Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This study explores how traditional conflict resolution mechanisms were used to transform the conflict between the Dinka and Nuer communities in Wunlit, south Sudan in 1999. Various people perceived, experienced and played different roles in the process. Through story telling and the sacrifice of a white bull, the two communities entered a covenant which still holds four years later. The merger of previously antagonistic liberation movements with strong Dinka and Nuer constituencies, respectively, two years after Wunlit is seen by some as a dividend of Wunlit. People-centred peacemaking processes can be credited for contributing to enduring peace. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of Natal, Durban, 2003.

The existing grievance literature has tended to focus on employee decisions concerning dispute action in light of Hirschman’s (1970) ‘loyalty voice exit’ (LVE) model. The present research sought to take an alternative approach by exploring the processes associated with grievances and disputes, through following a series of cases covering both employer and employee perspectives of the same dispute. The cases involved individual-level disputes where the parties were still in an ongoing employment relationship at the time that they accessed the mediation services of the government employment agency. The research process involved observing the mediation sessions and then conducting follow-up interviews with all the individuals associated with each case, including the employer and employee, along with union advocates, legal representatives, and mediators resulting in a total of 70 interviews. The findings covered a range of areas which combined to form a new model which reframed the dispute process as a series of choices, events and stages, rather than the single-choice perspective of much existing literature. The model centres upon three core constructs. The first of these is the Dispute Type, which refers to the nature or substance of the dispute, and identifies three distinct types each of which have their own dynamics and progression, with a significant predetermining effect on the course of employment disputes. The second construct, Power, concerns the relative power of the parties, with a party’s overall power comprising of individual, organisational, and external levels. The series of dispute actions were also found to be driven by power-related dynamics, and this produces a model that both builds upon and also extends, existing models of power in the negotiation literature (Lawler, 1992; Kim et al., 2005). Finally the third construct, Interaction Type, draws on Pruitt and Kim’s (2004) dual concern model, to explore the combined interaction of the strategies and tactics utilised by each side in a dispute sequence. Extending this model into employment dispute situations, the research identifies dynamics which can lead to major escalation of disputes, precluding opportunities for resolution. The research has significant implications for organisations in their management of individual-level employee disputes, as well as for parties such unions and other representatives who are reframed as agents with the potential to increase or reduce the power of parties.

Thesis (LLM) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

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

The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (!GAD) has played a major role in conflict resolution in the Sudan. The strength of the !GAD Peace Initiative particularly has been its clarity in identifying the key issues at the core of the conflict in its Declaration of Principles (DoP). From that time the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/ Army (SPLM/A) and Government of Sudan (GoS), though later, embarked on a path to seek a negotiated settlement to the conflict. Another achievement had been IGAD's ability to help Sudan pool its resources that seemed to provide an answer to the perennial power constraints that bedevil African mediators. It is without doubt that the Machakos protocol signed in July 2002 was a breakthrough for the history of IGAD's conflict resolution in Sudan, because of the acknowledgement, for the first time, of the right of self-determination for the south, and the guarantee of the right to opt for self-determination through a referendum at the end of a six-year interim period. From this time IGAD's mediators became more flexible, the Sudan peace process moved speedily and to the highest level; and between 2002 and 2003, the substantive agreements were signed, leading to the final agreement in 2005. At the same time, the hard-pressed role of the United States cannot be undermined for real progress in the IGAD peace process in Sudan. Furthermore, though IGAD faced a lot of challenges as the parties' willingness to negotiate correlated with their military successes and failures, the organization commitment in the peace process assisted in achieving IGAD's stated objective. Its also worth noting that there was a lack of inclusivity in the IGAD negotiations and the mediators at times were unable to articulate common visions of their roles and sustain adequate attention to their intervention; however, despite several competing mediation attempts such as the "Joint Libya-Egyptian Initiative" (JLEI), IGAD has provided the by and large undisputed negotiation framework for the Sudan conflict since the mid-nineties. Crucial and worthy as this achievement is that, the IGAD Initiative will engross a continuing involvement in Sudan that would not end until the terms of the peace agreement are fulfilled and the necessary stability is achieved, because only then would there be confidence that peace would be secure. This objective is not realisable unless there are significant and continuing democratic reforms; IGAD must understand that this objective is an integral part of the peace process. Finally, IGAD's continued engagement with the Joint IGAD Partners and the international community as a whole to provide for support for peace building and reconstruction in Sudan is imperative. If peace is consolidated in the South, it will demonstrate the benefits of negotiated solutions to other parts of Sudan, such as Darfur and the East. / M.Soc.Sc. (Peace Studies International Relations) North West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The purpose of this study is to investigate the causes, effects and management of conflict among school based educators. The dissertation acknowledge the existence of conflict in every human interaction. Conflict in organizations should be managed systematically. An appropriate approach in conflict management should aim at enhancing the benefits of conflict. The study aimed at determining whether site-managers possess the essential skill of managing healthy conflict while defusing unhealthy conflict. The institution of effective management of conflict techniques and guidelines is essential in a number of practical ways for preventing, managing and resolving workplace conflict, because the long term effects of unresolved conflict may impact negatively on an organization. The subjects of the study were 44 educators and one circuit manager based at the Area Project Office. Questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the perceptions in areas such as:- Conflict in the workplace, causes and effects of conflict and conflict management. The Research findings revealed that there is a lack of a conflict management system in schools. The absence of a conflict management system result in an array of problems related to conflict. Other findings include:- the management style of site-managers contributing to conflict management, lack of communication between stakeholders in the schooling system and a deficiency in Conflict management skills. / M. Admin. (Industrial Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2006

The prevalence of intra-state conflicts and state failures in Africa since the end of the Cold War has made Africa the epicentre of threats to human, national and international security. The inability of African states to combat the insecurities in their respective countries reinforces the discourse on the role of the African Union (AU) in enhancing peace and security across the continent. Since its establishment in 2002, the AU has responded to some security challenges in Africa. In situations of armed conflicts, especially where diplomatic and mediatory efforts fail, the AU has adopted military interventionist mechanisms to protect civilians and to restore peace and security in accord with Article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act. Drawing from the cases of Somalia, Sudan and Libya, this research evaluates the capacity of the AU to operationalize the idea of ‘African Solutions to African Problems’ and enforce peace and security especially through its military interventionist mechanisms. Limitations in terms of resources, expertise and funds as well as the poor commitment of member states constitute setbacks to the AU’s effort at conflict management. For the AU to perform effectively in conflict situations, it is imperative for the regional body to develop the required supranational capacity to compel obedience from member states as well as warring parties. / Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2014.

The hypothesis underlying this research is that Africa's leaders are under a moral/political imperative to summon the will to develop a capacity to intervene in conflicts, possibly with external assistance, but without direct extra-continental intervention. This begs two questions. Is Africa right — politically and morally – to assume this task? And should the rest of the world, particularly the traditional intervening powers, accept and/or promote and/or assist African self-pacification? A trend toward subsidiarity and the regionalisation of conflict management in the African context followed reversals for United Nations and Western policy in the early 1990s, notably in Somalia and Rwanda. In the wake of these setbacks the universal impulse to intervene wherever necessary was overshadowed by a particularist/relativist position that distinguished Africa and African conflicts as cases apart. This translated in theoretical terms to a switch away from a cosmopolitan position allowing of international intervention to a communitarian position that promotes the African 'community' or African sub-regional 'communities' as the primary loci for addressing conflict. The continental organisation, the Organisation of African Union (0AU), has been hampered in assuming this task by its strict Charter adherence to state sovereignty and non-intervention in the internal affairs of its member states. As a result the logic of subsidiarity devolved on Africa's sub-regional organisations, in particular the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC). However, these organisations have found development of a security framework problematic, suffered from internal rivalries and have been hindered by paucity of funds and logistics. Interventions undertaken under the auspices of these bodies have often been of dubious legitimacy under international law. Viewed from the perspective of the 'just war' tradition these interventions also invariably seem morally suspect. Unwilling to intervene directly, the United States, France and Britain have established a joint initiative to enhance peacekeeping capacity in Africa. This project, under funded and ill considered, has proven inadequate from the perspective of both African participants and its sponsors. The research examines two case studies — intervention by the OAU in Chad in 1980-1982 and the peacekeeping operation undertaken by ECO WAS in Guinea-Bissau in 1998-1999. These cases confirm that existing mechanisms are ineffective for addressing African intra-state conflict. Moreover, they show that extra-African involvement remains an enduring feature of conflict on the continent. A return to the universal/cosmopolitan impulse in terms of international intervention in African conflicts seems unlikely in the short to medium term. In view of this neglect Africa must continue the project of self-pacification. The West is under a moral duty to set aside narrow national interests and expand and improve its existing peacekeeping capacity enhancement programme.

Darbo tikslas. Ištirti Lietuvos daugiaprofilinės ligoninės N skyriaus darbuotojų nuomonę apie konfliktų valdymą. Uždaviniai. 1. Įvertinti Lietuvos daugiaprofilinės ligoninės N skyriaus darbuotojų požiūrį į konfliktus darbe ir jų priežastis; 2. Atskleisti vyraujančias konfliktų valdymo strategijas tarp Lietuvos daugiaprofilinės ligoninės N skyriaus darbuotojų; 3. Įvertinti Lietuvos daugiaprofilinės ligoninės N skyriaus darbuotojų ketinimus gilinti žinias konfliktų valdymo srityje. Tyrimo metodika. Tyrime objektas – darbuotojai, dirbantys Lietuvos daugiaprofilinės ligoninės N klinikoje. Tyrimui atlikti buvo pasirinkta anketinė apklausa. Naudotas T. Killman konflikto būdo instrumentas. Kokybinių požymių tarpusavio priklausomumui vertinti taikytas chi kvadrato (χ2) kriterijus. Priklausomai nuo imčių dydžio, buvo taikytas tikslus Fisher's arba Monte Carlo (mažoms imtims) ir asimptominis χ2 kriterijus. Tyrimo kintamųjų struktūrai tirti panaudotas faktorinės analizės metodas. Rezultatai. Daugiau nei pusė respondentų (67,4 proc.) konfliktus įvertino visiškai neigiamai, visiškai teigiamai konfliktus vertina tik 7,2 proc. darbuotojų. Pseudokonfliktus, kaip dažniausiai vykstančius, įvardino 34,9 proc., tarpasmeninius – 31,0 proc. darbuotojų. Pusė respondentų (50,0 proc.), esant konfliktinei situacijai, naudoja vengimo strategiją, 27 proc. apklaustųjų bando ieškoti kompromiso ir tik 2 proc. bendradarbiauja. Didžioji dalis respondentų 76,9 proc. norėtų gilinti savo žinias šioje srityje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Aim of the study. To reveal employees opinion on conflict management in N division of Lithuania multi-division hospital. Objectives. 1. Rate employees opinion on conflict at the workplace and conflict management in N division in Lithuanian multi-division hospital; 2. Reveal prevailing conflict management strategies among employees; 3. Reveal employees intention to deepen their knowledge of conflict management. Methods. Study object – employees of N division of Lithuanian multi-division hospital. Study questionnaire along with T. Killman conflict mode instrument was used. For qualitative assessment of interdependence of variables the chi-square (χ2) test was used. Depending on the size of the sample, Fisher or Monte Carlo (for small samples) and asymptomatic χ2 criterion were used. Factor analysis was used to investigate the structure of study variables. Results. More than half of the respondents (67.4 %) evaluated conflicts as a completely negative object and only 7.2 % of employees see it as a positive object. Pseudo conflicts, as usually occurring in the workplace, were named by 34.9 %, interpersonal – 31.0 % and structural – 22.9 % of employees. In a conflict situation half of the respondents (50.0 %) are using avoidance strategies, 27 % - are trying to find a compromise and only 2 % of employees cooperate. The majority of the respondents (76.9 %) would like to deepen their knowledge in this area. Most acceptable conflict management knowledge and skill development... [to full text]