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Peace and Conflict Studies

2012

Articles 1 - 13 of 13

Full-Text Articles in Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies Nov 2012

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Volume 19, Number 2 (Fall 2012), Peace And Conflict Studies Nov 2012

Volume 19, Number 2 (Fall 2012), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Network Facilitation And Social Capital, Toran Hansen Nov 2012

Network Facilitation And Social Capital, Toran Hansen

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper empirically demonstrates that networks of organizations working together can be facilitated by individual network members, even when no facilitators are formally designated by the network members. Regression analyses also revealed statistically significant relationships between the frequency that facilitation functions were facilitated in the inter-organizational network studied and both the level of trust that the network members had for their inter-organizational network and the level of work coordination experienced by the members of the network. These two dependent variables were utilized as indicators of social capital, which was therefore found to be enhanced by inter-organizational network facilitation in this …

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Linking Process To Outcome: Implicit Norms In A Cross-Cultural Dialogue Program, Karen Ross Nov 2012

Linking Process To Outcome: Implicit Norms In A Cross-Cultural Dialogue Program, Karen Ross

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper examines the link between dialogue mechanisms and potential outcomes. Using the “Soliya Connect Program” as a case study, I focus specifically on dialogue norms, distinguishing between explicit and implicit norms of dialogue, and examine how these norms shape the dialogue space. My analysis suggests that as dialogue mechanisms, these norms both enable and constrain participants’ comfort in expressing themselves, and thus can significantly affect the outcomes of the dialogue process.

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Can The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (Oic) Resolve Conflicts?, Ibrahim Sharqieh Nov 2012

Can The Organization Of Islamic Cooperation (Oic) Resolve Conflicts?, Ibrahim Sharqieh

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article examines the potential of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to contribute to mediation of conflicts in the Muslim world. Based on interviews with OIC senior officials and government officials from Iraq and the Philippines, as well as research involving other primary and secondary sources, the author analyzes four cases in which the OIC participated in mediation efforts: the Philippines, Thailand, Iraq, and Somalia. The article concludes with an assessment of the advantages and challenges of including the OIC in such mediation efforts, as well as recommendations related to capacity-building and inter-organizational partnerships that might enhance the potential …

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Conversation With An Interpreter: Considerations For Cross-Language, Cross-Cultural Peacebuilding Research, Maureen P. Flaherty, Sonya Starkova Nov 2012

Conversation With An Interpreter: Considerations For Cross-Language, Cross-Cultural Peacebuilding Research, Maureen P. Flaherty, Sonya Starkova

Peace and Conflict Studies

The ongoing processes of peacebuilding involve dialogue (Lederach 1997) and co-discovery (Freire 1970), which can sometimes be facilitated through academy-initiated research. Qualitative research provides opportunities to move from a positivist approach to a more equal, participatory, interactive exploration that benefits all participants, including the researcher in a “co-production of knowledge” (Karnieli-Miller, Strier, and Pessach 2009 p. 279). Cross-cultural, cross-language research (where researchers and participants do not share the same language), with all its riches, brings particular challenges for all involved. Beyond the issues of power and perceived power in any kind of research (Sprague 2005), in cross-cultural and cross-language research, …

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Armor All: The Self-Conception Of Private Security Contractors, Volker Franke Nov 2012

Armor All: The Self-Conception Of Private Security Contractors, Volker Franke

Peace and Conflict Studies

Whereas the values, attitudes and motivations of soldiers serving in their countries’ armed forces have been widely studied, to date we know very little about the motivations and self-conception of individuals working for the private security industry. Using data obtained through an online survey, this article explores the values, attitudes and identity of more than 200 private security contractors with law enforcement backgrounds and operational experience with a security firm in Iraq. Contrary to media dominating images of ruthless, money-grabbing mercenaries, respondents in this sample adhered to attitudes and values very similar to those of professional soldiers serving in Western …

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Faith-Based Peacebuilding: A Case Study Of The National Council Of Churches Of Kenya, John Mwangi Githigaro May 2012

Faith-Based Peacebuilding: A Case Study Of The National Council Of Churches Of Kenya, John Mwangi Githigaro

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article explores the peacebuilding contribution of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), following the post-2007 election violence in Kenya. Faith-based organizations are increasingly taking an active role in peacebuilding in conflict prone and affected societies. The paper presents research findings that the NCCK perceived that it was positively involved in areas of humanitarian assistance and building of bridges among communities divided by the violence. The paper contextualizes the triggers or the causes of the post-election violence in Kenya after the December 2007 elections and offers suggestions for peaceful co-existence.

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Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies May 2012

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

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Redefining Sovereignty: An Analysis Of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’S Rhetoric On The Responsibility To Protect Doctrine, Jason Edwards May 2012

Redefining Sovereignty: An Analysis Of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’S Rhetoric On The Responsibility To Protect Doctrine, Jason Edwards

Peace and Conflict Studies

This essay examines United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon’s rhetoric concerning the responsibility to protect doctrine (R2P). This essay seeks to rhetorically map the arguments concerning the nature of R2P and what its specific components are. Specifically, I argue that Ban Ki-Moon’s rhetoric serves to redefine and update sovereignty and the responsibilities of statehood for a twenty-first century world. The rhetoric of R2P has important implications for the debates surrounding military intervention on “humanitarian” grounds.

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Economic Aid And Conflict Transformation In Northern Ireland And The Border Area: Respondents’ Perceptions Of Awareness, Fairness, Trust Building, And Sustainability, Peter Karari, Sean Byrne, Olga Skarlato, Kawser Ahmed May 2012

Economic Aid And Conflict Transformation In Northern Ireland And The Border Area: Respondents’ Perceptions Of Awareness, Fairness, Trust Building, And Sustainability, Peter Karari, Sean Byrne, Olga Skarlato, Kawser Ahmed

Peace and Conflict Studies

Intractable ethnopolitical conflicts emanate from the social, political, cultural, and economic marginalization of some community groups. To address these conflicts, the affected groups are often provided with life changing opportunities to enhance justice, equality, dignity and freedom. In the past, Northern Ireland has been a turbulent sea of violent conflict between Unionists and Nationalists. To address the underlying root causes of the conflict, economic aid through the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) and the European Union (EU) Peace II Fund is aimed at facilitating sustainable peacebuilding, reconciliation and community development. In this study, 95 community group leaders, civil servants, and …

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The Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Process: A Prenegotiation Perspective, Amira Schiff May 2012

The Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Process: A Prenegotiation Perspective, Amira Schiff

Peace and Conflict Studies

In this paper, I explore the prenegotiation process between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which extended over eight months in 1993 and ended with the signing of the Declaration of Principles (DOP) in September of that year. During this period, the parties committed to recognize each other and conduct future negotiations with the aim of ending a century of conflict. The DOP was considered a significant breakthrough in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Scholars of Conflict Resolution typically view the discussions that led to the DOP as a positive example of how antagonists in ethno-national conflicts begin a course of constructive …

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Islamic Fundamentalism: A Quantitative Analysis, D. Dustin Berna May 2012

Islamic Fundamentalism: A Quantitative Analysis, D. Dustin Berna

Peace and Conflict Studies

Islamic fundamentalist movements are inherently anti-system social movements. An anti-system social movement is designed to criticize governmental institutions and the political mainstream while mobilizing disaffected individuals against the existing sociopolitical and socioeconomic institutions. What is lacking in the mindset of many Western politicians, practitioners, the media, and the general public is a basic understanding of Islamic fundamentalism; specifically, the causes. This is the first quantitative analysis of potential causes of Islamic fundamentalism. I have created a unique data set that contains every Islamic fundamentalist group that is or has been in operation from 1970 through 2008. This fundamentalist data set …

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