Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

¡Edúcame! Violencia, Autoridad E Identidad En El Movimiento Studiantil Actual, Aila Ferguson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Controversy has surrounded the current student movement since it began six months ago. One of the main causes for concern is the violence that seems to be a constant at every protest and demonstration. There are various contradicting opinions on the subject of violence and what is appropriate behavior for the student protesters and for the carabineros, or police officers, who are ordered to “maintain control” of the marches. Through interviews with various participants and political actors this research aims to contribute to a better understanding of government violence as a form of social control and to the understanding of …

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 36-I, No. 10, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted Peoples Movement

Crime of the Month

Soliciting Holiday Card Designs

Voluntarios: Heroes de la Frontera

Summary of the Platform of the Formerly Incarcerated and Convicted Peoples Movement

Acholi Clan, Ethnic, And National Identities In Post-Conflict Northern Uganda: A Case Study In Koch Goma Sub-County, Nwoya District, David L. Davenport

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

the following essay, the researcher will explore the clan, ethnic, and national identities of the Acholi people in the context of post-conflict northern Uganda. The researcher will first describe and interpret the meaning of these identities to Acholi people he interviewed during his research, and then he will analyze them in the post-conflict, socio-cultural context of northern Uganda.

During a research period of four weeks, the researcher spent a total of twelve days in Koch Goma Sub-Country, Nwoya District conducting one-on-one interviews. During this time, the researcher was able to interview eighteen people. Data was collected and analyzed qualitatively as …

Déjà Vu: Famine And Crisis In Somalia, Mary H. Schwoebel

Conflict Resolution Studies Faculty Articles

Somalia is currently experiencing the worst drought and famine in over half a century. Half of the population (close to four million people) is dependent on food aid, while tens of thousands are estimated to have died since the drought began this past summer. In early September, the United Nations warned that as many as 750,000 people could die in the coming months if aid efforts are not ramped up. At least 150,000 have fled their homes seeking assistance in internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps located in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, and in refugee camps located in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. …

The Un Security Council On Syria: Radical Change Or Continuity?, Thomas Pegram

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Presidential Statement issued by the UN Security Council on August 3 condemning the widespread violation of human rights by Syrian authorities was hailed by some as signaling the collapse of the pro-Syrian "defiance coalition."

This "defiance coalition," comprised of the so-called "BRICs" (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) along with Lebanon, did indeed relent, begrudgingly, to growing international pressure for action on Syria. However, whether a statement containing little actionable content signals the crumbling of defiance rather than a diplomatic maneuver as calculations are recalibrated in light of developments is another matter.

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 36-H, No. 9, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

Attica is All Of Us

Crime of the Month

¡No Retrocedamos!: Licencias para Todos en NM

Soliciting Holiday Card Design

CCA and MTC, For-Profit Prisons, Expand

The Second Meeting Of States Parties To The Convention On Cluster Munitions (2011), Ccm

Global CWD Repository

The Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) took place in Beirut, Lebanon, from 13 to 16 September 2011 and gathered more than 1,000 delegates from 52 States Parties, 38 signatories States, 41 observers and 15 international organizations (see list below).

The 2MSP was opened by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, President of the 1MSP to the CCM, Mr. Thongloun Sisoulith. During the first plenary meeting, the meeting elected by acclamation Dr. Adnan Mansour, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of the Republic of Lebanon, as President of the 2MSP to …

The Arab Spring: Endgames As Framing Battle, Colm Campbell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The narrative of the Arab Spring (including the Syrian uprising) in the mainstream media appears clear and linear: a cruel dictator is challenged in a series of street demonstrations that rapidly coalesce to become a popular uprising. The dictator resorts to increasingly brutal repression, but this fails to end the challenge. Within a relatively short time the dictator is overthrown. Elections within a reasonable period are announced, promising the creation of a democracy that is representative not only of the protest movement, but of society as a whole. Raghida Dergham's Huffington Post article largely reflects this perspective, drawing attention to …

White Noise, White Heat, Therese O'Donnell

Human Rights & Human Welfare

If, as former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously uttered, "A week is a long time in politics," then the Six weeks since Raghida Dergham's article could be a lifetime and the last six months of the "Arab Spring" an aeon.

The Moral International Sphere As A New "Civic Virtue", Claudia Heiss

Human Rights & Human Welfare

Liberal political theory, the predominant paradigm at least since the 1970s, rules out as oppressive the imposition of any substantive notion of a "good way of life" and proposes instead a neutral conception where each individual should have the right to pursue his or her own preferred project of life. This opposition of an ancient "virtue" and a modern "freedom" seems challenged by current debates about morality and the responsibility to protect innocent civilians from massive crimes. The moral outrage of the international community may be interpreted as a signal of a perhaps minimal notion of civic virtue, which translates …

Mutual Mondays, Ptsd And Dialogue Process With Veterans Of Armed Conflict: Becoming A Facilitator, And Healing Along With Participants, Michael Johns

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

After nearly five years working with youth offenders, addressing the trauma and stress of their lives in gangs and prison I was ready for my current job as a municipal Director of Veterans Services. These positions have given me the opportunity to start addressing posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] that has plagued me for over 20 years, since I flew in the US Navy. Mutual Mondays is a forum I created which brings together veterans using the Dialogue Process to empathically, intellectually, and communally address the effects of participation in armed conflict. Mutual Mondays has been a productive vehicle for veterans …

Prayer, Education Needed In Wake Of Norway Killings, Lawrence Frizzell

Department of Religion Publications

Reflections on the tragic shooting by Anders Behring Breivik at a Norwegian youth camp. This article was previously published in The Catholic Advocate.

An Overview Of The Human Rights Movement In Kenya, Ron Pagnucco, Chris Hausmann, Maizua Moua, Jocelyn Norman, Kristina Seslija, Lindsey Wilson

Peace Studies Faculty Publications

In this essay we summarize early findings of our work in progress on mapping the human rights movement in Kenya. We begin with a brief history of the human rights movement in Kenya, and then present our preliminary findings on the number and main objectives of human rights non-governmental organizations (HRNGOs) in Kenya today. Our essay is a report of findings in the early stage of our research on the movement in Kenya. The survey of the transnational human rights movement by Jackie Smith, Ron Pagnucco and George Lopez (1998), in which they constructed a census of the movement and …

Ddasaccident798, Hd-Aid

Global CWD Repository

During the sampling of the cleared area the TA continued prodding (each 2 centimetres) into the clear and unclear area as an overlap and excavating any resistance on the prodder in the very loose sand. Without any prodding force a detonation took place causing 1 PMN AP to explode.

Courageous Peace, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

Is peace a sign of courage or weakness? This essay addresses the issue. It was published in the Michigan Department of Peace Campaign, Political Action Guide 2009-2010.

The Political Action Guide is published by Citizens for Peace, a grassroots organization from Michigan's 11th Congressional District. The Guide inclues information on the Department of Peace Legislation, historical and current as well as information on ways to become politically active.

Within the Guide, there is also a directory of many Michigan organizations working for a more peaceful world and the websites of national organizations.

To acquire a current edition, contact Colleen …

Ike Was Right, Ann Abdoo

Citizens for Peace

This essay gives an overview of nuclear proliferation, and President Dwight (Ike) D. Eisenhower's warning about the military-industrial complex and his proposal for a more peaceful world. It was published in the Michigan Department of Peace Campaign, Political Action Guide 2011-2013.

The Political Action Guide is published by Citiens for Peace, a grassroots organization from Michigan's 11th Congressional District. The Guide includes information on the Department of Peace Legislation, historical and current as well as information on ways to become politically active.

Within the Guide, there is also a directory of many Michigan organizations working for a more peaceful …

The Right Side Of The Coin: Focus On The Human Rights Of People, Not The Failure Of States, Brooke Ackerly

Human Rights & Human Welfare

US policy toward failed states should focus on strengthening civil society and social movements so that people are better able to hold their leaders accountable.

The language of “failed states” disassociates foreign policy from international dialogue about human rights. Instead, “failed states” is a contemporary sound bite that connotes a lack of sovereignty, suggesting that intervention would not violate national sovereignty because in a failed state, there is none. Of course, we could have a similar cynicism about the use of human rights concerns to justify invasion. Certainly, states have tried to choose when to reference international human rights norms …

Immobilizing Conceptual Debates, Jonas Claes

Human Rights & Human Welfare

In “Think Again: Failed States,” James Traub argues that “state failure” is a failed concept. Prioritizing efforts to prevent or address state fragility, weakness, or failure may seem impractical given the conceptual breadth of this systemic challenge. Like globalization, human security, or climate change, state failure contains so many aspects that it becomes analytically useless. But the need to rethink this garbage-can concept—everything can be thrown in—does not keep us from addressing the litany of well-understood challenges subsumed within.

Coalition For Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, Vol 36-G, No. 8, Coalition For Prisoners' Rights

Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletters

The Reinvention of Slavery

Para Difusion Inmediata

Solidarity Must Persist

More Questions, Few Answers On State Failure And Human Rights, Edzia Carvalho

Human Rights & Human Welfare

The Foreign Policy article under review brings us back to the issues addressed in April's Roundtable, which looked at humanitarian intervention in light of widespread political violence in the Ivory Coast. Much of that discussion centered on the factors that lead states to adopt policies aimed at stopping egregious human rights abuses from being committed in other jurisdictions, either by state agents or non-state actors. This month's Roundtable discussion highlights the myths attached to the concept of “state failure,” which increases the likelihood of such violations occurring. The author of this month's centerpiece, James Traub, comments on a number of …

“Failed States Are Everyone’S Problem”, Devin Joshi

Human Rights & Human Welfare

This article raises interesting issues but cannot answer its own puzzles because it fails to define what constitutes a threat or danger to US national security. As an American citizen, the security of the Central African Republic is in my personal interest. The CAR is a country where it has been reported that one out of every sixteen mothers dies during childbirth. That is a serious problem! Who is to say it is not in Americans’ interest to prevent state failure there? If the US government is not interested in Central Africans' security, obviously, there is a disconnect between the …

Study Of Erw Accidents In Quang Tri Province, Vietnam, Phung Tran Kim, Nam Hoang

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The purpose of the study discussed in this article was to determine statistical findings, as well as the knowledge, attitude, practices and beliefs of the affected population, regarding the number of explosive-remnants-of-war victims in Quang Tri province, Vietnam, from the end of the American-Vietnam War in 1975 through 2010.

Landmines In War And Peace: From Their Origin To Present Day, Book Review

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Ten years after the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and their Destruction (also known at the Anti-personnel Mine Ban Convention or APMBC) entered into force and the publication of his book, The History of Landmines, Mike Croll provides a sequel detailing the present condition of demining operations throughout the world.

Art Therapy And Sport Activities Enhance Psychosocial Rehabilitation, Reykhan Muminova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The Tajikistan Mine Action Centre has worked to improve the physical and psychological health of landmine survivors through its summer camps in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Using sport activities, survivors improve their ability to function physically and learn to adjust to life with their disability, while art therapy helps them overcome fears of self-expression, enabling them to form healthy relationships with others.

Clutter Reduction In Manual-Demining Operations With The Help Of A Handheld Magnet Tool, Arnold Schoolderman, Yolanda Rieter-Barrell

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The authors discuss a study investigating the potential of permanent magnets for the reduction of metal clutter in manual demining operations.

Security Threats To Afghan Deminers, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Abductions of deminers in Afghanistan have placed the safety and lives of those working to clear mines at risk. At the end of 2010, two separate incidents drew attention in the landmine community to this alarming safety concern for which the Taliban and other organized criminals are responsible. The Mine Action Coordination Centre of Afghanistan and other mine-action organizations have been working to protect the deminers’ safety, which sometimes means restricting mined areas; however, this has not hindered dedicated deminers from continuing their demining efforts in Afghanistan.

Peer Support And Trauma Recovery, Cameron Macauley

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Peer support is becoming an important strategy to help survivors of war-related violence recover from psychological trauma. After a short training in counseling techniques, peer-support workers seek out trauma survivors in the community and help them reintegrate into society, find work, engage in sports and come to terms with their traumatic memories. Peer-support programs incur costs related to transportation and communication, but support groups may recover some costs through income-generating projects.

Sri Lanka Works Toward A Mine-Free Nation, Vidya Abhayagunawardena

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

This article discusses Sri Lanka’s steps to demine its land, educate its citizens on landmine and unexploded-ordnance dangers, and offer survivor-assistance services. Sri Lanka’s national mine-action program is building on previous mine-action work done by the government and humanitarian organizations by presenting a workshop on demining issues, developing a mine-action center and improving partnerships with concerned organizations.

Erw In The Republic Of Serbia, Dragan Jovanović

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As a result of operations conducted during the Balkan Wars, World Wars and Yugoslav Wars, Serbia remains affected by numerous pieces of unexploded ordnance. The author explores the extent of UXO contamination and reveals the extensive process by which it is removed from and destroyed within southern Serbia, areas that have been plagued by explosive remnants of war for the past century.

The Surprisingly Constant Cost Of Landmine Impact Surveys, Russell Gasser

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Landmine Impact Surveys involve survey teams that work with the local people to evaluate how landmines and unexploded ordnance affect daily lives. The Survey Action Center, United Nations and the affected countries closely regulate this process to ensure the preservation of high standards.