Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Palestinian-Arabs Volunteering In State Institutions In Israel: Reconciliation And Peacebuilding Or Conflict And Suspicion?, Edith Blit Cohen, Mays Essa

Peace and Conflict Studies

Volunteering in government institutions by national minorities in conflict with the state raises fascinating issues. The identity of Palestinian-Arabs in Israel is divided, as they belong to the Palestinian people and Arab nation, as well as nominal citizens of Israel. This perception study explores the meaning of the volunteering experience for fifteen Palestinian-Arabs in various Israeli state institutions. Three themes arise from the interview analysis: motives for volunteering, challenges faced by the volunteers, and their coping strategies. The study contributes to the theory and practice of the meaning of volunteering in government institutions for minority members in conflict with the …

Construcción De Paz Ambiental: Una Revisión Narrativa De Su Conceptualización, Manuel Steven Alvarado Castro, Willian Sierra-Barón, Myriam Oviedo Cordoba

The Qualitative Report

Este artículo presenta una revisión conceptual del término construcción de paz ambiental. Si bien carece de un consenso, se ha avanzado en su definición en las últimas dos décadas debido al interés académico, dada su condición de concepto bisagra entre temáticas relacionadas con el sostenimiento ambiental y la construcción de paz. A partir de una revisión narrativa de literatura se seleccionaron 25 documentos entre artículos científicos, capítulos de libro, tesis de grado y documentos de trabajo obtenidos de diferentes bases de datos. A través del análisis realizado se establecieron 12 núcleos temáticos y 4 categorías emergentes, desde las cuales se …

The Process Of Collaboration In Regulating Street Vendors In Bandung City, Kurniadi Kurniadi, Ema Sumarna Mr

The Qualitative Report

The development of the city of Bandung, as a service and trade centre in the province of West Java, Indonesia, is experiencing problems with the complexity of urban planning, including congestion and a slum environment, one of which is street vendors (abbreviated in Indonesian as Pedagang Kaki Lima/PKL). Street vendors in the city of Bandung grow and develop, followed by process of changing economic and social characteristics. Street vendors, basically the informal sector, are slowly shifting as if to become the formal sector with considerable capital support and more robust economic and social networks. On the one hand, the existence …

An Artistic Response To Social Unrest In Hong Kong: Utilizing The Arts To Build Up And Sustain An Understanding And Respectful Community, Shue-Kei Joanna Mok

Peace and Conflict Studies

The 2019–20 Hong Kong protests, commenced in March 2019, were triggered by the introduction of The Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation Bill 2019 by the Hong Kong government. In June 2019, peaceful civil disobedience escalated into violence, signalling the emergence of polarization and antagonism in the city. As of December 2019, an estimated 300,000 excess probable depressive cases and 810,000 suspected PTSD cases were associated with the 2019–20 social unrest. Furthermore with the pandemic, the hopelessness manifested in the city and citizen’s mental wellbeing are of extreme concern. Given the holistic and therapeutic nature of …

Creative Citizen Peacebuilding: Japanese Artists And Audiences Respond To The Vietnam-American War, Long T. Bui, Ayako Sahara

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article explores two case studies related to South Vietnam and Japan, relating them to the controversial history and legacy of the Second Indochina War. The first is the Japanese adoption and adaptation of South Vietnamese antiwar music. The second is a Japanese film, uncovered decades later after the war, exposing the role of Japan in South Vietnam. Cultural productions, from nations allied with the United States, sought to expose the popular struggle for peace against the rising tide of Cold War military violence and corporate capitalist exploitation. Through interviews, archival research, and textual analysis, the article argues for a …

Whose Peace? Grappling With Local Ownership In Sierra Leone, Oscar Mateos, Andreu Solà-Martín

Peace and Conflict Studies

Local ownership has become a basic tenet of post-conflict peacebuilding strategies sponsored by the International Community. However, research on peacebuilding underlines a gap between policy discourse and actual practice. This paper illustrates the challenges and opportunities posed by the promotion of local ownership by assessing the case of Sierra Leone. This West African country is often labelled as one of the most successful peacebuilding interventions thus far. However, by analysing the interaction between insiders and outsiders during the initial post-conflict phase (1996-2007), this paper concludes that stakeholders perceived differently the meaning and policies associated with the concept of local ownership. …

Learning With Peaceful, Heterogeneous Communities: Lessons On Sustaining Peace In Mauritius, Naseem Aumeerally, Allegra Chen-Carrel, Peter T. Coleman

Peace and Conflict Studies

Our scientific understanding of peaceful societies – and of the conditions and processes conducive to sustaining peace in multicultural societies in general – is fragmented at best. This paper addresses this gap, presenting a case study of a multicultural society often hailed for its high levels of peacefulness– Mauritius. Through a systematic review of the literature on Mauritius and qualitative interviews and focus groups with a wide range of Mauritian stakeholder groups, the study focused on gleaning insights from the lived experiences of a broad swath of Mauritian society around what it takes to maintain peace in a multicultural context. …

Positioning Women's Inclusion In Peace Negotiations: The Landmark Case Of The Philippines, Josephine P. Perez, Mira Alexis P. Ofreneo

Peace and Conflict Studies

Women have historically been excluded in formal peace processes. While structural changes have pushed for women’s participation in peace negotiations, we locate the shift from women’s exclusion to women’s inclusion as enacted in the discursive patterns of talk. Using positioning theory as a discursive lens, we looked at how women’s inclusion was facilitated in the peace negotiations between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that reached the landmark Philippine peace accord of 2014. Positioning theory argues that every utterance is a speech act that ascribes rights and duties, in this case, the right …

‘Othering’ And Violence In School: A Barrier To Sustain Peace In Nepal, Raj Kumar Dhungana Dr.

Peace and Conflict Studies

This study explores the experiences of othering and violence in school. Ethnographic fieldwork was conducted in five schools located in the fragile setting of Nepal for over six months. Using the idea of othering, this study unveils that the academically low performers and culturally undervalued students are more likely to be labelled as Bhuskul, the ‘other’. This category is used to rationalize discrimination and use violence against the 'other'. With the cementing practices of ‘othering’ and violence, the schools are unable to foster values of peace and nonviolence but on the contrary, it will continue reinforcing structural violence and …

Perceptions Of Shifting Time: Life Crossing The Edges Of Conflict ; A Phenomenological Study Of The Changing Nature Of Worldview Schema And Temporal Constructs When Experiencing Cultural Conflict, Ian D. Edgerly

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The conflict process has numerous facets and characteristics, but one of the least discussed within conflict or peace studies literature is the effect that time has upon, or within the conflict continuum. This project’s focus was the identification of changes within certain temporally sensitive worldview schema by members of the Charlotte, North Carolina area refugee community when entering cultural conflict. This exploration specifically focused on the shifts that occur between moving from their transient locations prior to coming to the United States, whether that be a refugee camp or living in another country under refugee status, and their final relocation …

Nigeria-Biafra War And The Politics Of Oblivion: Implications Of Revealing The Hidden Narratives Through Transformative Learning, Basil Ugorji

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Ignited by the secession of Biafra from Nigeria on May 30, 1967, the Nigeria-Biafra War (1967- 1970) with an estimated death toll of 3 million was followed by decades of silence and a ban of history education. However, the advent of democracy in 1999 catalyzed the return of repressed memories to public consciousness accompanied by renewed agitation for the secession of Biafra from Nigeria. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a transformative learning of the Nigeria-Biafra War history will have a significant effect on conflict management styles of Nigerian citizens of Biafran origin regarding ongoing agitation for …

The Impact Of Food Justice Advocates In Creating And Influencing Public Policy, Michael Joseph Chadukiewicz

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

This case study explored the impact that food justice advocates had on creating and implementing public policy to provide access to adequate, healthy, and culturally appropriate food for the residents of New Haven, Connecticut. The problem the case study explored is in 2020 food insecurity affected 22% of the residents of New Haven, more than twice the national average. This qualitative case study used grounded theory to analyze the experiences of 31 food justice advocates that were members of a coalition of researchers, food service providers, non-profit agencies, grassroot organizations, and residents tasked with improving the city’s emergency food system. …

Civilian Experiences And Military Perceptions Of The U.S. Military During Domestic Disaster Operations, Stefan Daimon Buckman

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Since its founding, the United States has experienced social strife and humanitarian disasters, either of which can provoke a military domestic response. Political leaders have considered with caution and reservation under what circumstances to rely on the military to respond to internal domestic crises. The use of the military – including Guard, Reserve, and federal active-duty forces - to respond to internal problems continues to increase. In turn, this increase has a strong potential to change the dynamics of civil-military relations in the United States and generate new public expectations for the military. This study explored the perspectives of individuals …

Exploring Resistance Movements In Interstate Conflict And Integrated Deterrence, Michael G. Harris

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Despite an increase in interstate conflict, including manipulation of information and civil populations by state actors in gray zone campaigns, the study of resistance has concentrated on intrastate conflict. A detailed literature review of resistance was conducted, revealing researchable gaps in understanding of the topic, including: the resistance movements from a security studies and interstate conflict perspective, the resistance as a form of interstate conflict from the perspective of Russian and Chinese security leaders, and the integrated deterrence options in gray zone campaigns as a strategy of international conflict prevention.

Two complementary studies were conducted to explore the identified areas. …

Vertical Social Cohesion: Linking Concept To Practice, Valarie Vat Kamatsiko

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article addresses gaps in linking the conceptualization and practice of vertical social cohesion. Through a review of literature, examination of field-based case studies and focused discussions with academics, the article crystalizes the understanding of vertical social cohesion—often restricted to state-society relations—and offers four mutually reinforcing strands of the vertical dimension that are cognizant of the hybridity of state, non-state, formal and informal institutions that exist in most societies. Through a deeper reflection on practice, the article discusses two considerations for strengthening the practice of vertical social cohesion that should start with intentional consideration of the vertical dimension of social …

The Rebels' Credibility Dilemma: A New Approach To The Search For Credibility Towards The International Community And The Population, Theò Bajon

Peace and Conflict Studies

By being part into the theory of the rebels' credibility dilemma, this research takes its framework in a historical analysis of relations between rebel groups and governments, in order to better understand the mechanisms of demands and negotiations between these two actors. In this paper, we propose to test the validity of the theory of the rebels' credibility dilemma in Latin America, and to provide specific precision to this geographical area. For that, our approach proposes an historical and political study on data going from 1945 to 2019. The study is characterized by the creation of specific classifications and a …

Civil Society Leaders’ Experiences Of Peacebuilding In Londonderry/Derry City, Northern Ireland: Transforming Cultural And Psychological Barriers, Leonardo Luna, Sean Byrne

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article reviews the empirical data the second author collected from 120 semi-structured interviews with the leaders of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and funding agency development officers conducted during the summer of 2010 in Northern Ireland and the Border Counties. The research explores 44 Derry City respondents' experiences and perceptions regarding external economic aid in the Northern Ireland peace process. To this end, this article explores the role of economic aid from the International Fund for Ireland (IFI) and the European Union (EU) Peace and Reconciliation or Peace 3 Fund in engaging with civil society in transforming psychological and cultural …

Responding To Violence From Abroad: The Mexican Diaspora Mobilising From Brussels And Paris Through Art-Based Strategies, Larisa Lara-Guerrero

Peace and Conflict Studies

Over 150,000 people were intentionally killed in Mexico since 2006, after the Mexican government decided to openly combat organized crime. Against the backdrop of the security crisis, members of Mexican society have developed national and transnational strategies to contribute to the respond to the rampant violence in their homeland.

By introducing a transdisciplinary approach and peacebuilding theories, this paper argues that Mexican migrants living in Brussels and Paris have been able to orchestrate transnational art-based strategies to contribute to the violence alleviation in their country of origin. In particular, this empirical paper argues that Mexican migrants living in these two …

The Sound Of The Sun: Religious Understandings Of Peace And The Role Of Religious Leaders In Peacebuilding―A Qualitative Study In Bosnia And Herzegovina, Stipe Odak

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article discusses the different roles of religious leaders in peacebuilding processes, and their specific understanding of peace. It is based on analysis of 75 in-depth interviews with Catholic, Orthodox, and Muslim religious leaders from Bosnia and Herzegovina, conducted in the period from 2015 to 2017. In the first part, peace is analyzed as a concept that contains elements of giftness, spirituality, and praxis. Arguing for the relevance of all three elements, the article warns against possible misunderstandings that can come when peace is assessed only through directly measurable indicators. In the second part, peacebuilding activities of religious leaders are …

Qualitative Insider Research In A Government Institution: Reflections On A Study Of Policy Capacity, Bobby Cameron

The Qualitative Report

Embarking on a qualitative Ph.D. research project in public administration is often daunting for novice researchers. For those students who consider adopting an emic or insider approach for their research, the ethical, methodological, and analytical challenges that lay ahead may seem insurmountable at times. In this article, I reflect on my experience as a Ph.D. student completing qualitative research with my colleagues to study policy capacity in a provincial government in Canada. I review how I constructed an ethical framework by integrating policy from Research Ethics Boards and government. Throughout the article, I deal primarily with ethical considerations and the …

Pulling Out Of Afghanistan, Suzanne Riskin

be Still

This piece was written on a casual day at work when there was not any particular event happening. I realized how much of an impact a decision made so far away from home could have on my personal growth as a medical educator.

Conducting Field Work With Microfinance Programs’ Participants In A Non-Western Setting: A Reflexive Account, Mohammad Shahjahan Chowdhury

The Qualitative Report

While volumes of procedural guidelines are available on how to conduct fieldwork, in practice a researcher encounters various challenges and dilemmas in the field. This paper presents a holistic view of the puzzles this researcher encountered in gaining access, negotiating positionality, application of the pre-determined methodology, and ensuring ethics during his fieldwork with microfinance program participants in a non-Western setting. This paper contributes to the fieldwork literature by enhancing a researcher’s understanding of the unanticipated challenges.

Designed Generalization From Qualitative Research, Ian H. Falk, John Guenther

The Qualitative Report

In our earlier work on generalizing from qualitative research (GQR) we identified our two-decade struggle to have qualitative research outcomes formally “listened to” by policy personnel and bureaucratic systems in general, with mixed success. The policy sector often seems reluctant to acknowledge that qualitative research findings can be generalized, so impacts tend to be informal or simply ignored. The “official” methodological literature on generalizing from qualitative research is epitomized by Lincoln and Guba’s (1985) still oft quoted, “The only generalization is: there is no generalization” (p. 110). We now understand there are many alternative possibilities for generalizing. In this paper …

Social Representations Of Bogota - Colombia Inhabitants Regarding A Conditional Cash Transfer Policy, Juan S. Hernández, Wilson G. Jiménez-Barbosa, Johanna S. Acuña

The Qualitative Report

The current article shows the development of a research process whose main objective was to explain the influence of the social representations of the inhabitants of Bogotá, Colombia in the implementation of the public policy of conditional cash transfers “Más Familias en Acción.” For this aim, a qualitative study of hermeneutic design was conducted with beneficiaries of the program and non-beneficiaries, in which, through the application of semi-structured interviews, the most frequent social representations about subsidies, policies, work, education, health, among other relevant issues related to this public policy were identified and once the information was coded by using the …

Power, Emotions, And Violent Conflicts, Daniel Rothbart

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Hatred, fear, and disdain—these are emotions that drive conflict protagonists to commit acts of violence against their adversaries. Conventional thinking among conflict analysts holds that the private realm of negative emotions exhibited by conflict actors is distinct fundamentally from the public world of objective causal drivers of conflict, such as poverty, structural violence and proliferation of small arms. However, such conventional thinking regarding this inherent duality of emotions and power cannot for the social-psychic force of affect emotions that intersects with the conflict dynamics. In many conflict settings, the release of such a force is a political act, with the …

Metro De Medellín: Urban Infrastructure And Historical Memory In The Creation Of Territorial Belonging And Identity, Phoenix Paz, Paula-Andrea Valencia-Londoño

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

Medellín and its sister cities in the Valle de Aburrá, Colombia is are renowned for their polarized past, a site of violent encounter between drug cartels, paramilitary groups, urban guerillas, and national forces from the 1970s until today. However, for over a century, it has also been a beacon of hope for thousands of people forcibly displaced by the country’s rural inter intercity violence or hoping to better their lives through participating in the growing industrial sector. In November 1995, just two years after the death of Pablo Escobar and the dissolution of the Medellín Cartel, the Metro of Medellín …

Wellbeing And Resilience: A Grounded Theory Using A Trauma-Informed Lens For A Healing-Centered Peacebuilding, Angi D. Yoder-Maina

Peace and Conflict Studies Journal Conference

In many parts of the world, entire generations and nations live in chronic violence and have existed in survival mode for decades. The exposure to violence has long-lasting effects that are not well accounted for in conflict analysis, stabilization efforts, peacebuilding, and governance initiatives. Extreme exposure to violence, abuse, neglect, and marginalization negatively affects levels of resilience and the ability of affected nations to transition from war to peace. Symptoms associated with trauma in individuals influence all levels of society and aspects of governance and security when large segments of a population are affected. There are three mainstream responses: the …

Interracial Dialogues In Dixie: Expressing Emotions To Promote Racial Reconciliation, Jeneve R. Brooks Phd, Sharon Everhardt Phd, Samantha Earnest Phd, Imren Dinc Phd

Peace and Conflict Studies

Given the legacy of racial injustice and mistrust that continues to plague race relations in the United States, it is important that citizens of different racial backgrounds come together to share their feelings and thoughts about race issues in order to advance racial reconciliation in their own communities. Saunders (1999) asserts that such dialogues can transform interracial relationships that could inspire the larger community to change itself. This study presents the results of nine interracial focus groups from two dialogues on race relations events held in Dothan, Alabama in 2015 and 2016. Our findings illustrate that many Black respondents displayed …

Avoiding The ‘Anthropocene’?: An Assessment Of The Extent And Nature Of Engagement With Environmental Issues In Peace Research, Rhys Kelly Dr

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article critically examines the extent and nature of engagement with environmental issues within the field of peace research, and specifically with the unfolding ecological crisis (‘the Anthropocene’). A representative sample of journals and book series associated with peace research were analysed in order to a. quantify the extent of engagement with climate change and other environmental issues in peace research, and b. assess the range of discursive positions vis-a-vis the environment represented in the sample. The article finds that, in comparison to other ‘thematic niches’, environmental issues have received limited attention. It also finds that the dominant orientation of …

Eliminating Silos: Developing System Design For Information Sharing In Violence Prevention, Jacqueline Kulaga

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The 21st century has brought about changing social perspectives on victimization and offender accountability related to sexual violence. States across the United States have established, and continue to develop, legislation and protocols to address such violence. While there has been a great shift in combating this form of violence, it is essential to create structures to enhance services for victims as well as create recommendations for those who work to hold offenders of these violent crimes accountable. This dissertation was conducted using a qualitative content analysis (QCA) of documents from the Palm Beach County Sexual Assault Response Team (PBC SART), …