The violence of neoliberal peacebuilding in africa: Analysing its ‘traps’ through a gender lens

Casi la mitad de los acuerdos de paz fracasan durante los cinco primeros años de implementación. Cuando esto sucede, hay una tendencia a culpabilizar en exclusiva a los actores locales, en lugar de cuestionar también el impacto de la intervención exterior. Esta omisión tiene serias consecuencias para la seguridad de grupos marginados, como las mujeres y niñas. En África, lo que han ganado las mujeres después del conflicto queda lastrado por los altos niveles de violencia de género. El artículo afirma que existe una correlación directa entre los fallos de la construcción de la paz neoliberal en general, y el modo “liberal” en que el género se integra en las sociedades post-conflicto. Los enfoques inapropiados de las políticas de género pueden contribuir a la violencia estructural. El objetivo de esta aportación es cuestionar el modo en que los actores internacionales estructuran los procesos de paz y los elementos constitutivos de género. El artículo empieza con una crítica de la construcción de la paz neoliberal, para después centrarse en la crítica feminista a estos procesos y presta atención especial a los conceptos de agencia, local, protección y representación. Concluye ofreciendo algunas reflexiones desde una alternativa crítica feminista, más atenta a las relaciones de poder y mejor reflejo de la interpretación original de la seguridad humana no vinculada al estadoAlmost half of all peace agreements fail within the first five years of implementation. When that happens, there is a tendency to blame internal stakeholders rather than also questioning the impact of external intervention. This omission has severe consequences for the security of marginalised groups such as women and girl children. In Africa the gains women have made after the conflict are marred by high levels of gender-based violence. The article contends that there is a direct correlation between the failures of neoliberal peacebuilding in general and the ‘liberal’ way in which gender is integrated into post-conflict societies. Inappropriate approaches to gender mainstreaming may therefore contribute to structural violence. The goal of this contribution is to challenge international role players in how they frame peacebuilding processes and their constituent gender elements. The article opens with a critique of neoliberal peacebuilding, then focuses on a feminist critique of neoliberal peacebuilding and pays specific attention to issues of agency, the local, protection and representation. It concludes by offering some thoughts on a critical feminist alternative which is more attentive to power relations and reflective of the original non-statist interpretation of human securit

The Power of Mixed Messages: Women, Peace, and Security Language in National Action Plans from Africa

Vor dem Hintergrund globaler Diskurse zu "Frauen, Frieden und Sicherheit" analysiert die Autorin die gender- und frauenbezogene Sprache in vier Nationalen Aktionsplänen afrikanischer Staaten (Kenia, Liberia, Nigeria und Uganda), die mit Blick auf die Resolution 1325 des UN-Sicherheitsrats entworfen wurden. Aus Sicht der Autorin besitzen Nationale Aktionspläne das Potenzial, die konsensorientierte Sprache der Resolutionen des Sicherheitsrats zu überwinden, und eröffnen daher neue Räume für politisches und praktisches feministisches Engagement. Ihre Analyse deckt drei diskursive Themenbereiche auf: die Konstruktion von "Womenandchildren", die Zivilisierung des Krieges durch Frauen und die Zuweisung von Verantwortung für die Verhütung geschlechtsspezifischer Gewalt an die Frauen selbst. Alle drei Themenbereiche haben einen Bezug zur Bildung geschlechtsspezifischer Identitäten sowie zu geschlechtsspezifischen Formen von Sicherheit und Gewalt. Auf unterschiedliche Weise kombinieren die Aktionspläne eine überwiegend liberal-feministisch geprägte Sprache mit kritischen Einsichten. Die Ambivalenz der Botschaften, die von diesen Plänen ausgehen, zeigt nach Ansicht der Autorin, dass Diskurse Brüche aufweisen und damit die Möglichkeit zur differenzierten Kontextanalyse und Umsetzung eröffnen.Against the backdrop of global and continental women, peace, and security discourses, this contribution analyses the gender and women-focused language of national action plans from four African countries (Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, and Uganda), which were drafted with a view to United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325. I argue that national action plans have the potential to transcend the soft-consensus language of Security Council resolutions because they create new spaces for feminist engagement with policy and practice. The analysis reveals three discursive themes - namely, the making of "womenandchildren," women civilising war, and making women responsible for preventing gender-based violence. The themes relate to the construction of, respectively, gender(ed) identities, security, and violence. To varying degrees, the plans reflect a combination of predominantly liberal-feminist language interspersed with some examples of critical insight. I conclude that the ambiguous nature of the messages sent out by these plans serves as a reminder that discourses are fragmented and therefore offer an opening for nuanced contextual analyses and implementation

Fractious holism: the complex relationship between women and war

Feminists have agreed to disagree on the interaction between women and war. This is elucidated by means of a critical assessment of the various positions of feminists regarding comprehensive human security in general and military security in particular. It is argued that a feminist perspective has the potential to raise consciousness and contextualise women’s insecurity by employing gender as a principle of social organisation. This argument is supported by the contention that the relationship between women and war may be characterised as a fractious holism dominated by difference and multiplicity rather than harmony and stability. Such an imperfect holismgives rise to a plurality of ambiguities and complexities in relation to globalisation, militarism, combat and the broadly conceptualised notion of gender violence

Temperament and family environment in the development of anxiety disorder: Two-year follow-up.

Objective: Behavioural inhibition (BI) in early childhood is associated with increased risk for anxiety. The present research examines BI alongside family environment factors, specifically maternal negativity and overinvolvement, maternal anxiety and mother-child attachment, with a view to providing a broader understanding of the development of child anxiety. Method: Participants were 202 children classified at age 4 as either behaviourally inhibited (N=102) or uninhibited (N=100). Family environment, BI and child anxiety were assessed at baseline and child anxiety and BI were assessed again two-years later when participants were aged 6 years. Results: After controlling for baseline anxiety, inhibited participants were significantly more likely to meet criteria for a diagnosis of social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder at follow-up. Path analysis suggested that maternal anxiety significantly affected child anxiety over time, even after controlling for the effects of BI and baseline anxiety. No significant paths from parenting or attachment to child anxiety were found. Maternal overinvolvement was significantly associated with BI at follow-up. Conclusions: At age 4, BI, maternal anxiety and child anxiety represent risk factors for anxiety at age 6. Furthermore, overinvolved parenting increases risk for BI at age 6, which may then lead to the development of anxiety in later childhood

Fractious holism: the complex relationship between women and war

Feminists have agreed to disagree on the interaction between women and war. This is elucidated by means of a critical assessment of the various positions of feminists regarding comprehensive human security in general and military security in particular. It is argued that a feminist perspective has the potential to raise consciousness and contextualise women’s insecurity by employing gender as a principle of social organisation. This argument is supported by the contention that the relationship between women and war may be characterised as a fractious holism dominated by difference and multiplicity rather than harmony and stability. Such an imperfect holism gives rise to a plurality of ambiguities and complexities in relation to globalisation, militarism, combat and the broadly conceptualised notion of gender violence

Checklist of DCN CURATE Steps

A checklist and introduction to the Data Curation Network CURATE Steps for curating research data

How Important Are Data Curation Activities to Researchers? Gaps and Opportunities for Academic Libraries

Introduction: Data curation may be an emerging service for academic libraries, but researchers actively “curate” their data in a number of ways—even if terminology may not always align. Building on past user-needs assessments performed via survey and focus groups, the authors sought direct input from researchers on the importance and utilization of specific data curation activities. Methods: Between October 21, 2016, and November 18, 2016, the study team held focus groups with 91 participants at six different academic institutions to determine which data curation activities were most important to researchers, which activities were currently underway for their data, and how satisfied they were with the results. Results: Researchers are actively engaged in a variety of data curation activities, and while they considered most data curation activities to be highly important, a majority of the sample reported dissatisfaction with the current state of data curation at their institution. Discussion: Our findings demonstrate specific gaps and opportunities for academic libraries to focus their data curation services to more effectively meet researcher needs. Conclusion: Research libraries stand to benefit their users by emphasizing, investing in, and/or heavily promoting the highly valued services that may not currently be in use by many researchers

The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances 2010

Philanthropy to the developing world remained steady in 2008 and remittances continued to grow—despite the global recession and dire forecasts—providing a much needed lifeline to poor people throughout the world. And they were more resilient to the downturn than private capital flows to developing countries, which fell dramatically in 2008. Despite this, private flows still accounted for three-quarters of the developed world’s economic dealings with developing countries in 2008, proving that this innovative, diverse new foreign aid architecture is here to stay in good times and in bad

The Index of Global Philanthropy and Remittances 2010

Philanthropy to the developing world remained steady in 2008 and remittances continued to grow—despite the global recession and dire forecasts—providing a much needed lifeline to poor people throughout the world. And they were more resilient to the downturn than private capital flows to developing countries, which fell dramatically in 2008. Despite this, private flows still accounted for three-quarters of the developed world’s economic dealings with developing countries in 2008, proving that this innovative, diverse new foreign aid architecture is here to stay in good times and in bad

An integrated 4249 marker FISH/RH map of the canine genome

BACKGROUND: The 156 breeds of dog recognized by the American Kennel Club offer a unique opportunity to map genes important in genetic variation. Each breed features a defining constellation of morphological and behavioral traits, often generated by deliberate crossing of closely related individuals, leading to a high rate of genetic disease in many breeds. Understanding the genetic basis of both phenotypic variation and disease susceptibility in the dog provides new ways in which to dissect the genetics of human health and biology. RESULTS: To facilitate both genetic mapping and cloning efforts, we have constructed an integrated canine genome map that is both dense and accurate. The resulting resource encompasses 4249 markers, and was constructed using the RHDF5000-2 whole genome radiation hybrid panel. The radiation hybrid (RH) map features a density of one marker every 900 Kb and contains 1760 bacterial artificial chromosome clones (BACs) localized to 1423 unique positions, 851 of which have also been mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). The two data sets show excellent concordance. Excluding the Y chromosome, the map features an RH/FISH mapped BAC every 3.5 Mb and an RH mapped BAC-end, on average, every 2 Mb. For 2233 markers, the orthologous human genes have been established, allowing the identification of 79 conserved segments (CS) between the dog and human genomes, dramatically extending the length of most previously described CS. CONCLUSIONS: These results provide a necessary resource for the canine genome mapping community to undertake positional cloning experiments and provide new insights into the comparative canine-human genome maps