Mutiny in Côte d'Ivoire

Since 1990, Côte d’Ivoire has experienced over a dozen army mutinies, with three major events occurring in the first half of 2017. This paper explores the underlying causes of these events, considering both this year’s mutinies and the state’s prior experiences with military insubordination. A review of the events of Côte d’Ivoire’s tumultuous 2017 indicates a number of parallels with some of its earlier mutinies, though these more recent events are perhaps unique due to the presence of a larger range of dynamics and the scale of the mutineers’ demands. Beyond requests for better pay, which are nearly ubiquitous, these events also illustrate the general hazards of post-conflict civil–military relations, including challenges related to demobilisation, integration of rebel forces, the consequences of soldiers having contributed to a leader’s ascendance, and the perils of soldier loyalties lying with personalities instead of the state.Seit 1990 kam es in Côte d’Ivoire zu mehr als einem Dutzend Fällen von Aufruhr in der Armee; drei bedeutendere Einzelereignisse waren in der ersten Hälfte des Jahres 2017 zu verzeichnen. Die Autoren des Beitrags untersuchen die Hintergründe, indem sie sowohl das Geschehen im ersten Halbjahr 2017 betrachten als auch frühere Erfahrungen des Staates mit Gehorsamsverweigerung von Militärs. Die Analyse der Ereignisse in Côte d’Ivoire im bislang turbulenten Jahr 2017 offenbart Parallelen zu früheren Meutereien, auch wenn die jüngsten Fälle wohl einzigartig sind, was die Breite der Dynamik und die Größenordnung der Forderungen angeht. Abgesehen von den fast immer vorgetragenen Forderungen nach besserer Bezahlung offenbaren die jüngsten Meutereien auch die generellen Gefahren für die zivil-militärischen Beziehungen in Nachkonfliktgesellschaften, wie die Herausforderungen der Demobilisierung und der Integration bewaffneter Rebellen und die Risiken, die sich ergeben, wenn Soldaten zum Aufstieg von Führungspersönlichkeiten beigetragen haben beziehungsweise wenn die Loyalität von Soldaten Einzelpersonen gilt und nicht dem Staat

Social-ecological connections across land, water, and sea demand a reprioritization of environmental management

Despite many sectors of society striving for sustainability in environmental management, humans often fail to identify and act on the connections and processes responsible for social-ecological tipping points. Part of the problem is the fracturing of environmental management and social-ecological research into ecosystem domains (land, freshwater, and sea), each with different scales and resolution of data acquisition and distinct management approaches. We present a perspective on the social-ecological connections across ecosystem domains that emphasize the need for management reprioritization to effectively connect these domains. We identify critical nexus points related to the drivers of tipping points, scales of governance, and the spatial and temporal dimensions of social-ecological processes. We combine real-world examples and a simple dynamic model to illustrate the implications of slow management responses to environmental impacts that traverse ecosystem domains. We end with guidance on management and research opportunities that arise from this cross-domain lens to foster greater opportunity to achieve environmental and sustainability goals.Peer reviewe

The Conditionality of Vulnerability: Three Analyses of Risk and Opportunity in Civil Military Relations

Prior research has not established a clear relationship between democracy and insulation from coups d\u27etat. I contend that the lack of attention paid to the conditional influences of democracy have resulted in these mixed findings. I posit that insulation from coups occurs at higher levels of economic development and judicial institutional strength in democracies. Further, the vulnerability at low levels of both economic development and judicial institutional strength is significantly greater in democracies than in autocracies. Empirical assessments of 165 states for the years 1950-2012 offer strong support for both arguments. Results from these studies first help to reconcile earlier research on coup risk in democracies. Second, I point to the conditionality of democratic coup risk by highlighting the roles of economic development and political institutions. Third, I underscore the vast differences in institutional arrangements within democracies, suggesting a more nuanced approach is needed in the study of democratic political institutions. In line with this research, I examine the propensity for democratization in the aftermath of irregular leader removal. Examining the actors and tactics associated with different removal types, I focus on the benefits and challenges posed to democratization in the aftermath of removals. In an empirical assessment of authoritarian states from 1950-2012, I find that only removals resulting from coups, in conjunction with economic development, have significantly higher rates of democratization compared with the null. The results of this study are twofold, finding that not all forms of irregular leadership removal result in similar rates of post-removal democratization and that coups have driven prior results finding an association between irregular leader removal, economic development, and democratization

Does it Matter? Constitutionalisation, Democratic Governance, and the Right to Water

States are urged frequently by the UN, policymakers, and activists to recognise the human right to water domestically. However, does such legal incorporation, often in national constitutions, affect water policy and the realisation of the right? While several qualitative studies report positive impacts, initial quantitative assessments have questioned the systematic positive impact of the national recognition of the human right to water. Yet, such quantitative analyses of the effects of constitutional rights to water often overlook important mediating policy factors. We test specifically whether strong democratic governance is a significant condition for ensuring that the constitutional recognition of the human right to water has concrete outcomes. Results of a multivariate regression analysis on a global sample of 123 states over a 15-year period provide two findings. First, the constitutionalisation of the right to water and other economic, social, and cultural rights (ESCRs), in national constitutions alone is not associated with material benefits related to the human right to water. Second, the constitutionalisation of those rights can have positive material benefits for water access when the rights are foregrounded in democratic governance

Combating Coups D’État In Africa, 1950–2014

Recent years have seen African militaries attempt coups in virtually every geographic region, from Egypt to Lesotho and Guinea to Madagascar. They have targeted established democracies, infantile democratic experiments, increasingly authoritarian executives, power vacuums brought on by leader death, and—most recently in Burundi—leaders attempting to circumvent constitutional limitations on their tenure. These continuing acts perpetrated against regimes with such varied backdrops suggests that coups still afflict a wide range of states and remain a continuing threat to leader tenure. This is in contrast to the African Union’s emphasis on curbing the practice. This paper explores the African Union’s effectiveness to combat military coups, primarily focusing on the potential for sanctions to act as a deterrent to would-be coup plotters. The paper also considers potential limitations on the African Union’s (AU’s) ability to project power against certain states. Analyses for the years 1950–2014 indicate Africa has in fact witnessed a meaningful decline in coup activity, an impact even more pronounced than the end of the Cold War. Results also indicate that the AU’s effectiveness in deterring coups is not constrained in cases where they are expected to lack leverage

Meuterei in Côte d’Ivoire

Since 1990, Côte d’Ivoire has experienced over a dozen army mutinies, with three major events occurring in the first half of 2017. This paper explores the underlying causes of these events, considering both this year’s mutinies and the state’s prior experiences with military insubordination. A review of the events of Côte d’Ivoire’s tumultuous 2017 indicates a number of parallels with some of its earlier mutinies, though these more recent events are perhaps unique due to the presence of a larger range of dynamics and the scale of the mutineers’ demands. Beyond requests for better pay, which are nearly ubiquitous, these events also illustrate the general hazards of post-conflict civil–military relations, including challenges related to demobilisation, integration of rebel forces, the consequences of soldiers having contributed to a leader’s ascendance, and the perils of soldier loyalties lying with personalities instead of the state.Seit 1990 kam es in Côte d’Ivoire zu mehr als einem Dutzend Fällen von Aufruhr in der Armee; drei bedeutendere Einzelereignisse waren in der ersten Hälfte des Jahres 2017 zu verzeichnen. Die Autoren des Beitrags untersuchen die Hintergründe, indem sie sowohl das Geschehen im ersten Halbjahr 2017 betrachten als auch frühere Erfahrungen des Staates mit Gehorsamsverweigerung von Militärs. Die Analyse der Ereignisse in Côte d’Ivoire im bislang turbulenten Jahr 2017 offenbart Parallelen zu früheren Meutereien, auch wenn die jüngsten Fälle wohl einzigartig sind, was die Breite der Dynamik und die Größenordnung der Forderungen angeht. Abgesehen von den fast immer vorgetragenen Forderungen nach besserer Bezahlung offenbaren die jüngsten Meutereien auch die generellen Gefahren für die zivil-militärischen Beziehungen in Nachkonfliktgesellschaften, wie die Herausforderungen der Demobilisierung und der Integration bewaffneter Rebellen und die Risiken, die sich ergeben, wenn Soldaten zum Aufstieg von Führungspersönlichkeiten beigetragen haben beziehungsweise wenn die Loyalität von Soldaten Einzelpersonen gilt und nicht dem Staat

Mutiny In Côte D’Ivoire

Since 1990, Côte d’Ivoire has experienced over a dozen army mutinies, with three major events occurring in the first half of 2017. This paper explores the underlying causes of these events, considering both this year’s mutinies and the state’s prior experiences with military insubordination. A review of the events of Côte d’Ivoire’s tumultuous 2017 indicates a number of parallels with some of its earlier mutinies, though these more recent events are perhaps unique due to the presence of a larger range of dynamics and the scale of the mutineers’ demands. Beyond requests for better pay, which are nearly ubiquitous, these events also illustrate the general hazards of post-conflict civil–military relations, including challenges related to demobilisation, integration of rebel forces, the consequences of soldiers having contributed to a leader’s ascendance, and the perils of soldier loyalties lying with personalities instead of the state

Meuterei in Côte d’Ivoire

Since 1990, Côte d’Ivoire has experienced over a dozen army mutinies, with three major events occurring in the first half of 2017. This paper explores the underlying causes of these events, considering both this year’s mutinies and the state’s prior experiences with military insubordination. A review of the events of Côte d’Ivoire’s tumultuous 2017 indicates a number of parallels with some of its earlier mutinies, though these more recent events are perhaps unique due to the presence of a larger range of dynamics and the scale of the mutineers’ demands. Beyond requests for better pay, which are nearly ubiquitous, these events also illustrate the general hazards of post-conflict civil–military relations, including challenges related to demobilisation, integration of rebel forces, the consequences of soldiers having contributed to a leader’s ascendance, and the perils of soldier loyalties lying with personalities instead of the state.Seit 1990 kam es in Côte d’Ivoire zu mehr als einem Dutzend Fällen von Aufruhr in der Armee; drei bedeutendere Einzelereignisse waren in der ersten Hälfte des Jahres 2017 zu verzeichnen. Die Autoren des Beitrags untersuchen die Hintergründe, indem sie sowohl das Geschehen im ersten Halbjahr 2017 betrachten als auch frühere Erfahrungen des Staates mit Gehorsamsverweigerung von Militärs. Die Analyse der Ereignisse in Côte d’Ivoire im bislang turbulenten Jahr 2017 offenbart Parallelen zu früheren Meutereien, auch wenn die jüngsten Fälle wohl einzigartig sind, was die Breite der Dynamik und die Größenordnung der Forderungen angeht. Abgesehen von den fast immer vorgetragenen Forderungen nach besserer Bezahlung offenbaren die jüngsten Meutereien auch die generellen Gefahren für die zivil-militärischen Beziehungen in Nachkonfliktgesellschaften, wie die Herausforderungen der Demobilisierung und der Integration bewaffneter Rebellen und die Risiken, die sich ergeben, wenn Soldaten zum Aufstieg von Führungspersönlichkeiten beigetragen haben beziehungsweise wenn die Loyalität von Soldaten Einzelpersonen gilt und nicht dem Staat

The determinants of access to sanitation: The role of human rights and the challenges of measurement

Ten years after the United Nation’s recognition of the human right to water and sanitation (HRtWS), little is understood about how these right impacts access to sanitation. There is limited identification of the mechanisms responsible for improvements in sanitation, including the international and constitutional recognition of rights to sanitation and water. We examine a core reason for the lack of progress in this field: data quality. Examining data availability and quality on measures of access to sanitation, we arrive at three findings: (1) where data are widely available, measures are not in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets, revealing little about changes in sanitation access; (2) data concerning safe sanitation are missing in more country-year observations than not; and (3) data are missing in the largest proportions from the poorest states and those most in need of progress on sanitation. Nonetheless, we present two regression analyses to determine what effect rights recognition has on improvements in sanitation access. First, the available data are too limited to analyze progress toward meeting SDGs related to sanitation globally, and especially in regions most urgently needing improvements. Second, utilizing more widely available data, we find that rights seem to have little impact on access

The Effectiveness of Harnessing Human Rights: The Struggle over the Ilısu Dam in Turkey

Under what conditions can a human rights-based approach be successfully utilized? This article argues that the efficacy of a human rights discourse is, in large part, determined by the nature of the arena in which rights are claimed. Utilizing process tracing, involving content analysis and in-depth interviews, the article examines the decades-long struggle to block the construction of a large dam in southeastern Turkey. The analysis focuses on the struggle's three core dimensions: (a) international activism to influence foreign financial stakeholders; (b) domestic activism targeting the government; and (c) regional conflict over international water flows. Each of these dimensions is characterized by vastly different degrees of discursive rights consensus and leverage. In the international dimension, activists achieved both discursive consensus and leverage and were able to successfully thwart the Turkish government's goal of building a major dam. However, this ultimately proved to be a pyrrhic victory when the Turkish government secured domestic financing for the project. The loss of leverage in the domestic arena rendered anti-dam activists’ rights discourse ineffectual. Finally, the lack of regional consensus on water sharing and Iraq's lack of leverage enabled Turkey to complete the dam