<p>Abstract</p> <p>In 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, the Parisian workers revolted against the bourgeois government and established the Paris Commune. Extolling it as the first workers' government, classical Marxist writers took it as an exemplary--though embryonic-- model of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The principles of the Paris Commune, according to Marx, lay in that "the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes." General elections and the abolishment of a standing army were regarded by classical Marxist writers as defining features of the organ of power established in the Paris Commune. After the defeat of the Paris Commune, the Marxist interpretation of the Commune was widely propagated throughout the world, including in China.</p> <p>20th century China has been rich with experiences of Commune-type theories and practices. At the end of 1966 and the beginning of 1967, inspired by the Maoist theory of continuous revolution and the vision of a Commune-type state structure, the rebel workers in Shanghai, together with rebellious students and revolutionary party cadres and leaders, took the bold initiative to overthrow the old power structure from below. On Feb.5, 1967, the Shanghai workers established the Shanghai Commune modeled upon the Paris Commune. This became known as the January Storm. After Mao's death in 1976, the communist party and government in China has rewritten history, attacking the Cultural Revolution. And the Shanghai Commune has barely been mentioned in China, let alone careful evaluation and in-depth study. This dissertation attempts to recover this lost yet crucial history by exploring in historical detail the origin, development and supersession of the Shanghai Commune. Examining the role of different mass organizations during the January Storm in Shanghai, I attempt to offer a full picture of the Maoist mass movement based on the theory of continuous revolution. Disagreeing with some critics' arguments that the Shanghai Commune was a negation of the party-state, I argue that it neither negated the party nor the state. Instead, the Shanghai Commune embodied the seeds of a novel state structure that empowers the masses by relegating some of the state power to mass representatives and mass organs. Differing from the common narrative and most scholarship in the post-Mao era, I argue that the commune movement in the beginning of 1967 facilitated revolutionary changes in Chinese society and state structure. The Shanghai Commune and the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee developed as ruling bodies that did not hold general elections or abolish the standing army and in this way did not replicate the Paris Commune. But in contrast to the old Shanghai organs of power, they were largely in conformity with the principles of the Paris Commune by smashing the Old and establishing the New. Some of their creative measures, "socialist new things", anticipated the features of a communal state -a state that does not eradicate class struggle yet begins to initiate the long process of the withering away of the state itself.</p> / Dissertation

This thesis deals with the Syrian conflict. The Syrian conflict has continued for over three years (April 2014) and still constitutes a topical and developing affair. It represents a pressing and unresolved national and international issue. There is a vast amount of groups with different ideas involved in this conflict. During the conflict, conventional, as well as chemical weapons were used. The consequences of the fighting are mostly faced by local inhabitants who have been severely suffering due to the harsh living and humanitarian conditions. The aim of this thesis is to depict the problems of the Syrian conflict, evaluate the role the UN has had up to the present, and answer the question whether the UN has totally failed in solving the Syrian conflict, or not.

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.

This study investigates the impact of natural hazards on level of violence against civilians in countries experiencing armed conflict. While the literature on violence against civilians has made substantial progress, especially in showing how such violence can serve strategic purposes, gaps remain in identifying factors that influence shifts in such strategies. Natural hazards are, as abrupt shocks, one factor that should be considered as a cause but is overlooked. By combining data from the EM-DAT database created by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters and the Georeferenced Event Dataset from Uppsala University, this study employs a zero-inflated negative binomial model to analyse the effects of natural hazards during the emergency and early recovery phases. The findings indicate a slight but significant decrease in violence in the immediate aftermath which contrary to expectations continues in the long term phase. The decrease should be understood as a continuation of violence rather than a cessation of it. These results underscore the need for cooperation between the two fields, to better assist civilians in need.

What conditions lead to confidence among civil war combatants that they will not face accountability for perpetrating sexual violence? This study investigates the causes of impunity for sexual violence among armed actors. It develops a theoretical framework which identifies three explanations for armed group impunity for sexual violence, namely (1) flawed prohibitions inside an armed group; (2) negligent enforcement by its authorities; and (3) pardons in the form of amnesties during the peace process. Adopting a two-pronged approach, the study first explores the associations between amnesties arising from concluding peace agreements and post-settlement levels of sexual violence in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and South Africa. A small-scale, events-based dataset of sexual violence by governments and rebel groups in the first three years after war was constructed. The second and main part of the study is a comparison between two rebel groups in Burundi’s civil war (1994-2008), CNDD-FDD (National Council for the Defence of Democracy-Forces for the Defence of Democracy) and Palipehutu-FNL (Palipehutu-Forces for National Liberation) and their practices of prohibition and punishment of wartime sexual violence, taking into account also the possible influence of amnesties. Based on original data from 19 focus groups of ex-combatants from these rebel organisations, it is found that flawed prohibitions and negligent authorities are the main explanations for armed group impunity. The findings do not support amnesties as a cause of armed group impunity for sexual violence. Moreover, additional findings suggest that accountability for sexual violence is triggered by dependency on civilian support, while impunity is facilitated by an armed group’s ability to secure recruits, material and other resources without the help of local communities.

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.

While transnational rebellion and rebel recruitment have received much attention in previous literature, the combination of the two, transnational rebel recruitment, has been relatively understudied. This study aims to cover this research gap by further developing Jeremy Weinstein’s theory on resource endowments to test their effect on transnational rebel recruitment. It seeks to answer the research question: “How do resource endowments impact transnational rebel recruitment?”. A distinction will be made between domestic and transnational rebel groups to test the theoretical argument. It will be argued that rebel groups can have a variation in their economic and social endowments, which both have a domestic an transnational variant. The main hypothesis reads: transnational rebel groups that have much transnational resource endowments are more likely to recruit transnationally. This study will employ a structured focused comparison on strategically picked cases using Mill’s method of difference. The selected cases that will be compared are the transnational rebel group NPFL in Liberia (1989-1995) and the domestic rebel group NRA in Uganda (1981-1986). This study finds support for the theory and the main hypothesis.

Although a relatively new research field, many quantitative studies have over the past decade been undertaken examining rebel governance as an insurgent practice in intrastate conflicts around the globe. Nevertheless, gaps persist in the understanding of how common aspects of rebel governance, such as inclusive service provision, affect competing non-state actors in multi-rebel group conflict landscapes. Hitherto, this is the research puzzle of interest. This study asks the question: how is rebel group violence against civilians affected by a rival rebel group practising inclusive service provision? The hypothesis is that the level of violence against civilians practised by a rebel group decreases if a rival rebel group engages in inclusive service provision. The applied research method is a qualitative structured focused comparison between ELN in Colombia and GIA in Algeria from 1994 to 1999. The study does not find support for the hypothesised causal relationship, although forms of attempted emulation and outbidding of rival actors seem present in both studied cases. Further research is needed to fully dismiss the possibility of rival rebel group inclusive service provision sharing a negative variable relationship with rebel group violence against civilians.

The invasion by the Boers of Natal set a process in motion that changed the lives of Natal Afrikaners forever. As a group which shared family, cultural, and other ties with the invaders, but were British subjects by citizenship, they had to make a difficult decision: join the Republican forces or remain loyal to the crown. Factors which influenced this decision, amongst others, were the pre-war suspicion of all Natal Afrikaners by the Natal authorities and the prevalence of a general anti-Republican sentiment. Despite the above-mentioned, and the sympathy which existed for the plight of the Republics, very few Natal Afrikaners joined the commandos. Doing that would have meant economic annihilation. This the Natal Afrikaners understood and the majority remained neutral. Matters were complicated when the British Army and the colonial authorities withdrew south, leaving especially the Afrikaners of the Klip River county unprotected. When occupation did not convince the Afrikaners of the area to join, a well-thought out strategy based upon fear and misinformation, brought most into the fray. Duty on these commandoes was generally slack, subversive in nature, and as much as one can expect from people forced into military combat. A small group, however, managed, despite the pressures placed upon them, to remain loyal to Britain. For these loyalists the greatest rewards were in terms of economics and power. In stark contrasts were the economic experiences of the Natal Afrikaners who were somehow, either directly or indirectly, guilty of high treason. All their possessions were systematically looted or destroyed, leaving most of them in an impoverished state. Secondly, through a range of court cases 409 Natal Afrikaners or associated people were convicted of treason, mostly by the purposefully introduced Special Court and special magistrate. The outlined experiences coincided with victimization on socio-political and cultural levels under Martial Law. Afrikaners resident in the southern part of Natal, and especially in Umvoti county, did not suffer directly because of the war but experienced a different kind of war namely a pseudo war in which they were spied upon, viewed with suspicion and under Martial Law harassed. However, these Afrikaners managed to maintain some political power while economically they carried on as before the war. They attempted to use these assets to assist the Afrikaners who had to endure desertion by their own government and Boer occupation. Natal Afrikaners also experienced other aspects of the war normally associated with the Republics. Some were arrested as POWs, while others were deported to concentration camps within the Colony. Furthermore, as a result of the war, relations between Natal Afrikaners and English colonists and Africans suffered. The collective impact and legacy of the war, as well as the shared experiences of suffering under the British, with their Republican brothers and sisters, eventually helped to bring Natal Afrikaners into the broader Afrikaner fold. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Historical and Heritage Studies / unrestricted

The intention of this essay was to conduct two comparative analytical units called, “Most Similar System Design" (MSSD). The first unit is Somalia and the other is Iraq. The main purpose of the essay is to study deeper in Somalia and Iraq’s democratization process and also to analyse the deference’s between these two countries based on democratization-process. The essay's key questions are: How did Iraq get further into the democratization-process compared to Somalia? Why couldn't Somalia make a successful democratization process like Iraq? The essay is implemented by Dankwart A. Rustows democratization factors. The results indicated that: (i) Somalia failed in its democratization-process, due to the absence of national unity and a rapid transition. One of the main obstacles was Puntland and Somaliland which hindered the national unity of Somalia. (ii) On the other hand, Iraq was different in its democratization- process. With the support of the United States, Iraq achieved great success in the unification of Iraqi civil society the embodiment of smooth transition. (iii) Finally, the conclusion indicates that: national unity, societal norms and a rapid transition were the decisive variables.