This qualitative study focuses on perceptions of actors within protracted social conflicts and the value of using self-categorization as a tool to increase understanding of conflict actors as a step towards to finding alternative solutions. It compares self-perceptions of the Hilltop Youth, a radical settler group in the West Bank region in the Middle East, to categorizations used in all of the established literature on the group. Five categories that are recurring in the literature on the Hilltop Youth (terrorists, vigilantes, active flank within a social movement, gang, and activist) are contrasted with Self-Categorization theory and will be used as a tool to determine the self-image of the group as displayed in the digital and social media. The findings show that the category that finds common ground between the two perspectives is activists. The Hilltop Youth view themselves as freedom fighters, doing what they are chosen to do: settle the land, already promised to them.  Their actions and beliefs translate to political activism this both including building homes and creating outposts as well as conducting “price tag” attacks. The findings underline the difference in perceived realities between the Hilltop Youth and researchers. Concluding the need to incorporate the perspective of the actor itself in order to create a sustainable peace based on the same reality, something that have been overlooked in previous Hilltop Youth research.

Between 2014 and 2016, West Africa was struck by the largest ever Ebola epidemic. In Sierra Leone, the outbreak occurred only about a decade after the end of an eleven-year long civil war, which left the country with little capacity to contain the virus. While many have investigated the crisis that the Ebola outbreak caused West African countries, few have turned their attention directly towards the response to it. Following that line of thought, this case study explores how the Ebola response carried out by local, national and international actors played into conflict dynamics in the aftermath of the Sierra Le-onean civil war. By applying the theoretical perspectives of ‘the fortified aid compound’ and ‘dependent agency’, I argue that the response embodied a militarised approach and that it was insensitive towards local customs, which showed in shifting acts of compliance and resistance by beneficiaries. Lastly, by applying the theory of ‘protracted social con-flict’, I argue that conflict dynamics from the civil war were amplified by the Ebola re-sponse to some extent. The study concludes that future responses to epidemics, particu-larly in conflict affected settings, should consider potential negative effects connected to response structures and measures to a greater extent.

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This thesis sheds some light on how cash and voucher assistance (CVA) can promote sustainable livelihood outcomes in protracted crisis settings, analyzing the case study of Northeast Syria. It aims to contribute to the design of CVA programming in Syria and similar contexts in a way that fosters sustainable livelihoods and advances self-sufficiency among affected populations. The two core concepts – CVA and livelihoods – are first conceptualized separately, followed by an extensive literature review, which provides an empirical perspective and identifies some channels through which CVA can promote sustainable livelihoods. Eight semi-structured interviews, representing the views of a donor agency, INGOs, the humanitarian coordination architecture, and a CVA network of practitioners, then provide in-depth insights into Northeast Syria specifically. While this thesis identifies four CVA instruments that are implemented by humanitarian organizations to promote livelihoods in Northeast Syria, it equally finds that the context is characterized by structural barriers which cannot be addressed by humanitarian CVA alone. To tackle structural barriers and account for the paradigm shift the Syrian crisis is undergoing, the international community needs to adjust its funding approach in a way that promotes longer-term thinking and sustainable livelihoods both in Syria and other protracted crisis settings.

Around 2015, the humanitarian aid sector set out the localization agenda in motion. Embedded within The Grand Bargain, the localization agenda elevated the propensity for systems change within the humanitarian sector and calls for a greater inclusion of local actors have featured for some time in debates on how to make humanitarian action more efficient and address unequal power relations within the humanitarian system.  Though the localization agenda is at the core of current reform efforts in the humanitarian sector, there is paucity of scholarship on the discourse of localization in a protracted refugee humanitarian context. A qualitative case study design Was undertaken, and data was collected by conducting interviews on zoom and employing semi-structured interview guide. Six respondents (2 from local NGOs, 2 from international NGOs, 1 from UN agency and 1 from Ugandan government) were interviewed. The data collected were transcribed with the aid of “otranscribe” and analyzed through thematic analysis. The paper observes that the current discourse of localization in the protracted refugee humanitarian response in Uganda is characterized by two divergent and opposing conceptualization of localization; one based on decentralization approach, and another based on transformative approach and as such the paper argues the need for patience and acceptance of these various conceptualization to allow time for epistemological maturity of the concept.  Furthermore, five practices related to localization (funding, partnership, Capacity strengthening, Coordination and Visibility) were explored and while there was reported improvement, the study observes that, in practice, the engagement level of the local actors is still relatively low and contends that effective localization is only possible if trust among actors in the aid chain is built over time. Moreover, the study also identified factors such as Uganda’s progressive refugee policy, the availability of well-educated and experienced pool of local human resource and Uganda’s geographical positioning in a region ragged with conflict as major opportunities that could be harnessed to foster localization. In contrast however, the study identified that lack of trust of local actors, stringent and restrictive donor funding conditions, lack of collective risk sharing, lack of clarity on what constitute localization, and weak capacity strengthening modalities as being some of the key challenges hindering localization in the Ugandan refugee operation. To this end, the paper observes that in a protracted refugee situation especially that liken to the Ugandan situation, localization would have a high chance of succeeding especially given the stable context of the operation. The paper argues that the practice of localization could be enhanced if local and national actors put pressure on international actors and demand leadership, that financial and programmatic risk and accountability are shared responsibility and when long term engagement is made with local and national actors thus allowing for meaningful capacity strengthening thereby leading to building of trust between the local and international actors.

Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This dissertation analyses the relationship between civil society and political leadership within the context of Zimbabwe’s protracted social conflict, particularly through the lens of land policy. Through the use of strategic informants, it yields important insights into the origins, form and impact of political leadership and civil society in a way that will expose the dynamics of elite and grassroots mobilisation and the political context in which land policy is either made or obstructed. Specifically, this dissertation examines two research questions. First, if political leadership is not representative of the citizenry, is land policy more likely to engender overt conflict? Second, if civil society has an autonomous role in the public sphere, is land policy more likely to benefit citizens? This dissertation also confronts an emerging empirical problem: the absence of descriptive data in regards to how civil society and political leadership have engaged in reforming land policy in Zimbabwe during the period of transition from 2008 to 2013. By measuring representation and autonomy – indicators of human needs satisfaction– this dissertation traced each phase of the protracted social conflict as it both helped to create the conditions for a liberation model of representation while simultaneously further exacerbating protracted social conflict within Zimbabwe. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis ontleed die verhouding tussen die burgerlike samelewing en politieke leierskap veral deur die lens van grondbeleid, binne die konteks van Zimbabwe se uitgerekte sosiale konflik. Dit het ten doel om belangrike insigte op te lewer in die oorsprong, vorm en impak van politieke leierskap en die burgerlike samelewing. Die word blootgestel in 'n manier wat die dinamika van die elite en mobilisering op grondvlak in ag neem soweel as die politieke konteks waarin grondbeleid óf gemaak is of belemmer word. Hierdie tesis konfronteer ook 'n opkomende empiriese probleem: die afwesigheid van beskrywende data met betrekking tot die betrokkenheod van die burgerlike samelewing en politieke leierskap tydens die grondhervorming proses in Zimbabwe gedurende die tydperk van oorgang tussen 2008 en 2013. Deur die meting van verteenwoordiging en outonomie - aanwysers van menslike behoeftes bevrediging - word elke fase van die uitgerekte sosiale konflik ondersoek met betrekking tot hoe ‘n bevryding model van verteenwoordigheid beide gehelp het om die voorwaardes te skepvir die eindeiging van die PSC; maar terselfdertyd het dit ook die sosiale konflik in Zimbabwe verder uitgerek. !

<p>The aim of this paper is to examine if the two latest Peace Plans in the Palestine-Israeli con-flict observes the sources of the conflict and presents measures in the purpose of solving them. The point of departure is William Azar’s theory of protracted social conflict (PSC). According to Azar, the internal sources of a PSC lies in three clusters of variables: the com-munal content of a society, the deprivation of human needs as an underlying source of PSC, and the role of the state in the deprivation or satisfaction of human needs. The study is de-signed as a multiple-case study where the units of analysis are the Roadmap to Peace and the Geneva Initiative. An analyze instrument, based on operationalization of Azar’s three clusters of internal sources of a PSC, is developed and used to analyze the Roadmap to peace and the Geneva Initiative. The conclusions are that the two Peace Plans observes and present meas-ures to solve the communal content of the conflict, but both Peace Plans are unsatisfactory in presenting measures aiming to solve problems related to the role of the state and human needs. Especially the acceptance need within the state is missing in the contents of the Peace Plans.</p>

Nicotine is the primary addictive substance in tobacco, and most smokers who quit will relapse within a year. Evidence shows that cigarette craving increases over time, termed “incubation.” The purpose of these studies was to see if protracted abstinence from chronic nicotine increases rat self-administration, an animal model with good face validity for human tobacco use, and if nicotine self-administration during daily exposure/after 8+ days of abstinence is regulated by extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell or anterior cingulate cortex (PFC). ERK kinase inhibitor U0126 was infused in the NAc shell or PFC of Long Evans rats immediately prior to daily self-administration sessions and following 8+ days of abstinence. U0126 in the PFC decreased responding for nicotine during daily sessions. Following 8+ days of abstinence, animals showed a robust increase in responding for nicotine, blocked by U0126 in the NAc shell, but not the PFC. Western blots revealed that nicotine treatment decreased levels of a substrate of ERK, ribosomal s6 kinase (RSK), in the NAc shell and increased it in the PFC, which occurred independent of abstinence period. In contrast, levels of RSK were increased in the NAc shell following a nicotine challenge during the abstinence period. In summary, our data show that the ERK signaling pathway plays a vital role in nicotine addiction during daily nicotine exposure and following periods of abstinence.

Although Skilled Birth Attendance has been universally acknowledged as essential to progress in the field of maternal health (WHO, 2004), Human Resources for Health (HRH) deficits are currently impeding the sustainability of essential maternal health interventions on a global scale. Over the past 30 years, the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit (SMRU), along with other agencies such as non-governmental organizations and community-based organizations, have developed a self-contained health system, which provides health services, including maternity care, to migrants and refugees at the Thailand-Myanmar Border. The staff necessary to the provision of care in SMRU’s clinics are mostly recruited from within the migrant and refugee populations, and trained internally by SMRU. In the last decade, SMRU has experienced high-turnover rates and shortages of Skilled Birth Attendants (SBA). Consequently, their current maternity workforce is characterized by an acute shortage of SBAs who have attained senior status, and a higher concentration of SBAs at the assistant and junior levels. As a response to these HRH challenges, this case study aimed to conduct a multi-level analysis of obstacles and enablers to professional development amongst Skilled Birth Attendants working for SMRU. This single descriptive case study with embedded units of analysis, which incorporated non-participant observation, a template-based personnel file review, individual interviews, and focus groups at two of SMRU’s Birthing Units, represented a unique opportunity to observe and analyze the multiple influences that interact at various levels of a relatively self-contained health system. By highlighting the obstacles and enablers present within the system, this study purposed to identify means by which to empower lower level SBAs, support their professional development, and create a more sustainable maternity workforce. The study found that SMRU has been successful in providing its SBAs with the appropriate midwifery skills to fulfill a limited scope of practice, and in fostering strong intra-professional relationships that allow the SBAs to motivate and mentor each other. Achieving workforce sustainability with a model of care that implements task-shifting requires a balance of appropriate and constructive consultation structures without enabling the stagnation of SBAs’ skills and confidence. This study also reveals the importance of context and culture to a health system’s capacity to optimally plan and implement its HRH functions. Finally, in the case of SMRU, persistent recruitment and retention concerns underscore that workforce sustainability cannot be achieved through professional development alone. Therefore, this study reveals a need for further inquiry into the complexities of maternal health workforce planning in contexts of protracted displacement, and the challenges associated with developing appropriate supervisory structures for lower level health professionals.

The major thrust of refugee protection worldwide is directed towards providing assistance to refugees in emergency situations. In South Africa, a large number of refugees have moved beyond this initial emergency phase such that the extended nature of their refugee status has left them in a state of continuous vulnerability. Their prolonged exile has led to violations of various rights recognised by international law and South Africa’s own constitutional and refugee law. Faced with restricted access to rights, refugees in South Africa live in poverty, are frustrated, and do not realise their full potential, to say nothing about the overt and brutal attacks they constantly face as victims of xenophobia. Their continued status as refugees deprives them of opportunities and subjects them to constant fear of harassment and exploitation. Even though neither the UNHCR nor the South African government has classified refugees living in South Africa as being in a protracted situation, many refugees have been in South Africa for five years or longer, with no durable solution in sight. This thesis highlights the plight of refugees in protracted refugee situation in South Africa and recommends suitable solutions to the problems this situation raises.