No description available.

No description available.

The current socio-economic and political landscape of Sudan and South Sudan can be described as one that is war-ridden and deeply divided by religion, culture, ethnicity and ownership over oil. It has been more than twelve months since the secession of Southern Sudan from the North (See Map 1). Despite the secession, general instability continues. To deal with this turmoil, Sudan declared a so-called “state of emergency” in 2012 along its border with South Sudan. The reason for this was the on-going tension between North Sudan and South Sudan over ownership of the oil-rich Abyei area. This conflict over oil is furthermore fuelled by diverse internal divisions among the Sudanese population (North and South). Sudanese diversity is characterized by two opposing antagonistic religious groupings, namely the Arabic North, whose main religious belief is Islam, and the so-called “black Africans” in the South, whose religious belief is mainly Christianity or Animist. In addition to this primary division there are also over 570 ethnic groups in Sudan (North and South). Conflicts and tension between the different ethnic groups is furthermore caused by disputes over natural resources such as water, livestock and land as well as political power and economic gains. Despite the continued conflict the assumption in this study was that the signing and implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) (2005–2011) represented a potential step towards eventual stability. This dissertation therefore focuses, as a case study, on an analytical description of the CPA and its outcomes. Specific reference was made to the role and impact of political mobilization by using an instrumental approach as a framework for analysis. In the above regard, research centred on the following three themes: *Ethnic mobilization as a factor in the political destabilization of Sudan since independence and towards the implementation of the CPA; *Ethnic mobilization as a guideline in the structuring of the CPA; and *Ethnic mobilization and the eventual outcome of the CPA. By addressing the above themes, the study attempted firstly to provide a balanced perspective on the causes of continued instability and conflict in Sudan. Secondly, an attempt was made to provide a future scenario for the possible unfolding of socio-economic and political developments in Sudan and South Sudan. / MA (Political studies), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

Ethno-politicization has been identified as a covert yet pervasive contributing factor in the various outbreaks of violence throughout Sierra Leone’s post-independence history. With the latest round of violent conflict having ended in 2002, the government of Sierra Leone in collaboration with local and international partners is presently engaged in peace-building. That being said, institutionalized peace-building has a considerable but imperfect track record of success. Furthermore, the intricate way in which ethno-politicization is woven into the social-political fabric of Sierra Leone is such that, if not effectively treated, it poses a continuing threat to the stability of the nation. Accordingly this thesis examined the extent to which ethno-depoliticization strategies have been directly incorporated into the peace-building framework. This task was accomplished through the development of a five-point definition of ethno-politicization that is based on the institutional instrumentalist theory. The definition provided an analytical framework used in the interpretation of results from a policy audit and field interviews with representatives of the peace-building architects. The research revealed that within the peace-building framework, ethno-politicization is not directly acknowledged as a real and ongoing threat to peace and stability and hence, a prioritized component of the peace-building architecture. However, some of the policy initiatives contained within the peace-building framework will indirectly result in ethno-depoliticization outcomes. These policy initiatives nevertheless require more rigorous and focused implementation and monitoring to be effective. Accordingly, the study recommends (i) the implementation of the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (ii) a constitutional amendment stipulating ethnic quotas for political party leadership and parliamentary candidates; (iii) the strengthening of civil society;(iv) an intensive nation-wide campaign promoting a national identity and; (v) the strengthening of democratic institutions, which also includes making ethnically-inclusive and ethnically impartial practices within public institutions as part of the performance evaluation of senior public servants.

Traditionally in the West, the pursuit of a secular society has kept a spiritual dimension fiom the study and application of most peacebuilding processes. By excluding a spiritual dimension, however, a tremendous resource for building peace is often lost. This thesis argues that spirituality can assist in encouraging connection and understanding between participants within a peacebuilding process. It also argues that religious/spiritual organizations and their leadership can play an important role in creating the conditions to support peace, through their organizational structure and position in society. Moreover, they can often find ways to prevent and transform conflict through the application of lessons, systems, insights and values from their own traditions, which may be more appropriate to their situation than importing outside solutions. The case study methodology used in this thesis incorporates the experiences that the author had while interning with various NGO's in Burma. The case study itself offers a specific example of why a spiritual framework for peacebuilding is needed. Through this example, an illustration of why this in that current conflict, is achieved. o t h e d e x t s are also discwed. type of framework is suitable, and how it might assist General lessons and insights that are applicable to n

No description available.

<p> Compassion is often misunderstood. To live with compassion does not mean to give up one&rsquo;s own well-being or to jeopardize the well-being of her family in order to serve the needs of others. Compassion means one must first take care of herself before she is able to tend to another. True compassion can exist only within the framework of well-balanced psychology or even-mindedness. It takes healthy self-esteem to realize one&rsquo;s own limits and set clear and direct boundaries to protect those limits. Compassion means being deeply human and at the same time honoring one&rsquo;s self and others. </p><p> Compassion, like muscle memory and rote memorization, is cultivated through practice. The current research from the field of neuroscience interprets compassion as a learned behavior as well as delineating that meditation is one of the most powerful tools for cultivating compassion and other balanced neurological states of being. </p><p> If we cultivated meditation, as we do reading and writing, as a part of the educational process for children from toddlers, through higher education, would that, in time change, what seems to be our addiction to the Ares archetype&mdash;war? At the very least, some students will see more compassionately, relate to life with more empathy, meet challenges with more optimism, and live with a greater sense of well-being and resilience. At best most of our children will grow up with these life affirming qualities that have power beyond measure to heighten the collective to live in a more peaceful state of consciousness. </p><p> This dissertation discusses the relationship between compassion and peace. As humanity becomes more compassionate, peace becomes a more viable state. </p>

Doctor of Philosophy / Security Studies / Andrew G. Long / This dissertation advances the study of civil war by addressing the means through which states’ police forces may affect the probability of civil war onset. I improve upon extant work on civil war and state capacity by considering the ability of police to act autonomously from the state and operate as a distinct element of the state’s security sector. The project consists of four substantive chapters. One chapter addresses the role of police capacity in preventing civil war and determines that simple measures of police strength do influence the probability of civil war onset. Also, anocracies require a greater number of police to prevent civil war. The next chapter tests whether police repression could lead to civil war by creating grievances among the populace. Tests of this hypothesis determine that while police repression can increase the probability of civil war, it is not as powerful a predictor as state repression overall. The third chapter looks at the effect of the mode of organization of police forces and contains two contrasting hypotheses. The first proposes that police force centralization increases the probability of civil war onset by increasing the likelihood that the state and police view the utility of employing repression more favorably. The other proposes that centralization reduces the probability of civil war onset by making the police more effective. Nevertheless, neither hypothesis yields significant outcomes when tested. The final chapter employs two case studies about the experience of police serving as military during a civil war. I find that in both cases, police service in what are typically military functions did tend to make the police more repressive after the war, which contributed to reoccurrence by giving dissidents a cause around which to rally and by reducing the dissidents’ perceptions of the utility of non-violent means of protest. I conclude the study with a summary of the major findings, suggestions for further study, and recommendations for policy makers.

<p> My dissertation investigates the role of women activists in the construction of peace in twenty-first century Colombia, combining a social movement studies framework with feminist, antimilitarist political economy. It is a a multi-method, feminist ethnography of three networks of women&rsquo;s peace organizations founded in Colombia in the mid-1990s: Ruta Pac&iacute;fica de Mujeres, the Movimiento Social de Mujeres Contra la Guerra y Por la Paz, and the Red de Mujeres del Caribe Colombiano. In it I show that by directing material and symbolic claims at the key structural foundations of armed conflict, women&rsquo;s peace activism is fomenting a unfying, counterhegemonic social movement voice in the country. The dissertation is divided into two parts. The first traces the history of the women&rsquo;s peace movement, and finds that it arose from a feminist movement born into armed conflict and have never had a safe space to operate. Since the 1990s the Colombian women&rsquo;s movements have been joining to form national-level networks and gaining transnational legitimacy and visibility. Nonetheless, activists continue to face persistent challenges from within and without, beyond the persistence of war: notably, the concentration of movement resources among urban elites and the exclusion of feminists of color who live in outlying regions. Despite this, my dissertation argues that women peace activists are subverting many of the presumptions inherent to Colombia&rsquo;s conflict and its longevity. In the second section, I identify four key personae on the stage of war and its discourse: confusion, victimhood, the body, and peace. I argue that each has played an important role in perpetuating and strengthening the patriarchal, militarized capital accumulation at the heart of the conflict, and that the activists under study are appropriating and reinterpreting these personae in such a way as to destabilize the foundations of war in the country. Using data gathered with several qualitative methodologies, including ethnographic observation, semistructured interviews, and archival research, I conclude that their organizing represents a potentially counterhegemonic, unifying social movement force that has the potential to play a transformative role in Colombia&rsquo;s new reality.</p>

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-01