Rebel Governance and the Politics of Civil War

Dominant narratives and theories developed at the turn of the 21st century in order to account for civil wars in Africa converged around the idea that this upsurge in violence was linked to state failure or decay. Violent conflict thus came to be seen as the expression of the weakness, disintegration and collapse of political institutions in the post-colonial world, and guerrilla movements, once viewed as the ideological armed wings of Cold War contenders, as roving bandits interested in plundering the spoils left by decaying states. Recent research has however shown that, against the reductionism that underlay such accounts, we need to move beyond the search for the motives that bring rebels and rebel movement to wage war against the established order and look into the (micro-)politics of civil war. Indeed, civil wars do not simply destroy political orders. They contribute to shaping and producing them. Civil wars, in other words, are part and parcel of processes of state formation. This working paper looks at state formation through violent conflict. It focuses on political orders put in place by rebel movements, on their strategy to legitimise their very existence as movements and their claim to power, and on the extent to which they strive and manage to institutionalise their military power and transform it into political domination. It discusses some of the recent literature on the topic and offers some avenues of new research on the complex interplay between civil wars and state formation. It concentrates on the manner in which statehood, understood as a historical and constantly changing process of institutionalization of power relations, is ‘negotiated' during and after conflict. It is this ‘negotiation' that will allow scholars to better understand what “legitimate institutions” are and how they are shaped by and through civil wars

Traitement des frontières dans l\u27organisation des collections (Le) - diaporama

Diaporama de l\u27intervention de Christine Péclard, directrice de la médiathèque Marguerite Duras lors de lors de la journée d\u27études intitulée "Enfants et jeunes en bibliothèque : regards européens" organisée le 15 novembre 2012 à l\u27enssib

Les conflits liés aux ressources naturelles. Résultats de recherches et perspectives

L’histoire des liens entre ressources naturelles et conflits est du domaine de la longue durée. Depuis des siècles, sociétés et Etats ont utilisé certaines ressources naturelles afin de promouvoir leurs intérêts et de poursuivre leurs objectifs politiques. Jusqu’à la fin du xviiie siècle par exemple, le bois a été d’une importance primordiale pour les puissances navales. De nos jours, c’est le pétrole qui fait la une des médias internationaux, aussi bien comme élément indispensable à la polit..

Konflikte im Zusammenhang mit natürlichen Ressourcen - Forschungsergebnisse und Perspektiven

Die Zusammenhänge zwischen natürlichen Ressourcen und Konflikten haben eine lange Geschichte. Seit Jahrhunderten haben Gesellschaften und Staaten bestimmte Naturressourcen zur Verfolgung ihrer Interessen und ihrer politischen Ziele eingesetzt. So war beispielsweise bis Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts Holz von entscheidender Bedeutung für die Seemächte. Heutzutage macht Erdöl Schlagzeilen in den internationalen Medien als unverzichtbarer Bestandteil der Politik der Grossmächte, wie auch als Konflikt..

Coordination of Emergency Medical Services for a Major Road Traffic Accident on a Swiss Suburban Highway

Abstract : On 9th April 2008 at 2:14 p.m., on the highway between Lausanne and Vevey in western Switzerland, there was a 72-car pileup including five trucks that caused one death and injured 26 others. The relatively light toll was attributed to reduced vehicular speeds on account of foggy weather, together with the quick actions and effectiveness of the first responders and the excellent collaboration between the various rescue groups (medical rescue services, fire and police departments). For the first time, we used an innovative on-site medical command and control system, based on a binomial team. Two hours after the accident, the last of the injured had been evacuated and first aid on the site had ended. This article describes how the Emergency Medical Services from the State of Vaud, Switzerland, handled the situation and how the binomial team is structure

Civil Wars and State Formation: Violence and the Politics of Legitimacy in Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and South Sudan

Dominant narratives and theories developed at the turn of the 21st century to account for civil wars in Africa converged around two main ideas. First that the increase in civil wars across Africa was the expression of the weakness and collapse of state institutions. Second, guerrilla movements, once viewed as the ideological armed wings of Cold War contenders, were seen as roving bandits interested in plundering the spoils left by decaying states and primarily driven by economic or personal interests. However, recent research has challenged such accounts by looking into the day-to-day politics of civil war beyond armed groups' motives to wage war against the established order. Indeed, civil wars, while being the cause of immense suffering, contribute to shaping and producing political orders. Thus, if we are to understand how stable political institutions can be built after civil war, it is essential to study the institutions that regulate political life during conflict. This implies a need to take into account governance institutions and relations in areas beyond the control of the state. This working paper1 thus focuses on political orders put in place by armed groups, their strategies to legitimise their existence and claim to power, and on the extent to which they manage to institutionalise their military power and transform it into political domination. To this end, we take a broad perspective by looking at (dis)continuities between political orders established under rebel rule and post-war state formation. Drawing on a Weberian conception of the making of political orders as the passage from raw power (Macht) to domination (Herrschaft), we interrogate the social fabric of legitimacy in areas under rebel control during conflict and analyse how it relates to state formation in the post-conflict phase. Based on a political anthropology of governance and state practices in three different countries (Angola, Côte d'Ivoire and South Sudan) this paper provides empirical and theoretical insights into state formation in Africa as well as into domination and legitimacy. It also links to current policy debates on statebuilding and peacebuilding in fragile contexts. The paper starts with a review of the literature on civil wars and statebuilding. It then presents the analytical framework that was developed for the three case studies, which constitute the bulk of the paper

Bibliothèques et handicaps : accessibilité et innovations à l\u27horizon 2015

Journée thématique organisée par les conservateurs stagiaires DCB22. 2015 : date butoir pour l’application de la loi "Handicap" du 11 février 2005. Les bibliothèques ont leur partition à jouer pour rendre leurs espaces, services et collections accessibles à toutes et à tous. A la faveur de cette obligation légale et des progrès technologiques, quelles actions innovantes sont-elles mises en œuvre à cette fin ? Quelles difficultés les professionnels rencontrent-ils et quelles aides peuvent leur apporter les spécialistes de l’accessibilité dans les établissements recevant du public ? Quelle place accorder aux technologies numériques qui peuvent représenter une nouvelle voie vers l’égalité d\u27accès aux services publics et l’effacement progressif des discriminations ? Au travers des témoignages de professionnels, de pratiques et d’horizons divers, cette journée thématique a pour objectif de rendre compte de la situation actuelle et d’alimenter la réflexion sur cette question. Journée modérée par Christine Péclard, conservatrice, responsable de la médiathèque Marguerite Duras, Ville de Paris