The market for private military and security companies (PMSCs) has expanded drastically since the end of the Cold War. Although PMSCs are highly controversial security providers (with Blackwater as...Show moreThe market for private military and security companies (PMSCs) has expanded drastically since the end of the Cold War. Although PMSCs are highly controversial security providers (with Blackwater as the best-known example), these companies have become increasingly involved in UN peacebuilding. This prompts the question: Does the widespread use of PMSCs in UN peacebuilding enhance or undermine the effectiveness of peacebuilding missions? This study maintains that PMSCs have an innate tendency to harden (i.e. militarize) security risk management. They encourage humanitarian organizations to protect their personnel with barbed wired fences, security guards, protected convoys, and secure aid compounds, even if security risks are relatively low. This needlessly militarizes humanitarian space. Not only does it create a threatening environment around peace programs, it also increases physical and psychological barriers between humanitarian personnel and local communities. This disrupts the integration of interveners with their local environments and undermines some of the key requirements for effective peacebuilding.Show less
Hamas has changed considerably over the past 30 years. The movement that arose in 1987 as a military resistance originated as a charity organisation and nowadays participates in Palestinian...Show moreHamas has changed considerably over the past 30 years. The movement that arose in 1987 as a military resistance originated as a charity organisation and nowadays participates in Palestinian politics. Hamas entered Palestinian politics in 2005 when the Palestinians conducted the first free elections for the Palestinian National Authority (PA). Few expected Hamas to win the elections and Western diplomats had assessed Hamas as a radical Islamic organisation preferring violence over political participation to pursue its goals. However, Hamas won the elections and ended Fatah’ domination of the PA. After this victory, Hamas underwent a complex process to assert authority and control over the Gaza Strip in 2007. This complex process coincided with the transformation of Hamas from a resistance movement to a political party. This thesis focusses on this transition and aims to generate a better understanding of Hamas’ performance as a political party and what has been called a ‘rebel government’. This study explores whether the movement can function as a partner in dialogue for peace talks in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. To this end, this thesis aims to answer the following research question: To what extent is it possible for Hamas to become a legitimate partner in the dialogue regarding the peace process in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict?Show less
Women have proved to be crucial actors in successful peace processes, overcoming obstacles such as the lack of gender inclusivity in traditional peacebuilding. This thesis intends to analyse how...Show moreWomen have proved to be crucial actors in successful peace processes, overcoming obstacles such as the lack of gender inclusivity in traditional peacebuilding. This thesis intends to analyse how and under which circumstances does women's involvement in peacebuilding reach positive results in terms of gender gap and more effective post-conflict reconstruction. More specifically this work explores the differences between two cases, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, arguing that the key behind the success of the Rwandan example may be found by combining feminist theories and indigenous peacebuilding theories.Show less
In Egypt, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) continues to have a high prevalence, despite the recent criminalization of the practice. One possible reason why FGM holds on to its important position in...Show moreIn Egypt, Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) continues to have a high prevalence, despite the recent criminalization of the practice. One possible reason why FGM holds on to its important position in society is its link to the social and personal identity of the women themselves as well as their families. (Arts-based) Peacebuilding initiatives have used this link between FGM and identity to encourage Egyptians to abandon the practice. In the following thesis, this link is examined more closely, and it is examined why the link to identity is so important to peacebuilding initiatives.Show less
This thesis looks at the promotion of democracy within the Democratic Republic of Congo preformed by the UN mission MONUC. This thesis reasons that the strategy used within MONUC was not suitable...Show moreThis thesis looks at the promotion of democracy within the Democratic Republic of Congo preformed by the UN mission MONUC. This thesis reasons that the strategy used within MONUC was not suitable for the country as it was highly concentrated on the national level, barely taking the important local issues and causes for the continuing of violence into account. Next this thesis suggests that the promotion of democracy had unwanted side effects that partly evolved from the MONUC mandate that highly prioritised elections over the implementation of institutions that could have guided the elections and regulated the local security issues that the country was facing.Show less
This paper investigates the role of the 2000 Ugandan Amnesty Act in conflict resolution. Presently, scholars have focused on the role of amnesties in various contexts, yet neglected their role in...Show moreThis paper investigates the role of the 2000 Ugandan Amnesty Act in conflict resolution. Presently, scholars have focused on the role of amnesties in various contexts, yet neglected their role in conflict resolution. As the implementation of amnesties in conflict resolution is becoming increasingly more common, this gap in the literature should be addressed in order to be able to complement the ongoing debate on the value of amnesties. The conflict in Uganda provides for new and ample data that provide further perspective on amnesties as a means for conflict resolution. The Ugandan Amnesty aimed to advance conflict resolution by reintegrating former LRA combatants. To measure whether reintegration has been successful, the successes in social and economic reintegration have been considered. Reintegration has been considered a success in Uganda as the probability of continuation of the conflict has decreased and consequently, the role of the Amnesty can be considered significant.Show less
This thesis is a functional analysis of the role that International Civil Society has played in working within Colombia to locally facilitate the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accords Agreement.
The purpose of this thesis is to analyse to what extent restorative justice and reconciliation processes take into account the needs of the victims of the non-abducted victims and victims of child...Show moreThe purpose of this thesis is to analyse to what extent restorative justice and reconciliation processes take into account the needs of the victims of the non-abducted victims and victims of child soldiers in post-conflict Northern Uganda. In order to do this, this thesis will firstly put the case study into a historical perspective, and will then compose a theoretical framework linking restorative justice and reconciliation to sustainable peacebuilding. A thorough analysis of the existing restorative justice practices and the specific role of the victims in these practices will be examined. Finally, by identifying the needs of these victims, and the limitations in their correct representation in current restorative justice practices, this thesis aims to find out how non-abducted victims deal with a legacy of a painful past whilst simultaneously constructing a foundation for sustainable peace.Show less
Somalia and (South) Sudan belong to the most troubled countries in the world. All three of them are classified within the bottom 20% of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. Similarly, they have...Show moreSomalia and (South) Sudan belong to the most troubled countries in the world. All three of them are classified within the bottom 20% of the UNDP’s Human Development Index. Similarly, they have consistently been ranked in the top-5 of the Fragile States Index. Unsurprisingly, the contemporary history of Somalia and Sudan is characterized by chronic insecurity because of recurring civil wars between ethnic, tribal or clan-based groups and their governments. Therefore, the vast majority of international involvement in the Horn of Africa during the last twenty years has been directed at these countries. However, despite this ample attention, the deployed international military forces have thus far been unable to re-establish secure environments and rebuild state structures. Focusing on five distinct military interventions from 1990 to roughly 2010, this inquiry aims to measure the qualitative and quantitative contributions of Security Sector/System Reform (SSR) to the restoration of the state’s monopoly on the legitimate use of force. To this end, it addresses e.g. the progress made within Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) programs. This inquiry then attempts to assess the legitimacy of the post-conflict state reconstruction effort by looking at e.g. the empowerment of civil society representatives and the progress made within community confidence-building measures. In doing so, this inquiry adopts Paul D. Miller’s concept of ‘armed state building’ as a theoretical framework. It therewith argues that – despite a growing number of criticisms – liberal institution-building has since the end of the Cold War remained the prevailing paradigm of state reconstruction efforts. Based on a reading of relevant literature, this inquiry contends that group identities in Somalia and Sudan have become interwoven with relative deprivation between them. The result have been enduring crises of citizenship and legitimacy in the state which continue to feed narratives that help to mobilize groups for violence. This inquiry finds that SSR has managed to increase the capacities of security and justice institutions, albeit in a vacuum. Analyses indicate how the (re)-established state institutions overall have been rather a-contextual, a-historic and frequently paralleled more capable, indigenous mechanisms. Simultaneously, the problems within the state’s legitimacy domain illustrate the complex environments, wherein international military forces e.g. were hampered by their cooperation with problematic local partners. This points to limitations within the military spheres of influence that affect soldiers’ ability to address the ‘root causes’ of conflict. This, in turn, leads to questions of how SSR should otherwise be treated within their activities, and how these armed state building efforts could best be complemented.Show less
After violence has been stopped in conflicts the international community has attempted to build durable peace in the conflict regions. Previous research focused on the success of and the criticism...Show moreAfter violence has been stopped in conflicts the international community has attempted to build durable peace in the conflict regions. Previous research focused on the success of and the criticism on UN-led peacebuilding while not considering unilateral peacebuilding in detail. This thesis hypothesizes that peacebuilding by the US before the rise of the UN is more successful than unilateral peacebuilding thereafter. Furthermore, a US peacebuilding mission before the rise of the UN will be more expansive with regard to the instruments used than a mission after the rise of the UN. 15 cases that took place before and after the rise of the UN confirm that US peacebuilding efforts were indeed more successful before the rise of the UN. These cases reveal that peacebuilding not necessarily became less expansive after the rise of the UN but that the nature of peacebuilding shifted towards democratization and financial aid, for instance.Show less
The research question in this thesis is: how do the measures of the Peacebuilding Commission in Guinea stimulate the implementation of civic nationalism in order to achieve positive peace? Firstly...Show moreThe research question in this thesis is: how do the measures of the Peacebuilding Commission in Guinea stimulate the implementation of civic nationalism in order to achieve positive peace? Firstly a literature review shows that the combination of nationalism studies and peace studies is not often made, which results in a lacuna. Secondly the theory-section sets out a theory about how nationalism can contribute to peacebuilding. Thirdly the data and methodology-section explains which materials and methods are being used. Fourthly, the context provides the necessary information to understand the analysis. Fifthly, the analysis follows, divided in three parts: national education, national symbolism and national reconciliation. Each part shows the plans of the peacebuilding missions, reviews it first steps and analyses its effects. Sixthly, the conclusion follows that this thesis is a small step in investigating the relationship between nationalism and peacebuilding.Show less
Advanced master thesis | Political Science (Advanced Master)
open access
Peacebuilding is a critical element of both real-world international relations and academic conflict resolution. Cosmopolitan peacebuilding scholars and critics have entered into a debate in recent...Show morePeacebuilding is a critical element of both real-world international relations and academic conflict resolution. Cosmopolitan peacebuilding scholars and critics have entered into a debate in recent years. Each group makes different assumption, arguments, and predictions about what motivates the actors engaged in peacebuilding; how such activities are designed, organized, and implemented; and what the outcomes and impact of peacebuilding are. In this thesis, I examine history education reform projects in Bosnia and Macedonia in order to determine which theory has greater explanatory power. I find that these two cases generally support the assumptions, arguments, and predictions of cosmopolitan peacebuilding scholars. However, these projects also validate several points made by critics. My findings have many important implications for the conflict resolution and history education fields.Show less
