The focus of this study is on the occurrence of mass violence in Durban's settlements in the 1980s. Mass violence is defined as the violent reaction of crowds against targets, which may be people and/or objects - for example the stoning of buses or administration buildings, schools, etc. The theoretical framework for the study derives from recent realist philosophy emerging from prominent British social theorists. The method of analysis is based on a framework developed for the analysis of the UK inner city 'riots' of the 1980s. The theory emphasizes the nature of the relationship between the contending groups with particular attention paid to the presence of contingent factors. The analytical method was broadened so as to incorporate rebellion rather than simply 'rioting', as it was developed for in the UK context. Data was gathered in the first instance through an analysis of news reports of 'unrest' for the period 1980-85. Due to restrictions on the press from 1985, the Indicator SA unrest chronologies were used extensively for the period 1985-87. This extensive analysis provides an overview of mass violence, organizational developments, and government response for the period under consideration. Case studies were selected for the more intensive analysis presented in Chapter 4. These are based on published and unpublished reports of 'unrest', interviews, and group discussions. The extensive/intensive dualism of method assisted in giving both an overview of mass violence for the area, and an insight into the particular form it took in specific areas. Finally, the case studies were placed in their regional context, and further reasons sought for the particular nature of 'unrest' in Durban and Natal during the period. The conclusion assesses the explanatory power of the theory and methodology employed in relation to the South African situation. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.

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Violence, Atrocity and the Behaviour of Pro-Government Armed Groups Bronia Naorni Flett ABSTRACT This thesis explores the existence and behaviour of the under-researched and under- theorised pro-government armed group (PGAG). The core research question is: Why do POAOs behave violently? I define a PGAG as a group that is armed, organised and connected to government. Detailed evidence on PGAGs is limited and typically collected on a case-by-case basis by historians, anthropologists and journalists. The pro-government militia database (www.abdn.ac.uk/rnilitias) is the first project to collect evidence on these groups in a systematic manner. The database finds POAOs existing and operating in diverse environments; they are frequently violent and commit human rights abuses. The empirical contribution of this thesis is to collect further detailed evidence on the behaviour of PGAGs in three diverse cases: the notorious militias in Yugoslavia, the under-researched peasant militias in Peru and the well-regarded International Brigades in Spain.

This thesis examines the phenomenon of civil violence in Genoa (1160-1220). Genoese civil conflicts in the period are victim to a historiographical paradox. While their importance for the survival of communal institutions has been frequently underlined, they have often been misrepresented in the historiography. Our current understanding of civil conflicts in Genoa is in need of a reassessment if we want to deepen our comprehension of the history of a city that is considered a key centre and fundamental building bloc in the rise of the European continent to economic prominence. This thesis studies civil violence from a perspective that takes into account the shifting form of Genoese conflicts and their protagonists. The civil conflicts in Genoa saw constant development in their intricacy, nature and participants (Chapter one). I distance myself from the issue of motives and causation, a pursuit which has misled scholars. Instead I focus my attention on the underlying patterns that made conflicts in Genoa possible -- the web of relationships among the families of the Genoese elite – in order to study how the individuals and families that were involved in civil violence made their decisions (Chapter two). The understanding of these links and of the development of conflict in Genoa is an important thread to follow in order to reassess several aspects of the political history of the city between the twelfth and the thirteenth century (Chapter three). In light of my findings, the institutional transition of the city from a commune led by consuls to one led by a foreign podestà (Chapter four) and the Genoese involvement in the Mediterranean scenario (Conclusion), appear shaped by the maturing phenomenon of civil violence. This thesis aims to fill the current gap in academic studies on civil conflict in Genoa and to turn the phenomenon from a footnote to the current historiography into a rich vein of historical understanding of the fundamental dynamics of the city and its development.

Thesis advisor: Sarah Babb / Thesis advisor: Lisa Dodson / Through a qualitative thematic analysis of sixty-four semi structured interviews, this thesis focuses on the situation facing Burmese forced migrants in Thailand. In particular, I look at the ways in which forced migrants, their host government, and humanitarian actors negotiate the meaning of refugee status and what it means to be in a protracted space of transition. Findings for this study point to the ways in which the policies and norms of the Royal Thai Government and the offices of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees inadvertently interconnect to complicate the space for refugee protection. The paper also finds that refugee status can be gained or lost through interactions between asylum seekers and various parties on the Thai Burma border. Certain actors within the refugee community and among local and humanitarian authorities play the role of gatekeepers, granting access to a variety of services and protection at a cost and excluding those who cannot pay the cost. Underlying this context of asylum are themes of extreme repression and resistance that have implications not only for the lives of those who seek refuge, but also for notions of sovereignty and citizenship. / Thesis (MA) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology.

Afghanistan has been one of the most protracted conflicts modern era, but theories of civil war onset fail to explain the war’s causes or its patterns of violence. This thesis examines the origins of the post-2001 period of the conflict through the perspective of state formation; although many civil wars today unfold in newly-forming states, the processes of center-periphery relations and elite incorporation have been little studied in the context of political violence. The thesis first describes how Afghanistan’s embeddedness in the international state system and global markets undermined the nascent state’s efforts to centralize and bureaucratize, leading instead to warlordism and neopatrimonialism. Second, it demonstrates that the development of an insurgency after 2001 was due not to ethnic grievance or rebel opportunities for profit, but rather to the degree to which local elites were excluded from state patronage. Third, it examines the role of ideology and social position in the Afghan Taliban movement. The dissertation seeks to offer a theory of political violence in Afghanistan that can, mutatis mutandis, help explain key features of civil war in newly-forming states.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2015 / The timing of conflict resolution efforts is important in identifying when an intervention is likely to succeed according to ripeness of conflicts theory (Zartman, 1985). Although the ripeness theory appears to be a great contribution to the conflict resolution doctrine, there is no scholarly consensus on its plausibility with criticisms that are centred on: a contest on the variables that should help in its identification; low predictability; lack of cross-case generalisations; and, methodological weaknesses inherited from rational and public choice theories. The study took the position that conditions creating ripeness should be expanded beyond what is currently obtaining in literature, can help in determining the formula for resolution and indicate what to do in the implementation of the agreement so reached. To interrogate the theory’s plausibility, interpretivism was used to gather evidence from the case - the conflict that prevailed in Zimbabwe from 2000 to 2013 - to extrapolate implications for the ripeness theory and suggest improvements through paradigm complementarity. Although the external dimension of the conflict in Zimbabwe remained unaffected, ripeness was found in its domestic setting deriving from the indecisive/disputed elections of 2008 and the threat of a failed economy that triggered a Southern African Development Community intervention and offered a cue to the formula for resolution - the Global Political Agreement. Shared political legitimacy in the Global Political Agreement however saw that ripeness diminishing and it had vanished by 2013, although the conflict which by 2013 was yet to realise complete resolution, was to a large extent transformed to lower levels of hostilities with dysfunctionality temporarily arrested. Ripeness proved to be a product of both perceptual and structural variables that change in intensity over time, thus affecting the implementation of agreements that arise from ripeness. The study proved that ripeness theory in its expanded form is a viable strategic tool in conflict resolution, though success as in military doctrine depends on the accurate identification of the variables creating ripeness, timely intervention and a fitting operational plan to effectively exploit the opportunities so created. / MB2016

This Bachelor thesis is a study of collective political violence in the context of the Chechen conflict which continues to this present day. The information gathered and analysed as well as the frameworks used in the analysis are taken from numerous academic texts written on the subjects of Chechnya, Terrorism and theories on conflict and conflict resolution. The Chechen conflict is a decade long intra-state conflict which has its roots in a separatist movement for secession following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The dynamics of the conflict has evolved throughout the years, maintaining many of its fundamental elements whilst at the same time transforming as new actors and dimensions emerge. Following an abductive approach, the analytical frameworks of John Burton and Ted Gurr as well as a theoretical perspective derived from Bruce Hoffman’s understanding of terrorism, have been used to recontextualise to information gathered through the selected academic texts relevant to the conflict. The aim of this recontextualisation is to attempt to identify hidden mechanisms that could be responsible for the occurrence of collective political violence in the context of Chechnya. Numerous deprivations of the Chechen people’s basic human needs can potentially lead to frustration being perceived through a sense of shared group interest identity. Elites can then use this identity to mobilize the discontented masses in order to obtain political power for themselves whilst achieving the goals of the group they claim to represent. Russia’s Counterterrorism strategy does not seek to address these grievances and therefore violence is likely to continue to occur.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2009. / "A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Economics and Finance, College of Business, University of Western Sydney." Includes bibliographies.

Magisterdisputats. / Format: PDF. Bibl.