Profile and Life Span of the PKK Guerillas

This study attempts to explore the span of a life in a specific terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). It suggests the following: The average lifespan of a person in the PKK is about two-and-a-half years (i.e., not a very long one). Females join the PKK at a younger age (about 1.4 years) and die at a younger age (about 1.4 years) compared to males, but their lifespan is not any different than that of males. The age at which a PKK member joins the organization, and the age at which (s)he dies varies by year. The age at which a PKK member joins the organization, and the age at which (s)he dies varies by where (s)he comes from. Still, another interesting observation is that the average lifespan of a PKK member varies by where (s)he comes from.     

Violence and nationalist mobilization: the onset of the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey

According to theories of nonviolent resistance, violence is counterproductive and undermines the ability of a movement to achieve mass support. At the same time, studies of ethnic insurgencies suggest that violence is the only available method of mobilization in political systems characterized by entrenched ethnic hierarchies. Engaging with these arguments, this article addresses a historical puzzle: What factors explain the timing and ability of the PKK's (Partiye Karkerên Kurdistan) rise as the hegemonic Kurdish nationalist organization in Turkey between the late 1970s and 1990? The article argues that studies that identify Kurdish nationalism as a reaction to repressive policies of the Turkish state without paying attention to prevailing social conditions and oppositional strategies fail to provide a satisfactory response. It argues that the rise of the PKK was primarily a function of its ability to gain support among the peasantry in deeply unequal rural areas through its strategic employment of violence. It also identifies four causal mechanisms of PKK recruitment based on rich archival and field research: credibility, revenge, social mobility, and gender emancipation.     

The Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) as Criminal Syndicate: Funding Terrorism through Organized Crime,A Case Study

Scholars have long recognized that terrorist groups have engaged in transnational organized crime activities. But the question that comes up is, “When does a criminal enterprise become a terrorist group or vice versa?” Terrorist groups have used physical violence, participated in weapons and drug trafficking networks, immigrant smuggling, and money laundering. More recently a number of terrorist groups have established what Jonathan White has referred to as “illegal multinational criminal organizations.” This article will examine the convergence of terrorism and organized crime through the prism of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).     

The political economy of the cycles of violence and non-violence in the Sikh struggle for identity and political power: implications for Indian federalism

This paper presents a critique of the essentialist notions of any community as a pacifist or militant community by examining the long history of the cycles of violence and non-violence in the evolution of the Sikh community in the Indian subcontinent. The theoretical premise of the paper is that communities' resort to violence and non-violence is determined by their strategic perspectives to achieve their politico-economic goals and not from any doctrinal adherence to violence or non-violence. The paper attempts a panoramic view of over 500 years of Sikh history (1469 – 2006) and offers a reinterpretation of that history by locating cycles of violence and non-violence in their historical context. It then provides a politico-economic perspective on violence and non-violence in their struggle for identity and political power. It focuses more on an analysis of the recent political conflict between Sikh militants and the Indian state, and concludes by drawing out the policy implications of that analysis for the politics of the modern Indian state regarding the Sikhs of Punjab. It identifies federal arrangements and human rights as issues of key importance in the political economy of this relationship.     

试析中国在苏丹西部达尔富尔地区冲突中的立场

本研究主要关注从2003年到2008年12月中国对苏丹西部达尔富尔地区冲突的立场。苏丹国内和国际上都有人指责中国与苏丹政府之间存在着特殊关系,向苏丹政府提供了无条件的支持。中国也被指责阻碍了旨在推动苏丹政府和平解决达尔富尔冲突、停止该地区蔓延的暴力活动的国际决议。这在很大程度上困扰了中国外交,使中国外交投入了宝贵的精力和时间,来为自己的立场辩护,并在国际舆论面前改善自己的形象。实际上,这是对中国在达尔富尔冲突中立场的误读,忽视了中国立场的转变和为冲突解决所发挥的积极作用。     

The Coming Genocide? Burundi's Past,Present, and Potentially Deadly Future

The Great Lakes region of Africa is the most conflict-prone region of the world and one current concern is political violence in Burundi. This research investigates whether Burundi is on the precipice of a genocide. Burundi's weak democratic norms, genocidal history, and the impact of contagion and diffusion of violence in the region provide a number of the conditions that could contribute to a genocide. This research investigates the past and present conflict variables of the Great Lakes region with a focus on Burundi and assesses the potential that the ongoing political violence in Burundi will lead to genocide.     

Armed Conflict and Adolescents’ Early Transition to Childbearing

We estimate the effect of armed conflict on adolescents’ childbearing transition. Three types of models are estimated: models in origin, which determine the current effect of violence; context change models, which estimate the effect of decreased violence levels; and violence aftermath models, which indicate the groups that do not completely adapt to a peaceful context. Through multilevel logistic models, we find that the coefficient of violence depends on the municipality in where adolescents reside or resided. We conclude that violence promotes the transition to childbearing particularly among rural females. However, a reduction in violence levels reduces the probabilities of childbearing.     

Crime,politics and business in 1990s Ukraine

In contrast to Russian studies, the study of crime and corruption in Ukraine is limited to a small number of scholarly studies while there is no analysis of the nexus between crime and new business and political elites with law enforcement (Kuzio, 2003a, Kuzio, 2003b). This is the first analysis of how these links emerged in the 1990s with a focus on the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts) and the Crimea, two regions that experienced the greatest degree of violence during Ukraine's transition to a market economy. Donetsk gave birth to the Party of Regions in 2001 which has become Ukraine's only political machine winning first place plurality in three elections since 2006 and former Donetsk Governor and party leader Viktor Yanukovych was elected president in 2010 (Zimmer, 2005, Kudelia and Kuzio, 2014). Therefore, an analysis of the nexus that emerged in the 1990s in Donetsk provides the background to the political culture of the country's political machine that, as events have shown since 2010 and during the Euro-Maydan, is also the party most willing in Ukraine to use violence to achieve its objectives.     

Containing Conflict or Instigating Unrest? A Test of the Effects of State Infrastructural Power on Civil Violence

Several scholars argue that state infrastructural power affects the likelihood of civil violence yet make competing claims. Some propose that states with high levels of infrastructural power instigate violence by reducing local autonomy, while others suggest infrastructural power endows states with the capacity to contain civil violence. We test these claims using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Through a pooled time-series analysis of 32 former British colonies, we find that infrastructural power is not significantly related to civil violence, suggesting either that infrastructural power has no effect or no net effect. Then, through case studies of Burma and Botswana, we investigate the impact of infrastructural power on civil violence, focusing on mechanisms and causal conditions. The case studies provide evidence that infrastructural power produces competing mechanisms that negate any net effect and that different conditions and policies affect whether a state’s level of infrastructural power contains conflict or instigates unrest.     

Ethnicity and conflict severity: accounting for the effect of co-ethnic and non-ethnic militias on battlefield lethality

How does the presence of armed pro-regime groups affect conflict lethality? This study examines the relationship between ethnicity, militia violence and conflict lethality in civil wars. We emphasise that differences in whether pro-regime militias were recruited in accordance with their ethnicity or not are critical in their influence upon conflict lethality, which we estimate in battlefield deaths. To that end, we categorise militias into groups recruited on their ethnic basis (co-ethnic militias) and those recruited regardless of their ethnicity (non-ethnic militias). We hypothesise that conflicts are more lethal when non-ethnic militias are involved. We link higher number of battle-deaths in conflicts with non-ethnic militias with the militia use of one-sided violence against civilians. Co-ethnic militias – that is militias recruited from the same ethnicity as rebels – are deployed amongst their co-ethnics and therefore tend to target civilians less than non-ethnic militias. This militia–civilian relationship has direct impact on conflict severity. To test our hypotheses we conduct global statistical analysis of 84 intrastate conflicts from 1989 to 2014.     

Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence in Caribbean Communities

SUMMARY

A decade after the courts in many English-speaking Caribbean jurisdictions were granted the power to issue restraining orders to victims of domestic violence, battered women have not experienced the full benefits of such policy. Using the experiences of battered women in the English-speaking Caribbean state of Barbados, this study argues that there are significant challenges for victims, caused by cultural, social and economic factors that have not been appropriately addressed by domestic violence legislation. Marginalized by the court and legal system in the English-speaking Caribbean, many battered women seek out alternatives to the legal system for coping with domestic violence. Therefore when they migrate to countries like the United States where more accommodations are made for victims of domestic violence, they are unlikely to engage with the legal system and make their suffering known. Women might also be silenced by fears of violating immigration laws in the United States as well as risking personal loss due to the severe punishment of their partners when indicted by the legal system.     

Co‐operation and the urban environment: An exploration

Many urban environmental problems (such as littering of streets) arise from the open access character of the resource concerned and can be analysed in the framework of co‐operation. Studies in the context of rural commons have indicated that though seeming to be violating a narrow definition of rationality, people do cooperate. This paper attempts to explore some issues in the context of the urban environment, focusing on solid waste management in Madras, India, and a co‐operation based institution called Exnora. A number of hypotheses on the conditions affecting co‐operation are examined. While group size may be relevant for costs, it does not have any impact on co‐operation. The management style of committees and economies of scope seem to be important.     

Reflections on rural violence in Latin America

In recent decades rural violence has escalated in many Latin American countries. Although there is a growing body of literature on the topic, there exist as yet few comparative studies. While there are undoubtedly multiple and evolving causes of violence, this exploratory article focuses on the relationship between sociopolitical violence and agrarian structure and state policy. Particular attention is paid to the impact of agrarian reform and counter-reform experiences on rural conflicts and violence. A contrast is also drawn with countries which have not undergone any significant land reform. The cases discussed are Chile, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico and several Central American countries (Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador). The complexity of rural violence is demonstrated and the case for further comparative studies is argued, so as to advance our knowledge on the causes, consequences and resolution of violence.     

Intellectual Property and Food Security in Least Developed Countries

This paper analyses the impact of intellectual property laws on food security in Least Developed Countries (LDCs), taking the Pacific Islands countries as an example. It argues that ip laws are increasingly impacting upon food security, but are not being adequately taken into account in national policy development. Consequently, national ip regimes are developing in ways that undermine, rather than promote, food security. The paper argues that the particular context of LDCs, including a lack of technological development and reliance upon traditional agricultural systems, requires an approach to intellectual property that is substantially different from the ‘one size fits all’ approach mandated by the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.     

V for Vendetta: Government Mass Killing and Domestic Terrorism

Scholarship explores the impact of human rights abuse and state repression on terrorism. Heretofore, scholarship has ignored the impact of government-sponsored killings on domestic terrorism. This article proposes that mass killings create a focal point for terrorist mobilization. The vendetta agenda fuels violence by animating retributory violence. Additionally, mass atrocities create a permissive environment for violent nonstate activity. A spiral of violence ensues whereby groups resort to terrorism. Utilizing data from the Global Terrorism Database, 1971–2011, the study shows that mass killings significantly increase domestic terrorism. It contributes to emerging scholarship examining how state policies influence terrorist activity.     

Chapter 10. Central American Survivors of Political Violence

Abstract

Despite compelling, well-documented findings on the levels of stress and trauma among Central American refugees, this group continues to be underserved. A host of issues contributes to this underservice, ranging from macro-level imposed obstacles, such as citizenship and health insurance as determining factors for accessing social and health services, to institutional factors that impede service utilization, such as an insufficient number of translators or a cumbersome and confusing bureaucracy. This chapter adopts a human rights framework as a strategy for working with groups of Central Americans who have experienced political violence. The ongoing effects of political violence on Central Americans, as they relate to mental and physical health problems, are reviewed and a case vignette is used to illustrate how political violence affects individuals and how macro-level forces and institutions create barriers to access and use of health care and social services. Treatment approaches for helping survivors of political violence in the context of a human rights framework are suggested.     

The PKK Problem: Explaining Turkey's Failure to Develop a Political Solution

This article discusses why Turkey has failed to propose an effective political solution of the Kurdish problem. It is argued that Turkey's failure to propose an effective political agenda is the main explanation of why Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan (PKK) insurgency has been rampant for so long. Turkey's commitment to militaristic methods worsened the Kurdish problem by creating deeper social problems. Furthermore, it is argued that the explanations tendered also point out the important factors that may affect the fate of any political agenda on the Kurdish problem, including that of the recent Kurdish initiative of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.     

Psychological Barriers to a Peaceful Resolution: Longitudinal Evidence from the Middle East and Northern Ireland

Does individual-level exposure to political violence prompt conciliatory attitudes? Does the answer vary by phase of conflict? The study uses longitudinal primary datasets to test the hypothesis that conflict-related experiences impact conciliation. Data were collected from Israeli Jews, Palestinians, and Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. Across both contexts, and among both parties to each conflict, psychological distress and threat perceptions had a polarizing effect on conciliatory preferences. The study highlights that experiences of political violence are potentially a crucial source of psychological distress, and consequently, a continuing barrier to peace. This has implications in peacemaking, implying that alongside removing the real threat of violence, peacemakers must also work toward the social and political inclusion of those most affected by previous violence.     

The violence work of transnational gangs in Central America

Abstract

According to international relations scholars, an important change taking place in the post-Cold War context concerns the lethality of non-state armed groups (NSAGs). Underlying this observation is the conventional assumption that non-state violence is intrinsically illegitimate. This article shifts the analysis of violence away from the terrain of legitimacy, which tends to moralise the difference between state and non-state forces, and towards the terrain of work, where their violence features as part and not separate from a shared political economy. I propose the notion of violence work as a resourceful analytic into the dialectics of everyday violence and the complex processes of value production in social life. Against the background of the extreme cruelty attributed to transnational gangs in Central America, I argue that their violence work is expressive of prevailing modes of accumulating wealth in the region. Drawing on multi-sited fieldwork in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador and Mexico, I show how gang violence work animates a system of economic cooperation that engages a wide array of subjects who traverse state/non-state and legal/illegal divides.     

The muslim experience in the Balkan states, 1919‐1991

This article analyzes the effects of nationalizing policies of the state, processes of democratization, and uneven socio-economic development on the rise of Kurdish ethno-mobilization led by the PKK terrorist organization since the 1980s in Turkey. Three features of the Turkish modernization context are identified as conducive for the rise and continuation of Kurdish ethno-mobilization: a) a nation-building autocratic state that resisted granting cultural rights and recognition for the Kurds; b) democratization with the exclusion of ethnic politics and rights; c) economic regional inequality that coincided with the regional distribution of the Kurdish population. It is argued that autocratic policies of the state during nation-building accompanied the development of an illiberal democracy and intolerance for cultural pluralism. These aspects of Turkish democracy seem to be incompatible with both the liberal and consociational models of democracy that accommodate ethnicity within multiculturalism.