Even though scholars and researchers have suggested that the Liberian civil war arose as a result of socioeconomic and political inequalities, oppression, discrimination, and marginalization of a certain group of people, Social Dominance Theory (“SDT”) suggests an alternate understanding: social group-based hierarchy is produced and maintained in society by legitimizing myths. SDT explains how these legitimizing myths tend to produce discriminatory and/or anti-discriminatory policies that are endorsed by dominant and subordinate groups, which, if left unattended, eventually lead to conflict.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento CientÃfico e TecnolÃgico / nÃo hà / O presente estudo foi realizado com as juventudes participantes do Curso Jovens Agentes da Paz (JAP), promovido pela OrganizaÃÃo NÃo governamental Centro de Defesa da Vida Herbert de Sousa (CDVHS), no Grande Bom Jardim. Esse curso teve como objetivo capacitar as juventudes para que se tornassem multiplicadores da paz e da promoÃÃo dos direitos humanos no espaÃo escolar ou na comunidade, realizando projetos relacionados Ãs temÃticas estudadas no curso. Diante disso nossa proposta ateve-se a refletir sobre essa experiÃncia formativa, a partir da Ãtica das juventudes, buscando coletar seus saberes e impressÃes quanto a vivÃncia e o trabalho com a paz. Para a realizaÃÃo da pesquisa, escolhemos como suporte teÃrico Matos (2001, 2003, 2006, 2011), Freire (2005; 2006; 2008), JarÃs (2002; 2007) e Dayrell (2006,2007). Optamos pelo estudo de caso, tendo a fenomenologia como principio norteador. Para a coleta de dados utilizamos a observaÃÃo participante, durante o curso, alÃm de entrevistas semi-orientadas, e grupos focais com jovens e formadores. Realizamos ainda entrevistas com professores e gestores nas escolas em que os jovens do JAP teriam de implantar os projetos. As juventudes anunciam a importÃncia do curso em suas histÃrias de vida o despertar para noÃÃes de Ãtica e tolerÃncia no cotidiano. Sobre a paz atribuem que se relaciona à âpaz de espÃritoâ ou estado de harmonia entre os homens. Vimos que boa parte dos jovens executou aÃÃes relacionadas Ãs temÃticas em seu campo de trabalho e de atuaÃÃo. A escola ainda se apresenta com ambiente desafiador, especialmente pela necessidade de se estabelecer e ampliar a relaÃÃo de diÃlogo entre gestÃo e juventudes. Destacamos que o impacto do curso na formaÃÃo dos jovens foi significativo, denotando nas suas falas e vivÃncias uma mudanÃa considerÃvel significativa de valores. / The present study was carried through with the participant youngsters of the Curso Jovens Agentes da Paz (JAP), promoted by the non-governmental organization Centro de Defesa da Vida Herbert de Sousa (CDVHS), in the neighborhood of Grande Bom Jardim in Fortaleza, Brazil. This course had as objective to enable youngsters so that they become multipliers of the peace and the promotion of the human rights in the pertaining of their school space or the community, developing projects related to the thematic studied in the course. Besides that, our proposal aimed to reflect on this formative experience, from the views of youngsters, searching to collect their knowledge and impressions about the experience and the work with peace. For the accomplishment of the research, we choose as theoretical support Matos (2001, 2003, 2006, 2011), Freire (2005; 2006; 2008), JarÃs (2002; 2007) and Dayrell (2006, 2007). We opt to do a case study, having phenomenology as its guiding principle. For the collection of data we use the participant comment during the course as well as half-guided interviews, and also focal groups with the youngsters and the course facilitators. We still carry through interviews with teachers and managers in the schools where the youngsters of the JAP would have to implant the projects. The youngsters reported the importance of the course in their lives and the awakening for notions of ethics and tolerance in every-day life. Concerned to peace they understand that it is related to the âpeace of spiritâ or state of harmony between all human beings. We saw that good part of the youngsters executed actions related to the thematic in their field of work and performance. The school is still presented as a challenging environment, especially for the necessity of establishing and widening the relation of dialogue between management and youngsters. We highlight that the impact of the course in the formation of the youngsters was meaningful, as it was denoted by their speeches and experiences, showing a considerable and significant change of values.

<p> Conflict management style preference and use of mediation within the Black population in the United States (US) is not well understood. The purpose of this study is to find out if there is a significant difference in conflict management style preference and use of mediation by African Americans and Afro-Caribbean (Jamaicans) living in the United States. Based on Hofstede's theory of individualism-collectivism cultural orientation, the US culture emphasizes individualism while Jamaica&rsquo;s culture emphasizes collectivism. Responses were collected from 108 African American and Jamaican respondents anonymously, of which 96 were deemed usable. The Rahim (1983) Organizational Conflict Management Style Inventory was used to collect data on the five styles and was analyzed with the appropriate statistic test. A thematic analysis was used to analyze the text-based data gathered from the two open-ended questions at the end of the survey. The thematic analysis revealed two major themes: personal and workplace relationship conflict situations. It is recommended that future study includes three groups of Blacks instead of two groups. The preferred conflict management style from the combined group result is the compromising style. A significant difference was found in the obliging and compromising conflict management styles between African Americans and Jamaicans. No significant difference was found between the groups&rsquo; conflict management style and willingness to use mediation. The open-ended questions and individual textual description of conflict experience and willingness to use mediation were used to clarify the quantitative results and provide a better understanding of the similarities and differences among people of African descent from different cultural orientations.</p><p>

L’Europe est une idée philosophique. Elle est ouverte aux différentes idées qui la développent. Elle est née suite à la christianisation des peuples et à la recommandation française pour l’universalisme chrétien. Charlemagne prouve que les nations européennes et l’unité de l’Europe sont liées étroitement. Cette présupposition domine les conceptions suivantes f rançaises de la période du Moyen-âge. Les idées philosophiques de la Lumière créent la communauté culturelle et l’unité européenne au sein du res republica litteraria. La crise de la conscience européenne du XIXème siècle et de la première moitié du XXème siècle mène à l’aggravement de la tension et aux conflits entre les États. Après la deuxième guerre mondiale Robert Schuman et Jean Monnet lancent la conception de l’intégration économique de l’Europe. Ils construisent la CECA appuyée sur tout ce que l’Evangile apporte, sur la tradition du fédéralisme chrétien allemand, sur le personnalisme français et le catholicisme italien social. La deuxième partie du XXème siècle voit une idée d’intégration particulière apparaître : l’Europe des États de Charles de Gaulle. La fin du XXème siècle c’est le traité de Maastricht à l’initiative de la France qui a ouvert un nouveau chapitre dans l’histoire de l’intégration européenne / Europe is philosophical concept. It is open to different thoughts, which contribute to its development. It arose as a result of Christianization of peoples and French support for Christian universalism. Charlemagne proved that European nations and the unity of Europe are closely connected. This assumption dominated in subsequent French concepts in the Middle Ages. The philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment create a cultural community of elites and the sense of European unity within res republica litteraria. The crisis of European consciousness in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century led to growing tension and conflicts between countries. After the II World War Robert Schuman and Jean Monnet, a liberal open to the Christian thought, put forward a conception of the economic integration of Europe. The European Coal and Steel Community comes to files, based on the word of the Gospel, the tradition of German Christian federalism, French personalism, and Italian social Catholicism. In the second half of the 20th century a separate integration thought also appears : Charles de Gaulle’s Europe patries. The end of the 20th century brought also the Maastricht Treaty, which was created on the initiative of, among others, France, and which opened a new chapter in the history of European integration

No description available.

<p> Information and communication technology (ICT) facilitates both the perpetuation of conflict and the coherence of peacebuilding efforts. ICT enhances the reach of belligerents motivated to promote conflict. ICT also accelerates the diffusion of narratives about the history, groups and motivations within conflict. These narratives promote rapid self-selection into identity groups within or on the periphery of a conflict, and reinforce motivations to continue or increase one&rsquo;s commitment to conflict. ICT also allows peacebuilders to coordinate, cooperate and assess their impact on a faster, more comprehensive and more accurate basis. Tools that promote situational awareness of peacebuilding efforts can enable peacebuilders to achieve efficiency and impact through specialization. ICT that facilitates awareness of shared problems and opportunities for collaboration can prompt cooperation among both international and local peacebuilders. ICT further enhances the scope, accuracy and speed of peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation efforts. Conflict and peacebuilding are activities defined by the motivations of groups. ICT does not change these motivations, but it affords their operationalization. The peacebuilding community must adapt to the challenges and opportunities posed by the introduction of tools which allow ideas to rapidly inspire larger groups to act and be accountable for activities in peace and violence.</p>

This study was undertaken in order to research on the trauma caused by the Matebeleland Massacre of 1982-87 in Tsholotsho Zimbabwe. This dissertation is two pronged: one part is to ascertain the trauma in the community twenty years after and the second aspect is to suggest interventions that can be applied. The history of the country and the political background to the conflict is the most rational way to explain why this may have happened. This history has been used to justify the Massacre and is being used continuously even today by those in power. If people do not learn from their history they are bound to repeat it, (interview with Phineahs Dube 4/8/20080). Trauma has been investigated using a qualitative social reconstruction narrative theory by way of cultural world view and not medical psychological means. Investigating people’s painful experiences and emotions has not been easy. A suitable framework and trauma measure which are scientifically approved had to be found and used in order to validate and verify the results in a manner that the outcome can be accepted scientifically and internationally. Chronic ‘on going’ trauma or Long-term Psycho-social Crisis is the kind of trauma that the researcher has come up with if conventional medical jargon is to be avoided. The survivors can not fully comprehend what happened to them but the greatest injury and pain is caused by how the community as a whole was under threat of annihilation by the Gukurahundi, The name itself is infamous and points to the brutal nature of the operation of this North Korean trained army battalion known simply, as the 5th Brigade. The interventions suggested are psycho-social since the context is rural Tsholotsho Matebeleland, culturally, a socio-centric set up with in an African world view, (Mbiti 1969) and (Mugambi and Kirima 1976). The Church is proposed as the agent for change in the community as light and salt due to its proximity to the community. The interventions include funerals services and rituals, testimonies, and archival processes for the sake of prevention and collective memory. The psycho-social cultural approach takes the survivor from being just an individual with a personal problem to a collective memory of experience. (Becker 2000: 18) This gives practical theology an opportunity for a logical conclusion of all theologizing which is a theology of praxis or engagement. / Dsecription (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / Unrestricted

Capacity-building is an essential component of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR) and peace-building in the aftermath of violent conflict. Civilians, mainly women and children are driven or abducted from their homes during violent conflict and suffer various abuses and atrocities. Many spend the duration of the conflict as refugees in Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps in neighbouring countries. Violent conflict impinges on their psychological well-being and socio-economic development making their re-integration into their former communities extremely complex and challenging. In the case of Northern Uganda, the conflict lasted for over two decades. However, since the ―Cessation of Hostilities Agreement‖ of 2006, the peace-building process has been particularly evident here. Numerous stakeholders have been involved in the capacity-building processes in Northern Uganda, and one such organisation is the Friends of Orphans (FRO) in Pader district, Northern Uganda. The purpose of this research study is to explore the challenges facing the FRO in transforming conflict and building sustainable peace through capacity-building in Pader district. The study explores the programmes the organisation implements and investigates how these programmes are relevant for the transformation of conflict. Apart from reviewing the literature, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews and used participant observation. The employees of the FRO – all of whom are involved with capacity-building in these communities – participated in these interviews in their capacities as social workers, teachers, administrators and field workers. The beneficiaries of these programmes include former child soldiers, abductees, child mothers, land mine survivors and orphans. Lessons learned by the FRO, as well as the researcher‘s recommendations, are discussed in the study in order to assist the future work of the organisation and other stakeholders who have devoted their efforts to the recovery of areas emerging from conflict.

Abstract not available.

Living among the people of war has left an indelible mark on my life. During the Bosnian war, I journeyed with the faith group leaders of local ethno-religious communities in their struggle not only to survive the open conflict among their peoples but also to somehow find a way to rise above it in the hopes of sharing a more secure and prosperous future together. Over the course of time an identifiable impulse among deployed chaplains toward an external ministry of reconciliation began to emerge. Albeit, ad hoc in nature, it has raised questions of the viability of such ministry among local religious leaders in conflict zones and its strategic value with respect to the accomplishment of missions. As such, this thesis will reply to the following two-part hypothesis: (1) Among operational chaplains in conflict zones there is an emerging sense of agency to seed reconciliation by building relation among estranged religious leaders and their faith communities resulting in a need for a new self-understanding expressed both theologically and in praxis; and (2) the writings of Miroslav Volf and Vern Neufeld Redekop can provide the basis for a framework that will enable the creation of strategic and operational structures that will allow reconciliation praxis to be sustainable and to grow. The methodology unfolds naturally in the structure of the thesis itself: context, theory and application. In establishing context, relevant data from a variety of chaplaincy resources is consulted with a view to identifying the beginnings of what is believed to be a paradigm shift in operational ministry. Documented case studies from both the Bosnian and Afghan theatres of operation are offered as a means of establishing the context. Of significance, the theory developed here may be generalized to other contexts. The theoretical component initially draws on the theology of Miroslav Volf. His theme of exclusion discloses the evils frequently characteristic of ethno-religious groups in conflict, often manifested in alienation, subjugation, demonizing and, sadly, extermination of the other. Additionally, Volf's theme of embrace yields a theology of reconciliation whereby the estranged religious other, and by extension their respective faith communities, discovers the will to embrace in an effort to rise above conflict and/or alienation to that of relation. Redekop's contribution resides in his ability to transition from the theological to the theoretical, tangibly identifying the dynamics of deep-rooted conflict. Through dialogue the mimetic modeling of acceptance of all by the chaplain is seen to move the religious other beyond a wounded subjectivity toward mutuality. Relation building sees the eclipsing of the structures of mimetic violence (exclusion) by those of mimetic blessing (embrace). Such seeding of reconciliation enables the self a renewed vision of the humanity of the other. Application draws on both theology and theory bringing them together in the formulation of the External Ministry of Reconciliation Paradigm, a contextual theology supported by a theoretical component pertinent to the external operational ministry of chaplains among estranged local religious leaders and their faith communities. Theory and praxis are then applied to both the Bosnian and Afghan case studies. Concrete and strategic operational structures emerge from the ad hoc, as the sustainability of the seeding of reconciliation becomes a viable ministry for deployed chaplains in conflict zones. Pivotal to this thesis is the will to embrace, understood to be the in-breaking of transcendence as the agency of chaplains mimetically model mutuality in relation, a manifestation of grace. The rigidity of the satisfaction of strict (retributive) justice as a prerequisite to engagement is deemed an injustice in and of itself due to its holding hostage any movement toward relation. An attending to justice will come to fruition in the journey toward mutuality. The chaplain's genuine receptivity of the other, demonstrated through hospitality and the creation of a safe place in which to share, reflects his/her aspiration for the empowering of the other , lead[ing] to creative and ever-expanding options oriented toward life (blessing). Both ritual and symbol factor significantly into the establishing of operational structures drawn from the hosting culture: an interfaith celebration, the breaking of bread together and the Shura are presented as examples. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)