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

The importance of conflict characteristics for the diffusion of international mediation

This article argues that similar conflict characteristics form links between crises, which signal the relevant actors – that is, the belligerents and the potential mediator(s) – that a comparable approach in terms of third-party mediation could be suitable across these disputes – even if the relevant parties are not the same. Specifically, demand (antagonists) and supply-side actors (mediators) are likely to employ the heuristic of learning from and emulating the mediation behavior in similar crises. The empirical analysis, using data from the International Crisis Behavior project, shows that comparable patterns in violence, arguably the most visible and salient conflict characteristic, are associated with mediation traveling across crises; other dispute characteristics incorporated into spatial lags are not, however. Hence, particularly as domestic/unit-level (monadic) influences are controlled for, the effect of common exposure is taken into account, and different estimation strategies are used, the results emphasize that there is a genuine diffusion process via common levels of violence in the context of international mediation. </jats:p

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&rsquo;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

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

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

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

NGOs in Conflict - an Evaluation of International Alert

This report is an evaluation of International Alert (IA), a London-based international NGO which works to prevent and resolve conflict through fieldwork and advocacy activities in different parts of the world. The report argues that IA’s main achievements have been (a) to inspire the entry of NGOs into the area of conflict resolution, and (b) to contribute to the development of local peace constituencies in different countries. While IA’s fields programme in Burundi is being commended, a number of critical comments are made regarding IA interventions in Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone. Based on their findings, the evaluators advise against IA defining mediation as its particular niche. Recommendations are being made regarding areas which are important for IA to consider when developing a strategic plan for the future. Gunnar M. Sørbø is the Director of Chr. Michelsen Institute Joanna Macrae is a Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, London Lennart Wohlgemuth is the Director of Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Uppsal