Land issues and poverty reduction: Requirements for lasting peace in Sudan and Afghanistan

Poverty reduction, Hunger, Poverty, Underdevelopment, Agricultural growth, War and peace,

Peacebuilding in post-war situations: Lessons for Sudan

This report examines lessons from peacebuilding efforts during the last decade or so that are relevant to the current challenges in Sudan. While there is an emphasis on governance interventions, it is argued more generally that three factors will be crucial for building peace in Sudan. First, the peace agreement between the Government of Sudan and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement must be transformed into a deal that can be "owned" not only be the parties that signed the agreement, but also by those who did not take part in the talks, including civil society and the Sudanese population at large. Second, sustained and focused international attention will be critical to maintain the momentum of the peace process. As the reality of peacebuilding lies in power and politics, interventions by outsiders must also be sensitive to the overall politics of the process. Third, regional conflict in the Horn of Africa has more often than not been the by-product of internal conflict. To sustain the framework of peace in Sudan, regional states must be convinced that peace in Sudan is a collective good that can reduce cross-border problems, ranging from ideologies and refugees to the export of arms and violence. A main determinant will be the approaches by the Sudanese parties themselves towards neighbouring states

Sudan’s Transition: Living in Bad Surroundings

Following the 2019 April revolution, Sudan now finds itself in the middle of a profound and uncertain political transition. Should the transition succeed, the country could move in directions that are novel in Sudan’s history. Should it fail, state fragmentation and new civil war could follow, with consequences not only for Sudan but for the wider region as well

Norsk antropologi og utvikling

Litt forenklet går det an å si at det fins to fortellinger omforholdet mellom norsk antropologi og utviklingshjelp. Den ene dreierseg om å bli hørt og brukt av beslutningstakere; den andre om teoretiske ogmetodiske utfordringer knyttet til anvendelse av antropologisk kunnskapfor å adressere utviklingsrelaterte problemer. Arne Martin Klausenvar en viktig stemme i den første fortellingen, Fredrik Barth i denandre. Denne artikkelen har fokus på 1970- og 1980-tallet, da etterspørselenpå antropologisk kompetanse vokste og det oppsto tettere kontaktmellom det norske antropologi-miljøet og bistandsorganisasjoner.Etter Berlinmurens fall gikk etterspørselen ned samtidig som antropologienogså beveget seg i en retning som gjorde at faget ble sett på sommindre relevant. Vi er nå inne i en periode med tiltakende engasjementog nye roller der behovet for etnografisk kompetanse er stort selvom det ennå ikke er klart uttrykt blant dem som burde etterspørreden

More complex conflict drivers than environment and climate

While there is a connection between climate variability and conflict in Sudan, the effects are played out in interaction with other conflict-promoting factors as is clearly seen in Darfur. Vulnerability to environmental hazards has generally increased, and growing competition between different livelihood groups promotes conflict as well as environmental degradation. However, ways out of the livelihoods-conflict cycle will require political and economic changes and the support of wider systems of good governance that do not exist today

The role of the international community

The Comprehensive Peace Agreement represents a major opportunity for positive change and sustainable peace in Sudan. History shows, however, that the potential for peace breaking down is great. Continued engagement of the international community could prove crucial

Upper-mesospheric temperatures measured during intense substorms in the declining phase of the January 2005 solar proton events

Temperature measurements from the ALOMAR Weber Na lidar together with cosmic radio noise absorption measurements from IRIS and particle measurements from NOAA 15, 16 and 17 are used to study effects of geomagnetic activity on the polar winter upper-mesospheric temperature. On 21–22 January 2005 we have 14 h of continuous temperature measurement with the Na lidar coinciding with strong geomagnetic activity in the declining phase of one of the hardest and most energetic Solar Proton Event (SPE) of solar cycle 23. According to measurements by the imaging riometer IRIS in northern Finland, the temperature measurements coincide with two periods of increased cosmic radio noise absorption. Particle measurements from the three satellites, NOAA 15, 16 and 17 that pass through and near our region of interest confirm that the absorption events are probably due to particle precipitation and not due to changes in e.g. the electron recombination coefficient. <br><br> The measured temperature variation at 85 and 90 km is dominated by a 7.6-h wave with downward phase propagation and a vertical wavelength of approximately 10 km. Assuming that the wave is due to a lower altitude source independent of the particle precipitation, we do not find any temperature modification that seems to be related to the absorption events. The average temperature is larger than expected above 90 km based on MSIS and the monthly mean from falling spheres, which could be due to particle precipitation and Joule heating prior to our measurement period. There is also a possibility that the identified wave phenomenon is an effect of the geomagnetic activity itself. Earlier studies have reported of similar wavelike structures in wind observations made by the EISCAT VHF radar during SPEs, and found it conceivable that the wave could be excited by the effect of energetic particles precipitating into the mesosphere