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Books > Reference & Interdisciplinary > Interdisciplinary studies > Peace studies > General
This book uses crime-science and traditional criminological approaches to explore urban crime in the rapidly urbanising country Nigeria, as a case study for urban crime in developing nations. In Africa's largest democracy, rapid unmanaged growth in its cities combined with decaying public infrastructure mean that risk factors accumulate and deepen the potential for urban crime. This book includes a thorough explanation of key concepts alongside an examination of the contemporary configuration, dynamics, dimensions, drivers and potential responses to urban crime challenges. The authors also discuss a range of methodological techniques and applications that can be used, including spatial technologies to generate new data for analysis. It brings together history, theory, trends, patterns, drivers, repercussions and responses to provide a deep analysis of the challenges that confront urban dwellers. Urbanisation and Crime in Nigeria offers academics, researchers, governments, civil society organisations, citizens, and international partners a tool with which to engage in a serious dialogue about crime within cities, based on evidence and good practices from inside and outside sub-Saharan Africa.
This volume looks at research methods through the lens of peace studies and peace values. Apart from reviewing established methods from peace psychology, it presents some innovative ideas for conducting research in the area of peace psychology. Many of these methods are drawn from the field, from activities used by active peace practitioners. A critical component of this volume is its core argument that peace research should be conducted by peaceful means, and should model peaceful processes. Organized thematically, the volume begins with a review of the established best practices in peace psychology research methodology, including methods for qualitative research, for quantitative research, and participative action networks. In doing so, it also points to some of the limitations of working for peace within the tradition of a single discipline and to the need to expand psychology methodology, to methodologies. Therefore, the second half of the volume proceeds to explore the realm of innovative, relatively unorthodox research methods, such as participatory and workshop methods, the creative arts, and sports for research purposes. The use of new advances in information technology to conduct peaceful research are also discussed. The concluding chapters synthesize key issues from the previous chapters, and links peace psychology with ideas and implementation of research designs and practices. Finally, it discusses the nature of academic knowledge, and more specifically, academic knowledge in peace psychology, and where that fits into the mission to build a more peaceful world. Overall this book aims to provide peace psychologists with an array of possibilities and best practices for approaching their research. Many researchers find the experience of doing research a somewhat lonely, if not isolating, experience. Methodologies in Peace Psychology: Peace Research by Peaceful Means aims to alleviate this feeling as the use of these more innovative methods leads to a closer engagement with the community and a much more social experience of research. This volume is a useful tool for both new and experienced researchers because it provides leads for idealistic young researchers who want their work to make a difference, in addition to encouraging more reflection and analysis for experienced peace psychologists.
This book tells the story of the Peace Community of San Jose de Apartado, an emblematic grassroots social movement of peasant farmers, who unusually declared themselves 'neutral' to Colombia's internal armed conflict, in the north-west region of Uraba. It reveals two core narratives in the Community's collective identity, which Burnyeat calls the 'radical' and the 'organic' narratives. These refer to the historically-constituted interpretative frameworks according to which they perceive respectively the Colombian state, and their relationship with their natural and social environments. Together, these two narratives form an 'Alternative Community' collective identity, comprising a distinctive conception of grassroots peace-building. This study, centered on the Community's socio-economic cacao-farming project, offers an innovative way of approaching victims' organizations and social movements through critical, post-modern politics and anthropology. It will become essential reading to Latin American ethnographers and historians, and all interested in conflict resolution and transitional justice. Read the author's blog drawing on the book here: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/latamcaribbean/2018/06/07/colombias-unsung-heroes/
This book examines the remaking of women's citizenship in the aftermath of conflict and international intervention. It develops a feminist critique of consociationalism as the dominant model of post-conflict governance by tracking the gendered implications of the Dayton Peace Agreement. It illustrates how the legitimisation of ethnonationalist power enabled by the agreement has reduced citizenship to an all-encompassing logic of ethnonational belonging and implicitly reproduced its attendant patriarchal gender order. Foregrounding women's diverse experiences, the book reveals gendered ramifications produced at the intersection of conflict, ethno-nationalism and international peacebuilding. Deploying a multidimensional feminist approach centred around women's narratives of belonging, exclusion, and agency, this book offers a critical interrogation of the promises of peace and explores individual/collective efforts to re-imagine citizenship.
While there has been sustained interest in Gandhi's methods and continued academic inquiry, Gandhi's Global Legacy: Moral Methods and Modern Challenges is unique in bringing together an interdisciplinary group of scholars who analyze Gandhi's tactics, moral methods, and philosophical principles, not just in the fields of social and political activism, but in the areas of philosophy, religion, literature, economics, health, international relations, and interpersonal communication. Bringing this wide range of disciplinary backgrounds, the contributors provide fresh perspectives on Gandhi's thought and practice as well as critical analyses of his work and its contemporary relevance. Edited by Veena R. Howard, this book reveals the need for reconstructing Gandhi's ideas and moral methods in today's context through a broad spectrum of crucial issues, including pacifism, health, communal living, gender dynamics, the role of anger, and peacebuilding. Gandhi's methods have been refined and reimagined to fit different situations, but there remains a need to consider his concept of Sarvodaya (uplift of all), the importance of economic, gender, and racial equity, as well as the value of dialogue and dissenting voices in building a just society. The book points to new directions for the study of Gandhi in the globalized world.
War termination reflects a civil-military bargain and affects relevant decisions made by political leaders. For the leader embroiled in protracted war, this risk dictates whether he or she will commit more resources to the fight or else cut the state's losses and get out.
This innovative and timely consideration of the European Union's crisis response mechanisms brings together scholars from a range of disciplinary backgrounds to examine how and why the EU responds to crises on its borders and further afield. The work is based on extensive fieldwork in - among other places - Afghanistan, Libya, Mali and Iraq. The book considers the construction of crises and how some issues are deemed crises and others not. A major finding from this comparative study is that EU crisis response interventions have been placing increasing emphasis on security and stabilisation and less emphasis on human rights and democratisation. This changes - quite fundamentally - the EU's stance as an international actor and leads to questions about the nature of the European Union and how it perceives itself and is perceived by others.
This edited volume examines the implications for international development actors of new kinds of terrorism taking place in civil conflicts. The threat from terrorism and violent extremism has never been greater - at least in the global South where the vast majority of violent extremist attacks take place. Some of the most violent extremist groups are also parties to civil conflicts in regions such as the Middle East and the Horn of Africa. But are these groups - especially the violent Islamists which constitute the greatest current threat - qualitatively different from other conflict actors? If they are, what are the implications for development practitioners working in war zones and fragile or poverty-afflicted countries? This study aims to answer these questions through a combination of theoretical enquiry and the investigation of three case studies - Kenya, Nigeria, and Iraq/Syria. It aims to illuminate the differences between violent Islamists and other types of conflict actor, to identify the challenges these groups pose to development practice, and to propose a way forward for meeting these challenges.
This book draws lessons from the story of Sri Lanka's post-conflict development in the context of a struggle for socio-political reconciliation, a turbulent world economy, and difficult internal and external political challenges. Heightened volatility in the global economy and intensifying geopolitical rivalries pose complex policy challenges for small countries embarking on post-conflict daunting challenges. To sustain peace, development needed to be broad based and inclusive. It needed to rapidly reconstruct war-devastated regions, restore macroeconomic stability, while delivering a 'peace dividend'. The book contains contributions that highlight Sri Lanka's endeavours of coping with adverse shocks, while exploiting new opportunities. It showcases how the island country had to attract capital and assistance, and support of the international community, including that of the rising Asian giants - China and India. Addressing the post-conflict challenges of sourcing development finance in a new global financial and political landscape, the book would be of interest to researchers working on post-conflict development in the context of a volatile global economy and changing aid architecture, and would also act as an important resource for policy makers.
This volume explores the repercussions of a changing world order on regional security in Latin America. It examines how global and regional power shifts impact on the evolution of regional institutions as well as on state policies adopted in response to regional security challenges such as border conflicts, political instability, migration, drug-trafficking, organized crime, and terrorism. Contributions to this volume analyze the topic from three angles: power dynamics and its effects on regional security governance; the contribution of regional institutions to the management of security challenges; and the impact of power dynamics on states' shifting security priorities. Written by specialists from Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, the United States and Europe, the chapters weave theory and case studies to provide a rich description of the impact of power and politics on regional security in Latin America. This book is an invaluable resource for students, scholars and practitioners interested in Latin American politics, regional cooperation, and war and conflict studies, as well as international security and international relations in general.
Interregional cooperation in peace and security as key feature of the EU external relations is particularly relevant in Africa-EU relations. However, these efforts have not been systematically evaluated to date. Focusing specifically on interregional peace operations, this volume provides the first comprehensive evaluation of the Africa-EU Partnership on Peace and Security. It explains the effectiveness of interregional security cooperation across three cases: (1) the AU-EU response in the Central African Republic (2013) and (2) in Somalia (2007-2017), (3) and the ECOWAS-EU efforts in Mali (2012). The book makes a valuable empirical, theoretical, and methodological contribution to EU foreign policy, comparative regionalism, and conflict studies.
This handbook offers a critical assessment of the African agenda for conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding; the challenges and opportunities facing Africa's regional organisations in their efforts towards building sustainable peace on the continent; and the role of external actors, including the United Nations, Britain, France, and South Asian troop-contributing countries. In so doing, it revisits the late Ali Mazrui's concept of Pax Africana, calling on Africans to take responsibility for peace and security on their own continent. The creation of the African Union, in 2002, was an important step towards realising this ambition, and has led to the development of a new continental architecture for more robust conflict management. But, as the volume's authors show, the quest for Pax Africana faces challenges. Combining thematic analyses and case studies, this book will be of interest to both scholars and policymakers working on peace, security, and governance issues in Africa.
This book focuses on the Mediterranean/MENA migration crisis and explores the human security implications for migrants and refugees in this troubled region. Since the Arab uprisings of 2010/2011, the Middle East and North Africa region has experienced major political transformations and called into question the legitimacy of states in the region. Displaced populations continue to suffer due to the major conflicts in Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, causing fragmentation and dis-integration of communities. Contributors to this volume analyze how and why this crisis differs significantly from previous migration/refugee flows in the region, explain the historical and political antecedents of this crisis which have played a part in its shaping, and explore the relationship between human security and the protection of vulnerable individuals and groups.
This book offers new and cutting-edge analyses of under-explored subjects and issues in the realm of soft power. It attempts to fill significant scholarly gaps in understanding the process by which soft power is created, as well as gaps in demonstrating its impact. Soft power is one of the most influential ideas in the study of international politics over the past thirty years. Can nations attain their most vital foreign policy objectives in agreeable ways? Advocates of the concept of soft power have vociferously answered in the affirmative. After many years of thinking in the field of international affairs that the only effective path to influence in international politics was military and economic power, the idea of soft power offers new and exciting possibilities of gaining such influence through a more benign path, one that elevates cooperation and esteem as preferred alternatives to violence, threat and military capacity. This book posits that the realization of the full potential of soft power as a foundation for international relations is a crucial goal for our present world, one beset by war and planetary crises. The book will be of special interest to researchers across political science, international relations, cultural studies and foreign policy. It was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Political Power.
How do two conventionally powerful, nuclear armed, but commercially oriented great powers, reliant on sea lanes and global maritime infrastructure, engage in a long-term strategic rivalry? When do such competitions lead to crisis instability and even war? This book presents a research agenda using a variety of methods to explore this unique competitive environment for China and the United States. The most likely great power friction points today are located at sea. Any shots fired between China and the United States will likely be between navies and air forces rather than armies. While much security studies understandably concentrates on land forces, basic concepts such as the importance of territory, the offense-defense balance, technological competition, economic warfare, and crisis stability do not comfortably apply to maritime competition. The chapters in this volume consider the use of naval power-including blockades, naval diplomacy, fleet engagements, and nuclear escalation-across the spectrum of global politics and international conflict. The volume encourages applying the many classic approaches of security studies to this high-stakes relationship while considering maritime conflict as distinct from other forms, such as land and nuclear, that have traditionally occupied the field. This work will be of great interest to students of strategic studies, international relations, maritime security, and Asian-American politics. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Security Studies.
The Distributed Functions of Emergency Management and Homeland Security outlines the roles and responsibilities of various individuals and agencies involved in homeland security and all aspects of emergency management. Each chapter focuses on the practical and applied aspects of a range of public servants in various departments and the organizations that they represent. Rather than presenting a theoretical exploration alone, the book examines the practical knowledge and hands-on skills related to various functions and how their decisions and actions play into the larger framework of safety and security —in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Every professional has a unique and integral part to play in fulfilling their roles and obligations, whether it be in relation to prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response or recovery operations. Personnel that frequently come to mind in such scenarios include emergency managers, geographers and land-use planners, EMTs and paramedics, fire fighters, police officers, public health officials, nurses, public administrators, and public information officers. And while these individuals are integral to homeland security and emergency management, there are other professionals that also perform essential duties that—while they aren’t first-to-mind—are vital to efforts relating to terrorism and disasters; this includes pilots in the aviation sector, the military, attorneys, psychologists, and forensic professionals serving in pathology, DNA, and dentistry roles. Chapters provide a holistic rendering of the homeland security and emergency management landscape to present all these various professional capabilities and contributions. This includes how current functions are coordinated as well as how future efforts might change relative to a more proactive, all-hazards and holistic approach. As such, the book will be a useful resource for students and practitioners to understand the dynamic professions—and various disciplines and fields—that impact disaster and terrorism preparedness and response capabilities.
The Distributed Functions of Emergency Management and Homeland Security outlines the roles and responsibilities of various individuals and agencies involved in homeland security and all aspects of emergency management. Each chapter focuses on the practical and applied aspects of a range of public servants in various departments and the organizations that they represent. Rather than presenting a theoretical exploration alone, the book examines the practical knowledge and hands-on skills related to various functions and how their decisions and actions play into the larger framework of safety and security —in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. Every professional has a unique and integral part to play in fulfilling their roles and obligations, whether it be in relation to prevention, mitigation, preparedness, response or recovery operations. Personnel that frequently come to mind in such scenarios include emergency managers, geographers and land-use planners, EMTs and paramedics, fire fighters, police officers, public health officials, nurses, public administrators, and public information officers. And while these individuals are integral to homeland security and emergency management, there are other professionals that also perform essential duties that—while they aren’t first-to-mind—are vital to efforts relating to terrorism and disasters; this includes pilots in the aviation sector, the military, attorneys, psychologists, and forensic professionals serving in pathology, DNA, and dentistry roles. Chapters provide a holistic rendering of the homeland security and emergency management landscape to present all these various professional capabilities and contributions. This includes how current functions are coordinated as well as how future efforts might change relative to a more proactive, all-hazards and holistic approach. As such, the book will be a useful resource for students and practitioners to understand the dynamic professions—and various disciplines and fields—that impact disaster and terrorism preparedness and response capabilities.
The Good Friday Agreement is widely celebrated as a political success story, one that has brought peace to a region that was once synonymous around the globe with political violence. The truth, as ever, is rather more complicated than that. In many respects, the era of the peace process has seen Northern Irish society change almost beyond recognition. Those incidents of politically motivated violence that were once commonplace have become thankfully rare and a new generation has emerged whose identities and interests are rather more fluid and cosmopolitan than those of their predecessors. However, Northern Ireland continues to operate in the long shadow of its own turbulent past. Those who were victims of violence, as well as those who were its agents, have often been consigned to the margins of a society still struggling to cope with the traumas of the Troubles. Furthermore, the transition to 'peace' has revealed the existence of new, and not so new, forms of violence in Northern Irish society, directed towards women, ethnic minorities and the poor. Northern Ireland a generation after Good Friday sets out to capture the complex, and often contradictory, realities that have emerged more than two decades on from the region's vaunted peace deal. Across nine original essays, the authors offer a critical and comprehensive reading of a society that often appears to have left its violent past behind but at the same time remains subject to its gravitational pull. -- .
This groundbreaking volume explores the concept of self-censorship as it relates to individuals and societies and functions as a barrier to peace. Defining self-censorship as the act of intentionally and voluntarily withholding information from others in the absence of formal obstacles, the volumes introduces self-censorship as one of the socio-psychological mechanisms that prevent the free flow of information and thus obstruct proper functioning of democratic societies. Moreover it analyzes this socio-psychological phenomenon specifically in the context of intractable conflict, providing much evidence from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Moving from the micro to the macro level, the collected chapters put the individual as the focal unit of psychological analysis while embedding the individual in multiple levels of context including families, organizations, and societies. Following a firm conceptual explanation of self-censorship, a selection of both emerging and prominent scholars describe the ways in which self-censorship factors into families, organizations, education, academia, and other settings. Further chapters discuss self-censorship in military contexts, narratives of political violence, and the media. Finally, the volume concludes by looking at the ways in which harmful self-censorship in societies can be overcome, and explores the future of self-censorship research. In doing so, this volume solidifies self-censorship as an important phenomenon of social behavior with major individual and collective consequences, while stimulating exciting and significant new research possibilities in the social and behavioral sciences. Conceptually carving out a new area in peace psychology, Self Censorship in Contexts of Peace and Conflict will appeal to psychologists, sociologists, peace researchers, political scientists, practitioners, and all those with a wish to understand the personal and societal functioning of individuals in the real world.
This book analyzes the development and evolution of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, a multinational aircraft endeavor involving the U.S. and many of its allies. The author provides a historical overview of jet fighter aircraft, discussing the different generations of these planes and their technical characteristics, as well as an outline of emerging international geopolitical and security trends the F-35 may see combat in. By examining the role of defense industries, domestic politics, and governmental oversight of the Joint Strike Fighter in various countries, the author concludes that this aircraft will be deployed in most of these countries to replace their aging jet fighter fleets and combat potential military aggression from China, Russia, and other revisionist international powers.
This book investigates the use of duress as a defence in international criminal law, specifically in cases of child soldiers. The prosecution of children for international crimes often only focuses on whether children can and should be prosecuted under international law. However, it is rarely considered what would happen to these children at the trial stage. This work offers a nuanced approach towards international prosecution and considers how children could be implicated and defended in international courts. This study will be of interest to academics and practitioners working in international criminal law, transitional justice and children's rights.
The Fetish of Peace: The Myth of Transformational Peace is a critical theoretical exploration of the ways in which the concept of peace is utilized and managed by the international arena and statist systems, distinctive in that the concept of peace is consistently employed in various performances by the state, and international systems, to address serious issues/problems in the international community. Despite all the rhetoric of peace and actions taken in the name of peace, we find ourselves within the same cycle of violence.
This book traces the trajectory and different meanings of the concept of peacebuilding in the United Nations since the early 1990s. It analyses how that concept gained life in a particular context and the implications of this process for the Organisation's support to societies affected by armed conflict in general and for peace operations in particular. Departing from tenets about the influence of ideas in world politics and engaging with the critique of the liberal peace scholarship, the book provides a theoretically informed narrative of how peacebuilding acquired different meanings while remaining largely motivated, justified, legitimated and informed by a proactive and top-down agenda of promoting liberal democratic institutions, norms and values as a remedy to the challenges faced by societies affected by armed conflict. The book will appeal to scholars, policymakers and practitioners in peacebuilding and post-conflict development.
This book aims to advance the understanding of cultural property in armed conflict, and its significance for anti-terrorism and peace-building strategies. As the author argues, ISIS' orchestrated theft and destruction of cultural property has become a tactic of war. Through a historical, political, and legal analysis, this book explains the pathology of radical groups' behavior toward cultural objects as part of their terror campaign. Using constructivist ideas, it explains the importance of cultural property in the context of short-term and long-term security and analyzes the evolution of laws and policies to protect it.
War and conflict are a reality of life throughout the world. While much is written about the impact of violence and disorder, how people and organisations adapt to these environments is poorly understood. This book tells the often hidden story of people managing, delivering services and sustaining economies through and beyond violent conflict. It is written for both general readers and academic specialists, combining first person interviews, insights from 'witness seminars; and informal conversations with more scholarly research. Building on what we already know about organisational behavior and conflict transformation, the book looks at the delivery of housing and public amenities, the management of public space and commemoration and the role of local businesses during and beyond violent conflict. In particular, it focuses on the role of organisational managers as peacebuilding entrepreneurs, generating and sustaining conflict transformation efforts. |
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