Course Labs Flashcards
What are Greed & Grievences (Collier & Hoeffler)
Greed
Combatants are motivated by a desire to better their situation and perform an
informal cost-benefit analysis in
examining if the rewards of joining
a rebellion are greater than not joining.
Grievances
People rebel over issues of identity rather than over economics.
Democracies VS Anocracies
Anocracies (middle between democracy and autocracy/dictator)
Democracies are the most
peaceful regime type
Anocracies are more susceptible
to conflict (civil war) than are
either pure democracies or pure
dictatorships
What is the effect of Education in Conflict?
Education has a general
pacifying effect on conflict
.
Inequality between individuals
(level of education) does not
matter for conflict, but inter
group inequality does.
Curricula with nationalist
ideology could have an impact
on inter-group animosity
What are the most important facts about the Rwanda Case?
Context:
Increasing ethnic strife (Hutu vs.
Tutsi; Hutu vs. Hutu moderates)
Actors:
Hutu government/Interahamwe,
United Nations
Casualties:
800.000 – 1 million
Mode of warfare:
Genocide
International intervention:
Yes, but…
Causes
Grievance amongst disenfranchised
Hutu majority
Polarization
Trends & Consequences
Ethnic conflict, peace operations
Pledge to prevent similar atrocities in
the future (e.g. R2P), but…
What are the most important facts about the Afghanistan Case?
Context:
International conflict with 4 phases
topple Taliban, rebuild, protect & withdraw
Actors:
Taliban, Al-Qaeda, US, NATO
Casualties:
>170.000
Mode of warfare:
Insurgency; asymmetric warfare
International intervention:
Yes
Causes
Weak institutions (failed state)
Ideology
Ethnic/sectarian/regional cleavages &
education
Trends & Consequences
Insurgency/asymmetric warfare
Reluctance for boots-on-the-ground
missions & state-building efforts
What are the most important facts about the Ukraine Case?
Context:
Euromaidan protests, annexation of Crimea, (Russian)
insecurity, geopolitics, history (Warsaw Pact)
Actors:
Russia, Ukraine, Luhansk & Donetsk
People’s Republics
Casualties:
>14.000 (pre-2022)
Mode of warfare:
Hybrid? (pre-2022) Now?
International intervention:
NO?
Causes
Nationalism
Putin’s geopolitical & Ukraine’s EU &
NATO ambitions
Trends & Consequences
Proxy warfare (pre-2022), inter-state
conventional warfare (now)
Hybrid warfare (?)/Information warfare (still?)
What is War according to Clausewitz
War = Unlimited violence
War = The continuation of politics by other means
War = a paradoxical trinity
What is the trinitarian nature of war?
**Primary Trinity
**-
- Violence / Emotion
- Chance / Luck
- Rational Purpose
Secondary Trinity
- People
- Military
- Government
What are the most important critiques on Clausewits
- Modern military power is simply irrelevant as instrument for political interest
- No mention of economy
- No mention of technology
- No mention of Moral Conduct
What is Jus ad Bellum and Jus in Bello?
Jus ad bellum
- Justification or reasons for war, or its prevention
- When is the resorting to force legal
- Seeks to limit resort to force between states
Only exceptions in starting war:
1. Right of self-defense
2. Collective Security Mechanism (UNSC Authorisation)
Jus in bello
Justification in war
Laws that govern the way in which warfare is conducted
Seeks to limit the suffering caused by war.
4 Principles
1. Distiction / Non-combatant immunity
2. Proportionality
3. Necessity
4. Humane treatment and non-discrimination
What is Genocide?
any of the following acts commited with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
- Killing members of the group
- Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
- Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
- Imposing measures indented to prevent births within the group
- Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
What are Crimes Against Humanity
Widespread or systemeatic attack directed against any civilian population with knowledge of the attack.
- Murder
- Extermination
- Enslavement
- Deportation or forcible transfer of population
- Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law
- Torture
- Rape, sexual slavery etc etc
- Persecution against any identifiable group or collectively on political, racial, national ethnic etc.
- Enforced Disappearance of persons
- Apartheid
- Other inhumane act of similar character
What is negative peace and postive peace?
Negative peace is the absence of violence or fear of violence
- Also referred to as “Unstable” peace
- Present in situations where armed forces are not deployed but parties perceive one another as enemies and maintain deterrent military capabilities
- The balance of power may discourage aggresion, but crisis and war are still possible
Positive peace is the attitudes institutions & structures that create and sustain peaceful societies
Also understood as warm peace or durable peace, is all the ways in which actors can sustain a peaceful society.
Positive peace is achieved through:
- Shared values and goals
- Institutions (political systems and rule of law)
- Economic interdependence
- A sense of international community
What is Conflict prevention & mediation
Diplomatic measures to prevent escalation
What is Peacemaking?
Practical facilitation of peace negotiations/agreement
What is peace enforcement?
Application of coercive measures including use of force, in order to restore peace (UNSC Authorization)
What is Peacekeeping?
Preserving peace and supporting implementation of ceasefires/peace agreements
What is Peacebuilding?
Reducing risk of relapsing into conflict and laying foundation for sustainable peace and development.
Waht organisation do peacekeeping?
- NATO
- EU
- UN
- African Union
- ECOWAS
- Multinational Forces & Observers
- Nonviolent Peaceforce
What is the peacekeeping trinity
- Consent of the parties
- Minimal/non-use of force except in self-defence and defence of the mandate
- Impartiality
What type of peace operationsn are there?
Traditional PKO’s
1. Observer mission
2. Traditional Mission
Transformational
1. Multidimensional mission
2. Enforcement mission
How can effectiveness of peacekeeping missions be measured?
- Reduction in level of violence
- Decrease in the duration of conflict
- Increase in the longevity of peace
- Limiting the risk of conflict spread
- WATCH OUT FOR Counter Factual Measurement
What are the limitations of peacekeeping?
- National interests & Lack of political will
- Lack of resources
- Insufficient mandate
- Difficult multinational cooperation
- Bureaucratic organization of UN
What are the concerns of peace operations
- Sexual abuse
- Deficient oversight (Mismanagement, fraud and corruption)
- Unintended consequences (Negligence and sanitation problem)
- Stasis and ineffectiveness (Long-lasting operations with no result)
- Quagmire (some operations are beyond the strengths of UN peacekeeping)
- Limited civilian protection
- Post-colonial control (implicit motives)
What is humane warfare
Humane warfare is in itself a paradox: how can war be humane?
Nowadays there is a push to ‘make war more humane’ for example through drones or long-range missiles (humane in that you protect your own), but even so, people are dying -> war cannot be humane
What is Lawfare?
Lawfare: trying to use (international) law to justify what you’re doing “Ukraine belongs to them and they are one and the same”, but international law sees Ukraine as a sovereign country therefore there is also a paradox
What is Risk Transfer Warfare
Risk Transfer Warfare: similar to humane warfare, by protecting your own people/soldiers you transfer that risk onto those receiving.
How do you know if your drone strikes only kill combatants and innocent people aren’t hit?
