Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

Community Relations Work With Young People In Vukovar, Croatia: An Exploratory Study In Coexistence Building, Ankica Kosic, Sean Byrne

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article discusses the role of non-governmental organizations in promoting peace education, coexistence, reconciliation and dialogue among young people in Vukovar, Croatia. We argue that reconciliation cannot be imposed from above, but must be built, nurtured and sustained from the bottom-up. Much of this work of dialogue building is carried out at the community level by grassroots organizations. We describe the types of civic organizations, the peacebuilding approaches used, as well as the sustainability, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and barriers for youth participation in these organizations. A number of in-depth interviews were conducted with representatives of civic organizations in Vukovar. Moreover, …

Volume 15, Number 2 (Winter 2008/09), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Our Day In Their Shadow: Critical Remembrance, Feminist Science And The Women Of The Manhattan Project, Lee-Anne Broadhead

Peace and Conflict Studies

Inspired by the publication of a book celebrating the role of the women in the Manhattan Project, this paper seeks to demonstrate that such an effort – to the extent it accepts and endorses the historical, political and scientific legitimacy of the Project – is both misguided and dangerous. An alternative feminist critique is presented: one respecting the views of those scientists (men and women) who refused to participate or who have sought to challenge the reductionist Western scientific paradigm from which the Bomb emerged. Illumination of the repressive and hierarchal structures requisite for the “birth” of the nuclear age …

The Six University Consortium Student Mobility Project: Promoting Conflict Resolution In The North American Context, Pauline Tennent, Jessica Senehi, Michael Ross Fowler, Sean Byrne

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article focuses on the North American Conflict Resolution Program - a twenty-first century mobility consortium in which universities in Canada, Mexico, and the United States exchanged students of conflict resolution. Drawing on student perceptions and, in particular, the experiences of the universities of Manitoba and Louisville, the authors discuss the positive outcomes of mobilizing students to study conflict resolution abroad for the students themselves, for faculty members involved, for university and other communities, and for the field of conflict analysis and resolution.

Back Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Interpreting New Labour's Political Discourse On The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Aaron Edwards

Peace and Conflict Studies

New Labour‟s superintendence of the Northern Ireland peace process has re-opened debate about the party‟s stance on the “Irish question”. While some commentators hold the view that it remains ideologically wedded to the nationalist goal of Irish unity, it could be argued that Labour‟s Northern Ireland policy has been characterised by an ambivalent non-interventionist approach. The “peace strategy” pursued by Tony Blair‟s three administrations between 1997 and 2007 is examined in light of the political discourse articulated by key actors within New Labour itself. Moreover, the interpretive approach in British political science is utilised to illuminate key variables, such as …

Dup Discourses On Violence And Their Impact On The Northern Ireland Peace Process, Amber Rankin, Gladys Ganiel

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper analyses the Democratic Unionist Party‟s (DUP) discourses about paramilitary violence in Northern Ireland. Drawing on narrative analysis of DUP discourses reported in Northern Ireland‟s largest unionist newspaper, the News Letter (1998–2006), it explores the relationship between the party‟s identity, its discourses about republican and loyalist paramilitaries, and the impact of these words on the DUP‟s electoral success and on the peace process. The paper argues that these discourses may haunt the progress of peace-building, not least because the DUP will find it hard to disentangle itself from a history of scepticism and nay-saying even as it takes a …

The Role Of Political Discourse In Conflict Transformation: Evidence From Northern Ireland, Katy Hayward

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article introduces this volume by constructing a model for analysing political discourse as an instrument of conflict and peace, drawing on evidence from the Northern Ireland case. It identifies three processes, or stages, in a peace process in which political discourse can play a unique and crucial role: (i) the construction of a (conceptual) framework within which negotiations can take place, (ii) the facilitation of agreement between moderate and extreme positions, and (iii) the forging of common ground. The motivating thesis of this research is that discourse analysis is a vital resource for deepening our knowledge of why, how …

Back Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

The Maintenance Of Republican Ideology And Tactics In The Discourses Of Ira Former Prisoners, Peter Shirlow, Jonathan Tonge, James W. Mcauley

Peace and Conflict Studies

The debate concerning ideology and ideological shifts during peace-building in Northern Ireland has generally failed to account for the attitudes and opinions of former combatants concerning the nature and meaning of discursively constructed identities and political strategies. This invisibility is peculiar in that debates concerning ideological shifts have been driven by academic analysis or by those former combatants who maintain that the Irish peace process is paralleled by core ideological abandonment. The material presented within this article indicates that former Provisional Irish Republican prisoners do not view the peace process as involving ideological ditching but instead that their commitment to …

Front Matter, Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Narratives Of Legitimacy: Political Discourse In The Early Phase Of The Troubles In Northern Ireland, Sissel Rosland

Peace and Conflict Studies

This article examines the discursive construction of legitimacy in the early phase of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The empirical material covers the debate on internment without trial from 1971 till 1975 – a debate which involved conflicting claims of legitimacy. Some strongly defended internment as a legitimate step in the fight against the IRA, whilst others regarded it as an illegitimate measure employed by a corrupt political regime. These conflicting claims of legitimacy entailed a conceptual battle concerned with the construction and authorisation of political order. The article explores this battle along three dimensions: law, violence, and democracy.

Political Discourse In The Republic Of Ireland And Its Function In The Troubles And Peace Process In Northern Ireland, Catherine O'Donnell

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite some historical divergence, political parties in the Republic of Ireland shared some key objectives in response to the Troubles. Most consistently, each of the main parties (Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael) sought to undermine support for the IRA in Northern Ireland and de-legitimise arguments by Sinn Féin and the IRA. Over the course of the peace process, such common priorities developed into a wider shared discourse on the principles for agreement in Northern Ireland. The parties in the Republic soon established a vocal consensus incorporating support for the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin involvement in politics in Northern Ireland, …

“Faith, Crown And State”: Contemporary Discourses Within The Orange Order In Northern Ireland, James W. Mcauley, Jonathan Tonge

Peace and Conflict Studies

Despite a decline in membership in recent decades the Orange Order remains one of the largest and most significant organisations within civil society in Northern Ireland, representing a significant proportion of the Protestant population. The Orange Order claims a moral and political rationale to opposition to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement and many of the political consequences that have followed. Drawing upon a large membership survey of the Orange institution (the first such survey ever undertaken), and abetted by in-depth semi-structured interviews, this paper examines core political and social attitudes of Orange Order members in a post-conflict environment. It identifies …

Legitimizing Through Language: Political Discourse Worlds In Northern Ireland After The 1998 Agreement, Laura Filardo-Llamas

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper employs the hypothesis that one of the functions of political discourse is to legitimise a perceived point of view by promoting certain representations of a socio-political reality. It could be argued that the 1998 Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement creates a paradoxical reality in Northern Ireland because its language is so vague that it can be interpreted in different ways. This paper analyses linguistic categories used in the text of the Agreement to reveal the type of peaceful reality promoted and the constructive ambiguity used to facilitate agreement. It argues that the success of the peace process depended to …

“Humespeak”: The Sdlp, Political Discourse, And The Northern Ireland Peace Process, P. J. Mcloughlin

Peace and Conflict Studies

This paper explores the vital role played by the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) in the formulation of a new political discourse and conceptual approach to the Northern Ireland problem. In particular, it shows how John Hume, party leader through the 1980s and 1990s, helped to propagate this discourse, and in doing so influenced policy-making in London and Dublin, and thinking within the republican movement. Although the paper emphasises the importance of this influence, it concludes by considering the reasons why the Ulster unionist community have remained so unreceptive to the political discourse of Hume and the SDLP.

Volume 15, Number 1 (Summer 2008), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Volume 14, Number 2 (Fall 2007), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

Abstracts only.

Volume 14, Number 1 (Spring 2007), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

Abstracts only.

How Do We Educate For Peace? Study Of Narratives Of Jewish And Palestinian Peace Activists, Zvi Bekerman, Ifat Maoz, Mara Getz Sheftel

Peace and Conflict Studies

The present analysis focuses on the personal narratives of peace activists, the facilitators of reconciliation-aimed dialogues between two ethno-national groups in a situation of asymmetrical conflict: Jews and Palestinians. It puts forward the idea that these peace activists bring a wealth of knowledge from their personal and professional narratives to bear on their strategies and practices of social transformation. We posit that foregrounding this knowledge through the analysis of these narratives not only affords a better understanding of their theoretical perspectives, their practices, aims and goals of social change but also can greatly contribute to our better understanding of peace …

Commentary: Basque Avenues Toward Peace: Building The New Road To A New Dawn, A New Beginning, J. P. Linstroth

Peace and Conflict Studies

Excerpt

With the declaration of a permanent ceasefire by "Basque Homeland and Freedom" (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, ETA) on the 22nd of March to begin on the 24th of March of this year, a new dawn breaks in Basque history and Basque politics. There may be those who doubt this peace but I remain hopeful that the Basques will be able to reconcile their internal differences and begin this journey anew. The Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has agreed to begin talks on the Basque ceasefire beginning this summer 2006 and many in the Basque region are expectant of …

Volume 13, Number 2 (Fall 2006), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Economic Assistance In Conflict Resolution In Northern Ireland, Sean Byrne, Cynthia Irvin, Eyob Fissuh, Chris Cunningham

Peace and Conflict Studies

External economic assistance from the International Fund for Ireland and the European Union Special Support Program for Peace and Reconciliation assisted in setting the context of the Northern Ireland peace agenda, and holds out the promise of a new civic culture. This article explores people’s perceptions of economic assistance of conflict amelioration in Northern Ireland. Some of the findings, in respect of inter-community differences in perceptions of the utility of external economic assistance in building the peace dividend, are discussed in the paper.

What We Don't Know Can Help Us: Eliciting Out-Of-Discipline Knowledge For Work With Intractable Conflicts, Jennifer Goldman, Peter T. Coleman

Peace and Conflict Studies

In this article, the authors present the results of a study in which a diverse variety of experts in fields outside the traditional conflict domain were interviewed about their ideas regarding intractable conflicts. The purpose of this study was to gather frame-breaking insights and practical approaches that could shed new light on complex, persistent conflict that has been particularly resistant to resolution. The authors argue that outsiders to the field are more likely to provide fresh perspective and radical approaches to the conflict field’s most intransigent problems because they are not constrained by the field’s pre-existing normative frames. This article …

Culture, Rhetoric, And Reconciliation: The Place Of Language In The Northern Irish Conflict And Peace Process (1998-2002), Jennifer Dougherty

Peace and Conflict Studies

Alterations in public discourse towards multiculturalism, reconciliation and liberal democracy at the national level in Northern Ireland are evident from 1998 - 2002, but to what end? To what extent did language play a positive role in the Northern Ireland peace process? Recognizing that language does not tell the whole story of the Northern Irish experience of the Troubles or current peace process, the author highlights how language, as a transmitter and constitutor of culture, has played a role as a signifier of potential conflict, peace and progress (or lack thereof). In particular, the author considers several texts including excerpts …

Supranational Networks: States And Firms, Alvin W. Wolfe

Peace and Conflict Studies

The nation-state systems that seem to dominate the global landscape are not necessarily the pinnacle of evolution. A conglomeration of interacting factors spelled doom for the traditional colonialism of previous centuries while providing an ideal environment for multinational firms operating above the level of nation-states to play an important role in the generation of a new politico-socio-economic system better described by network models than by ordinary political models. Previously existing units and subunits, in the course of adjustment and adaptation to changing circumstances, change their relations with one another and are, sometimes, newly integrated in a novel manner such that …

Assessing Past Strategies For Countering Terrorism, In Lebanon And By Libya, Louis Kriesberg

Peace and Conflict Studies

American strategies to deal with terrorist attacks against Americans in Lebanon in the 1980s and by Libya since the beginning of the 1980s are examined. The consequences of the various strategies employed by U.S. government officials over time and the strategies employed by American non-governmental actors and by international organizations are compared. In addition, alternative strategies that might plausibly have been employed are also discussed. Official actions that relied largely on military methods and were conducted unilaterally tended to be less effective, even counterproductive, compared to actions that were multilateral and relied significantly on diplomatic approaches, often aided by intermediaries.

Rudolf The Haitian Reindeer And Other Heroes: Helping Children Perform Change, Anne Hearon Rambo, Nathalie Duque Bello, Maud Pasquet

Peace and Conflict Studies

A meta analysis of studies concerning youth violence suggests that when children see themselves and are seen by surrounding adults as positive, prosocial leaders, they are less likely to become involved in bullying either as bullies or as victims (1). MFT’s have recently been encouraged to work more directly with children (2) and to adapt their service delivery methods to the needs of clients (3). The authors worked directly with 122 children in their community settings, involving parents and school officials as an encouraging audience (4) to the children’s new views of themselves. 90% of preteen girls (ages 9 to …

Volume 13, Number 1 (Spring 2006), Peace And Conflict Studies

Peace and Conflict Studies

No abstract provided.

Conflict Mediation And Culture: Lessons From The Gambia, Mark Davidheiser

Peace and Conflict Studies

The issue of cultural variation in conflict mediation has attracted considerable interest, probably because of wide-ranging theoretical, methodological, and ethical implications. Scholars are raising increasing questions about both generic theories of the mediation process and past conceptualizations of the culture construct. This article reviews theoretical perspectives on culture and conflict mediation and discusses them in relation to fieldwork conducted in the Gambia among three ethnolinguistic groups. Some local and cross-cultural patterns in the mediation process were found. These patterns are associated with variables such as ethnicity, gender, and social status. However, comparative analysis on the individual level revealed considerable diversity …