Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / On t.p.: Master of Arts (International studies) Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Title from title screen (viewed on Sept. 22, 2009). "December 2007." "Master of Arts (International studies)" Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-89).

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Security, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2017 / In 2013, the South African delegation to the African Union (AU) vigorously lobbied other AU Member States to urgently establish the African Capacity for Immediate Response to Conflict (ACIRC) Brigade. South Africa argued that the continent needed a rapid deployment force to respond quickly to conflicts. Amongst others, the ACIRC will intervene in stabilisation, peace enforcement and intervention missions, the neutralisation of terrorist groups, and attacks on legitimate governments. The decision to establish the ACIRC was a response to the M23 occupation of Goma and French intervention to assist the Malian government, which was under attack from Tuareg separatists and other Islamic fundamentalist groups. Critics of the ACIRC mechanism argue that it goes against the principles of peacekeeping and is an indication that South Africa is advocating for a departure from pacifist to robust military intervention. From South Africa’s perspective, the ACIRC Brigade is intended to fill the security gap left by the African Standby Force. This research study argues that the ACIRC is not an indicator that South Africa is advocating for a departure from pacifist to robust military intervention when resolving conflict in Africa. Instead, the ACIRC mechanism, like the Force Intervention Brigade and the French army intervention in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Mali respectively, will provide the AU with a quick response mechanism for conflict. The robustness of response will be determined by the threat at the tactical level of military operation. As such, the deployment of the ACIRC Brigade will still be guided by the principles of peacekeeping as laid out in the UN Charter and Article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act. In this respect, post-apartheid South Africa has played a leading role in resolving conflicts in Africa. Those who subscribe to realism argue that South Africa participates in peace missions for its own self-benefit. They argue that its participation in peace missions will increase its global stature and improve its credibility in its quest to become a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. On the other hand, idealists argue that South Africa’s participation in peace missions is inspired by the principles of ubuntu and altruism. This research study argues that both the realist and the idealist arguments are credible when assessing South Africa’s participation in peace missions in Africa. However, Precious Pakamile Hlungwani 775032 iii notwithstanding the credibility of both arguments, there is more evidence to support the realist view on South Africa’s participation in peace missions. / GR2019

Using the Sudan/Darfur Conflict as a case study, this work seeks to address how and why the human security paradigm is a challenge for the African Union in its effort to establish long-term peace and stability in Africa. The purpose of the study is to assess the extent to which the human security model provides a realistic option with regard to the AU’s efforts which are aimed at enhancing peace and security in Africa. The key issues to be appraised include the extent to which AU’s policy framework for intervention in crisis situations emphasizes the need to protect the most vulnerable population groups such as non-combatant women and children, IDPs, and refugees; the parameters of the AU’s intervention framework and how effective the organization has been in addressing human security issues in Darfur; the challenges faced by the regional military forces and key development stakeholders in carrying out initiatives that will alleviate human suffering and simultaneously create conditions conducive to conflict resolution and a long term peace building process in Darfur; and proffering new prospects of action to ensure human security in armed conflicts The emergence of deep ethnic conflicts, the rise of rebel groups, and new and ambitious security initiatives have made regional efforts at establishing peace more daunting than before. The AU has started putting human beings more and more at the centre of its management of peace and security issues, but it remains severely constrained by financial and logistical problems. As a result, its success has been dependent on foreign contributions, something its predecessor (Organization of African Unity) always fought against. This study highlights the fact that AU efforts to ensure peace in Africa continue to be constantly frustrated due to the failure of African leaders to address the root threats to human security. Their failure to do so has in fact worsened the human security situation on the continent. The paper focuses on challenges faced by the AU specifically in the Darfur region, and explores whether the AU can be an actor in the promotion of human security. The main argument here is that the AU’s ownership approach to peace and security in the African continent, which emphasizes that African problems need to be solved by Africans, is fundamentally correct. However, for this to be successful Africans need to stop asking for whatever they think they can get from the international community and focus on what they really need. This does not deny the importance of promoting a strong global political will to assist African peacekeeping efforts, especially in terms of logistics and finances. Rather, the challenge for the AU is to use donor support strategically and to continue to employ a conflict preventive approach, one which places great emphasis on the significance and need for African leaders to start addressing human security issues from their root causes –whether social, economic or political. With the collaborative efforts of nongovernmental organizations, subregional organizations and the civil society, the AU could establish ‘AU alert institutions’ which will aim at ensuring that minority groups have a political voice, thus not only reducing the chances of ethnically based conflicts but also ensuring that sustainable development projects are implemented by tackling the root causes of conflict. / Thesis (M. Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

The aim of the study was to investigate the role of democratisation in peace building and conflict resolution. The findings of the study have revealed that democratisation plays a pivotal role in conflict resolution and peace building. It provides legitimacy for governments and encourages people's participation in decision-making on issues that affect their lives; democratic processes contribute to the effectiveness of the state policies and developmental strategies. The study has also showed that democratic institutions and practices foster the governmental accountability and transparency necessary to deter national and transnational crime and corruption and encourage increased responsiveness to popular concerns. In development, they increase the likelihood that the state goals reflect broad societal concerns and that the government is sensitive to the societal environmental costs of its development policies. By involving people in decision-making, democracy ensures mutual respect and satisfaction between the state and its citizens, and this in turn promotes peace and stability in a country. / M.A. (Peace studies and International Studies) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

Thesis MA (Political Science. International Studies))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / The end of the Cold War, marked by the shift from a bipolar to multipolar security order, prompted a significant change in Japan’s relations with Africa. New political and economic challenges, which are accelerated by the process of globalisation, have forced Japan to adjust its foreign policies accordingly- especially in the African context. The primary goal of this study is to analyse how the concept of human security has influenced Japan’s foreign policy towards Africa since 1998. This research question focuses on Official Development Assistance (ODA) and peacekeeping through the United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Africa. The methodological nature of this study is qualitative. Secondary sources are mainly used. This study makes use of the two contending theoretical perspectives in the security paradigm, namely Neo- Realism and the Human Security Approach. An important part of the analysis is Japan’s middlepowership and why it has chosen human security as its niche diplomacy in the new security order. The findings of this study suggest that the reasons for this are, firstly that Japan has had to justify its continuing ODA cuts to Africa over the last decade, as well as its pacifist stance on peacekeeping, which sees it refraining from directly intervening in conflict situations. Other key findings of this study are that Japan’s motives for providing ODA to Africa prior to 1989 were mainly economic in nature and that diplomatic relations were limited. What also emerged from this study is that Japan’s most prominent foreign policy goals include a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, establishing itself as a prominent global player both in political and economic realms, and securing favourable relations with states whose resources are vital to its expanding economy. Japan’s more recent relations with Africa can also be characterised by its multilateral approach, particularly through organisations such as the United Nations and the African Union. Important initiatives such as the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) have also played an important role in promoting African development. However, its future success will depend on coordinating TICAD and The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) policies, with human security as a common goal. The implications of the findings of this study are that Japan will have to formulate a more coherent foreign policy on security, especially towards Africa. Secondly, since Japan is no longer the ODA giant that it used to be, it will have to find new ways of defining its relationship with Africa, particularly in terms of TICAD and the G8. Future research could expand the analysis to an investigation of Japan’s ODA disbursements to all Africa countries. Additional attention should also be given to Japan’s foreign policy in terms of peacebuilding, and how the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is formulating these policies. Lastly, more research can be conducted on human security in general, and other aspects of it that are promoted through Japan’s foreign policy.

Current approaches to post-war state reconstruction are primarily dominated by the liberal peace thesis. These approaches tend to ignore the indigenous institutions, societal resources and cultural agencies of post-conflict societies, although such entities are rooted in the sociological, historical, political and environmental realities of these societies. Such universalised and 'best practice' approaches, more often than not, tend to reproduce artificial states. The Poro and Sande are the largest indigenous sodality institutions in the 'hinterlands' - a pejorative term attributed to rural Liberia and Sierra Leone. Both the Poro and Sande exercise spiritual, political, economic and social authority. In this thesis, I use critical realism and the case study approach to investigate: a) the extent to which the liberal peace practitioners who are leading state reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra Leone recognised the role and potential utility of the Poro and Sande institutions; b) the extent to which the Poro and Sande were engaged; and c) the implications for the quality and viability of the reconstructed states. This evidence-based research suggests that the liberal peace project sidelined indigenous institutions, including the Poro and Sande, in the post-war recovery and rebuilding exercises. The disregard for indigenous and emerging resources in the context of state reconstruction in Liberia and Sierra Leone has contributed to the resurgence of 19th century counter-hegemonic resistance from the sodality-governed interior of both countries. At the same time, the reconstructed states are drifting back towards their pre-war status quo. Authority structures remain fragmented, kleptocracy is being restored, webs of militarised patronage networks are being emboldened, and spaces for constructive dialogues are shrinking. This thesis underscores the need for indigenisation as a complementary strategy to help reverse the deterioration, and to maximise gains from massive investments in peacebuilding.

This academic research is focusing on the role of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in the maintenance of peace and security in Central Africa. It assesses the effectiveness of this Regional Economic Community in dealing with issues relating to peace and security. The study firstly discusses the legal framework that supports the mandate of the Central African subregional institution in the field of peace and security, and then it addresses its peace and security architecture. Secondly, this work stresses the achievements made by ECCAS in coping with security issues; it also stresses its shortcomings and examine the reasons behind them. Most importantly, although this research highlights the shortcomings of the ECCAS in maintaining stability and peace in the Central African subregion, it strongly advocates that the role played by ECCAS should not be underestimated and therefore, it makes some recommendations which can contribute to its rationalisation and make it more effective. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

At its core, this research project is a revision of how we conceptualise the role of international organisations. The concept of role is often invoked International Relations when discussing the function of institutions like the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), but its full meaning in this context has never been problematised, leading to varying perceptions of its meaning and a lack of common understanding in the discourse. In the case of the APSA, this lack of common understanding has led to a wide variance in how the role of the APSA is categorised, and a corresponding discrepancy in assessments of the institution’s success and utility, which has had a knock-on effect on policy recommendations, which also differ wildly from author to author. This thesis devises technical definitions for the various ways in which the word role is utilised in International Relations and related fields, and in so doing, aims to standardise our understanding of the role of institutions, using the APSA as a case study. After developing a new technical definition of role based on Role Theory, the thesis develops a research programme which sets out to investigate the true role of the APSA, based on an examination of how the APSA’s role has been shaped by key limiting and enabling factors, and how this role is shaped and influenced, and directed; all the while highlighting how it differs from the organisation’s stated role, and scholarly perceptions of that role.

The current scholarly literature on the international mediation of armed conflicts predominantly draws on a rationalist-materialist perspective. This perspective suggests that the ticket to mediation success is the material manipulation of the bargaining environment by third parties with a high degree of economic and military resources. In this dissertation I argue against those that highlight material power when explaining outcomes of international mediation processes. Indeed, this dissertation shows that legitimacy, far more than capacity, determines outcomes of mediation. The reason why legitimacy matters so much is that if a mediator has legitimacy, it can continue to look for a mutual satisfactory outcome and try to pull the conflict parties towards compliance, but if a mediator loses legitimacy, no amount of material resources will prove sufficient in mediating the conflict. In other words, material capacity in the form of economic and military resources may be useful to successfully mediate a conflict, but it is rarely sufficient. Through scrutinising international mediation processes in civil wars in Africa, I develop a theory that explains how mediators are effective because of a high degree of legitimacy rather than military or economic capacity. More specifically, I show how legitimacy matters through comparing the effectiveness of African and non-African third parties. African third parties are typically referred to as ineffective because of a low degree of economic and military capacity. However, African third parties are effective in mediating civil wars in Africa because of a high degree of legitimacy, which is a result of a strong conviction within the African society of states that African mediation is the most desirable type of mediation in conflicts in Africa. Drawing on data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program supplemented with unique data, which together cover all mediation efforts in Africa between 1960 and 2012, I find quantitative evidence supporting the effectiveness of African third parties. Compared to non-African third parties, African third parties are far more likely to conclude peace agreements and these peace agreements are more likely to be durable. Two case studies, in which several mediation efforts in civil wars in Sudan are examined, further probe the causal mechanisms that I put forward to explain the effectiveness of African mediation. While I do not claim causal generalisability on the basis of these two case studies, the mediation efforts in Sudan nevertheless suggest that third party legitimacy is central to mediation success. This is the first systematic study that compares African and non-African mediation efforts. Theoretically, this study deviates from much of the literature that solely puts forward rationalist-materialist explanations of mediation success. By bringing legitimacy to the forefront, this dissertation overcomes key limitations in the current mediation literature, in which material sources of power are emphasised and social structures are ignored.