The link between conflict, peace and development is undeniable; countries affected by war suffer from greater poverty, malnutrition, and underdevelopment. Stability and peace are prerequisites for successful development processes and it is a successful pursuit of sustainable development that reinforces stability and peace, promoting human security (Peacebuilding Center, 2013: 3). Recent international consensus is based on the view that without peace there can be no-sustainable development, and without sustainable socio-economic development, there can be no sustainable peace (Peacebuilding Center, 2013: 4); therefore maintaining peace is integral to development. Peacebuilding refers to all activities that deal directly with conflict and peace issues, whether before, during or after conflict. While peace building may be initiated at any point during a conflict cycle, it is much less costly in human and financial terms if it is done early (Peacebuilding Center, 2013: 3). This idea was reinforced in June 2001 upon the release of the United Nations (UN) Secretary General Report on the Prevention of Armed Conflict (Report of the Secretary General, 2001), in which the central argument was that ‘prevention should be initiated at the earliest possible stage of a conflict cycle in order to be most effective’ (Matveeva, 2006: 10). It is difficult to disagree with the concept of early warning (EW) and rapid response (RR); obtaining knowledge to synthesise a way to assist in the mitigation of conflict. In this sense, EW and RR are irrefutable necessities. There is a need to actively engage in crisis prevention initiating a prognosis of when, why and where conflict will erupt (Austin, 2004: 2). The ultimate goal of EW and RR is not to predi... ... middle of paper ... ...eved from http://www.gppac.net/documents/130492842/130493035/Early+Warning+and+Ea Nyheim, D. (2009). Three Generations in Early Warning: Challenges and Future Directions. In Third Generation Early Warning (pp. 38–59). Foundation for Co-Existence. Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development. (2009). Preventing Violence, War and State Collapse. OECD. Peacebuilding Center. (2013). Early Warning-Early Response Handbook. Ottawa: Peacebuilding Center. Retrieved from http://peacebuildingcentre.com/pbc_documents/ewhandbook_eng.pdf. Report of the Secretary General. (2001). Prevention of Armed Conflict. Wulf, H., & Debiel, T. (2009). Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanisms: Tools for Enhancing the Effectiveness of Regional Organisations? A comparative Study of the AU, ECOWAS, IGAD, ASEAN/ARF and PIF. Crisis States Working Papers Series No.2, 1797(49).
The system the UN currently has offers some perspective on the idea of conducting and participating in war. But...
International organizations such as NATO and the UN are essential not only for global peace, but also as a place where middle powers can exert their influence. It is understandable that since the inception of such organizations that many crises have been averted, resolved, or dealt with in some way thro...
...ities to come together, and causes people to re-evaluate their relationships with one another, all toward ensuring that, on the whole, peace continues into the future.
In countries where conflict has raged, but where the political will has developed to work towards a non-violent state of being, DDR has been a policy to aid the sustainable development of peace. Ana Cutter Patel writes that DDR is an integral part of peace building; it tries to disarm, demobilize and reintegrate former combatants in order to establish security which is one of the key components of peace. According to Sandra Pogodda et al. DDR is also part of a state building practice, for demobilization and disarmament of ex-combatants ensures the state's monopoly on the use of force. The intervening organizations that practice DDR, often but not exclusively the UN, are assisting the government to ensure security in the country. Should these interventions be considered political? This essay will argue that because DDR processes take on an important role in the political sphere of a country and influence the distribution of power by taking away the physical power of rebel groups, the DDR process should be considered political. Organizations conducting DDR will have their own interests, and directly influence political will in a country. Furthermore, lasting demobilization will likely depend on the distribution of political and socio-economic power, which will be assessed by DDR, being closely linked development processes.
An alternative model of peacebuilding would be an approach that is built upon community initiatives, similar to transformative peacebuilding. It is important that each situation is evaluated and the best suited institutions and structures are established. This means that in some situations the structures of politics, economics, justice and governance will not conform to the formulaic liberal model. Bottom up initiatives allow for engagement with local institutions, customs and norms (Newman,et Al.,2009,46). Furthermore, a transformative peacebuilding approach would empathize addressing the underlying sources of violence in each post- conflict community. This alternative model of peacebuilding would also promote growth oriented adjustment policies
On October 24, 1945 the United Nations was established as a means of preserving global peace after the Second World War. Launching with 51 member states the organizations began on a healthy platform with the United States having an active role in its promotion of international co-operation. However, during the cold war the organization began to experience a plethora of new challenges which primarily involved armed conflicts throughout the world. It soon became apparent that to maintain the peace and effectively deal with dangerous conflicts, the member states would be required to go beyond the Security Council. In 1956 the UN implemented the Peace Process Initiative as a means to ambitiously combat the Suez Crisis, thus creating the world’s first peacekeeping force. With this being the first peacekeeping mission ever deployed by the United Nations, it was met with a significant learning curve as many of the soldiers were given dated equipment, and did not have the means to maintain stability due to lack of funds from each of their respective member states. Though there has been a significant evolution of peacekeeping, with many new monitoring functions, the UN has yet to incorporate technologies into its operations thus far. As observers, technology allows for coverage to be made at a safe distance, providing a greater means of information and security for peacekeeping forces and civilian personnel. Technology can also aid in the progression of peacekeeping operations, as monitoring technologies allow for greater observation, while helping to diminish a feeling of intrusiveness. To advance peacekeeping, operations must be provided with the appropriate technological assets in order to effectively maintain peace throughout the world...
Kent, Randolph and Mackinlay, John. May/June 1997. “International Responses to Complex Emergencies: Why a new approach is needed?” NATO Review, 27-29.
First, war is universal due to its violent nature, violence in its application knows no bounds, and it is the common factor that identifies the war and without it the war is nothing more than a diplomatic effort to reach the end. However, wars blow out only when the diplomacy fails. Violence is the war engine. Although the application of violence evolved through time and its severity varies according to communities, cultures, and the means and methods used. Demonstrating the violence through the application of force to subjugate the enemy is the central idea of war. “War is a clash between major interests,
...ve experienced the sometimes-difficult transition to a democracy; others are currently in that transition. For some countries this transition will take a matter of months, for others is can take years. Sustainable peace requires a reform of all agencies in any way connected to the government. One of the major areas is the Security Sector. The best way to affect sustainable peace through security sector reform is to allow the people to reform their own security sector. The key elements necessary for a successful reform of the security sector are a centralized democratic government willing to reform, the people’s support for a reform, strong leaders to push this reform through, the willingness to compromise, a striving for peaceful resolutions, and above all a strong want of Democracy. These elements result in the bringing the joys of freedom to the people. (1,500)
Whenever world politics is mentioned, the state that appears to be at the apex of affairs is the United States of America, although some will argue that it isn’t. It is paramount we know that the international system is shaped by certain defining events that has lead to some significant changes, particularly those connected with different chapters of violence. Certainly, the world wars of the twentieth century and the more recent war on terror must be included as defining moments. The warning of brute force on a potentially large scale also highlights the vigorousness of the cold war period, which dominated world politics within an interval of four decades. The practice of international relations (IR) was introduced out of a need to discuss the causes of war and the different conditions for calm in the wake of the first world war, and it is relevant we know that this has remained a crucial focus ever since. However, violence is not the only factor capable of causing interruption in the international system. Economic elements also have a remarkable impact. The great depression that happened in the 1920s, and the global financial crises of the contemporary period can be used as examples. Another concurrent problem concerns the environment, with the human climate being one among different number of important concerns for the continuing future of humankind and the planet in general.
The Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine is an emerging principle, developed after catastrophes such as the Rwandan genocide to ensure such a large-scale tragedy would never happen again. It presents the idea that sovereignty is not a right, and that states should allow international intervention during acts of genocide, ethnic cleansing and war crimes. Under the R2P, the international community has the right to defend other nations from these tragedies; however, many nations will not be obliged to be bound by an agreement, due to opposing and conflicting views and objectives. This has been demonstrated in various instances when nations are in disagreement with the planned course of action and abstained as a result. The doctrine serves as a pathway for the world’s leading powers to invade another state’s sovereignty, which could divide the members of the Security Council. Furthermore, if enacted regularly, the R2P would cause more harm than good, leading to destruction and exploitation Due to this, not all of the international community are in disagreement and thereby not obliged to act. Many states will not consider acting when a tragedy occurs, due to distrust and ongoing suspicions with these plans. This ultimately devalues the authenticity and objective of the R2P. Firstly, my paper will outline the definitions of the R2P doctrine. Secondly, the effectiveness of the R2P and its relationship with different UN members, followed by case studies. Lastly, short analysis will conclude the paper.
In the short run, UN peacekeepers can immediately and efficiently work to protect civilians as long as there are enough troop members (Joshi). In addition, the presence of UN peacekeepers tends to influence the government to assume a democratic ruling (Joshi). However, peacekeepers do not occupy a country forever, thus there must be a long-term solution for the state set accordingly for long-standing peace. Joshi’s research also shows certain post-civil war rebel groups have difficulty adjusting to democratic governing systems (Joshi). A civil war does not necessitate the need of democratic ruling nor is a democracy always successful in a state. Reliance building leads to political empowerment, hence, whether or not a democratic governing system is best suited for the state, the state is more likely to come to that conclusion themselves instead of being influenced by the peacekeepers. In the long run, preparing local communities for the shock of war and
DuNann Winter, D., & Leighton, D. C. (2001 ). Structural Violence . Peace, conflict, and violence: Peace psychology in the 21st. New York : Prentice-Hall.
Kegley, Charles W Jr., and Raymond, Gregory A. From War to Peace. New York: St. Martins Press, 2001.
IOs and states play a critical role in maintaining world peace and security. The United Nations (UN), in particular, is the centerpiece of global governance with respect to the maintenance of world peace. The UN provides general guidelines for all the states on how to solve potential conflicts and maintain international o...