Lecture 3 Flashcards
Four generations of research in conflict management
- First generation
1918-1945
Post WWI - Second generation
1945-1965
Post WWII, partly during Cold War - Third Generatoin
1965-1985
During Cold War - Fourth generation
1985-2005
End/post Cold War
United Nations 1945
The most significant institutional development in this span of first-generation of (conflict resolution) activity came with the formation of the United Nations (UN) (Ramsbotham et al 2016, p. 42).
“representatives of fifty countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up and agree the Charter of the United Nations” (…) (Ramsbotham et al 2016, p. 42). “(…) its formation marked a significant, even if imperfect, development historically in the evolution of world order (Ramsbotham et al 2016, p. 42).
United Nations 1945
The most significant institutional development in this span of first-generation of (conflict resolution) activity came with the formation of the United Nations (UN) (Ramsbotham et al 2016, p. 42).
“representatives of fifty countries met in San Francisco at the United Nations Conference on International Organization to draw up and agree the Charter of the United Nations” (…) (Ramsbotham et al 2016, p. 42). “(…) its formation marked a significant, even if imperfect, development historically in the evolution of world order (Ramsbotham et al 2016, p. 42).
Cold War rivalry of world powers 1947-1991
Cold War order was a bipolar world order in which two world
powers were competing for global power and influence
Cold War rivalries US and SU both UN Security Council members (with veto power): generally opposed UN involvement in the domestic affairs of their respective allies/client states.
US and SU mostly preoccupied with maintaining integrity of
their spheres of influence
United Nations peacekeeping during the Cold War rivalry
Cold War ideological differences made it impossible for UN
to promote any particular model of domestic governance in
individual states
On the grounds of sovereignty and non-intervention, UN
stayed out of domestic issues
UN focus then was predominantly on armed conflicts
between states (interstate conflict).
Since the UN began peacekeeping in 1948, the “blue berets” mainly focused on monitoring ceasefires, keeping conflict parties apart, and stabilizing situations on the ground. Until 1989, UN peacekeeping operations were required to maintain a strictly neutral role regarding the conflict parties (Guldimann 2010).
During the Cold War, the UN’s traditional peacekeeping operations remained stable at a relatively constant level of around 10,000 UN peacekeepers (Guldimann 2010).
Shifts in world order
Bipolar world order changed at the end of the Cold War: ‘The End of
History’. Fukuyama: “the end-point of mankind’s ideological evolution
and the universalization of Western liberal democracy as the final form of human government.” (appeared not so accurate, however)
From a bipolar world order (Cold War) to a temporary unipolar world (post-Cold War) into a more multipolar world order (present)
The end of communism did not bring peace to the world. On the
contrary, the number of open conflicts immediately rose and reached a peak of 55 wars in 1992 (Guldimann 2010).
Early twentieth century approx. 90 per cent of war victims were soldiers, at the end of the century (1990s) approximately 90 per cent of those killed in armed conflict were civilians (changing nature of warfare) (Paris 2004).
1990s saw intense conflicts: Balkans, Rwanda genocide, etc.
End of the Cold War: increased role for the UN and intervenHonism
The increase in post-Cold War armed conflicts created an increase demand for peacebuilding operations (Guldimann 2010)
Coincidingly, the changed political and ideological conditions of the Soviet defeat enabled a new role of peacebuilding in the world.
From non-intervention principles to interventionism: more space for
international actors to intervene in intrastate conflicts multilaterally (Ramsbotham et al. 2016).
For the first time, the Security Council entrusted the UN with its original role of guarantor of world peace; the UN became more involved in situations where states could not or would not protect their civilians.
Increased demand and political support also raised expectations addressed to the UN (Guldimann 2010).
At the same time, it seemed that modern conflicts became increasingly difficult to manage through external interventions. Non-state actors, not accountable to any government, play an increasing role (Guldimann 2010).
Shifts in the post-Cold War era
“The ending of the Cold War drew a line under what had been an
almost automatic backing of rival sides and regimes by the
superpowers and opened up the possibility of concerted external
action to end debilitating wars or overthrow repressive and
dangerous regimes, and subsequently help 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” (Ramsbotham et al. 2016, p. 241).
Seemed the UN Charter concept of collective defense against threat
to international peace and security might indeed become effective:
peace missions in Namibia, Angola, El Salvador, Cambodia, Mozambique, Haiti, Guatemala.
Significant increase of UN missions: from 8 UN mission in January
1988 to 17 missions in 1994. Military staff grew from about 10.000 to 70.000 (Van der Borg 2016). In 2014: 17 UN-missions with about 120.000 uniformed personnel (police/military) (Van der Borg 2016).
liberal peacebuilding
to build or rebuild state institutions and good governance, including democracy, develop a responsible civil society and promate a liberal market
global shifts after 9/11 2001
- War on terror, interventions in afghanistan and iraq
- new western perception found common ground: existential challenges to security no longer come from rival global powers but from failing or weak states (Newman 2013)
- ## peacebuildijng became more intimately part of the international security agenda. vieuwing conflit. weak statehood, and underdevelopment as a threat to international security has brought resources, aid and capacity building to conflict-prone countries
communal content
azar
anthropology, history, sociology
needs
azar
psychology, biology and development studies
governance
politics, political economy
international linkages
azar
international relations, strategic studies
activities in peace operations
newman 2013
slide 25
supporting ceasefires and peaceprocesses
demobilization and disarment of former combatans and reintegration them into society; stabilizing the economy
employment creation and economic development
repatriation of refugees and internally displaces persons; responding to food insecurity
strenghening law and order; promoting and facilitating democratic practices
….
