This dissertation explores the problem of violent ethnic conflict in ethnically polarized developing countries using the concept of social capital. Ethnically polarized developing countries typically have high levels of intra-ethnic social capital (social capital existing within groups) but low levels of inter-ethnic social capital (social capital existing between groups). Violent conflict can be averted by cultivating higher levels of inter-ethnic social capital. High levels of inter-ethnic social capital create incentives for elites to adopt moderate strategies. A civic compact emerges when the general population internalizes the norms of inter-ethnic social capital (the rule of law; the right to participation; and the right to continued physical and cultural existence). The civic compact is associated with a general expectation that elites will not pursue extra-institutional strategies such as violence to advance their interests. Peace processes that originate in “hurting stalemates” afford fragile opportunities to begin to cultivate inter-ethnic social capital. At such moments, elite incentive structures align in such a way as to overcome barriers to reform associated with path dependence. The cultivation of inter-ethnic social capital is initiated by integrating the norms of inter-ethnic social capital into the structure of the peace process, although eventually state institutions (which must incorporate these norms into their design) will also re-enforce these norms. Elites begin to internalize the norms of inter-ethnic social capital by repeatedly engaging with each other during the peace process in a manner that actualizes these norms into their experiences. I explore how the norms of inter-ethnic social capital can be integrated meaningfully into the peace process so that elites begin to absorb these norms and so that the institutions that emerge from the process are perceived to be legitimate. Inter-ethnic social capital is developed among the masses primarily through the interactions that the masses have with state institutions. The peace process must focus on rehabilitating the relationship between the masses and the state. This dissertation assesses how this relationship may be rehabilitated and how the norms of inter-ethnic social capital can be integrated into the process of rehabilitating this relationship so that the masses can begin to internalize these norms.

This thesis analyzes the issue of terrorism regarding the Palestinian-Israeli Peace Process. The role of two sides on the ongoing violence and terrorism will be discussed comparatively. Focusing on the Peace Process, the thesis will trace whether terrorist activities had an impact on the collapse of the Peace Process and also will demonstrate how a peace process produced an Israeli state more militarized and a Palestinian society more radicalized and religious than ever before.

<p>This study was performed during the period March – May of 2007 in Kampala and Gulu district, Uganda, and it was made possible due to a scholarship from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). The main focus of the study is to examine and analyse the peace process taking place in Juba (the Juba talks), southern Sudan, with the goal to solve the 20 year old conflict in northern Uganda between the government of Uganda and the rebel group the Lord’s Resistance Army. I am doing this by, first; identify the actors involved by using John Paul Lederach’s pyramid which includes three levels of actors, second; study different methods for peacebuilding and thereafter identify which methods have been used in the Ugandan case and third; discover to what extent the civil society and more specifically women’s organisations have contributed to this process.</p><p>The data collected consist of qualitative literature studies, analyses of articles dealing with the peace talks and interviews with representatives from different levels of the Ugandan society.</p><p>The analyse of the material shows that all levels of the society have been involved to some extent, but that the peace process is mainly characterized by the top-down approach to peacebuilding, with the top level leaders as the main actors. I also found that women’s organisations in Uganda want to engender the peace talks, for example by bringing women to the negotiation table and let them participate in high level decision-making. Finally, the civil society has in general contributed to a large extent to the negotiations in order to bring peace, yet with different results.</p>

The following thesis examines the identity-based implications of the disengagement from the West Bank, the Madrid Conference, the Oslo Accords, and the Peace Treaty with Israel on Palestinian identity in Jordan. The paper analyzes various sub-groups of Palestinian-Jordanians and their relationships with Jordanian and Palestinian identities; it then discusses the way in which Jordan’s narrative has been projected onto and internalized differently by its Transjordanian and Palestinian-Jordanian citizens. As the Jordanian government’s position shifted from “Jordan is Palestine” to “Jordan is Jordan and Palestine is Palestine,” this thesis exposes the tension inherent in hybridized Palestinian-Jordanian identities that developed in the absence of the possibility of return to Palestine over subsequent generations.

Current political research on peace negotiations is fundamentally incomplete because it lacks the capacity to explain individual intents, choices and actions. This dissertation asks what impact individual negotiators, their approaches and choices of tactics have on peace talks and their outcomes. Individual people—be they representatives of rebel groups, non-governmental organisations or states—negotiate peace agreements. Consequently, an examination of individual motivations and actions in negotiations yields important knowledge. A fuller understanding of political negotiations, negotiators, and their tactics in Sierra Leone and Liberia is facilitated through a multidisciplinary consideration of the psychology, law and management studies literatures that consider individual motivations, biases, and behaviours. Based on extensive field research in Sierra Leone and Liberia, including numerous interviews with key players, I argue that individuals and their specific approaches and tactics influenced and altered the course of these peace negotiations, as well as their outcomes. Negotiators engaged in peace talks with underlying approaches (such as competitive, collaborative and cooperative styles) and then came to use various tactics (including shifting goalposts, hardball, silence, and bad faith), many of which were influenced by their innate biases and frames. Exploring these individuals’ conduct gives us previously unexplored insight into peace processes.

The Republic of Cyprus is often thought of as a tourist destination and hot spot for sun thirsty expats. Hidden from plain sight amongst holiday homes and blue waters, it may thus seem counterintuitive that Cyprus is home to a toxic ethno-nationalist political conflict that has mandated one of the longest running United Nations peace interventions to date. Still, life in Cyprus does not resemble a conflict zone. This beckon the conceptual debate of peace as more than the absence of war and raises questions of how peace is perceived by involved actors and subsequently, how it is influenced by subjective ideas. With negotiations stuck in a cycle of stalling and reassuming, the peace process is often described as the Cypriot deadlock. The cause of the deadlock is debated without consensus, but frequently boils down to disagreements over policies and issues of intercommunal mistrust. Looking to nuance these notions, this thesis aims to explain the deadlock ideationally by analysing ideas of peace as expressed by political elites and assess how they influence the peace process. The research presents a typological method for mapping ideational biases corresponding to meta-ideas of International relations theory. The central argument of this thesis is that the Cypriot peace process is deadlocked due to divergent ideational biases of political elites, rendering the rationales and strategies (the ideational underpinnings) behind the peace process ideationally unviable. This desktop study of Cyprus is based of primary data from the official websites of the Republic of Cyprus, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, and the United Nations, published between January of 2019 and April of 2021.

Diploma thesis "The Theory of Consociational Democracy and the Development of the Northern Ireland's Conflict" examines the ongoing conflict in Northern Ireland and also the possibility to apply this theory in this particular case. The principal objective of research is to analyze the long-standing conflict and explore the possibility to apply one of the most famous political science's theories, the author of which is Dutch political scientist A. Lijphart, currently on situation in Northern Ireland. This conflict lasting for many decades culminated in the 60s of the last century accompanied by violent and bloody clashes between opposing groups. Actors led by British government tried to solve this situation through the introduction the principle of power-sharing. This research offers an analyses of this conflict and also his changes in time, but also different actors and transformation of their attitudes, which were the reason of the movement from violent and armed conflict to the peaceful solution. This research offers not only an analyses of the conflict of itself but what more an analyses of the peace process, in which shows if the conflict resolution in Northern Ireland has had elements of consociational. One more objective of the diploma thesis is make a statement, if there is any possibility...

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As the Congolese conflict marks the 20th year, and the peace process 17 years, the apparent question is why is the search for peace in the DRC proving elusive? Spoilers and other impediments to the peace process in the DRC have been studied and UN peacekeepers have been operational in the country for nearly seventeen years, but the conflict continues. This study therefore seeks to understand the potential of UN peacekeeping to hinder the peace process in the DRC, and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) constitutes a study case. MONUSCO has been in operation for six years today succeeding the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC), and is still operating. Inasmuch as it looks early to gauge whether MONUSCO is contributing to progress or hindering the peace process in the DRC, this study focuses on the practices of UN peacekeepers under MONUSCO and their potential to delay peace initiatives. Using secondary data as the main source of information, i.e., books, articles, journals, news, UN reports and resolutions, triangulation and Game Theory, especially the Prisoners’ Dilemma Analytical Framework derived from the Prisoners’ Dilemma Game Matrix, this study finds that the Stabilization Mission is inconsistent, i.e., UN peacekeepers are performing controversial tasks: use of force to protect civilians, engaging in battles to neutralize armed militias and investigation of war crimes and human rights, tasks that have generated resentment from the FARDC/Kinshasa government and the armed militias, making the search for peace a one actors responsibility [MONUSCO’s task]. A clear indication that MONUSCO is hindering the peace process in the DRC. The thematic analysis details five (5) themes and indicates that; cooperation is problematic, use of force to protect civilians is controversial, there is a mismatch between doctrine and practice, i.e., deviation of UN peacekeeping from the basic principles, the justice dilemma, and an understanding of peace as absence of war and fighters. The thesis concludes that practices of MONUSCO need revisiting, dialogue should be encouraged, revision of peacekeeping principles and accurate timing of interventions, so as to enhance progress in the search for peace in DRC. / <p>This thesis is a true representation of my artistic academic work, written passiantely and informed with logical interpretation of other authors' perepectives, i.e., it is a deskstudy. It took me 10 weeks to produce this piece of work which adds to the ongoing debate on the Congolese process and UN peacekeeping in the DRC and other parts of the world. Written in Linnaeus University, Småland Sweden. </p> / Masters Thesis

The violent incidents, which have had their effect on Afghanistan's peoplefor a long time, have increased in recent years. With the fall of Afghanistanto the hands of the Taliban, concerns have grown over the country forvarious ethnic and particularly for the Hazara Shiites. The Hazara are one ofthe minority groups in this country as over a long period endured variousforms of oppression by the hands of Pashtun rulers and governments, fromethnic cleansing to slavery and systematic eviction from ancestral homes and lands. Therefore, the following study aims to investigate how the Hazara peopleperceive the peace process in their nation, the focusing of this study isbetween 2020-2022 and the perception of the reasons for the regularexplosions in their area. The method used in this thesis is qualitative methods in the form of interviewand discourse analysis. The Norwegian professor Johan Galtung's triangle ofviolence (which includes structural, cultural and direct violence) has beenused to analyze theoretical connections. Results of the study have shown that in a country like Afghanistan wheremost people belong to the Sunni Muslims that include Taliban and otherextremist groups who also currently rule the country consider Hazara to beinfidels. Since Pashtuns (previously had the power) or the Taliban (who havecurrent power over this country) believe the Hazaras have been persecuted,targeted, killed for many years. In terms of how these groups view the peace process in their country, theresults show that this group cannot predict what will happen due to manydifferent factors that are important and affected in this country such as theTaliban rule over the country, the financial crisis due to the long-lasting warand the large percentage of the population that is illiterate.