Oligopolies of Violence in Post-Conflict Societies

In post-conflict societies, security is provided by a broad range of actors including the state as well as various non-state formations. The paper identifies three types of post-conflict societies and analyses dynamics of the security market in cases where international troops have intervened. A comparison of seven countries shows that intervention forces were able to establish themselves as market leaders when a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) program was successfully conducted in the immediate post-conflict period. Such a program should be embedded in an inclusive peace agreement that is backed up by a credible and robust troop commitment from the international community.Post-conflict societies, security market, oligopoly of violence, international intervention, disarmament

The Territorialization of the Global Commons: Evidence From Ocean Governance

The international system of states displays an inherent drive to territorialize the global commons. But territorialization is not a continuous process - it occurs in episodes. In this article, I use one case from ocean governance, the expansion of territory into near-shore areas of the seas, to advance a twofold argument about the nature of these episodes. First, I argue that the root causes of this drive to territorialize "empty space" are located in global politics, norms, and economics. Second, a territorializing episode occurs when there are impelling economic incentives, and when great powers are unable or unwilling to oppose territorialization. However, this can lead to different outcomes: sovereign territories, functional territories, or internationalized territories. Oceanic space has seen a series of these territorializing episodes since the end of the Second World War and functional territorialization has become more prevalent over time

Oligopolies of Violence in Post-Conflict Societies

In post‐conflict societies, security is provided by a broad range of actors including the state as well as various non‐state formations. The paper identifies three types of post‐conflict societies and analyses dynamics of the security market in cases where international troops have intervened. A comparison of seven countries shows that intervention forces were able to establish themselves as market leaders when a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) program was successfully conducted in the immediate post‐conflict period. Such a program should be embedded in an inclusive peace agreement that is backed up by a credible and robust troop commitment from the international community.In Nachkriegsgesellschaften gibt es neben dem Staat eine Vielzahl von Akteuren, die für ihre Klientel Sicherheit anbieten. Dieses Papier unterscheidet drei Typen von Postkonfliktgesellschaften und analysiert die Dynamiken auf dem Sicherheitsmarkt in Ländern, in denen es zu einer internationalen Intervention kam. Ein Vergleich von sieben Fällen zeigt, dass sich internationale Truppen dann als Marktführer etablieren konnten, wenn ein Entwaffnungs‐ und Demobilisierungsprogramm erfolgreich durchgeführt wurde. Ein derartiges Programm muss in ein inklusives Friedensabkommen eingebettet sein, welches durch eine robuste Interventionsstreitmacht abgesichert wird

Temporal analysis of political instability through descriptive subgroup discovery

This paper analyzes the Political Instability Task Force (PITF) data set using a new methodology based on machine learning tools for subgroup discovery. While the PITF used static data, this study employs both static and dynamic descriptors covering the 5-year period before onset. The methodology provides several descriptive models of countries especially prone to political instability. For the most part, these models corroborate the PITF’s findings and support earlier theoretical works. The paper also shows the value of subgroup discovery as a tool for developing a unified concept of political instability as well as for similar research designs

Sicherheitsmärkte in Postkonfliktgesellschaften: Implikationen für Interventionen

"Am 31. Juli 2007 hat der UN-Sicherheitsrat beschlossen, eine 26.000 Mann starke Friedenstruppe nach Darfur zu entsenden, die dort eine Mission der Afrikanischen Union ablöst. Das sind 9.000 Mann mehr als bei der bisher größten UN-Friedenstruppe in Afrika, der Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo (MONUC) in der DR Kongo. Seit 1989 hat die Zahl internationaler Militärinterventionen in Postkonfliktgesellschaften drastisch zugenommen. Zu den Zielen dieser Interventionen gehört auch immer eine Unterbrechung der Kampfhandlungen. Dies geschieht dann, wenn es den Interventionstruppen gelingt, den Sicherheitsmarkt zu monopolisieren. Dafür stehen die Aussichten gut, wenn alle Konfliktparteien einem Friedensabkommen und einem Entwaffnungsprogramm zugestimmt haben. Das ist aber längst nicht immer der Fall. Die Erwartungen an Interventionsstreitkräfte sollten nicht überfrachtet werden. Bestenfalls ist eine kurzfristige Befriedung möglich, die die Grundlage für eine langfristige Transformation der Gewaltstrukturen bietet. Auf dem Sicherheitsmarkt treten Interventionskräfte parallel zu einheimischen Akteuren auf, die für die Bürger wichtige Schutzgaranten darstellen könnten. Ein inklusives Friedensabkommen ist eine Grundvoraussetzung für eine gewaltfreie Postkonfliktordnung. Liegt dies nicht vor, ist eine deutlich stärkere militärische Präsenz notwendig, um die Konfliktparteien abzuschrecken. Wo Friedensabkommen oder Entwaffnungsprogramme fehlen, können Interventionstruppen den Konflikt bestenfalls 'einfrieren', jedoch nicht überwinden. Spätestens nach ihrem Abzug wird der Konflikt erneut ausbrechen." (Autorenreferat

Legitimate oligopolies of violence in post-conflict societies with particular focus on Liberia and Sierra Leone

"During post-conflict periods, institutions and patterns of action are challenged and renegotiated – processes that have long gone largely unrecognized. There continues to be a lack of empirical research on the constellations of authority following the cessation of conflict. This lack corresponds to deficiencies on the level of policy-making: It appears that Western donors, until today, base their approaches to post-conflict reconstruction on the wholly unchallenged assumption that the state is the only legitimate actor in this area. This research project focused on core questions in post-conflict security provision by and beyond the state. The central question of the project was to determine which actors (such as traditional authorities, the remnants of state security organs, private entrepreneurs, international peacekeeping missions etc.) provide security in a situation of fragmented authority, i.e. sanctioning violence and crime. Moreover, the project sought to analyze under which conditions these actors are considered legitimate by different groups within society: some actors might protect specific groups among the population while representing a threat to others. These questions were addressed in empirical case studies of Liberia and Sierra Leone. The project worked under the basic assumption that oligopolies of violence exist in periods directly preceded by conflict, comprising a limited number of actors that produce violence and provide security, who both compete and cooperate with each other. It was also assumed that oligopolies exhibited significant variation, with one important sub-type being an 'oligopoly with market leader'. (...)" (author's abstract)"In Postkonfliktsituationen werden Institutionen, aber auch Handlungsmuster überprüft und neu ausgehandelt, Prozesse, die lange wenig Beachtung gefunden haben. Es gibt immer noch einen Mangel an empirischer Forschung zu den Konstellationen von Herrschaftsbeziehungen nach Beendigung von Gewaltkonflikten. Dem entsprechen auch Defizite in der praktischen Politik. Bis heute gründen westliche Ansätze zu post-konfliktivem Wiederaufbau auf der Annahme, dass der Staat der einzige legitime Akteur im Sicherheitsbereich sei. Die zentrale Frage dieses Projekts war demgegenüber, welche Akteure (traditionelle Autoritäten, der Rumpfstaat, private Unternehmen, internationale Friedensmissionen etc.) in einer Situation fragmentierter Autorität Sicherheit gewährleisten, d.h. Gewalt real kontrollieren. Darüber hinaus ging es um die Analyse, wie legitim solche Akteure in den Augen unterschiedlicher sozialer Gruppen sind – dies auch unter der Annahme, dass sie bestimmte Bevölkerungsgruppen beschützen können, gleichzeitig aber eine Bedrohung von anderen darstellen mögen. Diese Fragen wurden zunächst in Fallstudien zu Liberia und Sierra Leone untersucht. Das Projekt arbeitete unter der Grundannahme, dass Gewaltoligopole in unmittelbaren Postkonfliktsituationen bestehen, die eine begrenzte Anzahl von Gewaltakteuren/Sicherheitsproduzenten umfassen, und die untereinander konkurrieren und kooperieren. Hierbei wurden erhebliche Variationen einer solchen Konstellation angenommen, wobei eine wichtige Variante das 'Gewaltoligopol mit einem dominanten Marktführer' sein würde. (...)" (Autorenreferat

USO DE MEMBRANA AMNIÓTICA HUMANA DESCELULARIZADA EM ANASTOMOSES INTESTINAIS: ESTUDO EM RATOS TRATADOS COM 5-FLUOROURACIL

Introduction: currently, the most relevant applications of perinatal derivatives are in wound healing, for example, the use of amniotic membrane (AM) as a biomaterials source for use in different healing processes. The anastomotic healing compromised by antimetabolic drugs, such as 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), is a potential target of AM. Objective: To evaluate the healing effects of the AM use in rats treated with 5-FU at a dose of 20 mg/kg on the 7th postoperative day, regarding the parameters percentage of type I collagen (mature), cell viability, microvascular density and granulation tissue formation. Method: Thirty-two Wistar rats were submitted to colotomy and colorraphy, separated in 4 groups with 8t rats each and received, by 7 days, different treatments intraperitoneally, once daily from the operation day until sacrifice: 1- saline solution (C), 2- 20 mg/kg 5-FU, 3- 20 mg/kg 5-FU and 4- MA, and MA. Results: Tthe treatment with 5-FU (20 mg/kg – 7 days) induced adverse effects in the anastomotic healing process evidenced by the decrease of type I collagen (mature), cell viability, percentage microvascular density, granulation tissue formation (leukocyte-fibrin crust and angio-fibroblastic proliferation). The use of AM, under these conditions, induced an improvement in type I collagen (mature) percentage. Conclusion: The treatment with 5-FU induced adverse effects on the healing anastomotic process, and the use of AM, under these conditions, induced improvement in type I (mature) collagen percentage.Introdução: Atualmente emerge em nosso meio aplicações mais relevantes dos derivados perinatais, por exemplo, a membrana amniótica (MA), como fonte de biomateriais para emprego em diferentes processos cicatriciais. O comprometimento anastomótico por drogas antimetabólicas como o 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) é um potencial alvo da MA. Objetivo: Avaliar os efeitos cicatriciais do uso da MA em ratos tratados com 5-FU na dose de 20 mg/kg ao 7º. dia de evolução pós-operatória quanto aos parâmetros porcentagem de colágeno tipo I (maduro), viabilidade celular, densidade microvascular e formação do tecido de granulação. Método: Utilizaram-se 32 ratos da linhagem Wistar submetidos à colotomia e colorrafia separados em 4 grupos com 8 e receberam diferentes tratamentos diariamente por via intraperitoneal até o dia do sacrifício: Solução fisiológica (C), 20  mg/kg 5-FU, 20 mg/kg 5-FU e MA, MA. Resultados: O tratamento com 20 mg/kg de 5-FU, ao 7º. dia pós-operatório induziu efeitos adversos no processo cicatricial anastomótico evidenciados pela diminuição da porcentagem de colágeno tipo I (maduro), da viabilidade celular, da densidade microvascular, da formação de crosta fibrinoleucocitária e da proliferação angiofibroblástica; o uso da MA nestas condições induziu melhora da porcentagem de colágeno tipo I (maduro). Conclusão: O tratamento com 20 mg/kg de 5-FU, ao 7º. dia pós-operatório induziu efeitos adversos no processo cicatricial anastomótico e o uso da MA nestas condições induziu melhora da porcentagem de colágeno tipo I (maduro)

Digitale Welt und reale Welt – keine Gegensätze mehr

PD Dr. Daniel Lambach ist Heisenberg-Fellow an der Goethe-Universität Frankfurt und Senior Associate Fellow am Institut für Entwicklung und Frieden der Universität Duisburg-Essen. In seiner Forschung beschäftigt er sich mit Konstruktionen von Territorium in unregulierten Räumen. 2019 ist sein Artikel "The Territorialization of Cyberspace" in der International Studies Review erschienen