Hoorcollege 3: the conflict management field Flashcards
Generations of research in conflict management:
First generation: 1918-1945 (Post WW1).
Second generation: 1945-1965 (Post WW2, partly during the Cold War).
Third generation: 1965-1985 (During Cold War).
Fourth generation: 1985-2005 (end/post-Cold War).
Pros and cons of NGOs:
Pros: they are impartial, can reach into e.g., rebel-controlled lands (esp. smaller, local NGOs (whereas national development aid organizations cannot)).
Cons: often have problems with funding (for smaller ones) and don’t have as much of a political impact.
Main objective of (inter)national civil society organizations (CSOs):
Trying to hold governments accountable.
Why do we care about framing, interests and narratives in conflict management?
Ethically (we should care more about those who concern it most).
‘Unseen’ issues are only found by asking and looking at locals.
The purpose is to create better-tailored policy for those who are affected by the conflict.
Most significant institutional development during first generation of conflict resolution activity:
The formation of the UN
UN Peacekeeping during the Cold War rivalry (1947-1991)
The UN couldn’t promote any model of domestic governance in individual states. The focus was predominantly on interstate conflicts. The blue berets were mainly focused on monitoring ceasefires, keeping conflict parties apart and stabilizing situations on the ground. The UN’s traditional peacekeeping operations remained stable at a relatively constant level of around 10 000 peacekeepers.
Conflict management at the end of the Cold War
There was an increased role for the UN and interventionism. There was an increase in demand for peacebuilding. Because of the defeat of the S-U a new role of peacebuilding was enabled. There was more space for international actors to intervene in intrastate conflicts multilaterally. The Security Council entrusted the UN with its original role of guarantor of world peace for the first time. The UN became more involved in situations where states couldn’t or wouldn’t protect their civilians. The increased demand and political support raised the expectations addressed to the UN. At the same time, it seemed that modern conflicts became more increasingly difficult to manage through external interventions. Non-state actors who aren’t accountable to any government play an increasing role.
The Post-Cold War era
Opened up the possibility of concerted external action to end debilitating wars or overthrow repressive and dangerous regimes, and subsequently helped to create or rebuild domestic political capacity to the point where power could be safely handed back to a viable and internationally acceptable indigenous authority in the host country.
It seemed that the UN Charter concept of collective defense against threat to international peace and security might become effective.
There was an significant increase of UN missions.
There was some optimism about the abilities and possibilities to create a more peaceful world.
It went from realism and non-interventionism to interventionism and liberalism.
There was more liberal peacebuilding.
Marked the perceived triumph of liberal market democracy as the prevailing standard of enlightened governance across much of the world.
Liberal peacebuilding
To build or rebuild state institutions and good governance, including democracy, to develop a responsible civil society and promote a liberal market. Marketization and democratization.
Global shifts after 9-11
War on terror.
Weak or failing states were the main concern for western countries.
Peacebuilding became more intimately part of international security agenda
Important actors in peace operations
International actors: UN, World Bank, IMF.
National development agencies (implement programs through country offices in cooperation with local stakeholders; are significant both as financial donors and as field agencies; have interests in conflicts and cherrypick them): African Union, EU, NATO, etc.
International NGOs (give special attention to medical and humanitarian assistance, assisting displaced and vulnerable communites, facilitating community peacebuilding and reconciliation, assisting in local infrastructure reconstruction and supporting the development of local civil society.
National actors: government agencies, ministries, politicians, local civil society organizations,etc (in theory peacebuilding activites by almost all actors are undertaken in cooperation with national actors, but in practice this doesn’t always happen).
