Digital Commons Network^™

Cambodia, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Considered one of the most heavily mine-affected countries in the world, Cambodia has endured a harsh history of warfare. The country's turmoil dates back to World War II, when UXO was strewn across the country. As one war ended, another was soon to come, and subsequently landmines were emplaced throughout Cambodia, increasing civilian casualties by the thousands. The French-Indochina Wars hit Cambodia during the 1950s and were followed by the South Vietnamese invasion from 1970 through 1975, when 539,129 tons of bombs were dropped over Cambodia. These weapons still pose a threat to Cambodians today.

A Study Of Manual Mine Clearance, Gichd

Global CWD Repository

Manual mine clearance is the fundamental tenet of mine action, yet has never been thoroughly analysed. The GICHD has managed a study into manual mine clearance analysing the history, management, methodologies and systems in use, risk assessment and risk management of the process and product and costings of manual mine clearance programmes. The report published shows that, whilst safety has improved significantly since the early days of mine clearance, there are still room for improvements in many areas. The study identifies positive examples of innovation and novel techniques that improve productivity and ultimately value for the donor and end user …

Afghanistan, Country Profile

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Afghanistan is one of the most heavily mine-infested countries in the world. During a 10-year occupation beginning in 1979 followed by years of internal warfare, landmines were planted throughout the country. The most heavily impacted areas are near the borders of Pakistan and Iran. Following the Soviet occupation, over 800 square kilometers (308.88 square miles) were contaminated with landmines. The exact number of mines plaguing the country is unknown, as minefield records are still incomplete. With such a vast problem, there was an immense need for action. In 1989, a mine action program was developed that would later become one …

'Outside Agitators:' The Role Of Foreign Islamists In The Chechen Fight For Independence, Robert Kent Pinkerton Jr.

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to identify the role of foreign Islamist charities and terrorist groups in the current conflict in Chechnya. The issue of foreign Islamism in Chechnya is introduced through a general history of the region, including the role of religion in both traditional Chechen culture and in the present war. The evolution of Chechen war from a secular to a religious conflict is first examined by looking into the perspectives of various Muslim groups on the Chechen war and other similar conflicts and, conversely, the perspectives of many Chechens on the outsiders who purport to aid …

International Non-Proliferation Policy And The United Nations Security System After 9/11 And Iraq, Alexander Siedschlag

Publications

No matter if the "weapons of mass destruction" (WMD) argument brought forward by the U.S. in respect of the multinational military intervention in Iraq in 2003 was meant to be "real" or rather was "constructed": It is a fact that the WMD case, along with the new concept of security after 9/11, is real in its consequences for international WMD non-proliferation policy, collective use of force, and thus the U.N. security system. However, this fact does not cut off the path-dependencies of a policy of containment of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. A point often overlooked is that not only …

Deconstructing The “War Of All Against All”: The Prevalence And Implications Of War Metaphors And Other Adversarial News Schema In Time, Newsweek, And Maclean’S, Michael Karlberg, Leslie Buell

Peace and Conflict Studies

This study examines and critiques the discursive construction of a Hobbesian “war of all against all” in North American commercial news magazines. The prevalence of war metaphors and related adversarial news schemas is documented over a twenty year period, from 1981 to 2000, through an analysis of TIME and Newsweek, along with their Canadian counterpart Maclean’s. After documenting the pervasiveness of these discursive constructs, the paper discusses the underlying causes and potential consequences of these patterns in commercial news discourse. The paper concludes by asserting that this discursively constructed “war of all against all” is highly problematic and unsustainable in …

Intragroup Subgroup Attitude Clustering, External Intervention, And Intergroup Interaction Patterns: Toward A Dynamical Model Of Protracted Intergroup Conflict, Peter T. Coleman, Adam Schneider, Douglass S. Adams, Catherine James Everett, Timothy A. Gameros, Lee R. Hammons, Cecil C. Orji, Ralph M. Waugh, Richard F. Wicker Iii

Peace and Conflict Studies

Scholars and practitioners working with protracted conflicts in polarized communities have long recognized the complex dynamics between intragroup disputes and intergroup relations in these settings. In fact, the multitude of factors interacting within and between groups in these conflicts, and their tendency to change over time, largely contributes to their intractable natures. Unfortunately, the ability of scholars to conduct research on such dynamic phenomena has been largely constrained by the atomistic, linear approach of traditional research models and methods. However, recent advances in dynamical systems theory have provided a new set of tools for developing computer simulations that allow us …

The Inter-Communal Relations Among Ngos Operating With Cyprus, Shelby Reneé Port

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research paper is to demonstrate the dynamics of the inter-communal relations established between Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) operating in northern Cyprus and NGOs operating in southern Cyprus fulfilling a similar purpose or serving a similar population in their respective communities.

What Rights For Mine Victims? Reparation, Compensation: From Legal Analysis To Political Perspectives., Hi

Global CWD Repository

The work that we are presenting today is not only a legal exploration of current or future possibilities, of difficulties and pitfalls, outrageous oversights. It should also be seen as an indignant protest against the nonchalance of States and the producers of lethal devices, little inclined to acknowledge and assume their responsibilities. It should also be heard as an appeal to organisations and authorities specialised in the accompaniment of victims, particularly legal accompaniment, to take up this issue. Finally, it is a way of saying to victims that their determination is not in vain, that political intent constantly needs pointing …

Post War Legacy And Poverty: Case Study Of The Landmine/Uxo Problem In Rural Communities In Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, Duong Trong Hue

Global CWD Repository

Examines the links between postwar landmine/UXO contamination and poverty in two communes of Quang Tri Province.

Supranationalism And The Superpower Rubicon, Imtiaz Hussain

Human Rights & Human Welfare

A review of:

The Chapter VII Powers of the United Nations Security Council by Erika de Wet. Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2004. 413pp.

Neotrusteeship In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Afghanistan is currently under the tentative rule of an international administration, or neotrusteeship, thereby restricting its national sovereignty. However, self-determination and nonintervention have never been persistent features of Afghanistan. Foreign interventions, invasions and great power showdowns on its territory have made a truly autonomous Afghan state a shortlived phenomenon. The outcome at each stage of Afghan history has been an unstable state that seems to invite even more external involvement.

State-Building In Afghanistan, Melanie Kawano, Amy Mcguire

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Since the U.S. intervention in Afghanistan in late 2001, Afghan citizens and members of the global community have been grappling with the question of how to build a state that can fill the void created by decades of conflict and violence. However, the concept of “state-building” is complex. The term describes both an internal process and international assistance; it requires short-term action as well as a long-term vision. While no precise formula for state-building exists, there are historical precedents and “models” of state-building expressed by great powers and multilaterals. In reality, however, these are based on best guesses that fail …

State-Building In Bosnia, Chris Saeger

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Although the idea of state-building is at least as contentious as the idea of the state itself, international technocrats and foreign policymakers remain resigned to this project. International state-building has been conceived of as maintaining intermestic social order, protecting individual rights, and consolidating transnational linkages of power. Yet whatever the motive, effect or standard form of state-building, some political organization called “the state” is a necessary condition for membership in international society, if not for protecting individual human rights.

Background For The “War On Terror”

Human Rights & Human Welfare

September 11 changed the United States’ understanding of terrorism. Prior to these attacks, Americans typically viewed terrorist events and actors through the lens of foreign affairs, quite removed from “everyday” concerns. Terrorist events involving Americans did occur, occasionally on American soil, but a sense of American invulnerability never truly wavered. September 11 challenged this presumption; as well as perspectives on the history of terrorism, compelling some to reexamine past events in order to find portents of the future tragedy.

Sri Lanka, Amanda Donahoe

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Sri Lanka has been entrenched in a civil war for two decades. As in ethnic conflicts in many other post-colonial countries, the different groups of Sri Lanka give loyalty primarily to the group, rather than to the entire country. The Sinhalese majority have slowly populated the government and treated the Tamil minority as a threat to national stability, instead of as candidates for conciliation and power sharing. Consequently, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has taken up arms against the Sinhalese controlled government to fight for an independent homeland in the north and north-east parts of the country in …

State-Building In Iraq, Hafsteinn Hafsteinnsson

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Whether the 2003 invasion of Iraq was principally strategic or humanitarian, the United States’ involvement in Iraq has become a complex state-building mission. While there is agreement within the international community on the importance of rebuilding a democratic Iraq, there are many conflicting viewpoints on how this operation should proceed.

Afghanistan, Greg Sanders

Human Rights & Human Welfare

After September 11, Afghanistan became the first battleground of the War on Terror when the Taliban government refused to turn over Osama Bin Laden and other Al Qaeda members. Human rights concerns about these events fall in two areas. First, did the United States violate human rights when it launched Operation Enduring Freedom to overthrow the Taliban and during the subsequent occupation? Second, have the occupation forces and new regime of under the leadership of Hamid Karzai done enough to improve the previously miserable human rights situation in Afghanistan?

Chechnya, Kelley Laird

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The root of animosity between Russians and Chechens extends for more than a century, beginning when Chechens opposed Russia’s conquest of the Caucasus between 1818 and 1917. Tension reached an apex in the 1940s when Stalin deported thousands of Chechens to Siberia and East Asia in fear that they would collaborate with German Nazis.

Colombia, Travis Ning

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The events of September 11 continued of the pattern of redefinition in the conflict in Colombia. The complex war of today actually began decades ago as a small political struggle, which has gradually developed into a large-scale civil war. The continuation and growth of civil strife in Colombia witnessed the emergence of several organized anti-government guerrilla movements. Some of these groups have since been defeated or have integrated themselves into the recognized political system. Others have continued to violently challenge Colombian government authority. Currently, the two most significant anti-government insurgency groups are the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) and …

Pakistan, Susannah Compton, Toni Panetta

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Following armed hostilities in 1947-1949 between India and Pakistan, the region once known as the Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir was divided. The disputed territory continues to split relations between Pakistan and India and the threat of war has been a daunting force as recently as 2002.

The Usa Patriot Act, Toni Panetta

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The events of September 11, 2001 serve as the origin of the United States’ War on Terror as popularized by the Bush administration. Previously, American strategies to combat terrorism focused on attacks against its interests abroad, and support for other governments’ efforts to curb terrorist acts within their own boundaries. However, September 11 revealed vulnerability to violence by non-state actors within U.S. borders. In response, the United States reshaped its anti-terrorist strategies to prevent future attacks by targeting terrorists, foreign and domestic, known and potential.

Non-State Actors In Sri Lanka, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

What happens when an irresistible force hits an immovable object? Something gives. Or does it? In the war-torn country of Sri Lanka, there remains a constant clash between the country's government and non-state actor (NSA) groups that terrorize the region and its people. The chief NSA that opposes the government is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), an insurgency group whose goal is to form an independent state for the 3.2 million Tamil people that make up the minority ethnic community.

Non-State Actors In Colombia, Guatemala And Nicaragua, Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The majority of wars fought in the last 50 years have involved non-state, anti-state or stateless actors. These groups, commonly referred to as insurgents, dissidents, freedom fighters, rebel groups or guerillas, act independently from recognized governments. These non-state actors (NSAs) typically use low-tech, homemade weapons, such as landmines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and other small arms and light weapons to wage guerilla warfare. Civil war, economic instability and a booming illegal drug trade have resulted in a build-up of arms and have thus empowered Latin American NSAs. Due in part to growing insurgent strength, parts of Latin America has been …

University Students From Four Ethnopolitical Conflict Zones: An Exploratory Study Of Perceptions Of Self And Country, Sean Byrne, Colleen Mcleod, Brian Polkinghorn

Peace and Conflict Studies

This exploratory comparative case study examines hopes and fears for self and country of 300 students attending university in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Students report living in stressful societies where ethno political and state violence were the norm. The results of this qualitative study indicate that while the young people are optimistic about their life changes, they are concerned that the conflicts could re-ignite and spiral out of control. In particular, the students’ images indicate the importance of the self-society relationship and that these young adults relish the challenge of being productive citizens in their post-conflict …

A Learning Process: The Implementation And Effects Of Returnee Policies In Post-War Bosnia-Hercegovina, Danielle Kuczera

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Ddasaccident424, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

Team No 2 was working to establish the location and dorecetion of the Mine Strip No 2 in the minefield HM-5 in area Thomaspuri. [The victim] was the Team Leader of Team No 2. One sub team of Team No , under supervision of [the victim] was clearing the working lane. Deminer [name excised] (mine detector operator) located a metal/mine signal. He immediately marked the location and informed the Team Leader. Then he withdrew to a safe distance. [The victim] Team Leader approached the marked location, searched for and recovered an anti-personnel mine P4 Mk1. He tried to neutralize the …

The Journal Of Mine Action Issue 8.1 (2004), Cisr Jmu

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Role of the Military in Mine Action

International Conference Sheds Light On Mine Action Trends And Concerns, Jan Cornelis, Hichem Sahli

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

During the "International Conference on Requirements and Technologies for the Detection, Removal and Neutralization of Landmines and UXO" held in Brussels September 15–18, 2003, many global viewpoints and models emerged from the discussions. Some of the ideas triggered strong emotional reactions during the conference. Several of the new ideas might have a short lifetime; others have the potential of forcing breakthroughs; and all of them are subject to further debate.

Religion, Violence And Peace: Continuing Conversations And Study Guide, David L. Coppola, Center For Christian-Jewish Understanding

Sacred Heart University Press Books

Continuing the conversation that began with the 1999 volume, Religion and Violence, Religion and Peace, this thought-provoking collection of essays also offers a Study Guide that explores the questions of violence and peace faced by people of the Abrahamic faiths. The essays in this work were presented by Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders and scholars at the 2003 conference, “Pathways to Peace in the Abrahamic Faiths,” sponsored by the Center for Christian-Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Contributors include David L. Coppola, Rabbi Rene-Samuel Sirat, Adolphe Steg, Rabbi Rene Gutman, James G. Williams, Jean Dujardin, Azizah …