This study explores and critically examines the role of indigenous mechanisms (the Inter-Tribal Reconciliation Conferences-ITRCs) in resolving tribal conflicts in South Darfur State of Western Sudan. The fundamental question raised by this study is: have these reconciliation conferences- 1989-2009- been able to address the root causes of the tribal conflicts and are they capable of serving the same role that they once did? Tribal leadership structures, such as Native Administration (NA) and their mechanisms of conflict resolution/management in Darfur, have been subjected to highly significant changes over time. The question is to what extent these changes further fuelled tribal conflicts and/or have negatively affected the capability of the NA and the ITRCs to deal with these conflicts? This thesis relies on archive records and reports of the ITRCs and data generated through interviews conducted with key informants. Through a detailed analysis the study: 1) presents a detailed account of the major conflicts and their causes in South Darfur; 2) identifies the changing identities of the protagonists and of the perceived causes; 3) assesses the effectiveness of the agreements reached by these conferences when considered alongside the causes identified. Analysis of the ITRCs shows that tribal conflicts in Darfur (from1980s), and South Darfur in particular, were connected to the wider political conflict in the Sudan and the region respectively. The analysis suggests that the history of neglect/marginalisation of the region by successive governments, and the political manipulation of the NA and local government, have negatively affected the performance of these institutions. The experience of the ITRCs indicates that they were unable to address the underlying causes of the tribal conflicts, such as land disputes, the manipulation of the NA and local government, rape and mass killings.

[pt] O objetivo deste trabalho é orientar agências das Nações Unidas, organizações não governamentais e órgãos governamentais engajados na manutenção da paz e da segurança internacional a refletirem acerca da relevância de abordar recursos naturais e mudanças climáticas nos mandatos de operações de paz. Para isso, o trabalho utiliza como ferramenta a análise do conflito em Darfur e do estabelecimento da Missão Conjunta da União Africana e da ONU em Darfur (UNAMID). Assim, o texto apresentará considerações acerca da evolução do conceito de paz e sua influência na alteração do perfil dos mandatos de operações de paz, bem como o crescente debate e publicações feitas no âmbito da ONU sobre os impactos dos recursos naturais e das mudanças climáticas sobre a segurança. Apesar de apresentarem maior engajamento, essas questões não são inseridas nos mandatos per se ou são subvalorizadas, sendo citadas tangencialmente. O conflito em Darfur tem como causa raiz a limitada disponibilidade de terras e a escassez de água em decorrência do clima local, sendo esses fatores exacerbados pelas mudanças climáticas e pelo aumento populacional. Todavia, o conflito local é, muitas vezes, caracterizado como um conflito étnico, de forma que as reais fontes de disputas nunca foram devidamente endereçadas pela UNAMID ao visar a manter, construir e sustentar a paz. Mandatos, resoluções e relatórios do Conselho de Segurança, da Assembleia Geral e do Secretário-Geral das Nações Unidas serão revisados para argumentar sobre a importância de considerar recursos naturais e mudanças climáticas na formulação de um mandato com o objetivo de alcançar a construção e sustentação da paz. / [en] This article aims to guide United Nations (UN) agencies, non-governmental organizations and government agencies engaged in the maintenance of international peace and security to reflect on the relevance of addressing natural resources and climate change in peacekeeping mandates, based on an analysis of the conflict in Darfur and the establishment of the United Nations - African Union Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID). To this end, it will present considerations about the evolution of the concept of peace and its influence in changing the profile of peace operations mandates, as well as the growing debate and publications at the UN level on the impacts of natural resources and climate change over security. Despite greater engagement, these issues are not included in the mandates per se or are undervalued, being marginally mentioned. The conflict in Darfur has its root causes in the limited availability of land and water scarcity due to the local climate, and these factors are exacerbated by climate change and population growth. Nevertheless, the local conflict is often characterized as an ethnic conflict, therefore the real sources of disputes have never been properly addressed by UNAMID in order to maintain, build and sustain peace. Mandates, resolutions and reports from the Security Council, the General Assembly and the United Nations Secretary-General will be reviewed to argue about the importance of considering natural resources and climate change when formulating a mandate with the aim of achieving peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

The perpetual conflict in Darfur, Sudan, which started anew in 2003, had dire humanitarian consequences and threatened international peace and security. The UN Security Council, which has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, adopted Resolution 1769 on 31 July 2007 and authorised a 26 000 person-strong joint African Union/United Nations hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to take over from AMIS (the African Union peace operation in Darfur). UNAMID was established with dual command and control linked to both the African Union and the United Nations and both organisations would have an equal say in its mandate and operations. Given this unique and unprecedented arrangement between a regional organisation and the United Nations in terms of maintaining international peace and security, the aim of this research was to: • Understand and describe the political motivations/reasons why the United Nations formed a hybrid peace operation with the African Union; • Establish in which way the aforementioned impacted on future efforts of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security, especially on the African continent; and, based on this, • To determine whether or not hybrid operations were a viable alternative for the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. By means of a thorough analysis of the theoretical underpinnings of international peace and security, an assessment of the peace and security architecture of the United Nations and the African Union, an investigation into the origins of the Darfur conflict, an examination of the structure and mandate of UNAMID, and through an empirical investigation, a new theoretical proposition is provided in the conclusion of the thesis. It is concluded that the UNAMID model, in practical terms, is not an optimal mechanism for the United Nations to use to maintain international peace and security because it suffers from numerous internal political inequities and operational inadequacies. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Political Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

The perpetual conflict in Darfur, Sudan, which started anew in 2003, had dire humanitarian consequences and threatened international peace and security. The UN Security Council, which has the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, adopted Resolution 1769 on 31 July 2007 and authorised a 26 000 person-strong joint African Union/United Nations hybrid operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to take over from AMIS (the African Union peace operation in Darfur). UNAMID was established with dual command and control linked to both the African Union and the United Nations and both organisations would have an equal say in its mandate and operations. Given this unique and unprecedented arrangement between a regional organisation and the United Nations in terms of maintaining international peace and security, the aim of this research was to: • Understand and describe the political motivations/reasons why the United Nations formed a hybrid peace operation with the African Union; • Establish in which way the aforementioned impacted on future efforts of the United Nations to maintain international peace and security, especially on the African continent; and, based on this, • To determine whether or not hybrid operations were a viable alternative for the United Nations to maintain international peace and security. By means of a thorough analysis of the theoretical underpinnings of international peace and security, an assessment of the peace and security architecture of the United Nations and the African Union, an investigation into the origins of the Darfur conflict, an examination of the structure and mandate of UNAMID, and through an empirical investigation, a new theoretical proposition is provided in the conclusion of the thesis. It is concluded that the UNAMID model, in practical terms, is not an optimal mechanism for the United Nations to use to maintain international peace and security because it suffers from numerous internal political inequities and operational inadequacies. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Political Studies))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the context of the present conflict in Darfur, and in the years preceding it, the distinction between so-called African and Arab tribes has come to the forefront, and the tribal identity of individuals has increased in significance. These distinctions were never as clear cut and definite as they are today. The ‘Arab’ and ‘African’ distinction that was always more of a passive characteristic in the past has now become the reason for standing on different sides of the political divide. What then are the main factors which contributed to this new violent distinction between Arab and African? How is it possible for people and communities who have a positive history of cooperation and tolerance to suddenly plunge into a situation of such cruelty and hate towards one another. The thesis uses the New War framework to look at the current situation in Darfur. The most definitive version of this new framework is presented by scholars such as Mary Kaldor (2006), Martin van Creveld (1991) and Helfried Münkler (2005). The thesis then shows how the war in Darfur, exactly in line with the new war argument, has political goals with the political mobilization occurring on the basis of identity. Kaldor (2006) argues that the political goals in the new wars are about the claim to power based on seemingly traditional identities, such as Arab or African. Defining identity politics as “movements which mobilize around ethnic, racial or religious identity for the purpose of claiming state power” (Kaldor, 2006: 80), it becomes apparent that Darfur has become subject to this these kind of new war politics. The study therefore questions the popular argument that ethnic conflict arises out of an “ancient hatred” or “tribal warfare”. Chapters three and four illustrates how this new distinction between Arab and African should rather be seen as the cumulative effects of marginalization, competing economic interests and, more recently, from the political polarization which has engulfed the region. Most of the factors leading to the current Arab/African antagonism were traced to contemporary phenomena. The study also looks at factors such as loss of physical coercion on behalf of the state, loss of popular legitimacy and effective leadership, underdevelopment, poverty, inequality, and privatization of force. The study then concludes that politics of identity should more often be seen as a result of individuals, groups or politician reacting to the effects of these conditions then as the result of ethnic hatred. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die konteks van die huidige konflik in Darfur, en die jare wat dit voorafgaan, het die verskille tussen sogenaamde ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’ stamme na vore gekom. So ook het die stamverband van individue kenmerkend toegeneem. Hierdie onderskeid was nooit so noukeurig afgebaken en bepalend soos wat dit vandag is nie. Die ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’ onderskeid wat in die verlede meer van ’n passiewe kenmerk was, het ontaard in die rede waarom beide kante hulself vandag in ’n politieke skeiding bevind. Wat dan is die hoof faktore wat bydra tot hierdie nuwe gewelddadige onderskeid tussen ‘Afrikane’ en ‘Arabiere’? Hoe is dit moontlik vir mense en gemeenskappe met ’n positiewe geskiedenis van samewerking en verdraagsaamheid om skielik ’n toestand van soveel onmenslikheid en haat teenoor mekaar te ervaar? Die tesis maak gebruik van die Nuwe oorlog denkrigting in ’n poging om die huidige oorlog in Darfur te beskryf. Die mees bepalende weergawe van hierdie denkrigting word voorsien deur akademici soos Mary Kaldor (2006), Martin Creveld (1991) en Helfried Münkler (2005). Die tesis fokus op hoe die oorlog in Darfur (in lyn met die Nuwe Oorlog denkrigting) politieke doelwitte aan die dag lê, met die gepaardgaande politieke mobilisering wat geskied op grond van identiteit. Kaldor (2006) argumenteer dat die politieke doelwitte in die nuwe oorloë berus op die aanspraak tot mag op grond van skynbare tradisionele identiteite of stamwese, soos ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’. As ’n mens identiteitspolitiek definieër as ’n beweging wat mobiliseer rondom etnisiteit, ras of geloof, met die doel om aanspraak te maak op staatsmag, dan blyk dit of die konflik in Darfur wel onderhewig is aan hierdie nuwe vorm van Nuwe Oorlog politiek. Die studie bevraagteken dus ook die gewilde aanname dat etniese oorloë ontstaan uit ‘stamoorloë’ of ‘antieke vyandskap’. Hoofstuk drie en vier verduidelik hoekom hierdie nuwe onderskeiding tussen ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’ eerder beskou moet word as die kumulatiewe effek van marginalisasie, kompeterende ekonomiese belange en die politieke polarisasie wat die streek in twee skeur. Meeste van die faktore wat gelei het tot die etniese polarisasie van die streek word hier beskou as kontemporêre verskynsels. Die studie kyk ook na faktore soos: die verlies van populêre legitimiteit en effektiewe leierskap, onderontwikkeling, armoede, ongelykheid en die privatisering van mag. Die studie sluit af met die gedagte dat identiteitspolitiek in Darfur beskou moet word as die uitkoms van individue, groepe of politieke leiers wat reageer op die bogenoemde omstandighede, eerder as die resultaat van ‘antieke vyandskap’ of aggresiewe ‘stamoorloë’.

Le mémoire vise à déterminer quelle contribution la justice internationale peut apporter à la résolution des conflits et au maintien de la paix et plus précisément si les pouvoirs octroyés au Procureur de la Cour pénale internationale, dans le cadre du Statut de Rome, lui donnent la capacité d’influencer les conflits en cours. Le premier chapitre décrit l’historique des événements ayant mené à l’adoption du Statut de Rome en 1998 et permet d’expliquer l’évolution de la notion d’une justice post-conflictuelle à une justice pouvant favoriser la paix. Le débat théorique paix-justice est ensuite analysé afin de démontrer que le Procureur de la Cour pénale internationale peut exercer une certaine influence sur les conflits lorsqu’il possède un pouvoir discrétionnaire important. Le second chapitre examine les prérogatives octroyées au Procureur dans le cadre du statut de Rome et comment elles s’appliquent durant les différentes étapes de procédure menant à la délivrance d’un mandat d’arrêt. Il est démontré que le pouvoir discrétionnaire du Procureur est limité par le régime de complémentarité et par des enjeux de coopération avec les États Parties. Par conséquent, cela nuit à sa capacité d’influencer la résolution des conflits. Le troisième chapitre analyse deux situations en cours à la Cour pénale internationale, soit celle de l’Ouganda et celle du Darfour, afin de vérifier si le Procureur a réellement un impact sur les conflits en cours. Il est avancé que dans le cadre actuel du Statut de Rome, le Procureur est dépendant de la coopération des États Parties pour influencer la résolution des conflits. / The thesis aims to determine how international justice can contribute to peace-building and ending conflicts and more specifically whether the powers given to the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, in the Rome Statute, enable him to take action on ongoing conflicts. The first chapter describes the events that led to the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998 and explains the evolution from a post-conflict justice to a justice for peace. The Peace and Justice debate is further analysed as to demonstrate that the International Criminal Court Prosecutor may have an impact on ongoing conflicts if granted with prosecutorial discretion. The second chapter looks into prosecutorial discretion in the Rome Statute and how it is implemented during the main steps of the process leading to an arrest warrant. It is demonstrated that prosecutorial discretion is limited by complementarity and cooperation issues between State Parties. Therefore it restricts the Prosecutor’s ability to ending conflicts. The third chapter analyses two ongoing situations at the International Criminal Court that is Uganda and Darfur, as to verify if the Prosecutor can have an effect on ongoing conflicts. It is concluded that in the current Rome Statute, the Prosecutor is dependent on State Parties cooperation to influencing conflict resolution.

A travers l’exemple des opérations de maintien de la paix (OMP) conjointes entre les Nations Unies et l’Union européenne au Tchad et en République centrafricaine (Eufor Tchad-RCA et Minurcat) entre 2008 et 2010, cette thèse questionne les mécanismes qui mènent au déclenchement d’une opération de sécurité collective dite de maintien de la paix ainsi que son déroulement. Alors que les analyses anglo-saxonnes du maintien de la paix dans le champ des Relations internationales questionnent peu le processus qui mène à leur déploiement, faisant de celui-ci une réponse quasi rationnelle à l’émergence ou la reprise d’une « crise », cette thèse analyse finement le processus non linéaire qui mène au déploiement des opérations Eufor Tchad-RCA et Minurcat. Cela permet d’interroger de manière originale les disfonctionnements du maintien de la paix en ne s’intéressant pas uniquement à l’appropriation locale d’une OMP comme dans la littérature sur la paix libérale mais en analysant les continuités entre les phases dites de décision et celles de mise en oeuvre. La thèse défendue ici est que le déclenchement d’une OMP se comprend comme le produit de l’activité sociale ayant lieu autour d’un enjeu sécuritaire qui mène à la structuration d’une zone d’action conjoncturelle dans le secteur de la sécurité collective. On parle de conjoncture de maintien de la paix. Le déroulement de l’OMP s’analyse alors comme la poursuite de l’activité au sein de cette zone d’action qui intègre de nouveaux acteurs durant la phase de conduite des opérations. La reconfiguration de la zone d’action peut mener à la poursuite de l’OMP ou à sa fin suivant la dynamique sociale qui se met en place. / Through the example of joint peackeeping operations (PKO) between the United Nations and the European union in Chad and Central african Republic (known by their French acronyms as Eufor Tchad-RCA and Minurcat) between 2008 and 2010, the purpose of this research is to question the social process that lead to the launching and the implementation of a collective security operation knwon as a peacekeeping operation.Though the Anglo-Saxon analyses of peacekeeping inspired by the International Relations theory not often question the decisionnal process, considering the deployment as a rational mean to treat a crisis, this thesis is an analysis of the non-linear social process that led to the deployment of Eufor Tchad-RCA and Minurcat. This analysis allows us to question in an orignal way the dysfunction of peacekeeping by shifting the focus from the local appropriation of the PKO as suggested by the Libera Peace approach to the continuity between decisionnal stages and implementation stages of the PKO. The thesis proposed here is that the launching of a PKO must be understood as the output of the social activity that takes place around a security issue that lead to the structuration of an area of action in the collective security sector. We named that periode a conjuncture of peacekeeping. The conduct of the operation is then analysed as the continuity of the activity in this area of action which includes new actors during its implementation stage. The re setup of the area of action can lead to the pursuit of the PKO or to its end, regarding the social dynamic that is set up.

This diploma thesis deals with the issue of the main conflicts in the Republic of Sudan. In the first part the author describes the historical development of Sudan with focus on the period from 1956 till today. The main attention in this section is devoted to the political and economical development as well as to foreign policy. The second part concentrates on the conflict between the northern and the southern part of the country. The author analyses the ethnical and religious background, the development of the civil war and the principles of the 2005 peace agreement with the view to the future of the separated states. Then, the author describes in detail the issue of the rebellion in the western province of Darfur, tries to elaborate on the reasons for the rebellion, the influence of foreign countries and the current state of negotiations between the Government of Sudan and the rebels from Darfur.The third part focuses on the foreign policy of The United States of America, the European Union, China and Egypt. The author selected these countries as having the major impact on the development of Sudan and the both conflicts. Last chapter of the thesis looks at the challenges that Sudan and South Sudan will have to face in the near future. Finally, the author elaborates on the impact of these issues on international policy and the space for possible external policies in Sudan and Southern Sudan.

Ce travail d’économie politique étudie la structuration, l’évolution et les recompositions d’un groupe de commerçants issus des communautés zaghawa du Darfour à l’aune des alliances établies par le mouvement islamique soudanais avant et après sa prise de pouvoir. Il permet l’analyse de certains ressorts de la domination politique dans un régime autoritaire en soulignant plus particulièrement les « constellations d’intérêts » (Weber, 1921) des acteurs et leurs conjonctions s’établissant dans des situations précises, à divers niveaux (local, régional, national) et dans différents contextes (professionnel, familial, du groupe ethnique). Ce travail s’appuie sur une démarche empirique (un an de terrain) conjuguée à une approche par jeux d’échelles (Revel, 1996 ; Grossetti, 2006) qui se concentre sur les dispositifs et les logiques économiques, lieux privilégiés pour observer l’articulation des intérêts des acteurs. Cette recherche souligne ainsi que les communautés zaghawa ont été très tôt associées au projet islamiste, et examine les modalités de cette association dans l’alliance hégémonique islamique (Gramsci, 1929-1935). La thèse s’attache à montrer comment s’élaborent les ressorts concrets de l’adhésion, de l’acception ou de l’accommodement (qui sont trois formes dans lesquelles l’individu obéit). Loin d’être l’unique résultat de stratégies explicites des gouvernants ou du seul enjeu de légitimité, cette recherche révèle que ces rapports d’obéissance sont les résultats de l’imbrication des stratégies des acteurs avec leurs multiples logiques d’action, leurs interdépendances, leurs réactions autonomes ou non, dans un système plus ou moins contraignant. / This study examines the formation and the domination of Sudanese Islamists’ hegemony (Gramsci, 1929-1935) by shedding light on the alliances they constructed with specific segments of the Sudanese society before and after their rise to power. More specifically, it aims to provide an analysis of the alliances’ formation with members of the Zaghawa-Darfurian ethnic community, with a special focus on economic activities. This analysis of the “constellations of interests” (Weber, 1921) of the different actors and their conjunction, enables to understand the ways people obey and disobey. Thus, this dissertation underlines how the Zaghawa communities have been associated to the Islamist project very early and describes the modalities of this association. One result is that those alliances are in fact all but a monolithic system but far more the result of various interests’ articulation at different levels (individual, collective, local or regional, professional or family, etc.) which never stop to be redrawn. This work is based on a one year fieldwork and combined with a methodological approach using various scale levels (Revel, 1996; Grossetti, 2006).It shows some of the mechanisms for the support, acceptance or accommodation (three ways to obey for an individual) of an authoritarian regime. It reveals that those mechanisms aren’t the unique result of explicit strategies or a question of legitimacy but depend on both individual and collective logics of action, that are more or less autonomous and that develop in specific systems of constrains

Humanitarian intervention becomes a focal point of international debate because it seems to be morally right but legally wrong. It challenges the principle of non-intervention and non-use of force encompassed in the Charter of the United Nations (UN), which was established in 1945 to prevent aggressions that led to the two world wars. However, since the 1990s, state practices of military intervention to protect human rights increased dramatically, many of which were even endorsed by the UN or in close cooperation with it. In other words, the UN is the most important, or insofar the only acceptable, body to authorize and legitimize any military operations with humanitarian rationale. This research aims at investigating the limitations of the UN in coordinating its responsibilities of maintaining peace and security and of protecting human rights. Two cases, Rwanda in 1994 and Sudan from 2003 on, are chosen as examples to probe into the practice of the UN and try to determine what has changed and what remains steadfast of the UN practice in humanitarian intervention in these ten years. By focusing on the cases of Rwanda and Sudan, this thesis is intended to address the following questions: (1) In the past decade, has the UN system become more comfortable with humanitarian intervention? (2) What are the limitations of the UN in conducting “humanitarian intervention”? What causes these limitations? And why? (3) What can be done to improve the incompetence of the UN in terms of humanitarian intervention? How to harmonize the UN’s conflicting responsibilities of upholding human rights and defending the principle of non-intervention? This research concludes that the new approach of the “responsibility to protect” that was created in recent years shows that a normative change is on the way. Besides, from Rwanda to Sudan, the UN has made progress in addressing grave humanitarian issues. However, all the efforts still have to depend on the political will of the member states of the UN. Since this issue is still more a political one than a legal one, in the years to come, the UN will still face the difficulty of fulfilling its responsibility.