South Africa’s peacebuilding in the DRC: Convergence and dissonance with the liberal model

The task of transforming countries affected by conflict towards sustainable peace has been a persistent problem. In response to growing intra-state conflict in the post-Cold War era, it has become the norm to prescribe a cocktail of liberal democracy and free-market economics as a universal formula for building peaceful societies. South Africa, since its post-democratic emergence into global affairs, has also been active in promoting peace in Africa along similar lines. This article embarks on an exploratory qualitative analysis of South Africa’s peacebuilding engagements in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). It aims to contribute a better understanding of South Africa’s peacebuilding engagements by utilising the DRC case study to point out areas of convergence and dissonance with the dominant liberal model of peacebuilding. The article finds that, although peppered with successes and failures, South Africa does approach peacebuilding in a unique manner. It also calls for a revision of South Africa’s approach, given the varying levels of success in the DRC.     

Kinshasa: An urban elite considers city,nation and state

The declining salience of the nation state has led to an interest in whether other socially constructed forms, such as the city, have replaced it as a source of accumulation, belief and identity. This article seeks to explore whether this is true in the case of the capital of one of Africa's least successful states, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A survey explored the views towards the city of Kinshasa on the past of a variety of middle-class professional people as potential leaders in different occupations resident in different quarters of the city with roots in different parts of the DRC. Despite their somewhat abject material condition and despite extensive contacts internationally, the old dream of the nation state remains relatively strong among them while feelings towards the city largely reflect its situation in that dream rather than any new kind of loyalty. Members this class have extensive national networks of professional contact that help define their identity. New kinds of urban identity with cultural or political meaning beyond this could not be discerned contrary to the perspective held out initially.     

Whither peacebuilding? A reflection on post-conflict African experiences

Peacebuilding is a key concept in efforts to reconstruct African states emerging from conflicts. At heart, it captures the whole array of activities associated with state-and nation-building in addition to building the foundations for local ownership of these processes. Popularised by the UN Secretary-General Boutros-Boutros Ghali in the early 1990s, peacebuilding has evolved alongside peacemaking and peacekeeping in the reconstruction repertoire. This article suggests that while there is considerable scepticism about the utility of peacebuilding in contemporary conflict resolution efforts, African experiences have, since the 1990s, provided solid lessons to both local and international actors on how to rebuild states, societies, polities, and economies.     

Astuteness in Commitment: Rwanda and UN Peacekeeping 1994–2014

Abstract

This article traces Rwanda’s history under German and Belgian colonialism, through independence and genocide to international respectability and membership of the Commonwealth. It examines Rwanda’s impressive contributions to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces. There is no single explanation for the magnitude of Rwanda’s contribution. It owes something to Rwanda’s commitment to ‘African solutions for African problems’. Deployment is relatively cheap and allows Rwanda to use its participation for political leverage in international affairs, to attract donors and to benefit financially. Peacekeeping is a factor in the astute foreign policy of Paul Kagame’s government that enhances its authority and stability at home and its prestige abroad.     

The Making of Democratic Citizens: How Regime‐Specific Socialization Shapes Europeans’ Expectations of Democracy

When analysing support for democracy, researchers tend to assume that ‘democracy’ is a concept that travels across countries. This paper argues that democracy is not the same thing for every citizen, because collective and individual socialization experiences strongly shape the criteria citizens expect a democracy to fulfil. Based on the literature on varieties of democracy, I suppose that individual expectations of democracy are influenced by regime‐specific socialization, and depend on the democratic history, authoritarian legacies, and the prevalent democratic model. Due to socialization and democratic learning, individuals acquire democratic preferences and value those dimensions more which they experience in their own democracy. Using data from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Democracy Barometer, I test how the national democratic context in 26 European democracies influences these individual democratic ideals. I find evidence for both socialization and participation effects of the democratic context on citizens’ democratic expectations.     

The Mouvement du 23 Mars and the dynamics of a failed insurgency in the Democratic Republic of Congo

This article analyses the link between the decision by the Mouvement du 23 Mars (M23) to occupy the city of Goma in November 2012 and the group's demise a year later in the hands of the revamped Congolese national army supported by the Intervention Brigade of the United Nations. The article argues that the military defeat of the M23 presents peace stakeholders in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Great Lakes region with a valuable opportunity. The rebels' defeat emboldens the Congolese national army and the Intervention Brigade with regard to their ability to take on insurgent groups while raising the cost of continued rebellion for the latter and their potential backers. Although not a panacea for peace in the Great Lakes region, this turn of events should contribute towards stemming the tide of recurring rebellions in the DRC while paving the way for peaceful political engagements among Congolese socio-political stakeholders, on the one hand, and between the DRC and its eastern neighbours, mainly Rwanda and Uganda, on the other hand.     

Best practices for the management of knowledge for conflict resolution: Lessons learned from the Great Lakes region of Africa

Abstract

This article deals with the management of knowledge for conflict resolution and innovation in Africa. After a brief discussion of the research methodology followed, a feedback is provided on the field study conducted from 2006 to 2008 in northern Uganda and Rwanda and at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha, Tanzania, and in the DRC. As a result of the field study, certain principles and practices were identified whereby the challenges facing Africa could be examined. The author found five ‘realms’ in which knowledge management can take place and that traditional knowledge practices, if merged with more modern knowledge management practices, provide a valuable framework for using knowledge management for conflict resolution and innovation in Africa. Best practices that were identified include an intra-connected and collective knowledge production system and the production of tacit knowledge, especially among the new generation or youth. Furthermore, the importance of intellectual capital (in the form of value-driven leadership, competent managers and expert knowledge workers) and the activation of an intervention into the continuous spiral of violent conflict which will ultimately lead to the innovative transformation of African society are discussed. Finally, some recommendations are offered as possible solutions for conflict resolution and innovation in Africa.     

The civilised Self and the barbaric Other: ex-rebels making sense of sexual violence in the DR Congo

This article addresses discourses on gender and sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Based on discussions with 101 ex-combatants, we examine how former FDLR members make sense of sexual violence by studying prevailing gendered images of Self and Other. This analysis of potential perpetrators' mindset is part of the puzzle to find preventive measures. The findings demonstrate that ex-combatants attribute overwhelming power to biological ‘givens’ such as ‘urges’, ‘basic needs’ and ‘domination’ in their interpretation of sexuality. They also differentiate themselves from out-groups - enemy fighters and other nationals, especially Congolese - by attributing the latter with lower degrees of restraint. These insights demonstrate that a process of Othering is at work at the intersection of sex-gender-nation within the Congolese warscape, which complicates existing knowledge of sexual violence. The findings also suggest that the theoretical understanding of the phenomenon of sexual violence in war needs to place the notion of intersectionality central stage.     

Radicalization of Russians in Ukraine: from ‘accidental’ diaspora to rebel movement

Abstract

The article examines different types of macropolitical identities in Ukraine and their interaction in establishing political order in the country. The authors argue that political institutional design was unfavourable to the Russian diaspora in eastern and southern regions. It hindered stable development of post-Soviet identity between Russians in the country. But during the Euromaidan protests, the Russians reacted to unpleasant political situation by exploring who they were and what social and political goals they had. Having been incipient for decades, the identity of the diaspora evolved in a soaring way within three or four months. The violent actions of the newly established government in Kiev radicalized the Russian diaspora. Diasporants started establishing alternative authorities in regions where government had no monopoly on the use of force. The involvement of Russia and international volunteers complexifies the situation in Donbass and the identity formation process in unrecognized republics also known as DNR and LNR.     

历史因素对日印关系的现实影响

明治维新以来日本因其奉行的扩张政策给亚洲各国人民带来了深重的灾难,历史问题一直是困扰日本外交的难题。而唯独印日关系因两国特殊的历史渊源而几乎不受历史问题影响,一直平稳发展。尤其近年来两国随着经济的发展都处心积虑想获得与其经济实力相符合的国际地位,共同的目标使得两国迅速接近。从地缘政治的角度看,我们必须对日印两国的历史渊源及其现实影响给予高度的关注。     

‘The highest flights of circumlocutory art’: Britain,Latvia and Recognizing the Soviet Annexation of 1940

The British Government never recognized the Soviet annexation of the Baltic States in June 1940, but almost did so early in 1942 and was ready to do so again in 1944, when it took at face value Stalin's revision of the Soviet constitution. The result was ‘trouble’ from the Baltic ambassadors in London, particularly the Latvian ambassador. The British Government changed its stance in autumn 1945 when the revisions to the Soviet constitution proved to be sham. Thereafter British policy amounted to procrastination, as the developing Cold War prevented a final post-war settlement.     

日本政治中的“世袭”现象及潜规则

日本在明治维新后废除了身份制度,贵族制度也随之消失。但封建时代的许多旧俗仍然不可避免地残存下来,并在现代日本的政治生活中发挥着不可小视的影响。其中,“世袭议员”现象就是最为典型的政治文化遗产,折射出日本政治中某些传统的潜规则。日本政坛长期以来存在的“家族世袭”现象,在某种意义上对过去几十年日本的经济发展和政治稳定都起到了积极作用。但同时,“世袭”现象也使日本政坛的关系过于复杂化,权钱交易丑闻时有发生,增加了政治和经济改革的难度。日本大选使得民主党和自民党在这一问题上展开了激烈的斗争。“世袭议员”制度的政治传统面临着改革的压力,然而日本民族文化深远的影响力同样不容忽视。关注2009年日本大选背景下日本有关“世袭议员”现象的争论,从制度成因变化的角度分析日本政治的传统与变革之争,并尝试对“世袭议员”现象的前景做一展望。     

民进党时期的台湾政治生态--以"核四"事件为分析个案

本文旨在以"核四"事件为分析个案,对当前台湾政治生态进行研讨.本文认为在台湾的"民主政治"表象之下仍保留着大量不良的政治文化,不过相对于过去而言,台湾目前在政治制度发展方面的若干实践仍是值得肯定的.     

The Second World War as a turning point in Arab–Jewish relations: the case of Jaffa and Tel Aviv

One of the gravest outcomes of the period of the Arab revolt was the heavy economic damage caused to the Arab community. Jaffa, which suffered greatly in the years 1936–1939, sought to rebuild and restore the city to its status as a leading economic center in Palestine. This need intensified still more with the outbreak of the Second World War. Hence, it was in Jaffa's evident interest to bring about an improvement in relations with Tel Aviv and with Jews generally. Problems regarding the proper management of economic life in wartime exercised the Jewish settlement also; therefore, Jewish–Arab cooperation steadily grew in this period. The article gauges the measure of this cooperation and the nature of the ties that consolidated between Arabs and Jews during the war. The situation of Jaffa and Tel Aviv serves as a test case well exemplifying the force of the subsequent change in relations between Jews and Arabs in Palestine.