmultiple ethnic, indigenous, and linguistic groups we asked the important question:Who gets included/excluded from their implementation of WPS? And where lies thepower to shape gender equality work in the country? We answer this by looking atpower from two perspectives, material resources, and knowledge which both act associally constructive and exclusionary power. We argue that several bureaucraticinstitutions’ implementation lacks conflict sensitivity and intersectional perspective. While answering the questions we explain how the work and relationship betweendifferent international actors affect the local organization.