Peace and Conflict Studies Commons^™

Female Demining Teams In Tajikistan, Julieta Nikolova

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

In addition to contributing to the safe release of landmine-contaminated land in Tajikistan, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) has pushed norms and traditions by incorporating an all-female demining team into its operations. Less than a year ago, imagining an all-female demining team operating in a country with strictly-defined gender roles was difficult.

In Remembrance: Nazim Ismayilov, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Nazim Ismayilov of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) died 11 December 2014 at the age of 70.

Developers Win Mobile Apps Challenges, Blake Williamson

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

As more industries develop mobile technologies, demand for mobile applications (apps) increases. Within various humanitarian fields, mobile apps can serve a variety of special purposes, from providing users with the ability to communicate and share information wirelessly to facilitating disaster relief or humanitarian aid. The National Defense University saw a need for a landmine and explosive remnants of war reporting app, designing a contest to create one.

Forces Generated By The Free Fall Of Demichain, Christian Baras, Bernard Gautier, Robert Goepfert, Jean-Pierre Hancy, Rene Joeckle

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

The free fall of an array of heavy chains (360 kg/sq m) generates extensive pressure in the depth of the ground. These pressures have been measured and compared to the threshold pressures that trigger anti-personnel landmines. When dropped from moderate heights (1 m), chains can generate enough pressure to set off active landmines buried 20 cm, provided that the area of their pressure plates is larger than a few square centimeters.

Distinctive Pattern Found In Ied Survivors’ Brains, News Brief

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

New research offers insight into brain trauma incurred by improvised explosive devices (IED), a problem affecting survivors of blast-related injuries since World War I.

Issue 19.1 Endnotes, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Issue 19.1 Endnotes

In Remembrance: Tim Carstairs, Cisr Journal

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

Former International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and Cluster Munition Coalition colleague Tim Carstairs passed away 6 January 2015, following a long illness.

This Side Of The Grave: Navigating The Quaker Plainness Testimony In London And Philadelphia In The Eighteenth Century, Patricia C. O'Donnell

Library Staff Works

For observant members of the Society of Friends in greater London and Philadelphia during the eighteenth century, navigating the Quaker plainness testimony involved material culture choices that might be viewed by non-Quakers as concealing motives of frugality or blurring class lines or as violating standards of decency and propriety. This was particularly true of coffins, which were carried through the streets from home to burial ground followed by family and friends. On this public stage, Quaker coffin choices satisfied the requirements for plainness while at the same time they demonstrated family values and fulfilled societal expectations.

Peacetrees' Eod Program In Vietnam, Claire Yunker

The Journal of Conventional Weapons Destruction

PeaceTrees Vietnam has explosive ordnance disposal programs in Dakrong and Huong Hoa, the two westernmost districts of Quang Tri province bordering Laos. Huong Hoa was the scene of the Battle of Keh Sanh in 1968. These mountainous districts lack sufficient infrastructure and are afflicted by extreme poverty. The districts include a large number of ethnic minorities who have no written language, do not speak Vietnamese and suffer injuries from unexploded ordnance at a higher rate than the ethnic Vietnamese in the region. The war severely impacted the two districts, and about 80 percent of the territory is considered contaminated.

Kittens And Nutella: Why Women Join Isis, Samantha K. Smith

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

On February 18, 2015 CNN published a reported stating that Western women were leaving their homes to join ISIS because of a social media campaign featuring pictures of kittens and Nutella. This reported propagated the notion that women who join jihadist organizations are brainwashed or feeble minded. The reality is not so simple. This paper explores the motives women may have for joining ISIS through comparison to the motivations that drove women to partake in other violent jihadist organizations' activities.

Professor Understands Complex Dynamics Of Islamic Fundamentalism, Mary Hladky, Dustin Berna

Conflict Resolution Studies Faculty Articles

No abstract provided.

Challenges In Implementing Restorative Justice Practices In The United States, Erin Roaza

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study was to research the challenges that restorative justice practices come across in their institutional and implementation phases within the United States. The modern concept or philosophy of Restorative Justice has been around for about four decades since the 1970s or 80s. There have been multiple studies made to prove that restorative justice practices might reduce recidivism incarceration costs, while also creating a more fulfilling experience for all parties involved, including minimizing feelings of revenge from the victim. So why has the United States criminal justice system not made more advancements to incorporate more restorative justice …

Global Hegemon: Chinese Foreign Policy Shifts And Elevated Unpko Involvement, Alex Berge

Political Science Theses and Capstones

A common question being asked in many circles is whether China will emerge as a potential rival to the U.S. as a global superpower? If the answer to this question is “yes” many ask how China will accomplish this. Research suggests that China will obtain superpower status through increased global presence and more cooperation in international organizations, specifically United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO). The literature examines Chinese policy changes that allow for more contributions and activity in UNPKOs and also what missions China can now participate in from which it would have formerly abstained. The preliminary results have shown massive …

Modeling Peacekeeping: The Case Of Canada Examined, Senai Abraha

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

This research introduced a comprehensive model for explaining why countries participate in peacekeeping by studying Canada's peacekeeping decisions. The history of Canadian peacekeeping since 1947 presented an ideal case because of the significant fluctuation in its involvement from being a leading peacekeeper to a token contributor. It adopted Waltz's schema to explain this fluctuation at the systemic, domestic, and individual levels of analyses. Most of the literature on Canadian peacekeeping decisions employed systemic level of analysis such as national interest and international cooperation without taking into account the impact of domestic political and socioeconomic environment, and the role of leadership …

Conflict Behaviors: Religiosity, Culture, And Gender As Predictors For Conflict Management Styles Among First And Second Generation Arab Muslim Immigrants In The United States, Jamil Abed Al Hamid Al Wekhian

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Multiple studies have shown that culture, religiosity, and gender influence people’s behavior in managing their conflict; however, there has been little investigation of the impact of the acculturation process on these variables utilized by Arab-Muslim immigrants in the United States. My study follows a sequential explanatory model with a mixed methods approach, and specifically explores the conflict management styles utilized by first and second-generation Arab-Muslim immigrants in the U.S. and how their culture, gender, and religiosity contribute to these processes. Data was collected by conducting 257 online surveys and 24 face-to-face semi-structured interviews, with the sample population stemming from the …

Technology Demonstration Report For Underwater Survey Equipment, Gichd, Orca Maritime

Global CWD Repository

The underwater equipment technology demonstration report, sponsored by GICHD, provides an evaluation of select commercial technology available for the technical survey of sites contaminated with underwater explosive ordnance.

The report, along with the GICHD online equipment catalogue, will assist nations, donors and operators with the selection of the most appropriate equipment for their specific tasks.

La Vida Es Un Conflicto, Pero Hay Que Llevar Soluciones: La Resolución De Conflicto En Comunidades Rurales De San Ramón Nicaragua A Través De Facilitadores Judiciales Rurales Y Mediación, Marlee Raible

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In rural parts of Nicaragua historically there has not been a lot of access to the justice system. Conflicts have been going unresolved for years leading to a high amount of violence as people take justice into their own hands. The recent implementation of the Rural Judicial Facilitators Program (RJFP) is an effort to provide access to justice directly in rural communities. These facilitators are trained to use mediation as their principal method to resolve conflict.

This study exposes perceptions of mediation and the RJFP from community members, facilitators, and judiciaries. It discusses the key role of the facilitator in …

Genocide In Northeast Brazil: Dismantling Colonial Legacies Of Contemporary State Violence In Salvador, Kelsi Sleet

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The systematic use of violence by the police a lead me to the city of Salvador, Bahia, a city where 80% of the population is Afro-Brazilian. Using a framework of structural violence I develop a critical understanding of how contemporary manifestations of colonialism impact black people in Salvador, Bahia. Through this research I problematize the idea of the “racial democracy” to understand how black people are experiencing the direct use of violence by the Brazilian state in the form of anti-black genocide. I ask how Black Brazilian activists in Salvador resist and challenge state violence, specifically in the context of …

Things Go Wrong. Life Goes On. How Do We Stay Strong? The Path Of Resilience: Processing Trauma Through Learning, Social Emotional Support, And Empowerment, Sarah Gonzales , '15

Senior Theses, Projects, and Awards

In this thesis I research how educators and communities can respect the feelings and realities of those experiencing trauma. I look at the ways we can frame learning experiences so that they empower people; allowing them to process their trauma safely and develop resilience. I describe three experiences I have participated in over my time attending Swarthmore College. These separate excerpts are interconnected in the ways that participants entered into an opportunity to constructively process their trauma, with the social emotional support of community members, and were therefore able to become agents of self-advocacy and change.

Investigating Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War In The Democratic Republic Of Congo (Drc) Through Critical Discourse Analysis, Amanda R. Kaste

Student Publications

This paper addresses the large-scale sexual violence that has taken place (and still continues) within the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) using critical discourse analysis. Disturbing statistics have resulted in the identification of the DRC as the "rape capital of the world," and a variety of national, regional, and international actors have employed sexual violence as a weapon of war. Victims frequently receive little assistance, perpetrators act without fear of serious repercussions, and the government of the DRC fails to successfully implement relative legislation. Through an investigation of the discourse surrounding victims, perpetrators, and political institutions respectively, I will develop …