This research analyses the role of multi-stakeholder partnerships in enhancing governance to promote sustainable peace and security. It uses a case study of coltan exploitation and armed conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the two wars between 1996 and 2003 and the ongoing conflict have led to the ‘world’s worst humanitarian crisis’. The current body of knowledge on conflict analyses, particularly ‘resource curse’ theory, emphasises the natural resource endowment and weak governance as the main factors contributing to the DRC conflict, and has been influential in policy formulation. The case study is supported by the collection and analysis of qualitative data from multiple sources using different methods including literature reviews, interviews and observations. In so doing, the research seeks to examine how multi-stakeholder partnerships can help to enhance governance and promote sustainable peace and security, with a focus on the role of the multi-stakeholder partnerships in curtailing revenues for the belligerents from coltan production and trade in the eastern DRC. The analysis of the conflicts and coltan exploitation revealed the intricate multi-layered nature of the conflicts in the DRC and their complex causalities. The examination of the multi-stakeholder partnerships relevant to coltan exploitation in the DRC identified a number of constraints for their implementation and concerns about adverse effects from the implementation, largely owing to the externally driven agenda of the partnerships, which neglects the local perspectives. Through the arguments presented in this thesis, the research contributes to knowledge in three broad areas: it contributes to ongoing academic discussions on conflict analyses, in particular the resource curse hypothesis and the economic agendas of civil war; it provides empirical analysis and data on the coltan industry and partnership initiatives in relation to armed conflicts in the eastern DRC; and it highlights the need to re-assess the concept of participatory governance as one of the key approaches to improving governance.

The focus of this study is the assumption that the return of refugees is a necessary condition for the establishment of sustainable peace after armed conflict. This assumption is often made in the peacebuilding literature as well as by policy makers, but it has rarely been the object of systematic analysis. The purpose of the study, therefore, is to test this assumption, which I label the “peace-by-repatriation thesis.” I adopt a two-step approach to analyzing the peace-by-repatriation thesis. The first step is to formulate an analytical framework. The second step is to use the framework to test the peace-by-repatriation thesis on a medium number of cases. The formulation of the analytical framework starts with an examination of previous research. I trace the theoretical foundations of the peace-by-repatriation thesis in research on peacebuilding, forced migration, and partition. The analytical framework is further informed by case studies of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Nagorno-Karabakh, two cases that represent opposing perceptions of repatriation as a condition for peace. I adopt a set-theoretic approach to test the peace-by-repatriation thesis. I describe in some detail how the key concepts of the analytical framework are operationalized. I select and code forty-three cases—terminated conflicts that caused large-scale displacement—and use fuzzy-set analysis to test the peace-by-repatriation thesis. The analysis shows that repatriation is not a necessary condition for sustainable peace. Instead, ending displacement—irrespective of how this is done—turns out to be an important condition for peace. This result is consistent across tests of different combinations of cases and tests using alternative operationalizations of key concepts. Taken together, the fuzzy-set analysis and the case studies suggest that the relationship between repatriation and peace will vary from case to case and that pre-war interethnic relations is one of the circumstances that affect that relationship.

Building peace and preventing the emergence of new and existing conflicts is one of the fundamental objectives of the United Nations, seen as deep down as in the charter of the organization. As the United Nations has existed for some time their peacebuilding framework has changed on several occasions, with the most recent change taking place in 2016. This paper is concerned with how this new United Nations approach to peace from 2016 has changed the way in which the United Nations understands peacebuilding. As this paper is focused on peacebuilding, this study applies the theoretical lenses of Liberal peace theory, critical peacebuilding and Scandinavian peace theory to critically examine the current United Nations approach as well as the previous approach to peacebuilding. The use of the ‘What’s the problem represented to be?’ approach allows for the identification of how the peace frameworks of the United Nations problematizes peacebuilding, the underlying assumptions as well as the effects. From this, it is determined that the new/current United Nations approach to peacebuilding has not significantly changed. Both frameworks are characterized by state-centricity with a focus on the necessity of liberal-democratic values being in place in order for sustainable peace to be achieved. The findings did show that the new approach emphasizes more interaction with local actors in the peace process however this emphasis was underpinned with a focus on peace through the state and not through the local.

How can actors and agencies in post-conflict societies construct activities and navigate theirways through the challenges affecting locally owned peace process? What are the majorchallenges obstructing the goals for peace-building in local post-conflict societies? How canthese challenges be tackled to enable local peace process to become sustainable? These questionsare deeply motivated by the presumably failed peace-building processes in Myanmar. This thesisseeks to contribute to the feasibility of peace-building in local context. To highlight thechallenges of locally owned peace process which- are shaped by the elements of local ownership,this thesis offers a layout on which peace practitioners, policy makers and donor agencies canembed their framework for local peace operations in post-conflict societies. The existing elementof local ownership distorts reality and creates numerous challenges for post-conflict internal andexternal actors and agencies implementing peace framework. To counter the impediments oflocal ownership in post-conflict peace-building, this thesis argues for external-local ownershipand cooperation, as a means to promote and strengthen transparency of all forms of supportsnecessary to achieve sustainable peace-building goals in local post-conflict societies.

<p>This paper considers the fast changing developments and changes in relation to sustainable development law with its three pillars, and the needs of international development. The focus of the analysis is on the connection between international economic, international social and international environmental law which constitute sustainable development law at their intersection point, and will show how they can be the paths to sustainable peace. As sustainable development law is emerging as international concern, the qualitative approach of this paper will show its pillars separately and their connection under different conditions. This paper also demonstrates that this approach is gaining ground in the literature, and it contends that it is a more appropriate way of addressing the problems of economic, social and environmental. In support of this argument, the paper looks initially how sustainable development law fits to be the path to sustainable peace within the contemporary world which is full of economic, social and environmental conflicts. Secondly, it provides a theoretical framework how sustainable development law with its pillars can lead the world to sustainable peace. Thirdly, the three pillars, (-international economic law, international social law and international environmental law-), will be elaborated in relation to their intersection and sustainable development law.</p>

Post-war countries are among the most difficult policy arenas for international and domestic actors. The challenge is not only to stop violence and prevent violence from rekindling, but moreover to help countries reset their internal relations on a peaceful path. The indirect, long-term effects of wars further exaggerate this challenge. Many of these relate to political and social aspects of post-war countries. Lasting impressions of human rights abuses committed during wars continue to shape the relations among members of societies for decades to come. Both, socio-economic impacts and political impacts challenge the stability of post-war countries for many years. The challenges to public health have been found to be especially severe and affect disproportionately the civilian population of post-war countries. Environmental and climate change exposes post-war populations further to new risks, exaggerating the human costs of war long after active combat has ceased. These challenges are not new. The problem, however, is that in practice all these elements are simultaneously happening in today’s peacebuilding interventions. Yet, practitioners as well as researchers remain settled in a silo mentality, focusing only on one aspect at a time. As such they are unaware of the unintended consequences that their focus has on other important processes. The four essays that lie at the heart of this dissertation provide new insight into the linkages between the social, political and ecological processes in post-war societies and how the interactions of different groups of actors are shaping the prospects for peace. The argument drawn out in this dissertation is that to build peace we need to acknowledge and understand this long-term interplay of social, political, and ecological processes in post-war countries. It will be crucial to understand the potential and dynamics of natural resources and environmental issues in this context. As the essays in this dissertation show, the interactions of these processes divisively shape the post-war landscape. It is therefore essential to build a peace that is ecologically sensitive, while equally socially and politically relevant and desirable. I call this sustainable peace.

The transitioning of armed actors into political parties following a peace accord is not a new phenomenon and the debate for how we can facilitate such a transition is well explored. A grey area of the debate, however, concerns transitioned actors’ long-term commitment to peace, as relapses are known to have occurred on many occasions. How are successful transitions sustained and what are the facilitating mechanisms? Through a case study of Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, this thesis aims to contribute to the very limited debate on the facilitation of peace continuity of transitioned actors. Interviews were conducted in Belfast during the fall of 2018. The present-time contextual changes posed by the United Kingdom exiting the European union, which endangers the 1998 peace agreement that helped facilitate Sinn Féin’s transition, provides a good case for studying the institutional resilience to violent relapse of a transitioned actor. The findings show that Sinn Féin display strong levels of institutional resilience, which can help the institution to abstain from relapses into violence caused by contextual changes such as Brexit.

This paper considers the fast changing developments and changes in relation to sustainable development law with its three pillars, and the needs of international development. The focus of the analysis is on the connection between international economic, international social and international environmental law which constitute sustainable development law at their intersection point, and will show how they can be the paths to sustainable peace. As sustainable development law is emerging as international concern, the qualitative approach of this paper will show its pillars separately and their connection under different conditions. This paper also demonstrates that this approach is gaining ground in the literature, and it contends that it is a more appropriate way of addressing the problems of economic, social and environmental. In support of this argument, the paper looks initially how sustainable development law fits to be the path to sustainable peace within the contemporary world which is full of economic, social and environmental conflicts. Secondly, it provides a theoretical framework how sustainable development law with its pillars can lead the world to sustainable peace. Thirdly, the three pillars, (-international economic law, international social law and international environmental law-), will be elaborated in relation to their intersection and sustainable development law.

Submitted by Rosina Valeria Lanzellotti Mattiussi Teixeira (rosina.teixeira@unisantos.br) on 2017-09-04T19:37:25Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone Alves Cardoso.pdf: 1747340 bytes, checksum: efdb65a73f4721f6cf82d5a2b1dea9cf (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-09-04T19:37:25Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Simone Alves Cardoso.pdf: 1747340 bytes, checksum: efdb65a73f4721f6cf82d5a2b1dea9cf (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-05-18 / Given the multiplicity of interaction between environment, development and security, it is necessary to build solutions that can act in front of this complex, dynamic and flexible scenario. This research examines whether international environmental mediation, encouraged by the UN Mediation Support Unit at conflicts involving natural resources, can be considered an effective and adequate international environmental governance tool for sustainable and inclusive peace consolidation. This concern is justified, because sustainable development and environmental peace are interdependent and constitute today one of the greatest challenges of humanity. For a better understanding of this scenario, International Environmental Law was highlighted, indicating its characteristics and relation with international environmental governance. Governance, as a reflection of global society, broadens participation in decision-making processes, as it promotes action among states, civil society, governmental and non-governmental organizations, which is a striking feature of environmental pacification. The theoretical study of conflict and the identification of mediation models and mediators' actions are fundamental to understanding how mediation will contribute to the construction of sustainable peace. In this context, the analysis of the Mediation Unit has proved to be an example of networking among several mediators, such as UN, universities, non-governmental organizations, among others, in the construction of consensual solutions through mediation. All the actors involved in this network contributed to the formation and consolidation of the fundamental guidelines for the development of mediation around natural resources. This interaction led to the formation of an epistemic community of scholars between the interaction of peace and conflict, as well as a community of practice that integrates the UN into a network of mediators. In this regard, the UN, through the Mediation Support Unit, has been positioned as the manager of this knowledge network, concentrated in its database information, which is generated by several researchers, who strive to provide a theoretical basis for the pacification strategies, along with the experts in mediation field, who have the practical basis. Mediation promotes consensual peace, which is based on the construction of agreements that put an end to violence and hostilities. In addition, it establishes a new relationship founded on harmonic interaction aimed at achieving mutual goals, in order to reach a fair distribution of benefits and also of a reciprocal identity. With more peace-keeping efforts based on theory validated by research and translated into practical procedures, more effective and longer lasting peace will tend to be. / Dada a multiplicidade de interação entre meio ambiente, desenvolvimento e segurança, surge a necessidade de construir soluções que possam atuar diante desse cenário complexo, dinâmico e flexível. A pesquisa analisa se a mediação ambiental internacional, incentivada pela Unidade de Suporte à Mediação da ONU, em conflitos que envolvem recursos naturais, pode ser considerada uma ferramenta de governança ambiental internacional eficaz e adequada para consolidação da paz sustentável e inclusiva. Essa preocupação se justifica, pois o desenvolvimento sustentável e a paz ambiental são interdependentes e constituem hoje um dos maiores desafios da humanidade. Para melhor compreensão desenhou-se o cenário que deu origem ao Direito Ambiental Internacional, ressaltando suas características e relação com a governança ambiental internacional. A governança, reflexo da sociedade global, amplia a participação nos processos decisórios, pois promove uma ação concertada entre Estados, sociedade civil, organizações governamentais e não governamentais que é traço marcante na pacificação ambiental. O estudo teórico do conflito e a identificação dos modelos de mediação e formas de atuação dos mediadores é fundamental para se compreender como a mediação contribuirá para a construção da paz sustentável. A análise da Unidade de Mediação revelou-se um exemplo de articulação em rede de diversos mediadores, como ONU, universidades, organizações não governamentais, dentre outros, na construção de soluções consensuais por meio da mediação. Todos os atores envolvidos nessa rede contribuíram com a formação e consolidação das diretrizes fundamentais para o desenvolvimento da mediação em torno dos recursos naturais. Essa interação levou à formação de uma comunidade epistêmica de estudiosos da paz e do conflito e de uma comunidade de prática, que integra a ONU numa rede de mediadores não governamentais. Nesse aspecto a ONU, por meio da Unidade de Apoio à Mediação, tem se colocado como gestora dessa rede de conhecimento. Ela concentra em sua base de dados informações que são geradas por diversos pesquisadores, que se empenham em fornecer uma base teórica para as estratégias de pacificação, juntamente com os experts em mediação de campo, que têm a base prática. A mediação promove a paz consensual, que tem por fundamento a construção de acordos que põem fim à violência e às hostilidades. Além disso, estabelece uma nova relação fundada na interação harmônica voltada para o alcance de objetivos mútuos, de sorte a alcançar uma justa distribuição de benefícios e também de uma identidade recíproca. Quanto mais os esforços para manutenção da paz estiverem baseados na teoria validada pela pesquisa e traduzidos em procedimentos práticos, mais eficaz e mais duradoura a paz tenderá a ser.

Civil society inclusion in peace processes has been recognised to be crucial in achieving sustainable peace. The author first reviews the existing academic literature on this, before looking at how civil society, and especially civil society in non-western contexts and armed conflicts can be conceptualised. The variety of approaches and the limitations of Western actor-based concepts in non-Western contexts explains the choice of a function-based model of civil society being chosen to analyse it in the context of international peacebuilding efforts. Its involvement in formal peace processes and negotiations meanwhile is analysed using nine models of inclusion.  The case that is chosen for this exploration is Afghanistan. As a multi-facetted country with a long history of armed conflict and foreign involvement, the developments in the past two decades provide an interesting case study. The inductive desk research, using secondary data, is guided by the questions; which concept of civil society has informed the peace building process in Afghanistan in the past twenty years, how civil society in Afghanistan can be conceptualized and how this has affected the peace building process.  The findings paint a distinct picture of a country that has been shaped by armed conflict, tracing its roots back to the early days of modern Afghanistan and contrasting existing societal and political structures with Western concepts of civil society and state building. Civil society involvement is being analysed using exemplary stages of peace processes and external peace building efforts.  The research concludes that civil society inclusion has been limited by Western concepts of civil society being unfittingly applied to far more complex local realities, thereby excluding relevant actors and limiting the legitimacy and ownership of the peace process, with the prospect of peace being a long way off.