The government of Uganda, on realizing that community conflicts could not be handled entirely by the centre, enacted a Local Councils Act, whose operationalization began on 8th June, 2006. The Act established the Local Council Courts for the administration of Justice at the local levels; it was also intended to define the Jurisdictional powers and procedures for the established Courts and other related matters. Laws and guidelines were developed and the Minister of local government issued the Local Councils Courts (Regulations) 2007 aimed at facilitating the operationalization of local councils in their functions related to the administration of Justice. Since their inception, the experiences, challenges, and people's perception of these local councils is not very clear. Overall, the study explores the experiences of local council courts in resolving local conflicts and also comes up with suggestions for more effective resolution of conflicts. The specific objectives are: 1) to identify types of conflict handled; 2) to explain the process of resolving conflicts; 3) to document the degree of satisfaction with the court process and perception of the system's effectiveness; 4) to identify the challenges faced by local council courts system in helping to resolve conflicts; and finally to make suggestions for improving the effectiveness of these courts in resolving conflicts. This study used a cross-sectional descriptive study and employed both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. It was conducted in Lubaga division (LC III), Kampala District and it targeted members of the local courts, community members with a case handled by the local court representatives of collaborating institutions. The findings show that there was no uniform understanding of the phenomenon conflict apart from the community respondents and key informants who almost had similar view to mean 'a misunderstanding between two parties'. The local councils at all levels (LC I, LC II, LC III) were only mandated to handle civil cases. The cases mostly handled were; domestic violence (37/63); rent defaulting (35/63) and land disputes (30/63) .In all these cases the causes were mostly economical, social, cultural and political in nature. The study also found out that most of disputes were being brought willingly to the courts but a small fee levied was unpopular among the community members. The local courts were issued with guidelines to follow although these guidelines fell short of the expectations of the members who wished they could also handle criminal cases. The level of satisfaction with skills and capability of local courts members to handle cases was just above 50% and the reasons advanced were that in most cases the conflicts were usually resolved or settled, and the disputants were always allowed to ask questions. Most of the conflicts were usually resolved through negotiations (37/63) with courts playing a moderating role and encouraging the complainants to reconcile. Local courts were also perceived to be effective in terms of being quick and cost effective. The effectiveness of these courts was also looked at in terms of their ability to handle a wide range of services as reported by 38/63%) of the respondents. Other factors which were advanced as impacting negatively on the effectiveness of these courts include: biasness (36/63); lack of follow up, political interference and to some extent corruption. etc. The key challenges reported were; delivery of services on voluntary basis; lack of coordination between police and local courts; lack of local courts to implement judgments; pressure to make judgments on cases outside the mandate of these courts and the high rates of child offenders yet they were protected the existing laws. In conclusion, generally though not uniform there was a clear and rightful understanding of the term conflict. The local council courts were following the guidelines and were aware of their mandate of handling only civil cases which was a good practice. The approach of local courts endeavoring to solve cases through negotiations was a good one although at times it was reported as a slow process. Overall, communities were satisfied with the local courts and felt that they were effective in handling local conflicts The existing policies should be revised to accommodate: 1) remuneration of local court officials, 2) empowering the local courts to enforce their judgments; 3) clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the local courts vis-à-vis those of the police and 4) reviewing the laws regarding child-offenders less than 18 years of age. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

<p> Abstract not available.</p>

This thesis examines the complex interplay between violence and concepts of masculinity using the case study examples of former members of pro-Indonesian militia groups and current members of gangs, martial arts and ritual arts groups in Timor-Leste. Thirty-eight former and current members of these groups were interviewed in both Timor-Leste and Indonesian West Timor. While the members of these groups and their violent acts are often cast in relatively simplistic terms as being the work of misguided, socio-economically marginalised, violent young men, the thesis argues that the phenomena of these groups are far more complex and are intricately intertwined with local East Timorese and imported concepts of what it means to be a man. In addition to being political and economic projects, membership in these groups gives the men new, albeit often violent, ways of defining their masculine identity and defining their place in post-colonial, post-conflict East Timorese society. The violent enactments of masculinity displayed by the young men involved in the various groups examined in this thesis have been formed by the violent history of Timor-Leste but simultaneously the young men have also been personally involved in forming this history of violence. Both on the personal and on the level of the East Timorese state, these histories of violence are dealt with strategies of denial when it comes to taking personal responsibility for violence, leading to impunity and denial of justice to the victims. For the perpetrators, though, denial of responsibility and justifications of violence are used in an attempt to regain masculine honour and respectability in the eyes of broader society. Violence continues to be one of the tools they are willing to resort to for addressing real and perceived grievances, both on the personal and public level. Given the disruptive and deadly ways in which the activities of these young men have affected Timor-Leste, a central challenge for building a peaceful, just and equitable society will be to overcome the ways in which masculinities are defined through violence – a task which requires the involvement of East Timorese boys and men, but also their mothers, aunts, sisters, daughters, wives and lovers. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2010.

Conflict is an inevitable part of our daily lives, resulting from complex and often litigious society. In urban area like Kigali, where people struggle for the fulfilment of their basic interests conflicts are likely to erupt. Effective alternative are highly needed to deal with conflicts. This study was designed to seek how to establish a conflict resolution and mediation centre in Kigali with the aim of contributing to the search of peaceful and durable solutions to conflicts occurring between individual and community members in Kigali. The study examined the nature, causes, extent and consequences of conflicts in Kigali and the ways to deal with them. The research approach taken in this study was qualitative relying on structured interview, reviewing literature and documentary analysis around the subject. The researcher spent one month in Rwanda and got opportunity to engage a sample of participants to get their views. Twenty participants were selected in Kigali city and a ‘purposive sampling’ was adopted when recruiting them. Through interviews, participants responded to the objectives of the study. Informal discussions were also conducted with key informants to assess the relevance and the contribution of a conflict resolution and mediation centre. The findings revealed that there are a growing number of conflicts in Kigali with the pressures of urban expansion, their consequences are severe and their extent is considerable. The study showed a strong support of the initiative to establish a conflict resolution and mediation centre as way of handling conflicts in constructive manner. Finally the study suggested a variety of recommendations towards the Rwandan governments, to NGOs and Churches, globally requesting them to invest in the field of conflict resolution and especially to support the setting up of a conflict resolution centre as an office that can play a role of settling conflicts peacefully and effectively. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

The overall objective of the study is to explore with young people their attitudes and experiences of corporal punishment. The specific aims are: i) To explore children’s experiences of corporal punishment ii) To ascertain children’s attitudes towards corporal punishment iii) To explore alternatives that children suggest to corporal punishment as a form of discipline In this study I conducted in-depth interviews with eighteen early adolescents between ages of 10 to 15 year olds from a community in Imbali, KwaZulu Natal, and Pietermaritzburg. It was intentional to explicitly work with children from a similar black township of Zulu background. Hence the only representation I sought to address in this group was gender and the group was equally represented with 9 boys and 9 girls using a snowball sampling. The prominent findings of the study which confirm some of the previous studies of particularly Dawes et el (2004 and 2005); Maree and Cherian (2004); and De Wet (2009): Mothers are the prominent disciplinarians in the home. Adults use and support corporal punishment as tool to discipline. Criminalising corporal punishment has not been effective. Corporal punishment has worked as a temporary deterrent. Children still think corporal punishment is the only way to prevent children from being spoiled this is despite the fact that they think of it as painful. Boys tend to be more aggressive after the punishment. Girls are more fearful prior to the punishment. Children prefer being punished at home rather than at school. Collective punishment by teachers in schools was seen as unfair. Most preferred alternative to physical punishment was withholding of privileges like pocket money. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2009.

<p> Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) is an international development movement that uses sport to address international humanitarian issues, including education on preventing HIV/AIDS, peaceful resolutions in communities experiencing conflict, and establishing gender equality in male-dominated societies. The emergence of SDP as a branch of international development over the last decade has garnered much attention. National governments, non-governmental organizations, and scholars have involved themselves in the process of SDP. The attention that SDP has attracted by these parties has been both practical and theoretical. Scholarly studies by prior researchers on SDP have included suggestions on best practices, and how people working in SDP process and handle programming based on a particular world view. Therefore, this study aimed to address how American SDP interns reflected on their internship experiences. The purpose of this study was to examine qualitatively former American SDP interns' program experiences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven former American SDP interns. The findings indicated that, in their role as American SDP interns, the participants were at once complicit in and resistant to reproducing inequitable power relations, personal ideologies and Americanization processes while in their host countries.</p><p> <i>Keywords: Sport for Development and Peace, Americanization, Interns. </i></p>

<p> Since 1979, Saudi-Iranian relations have been tense due to their position as superior powers in the Middle East. Both countries have different values and perspectives in regards to diplomatic relations with the West. As a consequence of the new developments in Iran's foreign policy and the newfound openness to the West adopted by President Rouhani, the topic has proven to be of research interest. The primary concern of this research was to explore the effect of the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran in the Middle East, and whether or not there is a possibility to overcome this conflict using the new political developments. For this purpose, a content analysis methodology was employed. </p><p> Through an analysis of data presented in the literature review, which consisted of scholarly articles, policy briefs, and books, this dissertation examines the complex political relations through which the pattern of the bilateral relations explain the conflicting narratives. This complexity is present in the political actions taken by Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as the domestic and foreign policies they are embracing. The findings of this study demonstrate the effect of this conflict in the Middle East. The research also proposes a number of possible recommendations on how to resolve this conflict through political openness and reciprocal agreements that target the citizens of Iran and Saudi Arabia.</p>

<p> Previous literature has found that individuals who are highly identified with their own ingroup and who perceive an outgroup as being more cohesive (viz., high in entitativity) will exhibit greater levels of vicarious retribution. Further studies have shown that an individual who perceives the outgroup as having dissimilar values to their own will engage in higher levels of direct aggression. The current study was the first to investigate value dissimilarity as a moderator in the relationship between both ingroup identification and outgroup entitativity on subsequent vicarious retribution. This study used a 3 (value dissimilarity: high, low, neutral/no information) x 2 (outgroup entitativity: high, low) between subjects design. Results indicated that among participants who had a strong reaction to the provocation, low value dissimilarity significantly lowered aggression thus serving to buffer the effect of provocation on subsequent vicarious retribution. Implications for reducing intergroup violence and vicarious retribution are discussed.</p>

<p> Several researchers have found a link between inequality across groups within a country and armed conflict. However, this research has focused almost exclusively on inequalities in income and political access, forsaking other key societal dimensions such as education. In this article, I examine the link between educational inequality across groups within a country and armed conflict. I use data from the Worldwide Inequality Database on Education to create measures of educational inequality by gender, wealth, and country region for developing countries across the world. I combine these measures with data on income and political inequality in order to better establish the unique association between educational inequality and armed conflict. Overall, I find a positive association between educational inequality and the likelihood that a group within a given country and year will be involved in armed conflict. This association is particularly strong across gender groups and country regions. These findings have implications for conflict prediction, preventative diplomacy efforts, and domestic and international organizations focused on educational and human development.</p>

<p> Colonial legacies affect neocolonial experiences of conflict in the 20th and 21st centuries. A critical and comprehensive appreciation of the global "war on terror" reveals terrorism "from above'" (state-sponsored terrorism) as a growing issue in the international community. Further, women's varied experiences within communities of resistance are often undermined, ignored, or maligned within formal research on conflict and peace. Liberation psychologists are called to align with oppressed, marginalized, and suffering communities. To this end, this work explores the experience of women political prisoners of the Irish conflict for independence from Great Britain. A qualitative critical psychosocial analysis was used to understand the phenomenology of women's political imprisonment through the firsthand narratives of Republican women imprisoned during the "Troubles" of Northern Ireland. The intention of this study was to 1) provide an analysis of power and its connection to social conditions, 2) to provide a psychological analysis of how oppression may breed resistance in communities struggling for liberation, and 3) to explore the gendered experience of Irish women political prisoners. The results indicated that political imprisonment may be understood as a microcosm of oppression and liberation, and the subjective experience of political prisoners may glean insights into how communities develop critical consciousness, organize politically, resist oppression, and meaningfully participate in recognizing their human rights. Additionally, this research challenged the exclusion of women's voices as members of resistance movements and active agents in both conflict and peace building and challenged the failure to investigate state-sponsored terrorism, or terrorism from above.</p>