A world class sports complex will impact on the neighboring communities by providing grounds for interaction. The idea of an economic lift through international exposure and athletic competitions such as soccer, swimming, gymnastics, volleyball, tennis, basketball, golf, track and possibly the Summer Olympic Games, as the Peace Games is enticing to a nation which is just now starting to rebuild its cities and is facing a stagnate economy. Many of the sports facilities in Sarajevo and other parts of old Yugoslavia have been destroyed. The opportunity exists, to create a complex where the most basic characteristics of sport are show - cased - camaraderie, healthy competition, sportsmanship and above all, human interaction. All key factors in the conflict resolution arena. Children are the most viable direction to follow. They do not know about war and ethic cleansing. By creating facilities which are designed for interaction, children who latter become adults, realize that ethnicity is irrelevant in a persons character. The other group to be targeted is that comprised of people who are asking themselves the question: what have we done? to our families, neighborhoods, cities and country? The ideas of the self serving leader who uses ethnicity as a means to power are becoming less and less appealing. When these groups are pared with the people who always new that war is wrong, specially when racially or culturally motivated, an healthy atmosphere can be achieved. People from one group will see their children and friends trying their best - sometimes wining, sometimes loosing. The emotional responses associated with it is critical. They will witness other parents from other groups having the same feelings for their children and friends. The observer can't help but notice that regardless of race or creed we are equal. We can expect that some of the residents from different cultures and social backgrounds will interact and become more tolerant if not friends as children and as adults. A teammate in sport, a teammate for life. This is where architecture and sport can be the most effective. / Master of Science

This study explores the link between regional cooperation and integration and the root causes of conflict in Africa. Specifically, it focuses on the experience of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which is arguably one of the most developed regional cooperation and integration experiments on the African continent. In particular, the study assesses the extent to which, and the conditions under which, the promotion of regional cooperation and integration in ECOWAS (in its multi-dimensional and multi-sectoral characters) contributes to tackling the root causes of conflict in West Africa. In doing so, it first evaluates the extent to which there has been regional cooperation/integration within ECOWAS, and then reviews whether this has had any detectable effect on the root causes of conflict. ECOWAS is home to many cooperation/integration initiatives, including intra-regional trade; migration and the free movement of people; monetary integration and macroeconomic convergence; regional norm diffusion; and conflict management and resolution initiatives. To an extent, such a level of sophistication explains why the organisation is often portrayed as one of the most advanced regionalisation processes in Africa, if not the most advanced. Yet the research argues that while the region appears advanced in its approach to regional cooperation, especially when compared to other African regional organisations, this does not necessarily result in actual integration (e.g. shared sovereignty), let alone a successful effect on conflict transformation. In reviewing the extent to which each of these sectors is factually integrated, the study argues that there is a gap between existing policies and their implementation. Of all sectors mentioned above, only two (regional norm diffusion and conflict management/resolution) can be considered as highly integrated, because of their ability to translate into practice some of the elements for which they have been designed. The remaining sectors either have low or medium levels of integration, mainly due to challenges of regulation and implementation along with the absence of political will and real commitment from most member states. In assessing the security situation in West Africa, this dissertation argues that ECOWAS can be credited for reducing the level of violence in the region, which although still plagued by political and security tensions, appears less violent than it was just a decade ago. As regards the issue of whether ECOWAS has had any effect on tackling the root causes of conflict in the region, the analysis reveals that the organisation has been quite successful at diffusing regional norms of good governance and democracy, also thanks to the commitment and political will of member states. On the other hand, it does not appear as if intra-regional trade as well as monetary and macroeconomic convergence have exerted any tangible effects on conflict transformation, mainly due to the reluctance to share sovereignty, the lack of political will and poor implementation. Moreover, this study contends that ECOWAS’ effect on the root causes of conflict through its conflict management and resolution initiatives has been minimal, because initiatives within this domain focus mainly on containing existing tensions, with their capacity at preventing conflicts being hindered by a variety of factors, including inefficiencies and frictions, the ad-hoc modus operandi, the lack of capacity and financial means, and the reluctance by member states to adopt a coherent regional framework based on shared sovereignty. Finally, the study argues that migration and the free movement of people in ECOWAS may have a double-effect on conflicts in West Africa. On the one hand, it fosters a greater sense of common purpose and cultural sharing. On the other hand, the poor institutionalisation of this area of integration may actually contribute to triggering tensions (for instance, due to corruption and harassment at the borders), while the persistence of porous borders allows armed groups to move across the region. The dissertation ends by raising questions as to whether regional cooperation and integration in Africa should be seen as a promising avenue to address the root causes of conflict, due to the mixed results of a rather ‘good’ case such as ECOWAS; and alternative approaches are contemplated. / Dissertation (MA (International Relations))--University of Pretoria, 2014. / Political Sciences / MA (International Relations) / Unrestricted

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This dissertation studies public attitudes toward nuclear weapons. When do people become more willing to endorse a preemptive nuclear strike against a foreign country? Utilizing theoretical insights from international relations, comparative politics, and social psychology and original experimental survey data from Israel and the U.S., this dissertation aims to answer these questions. Influential strands of scholarship argue that both the public and political elites have internalized anti-nuclear norms. The critics, however, assert that the moral nuclear taboo lacks robustness. The dissertation joins this debate by offering a novel theoretical framework informed by terror management theory (TMT) and suggests that people are more likely to support extreme forms of warfare (e.g., nuclear strikes) when reminded of their own mortality. Thus, consequentialist factors, such as perceived utility, and psychological factors, such as moral foundations theory and TMT can be causal mechanism in the support for nuclear weapons. The findings support this argument as respondents who are treated with increased salience of their own mortality are more likely to support the use of nuclear weapons. Further, the results show that political ideology, threat perception, and religion are all significant factors in shaping individuals' attitudes towards the use of nuclear weapons. Lastly, the work suggests that Israelis in particular tend to support hawkish national security options at the aggregate level. There is a positive effect of conflict events on Israelis' support for hawkish policies. Overall, this dissertation makes a substantial contribution to our current understanding of public opinion on the use of nuclear weapons in a first strike and why nuclear weapons disarmament, elimination, and non-proliferation is deeply challenging.

John F. Kennedy initiated the Peace Corps in 1961 at the height of the Cold War to provide needed manpower and promote understanding with the underdeveloped world. This study examines Peace Corps work in Colombia during the 1960s within the framework of U.S. Cold War policy. It explores the experiences of volunteers in Colombia and contrasts their accounts with Peace Corps reports and presentations to Congress. It intends to show the agency's assessment of volunteer work and how it compares to the volunteers' views and Congressional reports. Although the Peace Corps presented some topics and themes expressed by volunteers, the thesis exposes the discrepancies that existed between Peace Corps reports and the volunteers' experiences. Volunteer accounts reveal that there were some criticisms and stories that the agency did not report. Furthermore, evidence sheds light on the obstacles volunteers encountered, how they were presented by the Peace Corps, as well as the value of volunteer work as perceived by volunteers. Finally, the Peace Corps articulated a goal of making friends in the underdeveloped world, and the accounts of the volunteers support the Peace Corps assertion that volunteers were successful in fostering relations and understanding in Colombia during the 1960s.

There is an ongoing theme within the field of peace conceptualisation to create and to add to the meaning of peace. This has caused a fragmented field with over 130 conceptualisations. As we move forward, it isthus necessary to review whether the methods utilised to measure peace are suitable in the ever changing contexts of today. Studies investigating levels of peace or types of peace are as important now as theywere before and as they will be in the future. As the world becomes more interconnected and complex in its actions, and as more conflicts emerge, it is important that those involved, both directly and indirectly, understand what to strive for and how far away from that goal they are. Thus, it is extremely important to examine to what extent the measuring systems of peace and adjacent topics today reflect peace. This study examines current methods of measuring peace and adjacent topics through the lens of Johan Galtung’s violence triangle and his positive and negative peace dichotomy. Through a qualitative approach, this study aims to review whether how peace is measured today applies to a broader framework of peace and, if not, what changes could be made to enhance the portrayal of peace in today’s society. In this research, five measuring systems were examined, evaluated and discussed (the Global Peace Index, the Positive Peace Index, the Freedom in the World Index, the Human Rights Index and the Human Freedom Index). They were all found to be lacking depth and width. This was especially apparent within the peace-focused indices, which, when looked at together with the rest of the systems, does not hinder a larger understanding of peace, but separately it does. All in all, the two indices focused on freedom seem to be the most peace-related based on the framework employed. These findings showcase the need to re-evaluate how peace is measured to ensure that what is perceived as peace and peacefulness accurately portray both.

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