10 research outputs found
Major flaws in conflict prevention policies towards Africa : the conceptual deficits of international actorsâ approaches and how to overcome them
Current thinking on African conflicts suffers from misinterpretations oversimplification, lack of focus, lack of conceptual clarity, state-centrism and lack of vision). The paper analyses a variety of the dominant explanations of major international actors and donors, showing how these frequently do not distinguish with sufficient clarity between the âroot causesâ of a conflict, its aggravating factors and its triggers. Specifically, a correct assessment of conflict prolonging (or sustaining) factors is of vital importance in Africaâs lingering confrontations. Broader approaches (e.g. âstructural stabilityâ) offer a better analytical framework than familiar one-dimensional explanations. Moreover, for explaining and dealing with violent conflicts a shift of attention from the nation-state towards the local and sub-regional level is needed.Aktuelle Analysen afrikanischer Gewaltkonflikte sind hĂ€ufig voller Fehlinterpretationen (Mangel an Differenzierung, Genauigkeit und konzeptioneller Klarheit, Staatszentriertheit, fehlende mittelfristige Zielvorstellungen). Breitere AnsĂ€tze (z. B. das Modell der Strukturellen StabilitĂ€t) könnten die Grundlage fĂŒr bessere Analyseraster und Politiken sein als eindimensionale ErklĂ€rungen. hĂ€ufig differenzieren ErklĂ€rungsansĂ€tze nicht mit ausreichender Klarheit zwischen Ursachen, verschĂ€rfenden und auslösenden Faktoren. Insbesondere die richtige Einordnung konfliktverlĂ€ngernder Faktoren ist in den jahrzehntelangen gewaltsamen Auseinandersetzungen in Afrika von zentraler Bedeutung. Das Diskussionspapier stellt die groĂe Variationsbreite dominanter ErklĂ€rungsmuster der wichtigsten internationalen Geber und Akteure gegenĂŒber und fordert einen Perspektivenwechsel zum Einbezug der lokalen und der subregionalen Ebene fĂŒr die ErklĂ€rung und Bearbeitung gewaltsamer Konflikte
The Impact of Mercenaries and Private Military and Security Companies on Civil War Severity between 1946 and 2002
Research has long abandoned the view that only states wage war. On the contrary, civil war research has produced an impressive body of literature on violent non-state actors. Still, a particular group of actorsâmercenariesâhas been widely neglected so far, although they have participated in numerous conflicts in the second half of the twentieth century. Whether their presence aggravated or improved the situation is a matter of dispute. Some believe that the additional military capabilities provided by mercenaries help to end civil wars quickly without increased bloodshed, while others deem mercenaries greedy and bloodthirsty combatants who contribute to making civil wars more brutal, while a third opinion differentiates between different types of mercenaries. This article tests the impact of mercenaries on civil war severity. The evidence indicates that the presence of both mercenaries and private military and security contractors increases its severity
Regional Intergovernmental Organizations in Mediation Efforts: Lessons from West Africa
ISSN:2413-202
Picking Out the Pieces of the Liberal Peaces: Representations of Conflict Economies and the Implications for Policy.
NoThis article examines the different ways in which the dynamics of civil war economies have been represented and the influences this has had on post-conflict peacebuilding (PCPB). The article suggests that regulation to address the dynamics of war economies and shadow trade has been asymmetric in its focus and its effects. It also argues that, particularly post-9/11, there has been a convergence in the discourse on weak states and shadow economies. While ostensibly promising a progressive fusion between solidarism and security, this monolithic discourse may well produce policy that prioritizes policing and hermetic protection for the developed world at the expense of effective strategies to address the dynamics of war economies and shadow trade