Political Science Commons^™

Review Of The Violence Project: How To Stop A Mass Shooting Epidemic, Chris Hausmann

The Journal of Social Encounters

No abstract provided.

Fixing Prior Consultation For Indigenous Empowerment, Marcela Torres-Wong, Elia Méndez-García

The Journal of Social Encounters

Over the last three decades, extractive conflicts in Latin America have become increasingly violent. Hundreds of Indigenous activists have been murdered for defending their land against extractive interests. The international formula for addressing this type of conflict is for governments to conduct prior consultation procedures with Indigenous communities before affecting indigenous territories. However, the misuse of consultations by governments and companies to legitimize ecologically destructive projects has led a sector of Indigenous organizations to reject prior consultation, while others continue advocating for free, prior, and informed consent. We compare two cases of Indigenous communities from Oaxaca and Yucatán in Mexico …

Youths And Peace-Building In Africa: Socio-Political & Economic Exclusion And The Role Youths Play In Peace-Building In Africa, Mungwe Regina Ekoa Mbella, Aquegho Felicitas Yari, Ruud Bedga Sama-Lang

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

Peacebuilding consists of a set of physical, social, and structural initiatives that are often an integral part of post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation. It actively works to promote a culture of peace, intercultural dialogue and non-violent conflict transformation. Because of social exclusion, lack of opportunities, slow implementation of public policies that promote reparation and reconciliation, young people become exposed and vulnerable to armed or political recruitment, as a result, they are considered perpetrators of crime instead of peacebuilders. This paper portrays the unique potentials and actual contributions the youths of Africa have demonstrated in building peace in different African communities.

Addressing Socio-Economic Challenges To Curb Youth Participation In Terrorism In Africa, Tendaishe Tlou

Young African Leaders Journal of Development

The scourge of terrorism has become an international crisis after the 9/11 attacks in America. Terrorism has deeply encroached its claws in Africa on the premise of socio-economic challenges along the clash of civilizations. In countries such as Nigeria, Somalia, Central African Republic, Kenya and the Maghreb region, terrorism is a threat to peace and security, compounded by spiraling youth unemployment rates, the youth bulge, porous borders, poverty, arms proliferation, weak governments, economic problems among other challenges. It is yet to be seen how Africans will unite to deal with this threat to security on the continent given the above …

Rape And Sexual Violence: Questionable Inevitability And Moral Responsibility In Armed Conflict, Katherine W. Bogen

Scholarly Undergraduate Research Journal at Clark (SURJ)

Wartime sexual violence is a critical human rights issue that usurps the autonomy of its victims as well as their physical and psychological safety. It occurs in both ethnic and non-ethnic wars, across geographic regions, against both men and women, and regardless of the “official” position of commanders, states, and armed groups on the use of rape as tactic of war. This problem is current, pervasive, and global in spite of the status of wartime sexual violence perpetration as a crime against humanity and the capacity of the international criminal court to indict offenders. Though some scholars have argued that …

Managing The Polarities Of Democracy: A Theoretical Framework For Positive Social Change, William J. Benet

Journal of Sustainable Social Change

People around the globe have embraced democracy to bring about positive social change to address our environmental, economic, and militaristic challenges. Yet, there is no agreement on a definition of democracy that can guide social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model is a unifying theory of democracy to guide healthy, sustainable, and just social change efforts. The Polarities of Democracy model consists of ten elements, organized as five polarity pairs: freedom & authority, justice & due process, diversity & equality, human-rights & communal-obligations, and participation & representation. In this model each element has positive aspects and negative aspects and …

June Roundtable: Human Rights In Central America, Introduction, Claudia Fuentes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

An annotation of:

“The Tormented Isthmus ”. The Economist. April 14 2011.

A Centrist Solution To Central American Violence And Inequality, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The northern triangle of Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) has experienced horrific violence, poverty, and a vicious cycle of human rights violations for decades. Repeated natural disasters and the re-routing of the drug trade through Central America are not helping the situation. On the other hand, nearby Costa Rica has achieved a much higher standard of human rights, public safety, and political stability. Why? Costa Rica has put in place four pillars of development and stability lacking in most other countries in the region: a stronger state, an educated population, inter-racial cooperation, and a more inclusive democracy. For …

Teaching Notes: Rights And Rebuilding In El Salvador, Elaine K. Denny, Susan Waltz

Human Rights & Human Welfare

We have prepared this two-part case study with two pedagogical purposes in mind: (1) To develop an understanding of the concept (and political meaning) of human rights. (2) To facilitate discussion about processes of reconciliation and reconstruction and the importance of holistic conceptions of rights and security for future stability.

© Elaine K. Denny & Susan Waltz. All rights reserved.

This paper may be freely circulated in electronic or hard copy provided it is not modified in any way, the rights of the author not infringed, and the paper is not quoted or cited without express permission of the author. …

Rights And Rebuilding In El Salvador: A Case Study In Two Parts, Elaine K. Denny, Susan Waltz

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In January 2007, on the 15th anniversary of the signing of the peace accords that ended 12 years of civil war and grave human rights violations in El Salvador, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon praised El Salvador as a model for other countries emerging from conflict: “The groundbreaking accords signed in Mexico City in January 1992 not only set El Salvador on a new course. They also provided precedents and experiences that continue to inspire others who are striving to rebuild their societies following conflict. And they continue to be a point of reference for the United Nations, as we …

Reconciliation And The Therapeutic Impulse: What Does It Mean To “Heal”?*, Elizabeth S. Dahl

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Amnesty after Atrocity? Healing Nations after Genocide and War Crimes. By Helena Cobban. Boulder, CO: Paradigm Publishers, 2007.

and

Reconciliation in Divided Societies: Finding Common Ground. By Erin Daly and Jeremy Sarkin. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007.

Healing is widely seen as an essential component of socio-political reconciliation, helping to promote a more peaceable future after violent conflict. At the same time, however, little is known about what exactly “healing” means to traumatized people and whether particular reconciliation efforts do indeed constitute healing. Instead, social healing is described usually in metaphorical terms, compared to the way …

Memory And Violence In Israel/Palestine, K. M. Fierke

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

Israeli and Palestinian Narratives of Conflict: History’s Double Helix, edited by Robert I. Rotberg. Indiana University Press, 2006.

and

Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa, edited by Ussama Makdisi and Paul A. Silverstein. Indiana University Press, 2006.

A Bloody Tradition: Ethnic Cleansing In World War Ii Yugoslavia, Paul Bookbinder

New England Journal of Public Policy

When World War II began, a climate for mass violence already existed. The author examines the history of ethnic cleansing, cultural cleansing, mass murder, and genocide in Yugoslavia – Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia-Hertzegovena, and Kosovo – and finds that the historical atrocities are alive in active memory today. With a new awareness of the consequences of ethnic hatred, people can study their own histories cleansed of myth and nationalist delusions so that wars that unleash ethnic violence can be stopped before these excesses erupt.

Ideology Watch: Television As A Source Of Violence, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides a commentary on a commonly accepted belief about the causal relationship between viewing televised violence and the viewer’s violent behavior.

Trends. Sniping As Terrorism And Terrorism As Sniping, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the possible terrorist context of sniper attacks perpetrated in the greater Washington, D.C. area in 2002, and the potential impact on global social cohesion.

Thinking About Thinking In An Era Of Globalization: Implications For International Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identifies and critiques hypotheses concerning the impact of globalization on thinking and suggests consequences of thinking (reason, logic) as an epistemological tool of international security.

The Utility Of Psychological Research To Aid And Abet Violence: Terrorist Talent Scouts And The Selection And Management Of Youthful Terrorists, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article identities the political implications of psychological research intended to prevent or minimize youthful violence. The article then focuses on how this research can be used to help select and manage youthful terrorists.

Trends. The Effects Of Televised Violence: Anecdotal Data From Lebanon, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the effects of televised violence in Lebanon, and its impact on both Hezbollah and Israeli Defense Forces.

The Evolution Of Scientific Psychology And Public Policy: On Violence And Its Antidotes, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article presents a conceptual context for considering the utility of psychology for public policy and addresses this utility for the public policy goal of minimizing human violence.