Hurdles to peace: a level-of-analysis approach to resolving Sudan’s civil wars

Why do some peace agreements end armed conflicts whereas others do not? Previous studies have primarily focused on the relation between warring parties and the provisions included in peace agreements. Prominent mediators, however, have emphasised the importance of stakeholders at various levels for the outcome of peace agreements. To match the experience of these negotiators we apply a level-of-analysis approach to examine the contextual circumstances under which peace agreements are concluded. While prominent within the causes of war literature, level-of-analysis approaches are surprisingly scant in research about conflict resolution. This article compares two Sudanese Peace Agreements: the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (2005) that ended the North–South war and led to the independence of South Sudan, and the Darfur Peace Agreement (2006) which failed to end fighting in Darfur. We find that factors at the local, national and international level explain the different outcomes of the two agreements. Hence, the two case studies illustrate the merit of employing a level-of-analysis approach to study the outcome of peace agreements. The main contribution of this article is that it presents a new theoretical framework to understand why some peace agreements terminate armed conflict whereas others do not.     

A Bridge over Troubled Water: Managing Parties’ Mental Illness in Mediation

One in five individuals in society has or will have a mental illness at some point in his or her lifetime. Conflict resolution theory, however, largely assumes that all individuals operate within the range of behaviors considered mentally healthy. Evidence suggests that professionals who deal with conflict, however, may have to deal with individuals who have mental health problems more frequently than would be the statistical norm. Clearly then, new theories of practice and norms of mediator behavior are needed to respond to the distinctive challenges presented by engaging with those who face mental health difficulty. This paper surveys the research on how people with mental health challenges approach and respond to conflict and provides practical advice to conflict resolution professionals on how to recognize and tailor their approach to meet the needs of these individuals.     

Confectionery and Conflict Resolution? What Chocolat Reveals about Mediation

A close analysis of the film Chocolat discloses a new metaphor for the mediator — the mediator as cook. The use of this metaphor throughout the film suggests new insights about mediator style and practice. Specifically, the mediator–protagonist in Chocolat demonstrates that: (1) mediations need not be voluntary to be sound, (2) non-neutral, directive, evaluative mediators can be effective if they individualize their approaches to each disputant and dispute, and (3) effective approaches to mediation celebrate emotion and pleasure, contrary to many conflict resolution theorists who write about the importance of emotions, but do not privilege them in practice.     

动力学视角下的冲突解决策略

传统的冲突解决策略是基于问题解决模型,它着眼于各方的利益关系和沟通、控制等因素在解决冲突中的作用;动力学系统模型主要从推动冲突的吸引子出发,探讨冲突演化的过程。动力学的观点认为,冲突解决的关键在于改变系统内在的动力学性质,即引发和决定冲突演化趋向的吸引子,冲突的解决策略则主要从打破系统的封闭性、改变系统的反馈环路、恢复系统的多维性、创造和激活潜在的正性吸引子等方面入手。冲突解决的最终目的是使冲突各方形成新的心理和行为模式和不同于以往的心理和社会环境。     

Presence on the Ground: Expectations,Resources and Tactical Moves in the Negotiation of a UN Peacekeeping Operation in the Central African Republic

ABSTRACT

How do local situations matter? It is tempting to explain the creation of a new peacekeeping operation (PKO) by the willingness to solve a local security problem. However, main contributor countries to UN and EU PKO in the Central African Republic in 2014, have sent hundreds of troops without a genuine interest in the local situation. Thus, how, why and when links to the ground are made? Having presence on the ground gave some actors levers in the negotiations. The contact with the ground impact the construction of expectations. It is a resource for pressuring on hesitating countries.     

法国消费争议非讼解决机制及启示

法国消费争议非讼解决从普遍管辖向专业管辖、国家主导向企业自治并行发展。调解机构或独立设置,或附设于国家机关、公用事业单位、企业及行业组织,其独立、公正、便捷,有法令、章程、协定等保障,在实践中发挥着化解消费争议的功能。我国可通过法律授权并规定调解规则,依托既有行业组织设立或单独创设专业调解委员会,强化消费者协会调解职能,鼓励经营者建立消费者保护部门,完善消费争议非讼解决机制。     

设立全资子公司的法律规制

全资子公司的设立原是企业多元化发展的战略要求,却成为控股股东侵害公司及小股东的工具.个中原因不乏公司法律制度在预防机制上对全资子公司的忽视以及部门规章的效力等级不足,在救济机制上又集体失效.应将设立全资子公司的列为股东会特别决议事项,赋予公司登记审查机关以审查职责;穿越规则对公司法人格并无实质影响,可积极引入事先预防与事后救济.     

中国式多元化纠纷解决机制的建构——在涉法群体性突发事件视角下的探索

根据2005年的《社会蓝皮书》披露,从1993年到2003年间,中国群体性事件数量已由1万起增加到6万起,参与人数也由约73万增加到约307万。最近几年的数字尚在统计当中。然而,从2008年的贵州瓮安事件、甘肃陇南上访群众聚集冲击市委机关事件、云南孟连事件到2009年的＂6.20＂石首事件、＂5.30＂宿迁锦绣江南拆迁引发的死人事件、＂2.8＂贵州德江群体事件、＂5.19＂甘肃会宁平息千人群体事件、＂6.19＂湖南邵阳事件、＂9.4＂湖南吉首非法集资事件、＂11.13＂成都自焚拆迁户唐福珍死亡等事件看,结果的严重性一步步在上升,有大量无辜农村群众也卷入其中。因此,构建中国式的多元化纠纷解决机制已迫在眉睫。     

Twenty-Five Years Ago and Twenty-Five Years from Now: The Future of Public Dispute Resolution

Over the past twenty-five years, public dispute resolution has emerged as an important area of practice — linked, in part, to ongoing efforts to promote deliberative democracy. As the field has evolved, however, the market for public dispute mediators has shifted. It is already possible to glimpse the further shifts and the new intellectual challenges likely to face the public dispute resolution field over the next twenty-five years.