Cultivating Dialogue: From Fragmentation to Relationality in Conflict Interaction

This article builds on the tendency in recent decades in the field of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) to analyze conflict and its transformation from a relational perspective. It surveys developments in twentieth‐century philosophy that support the ongoing quest to explore the self in ADR from a relational perspective. It then shows how the concept of dialogue provides a framework for understanding conflict transformation from a relational perspective, by exploring the relational foundations of dialogue. It also draws a connection between the growing use of mindfulness practices in conflict settings and the practice of dialogue, suggesting that Buddhist philosophy and practices can help cultivate relational awareness and dialogue. The article therefore suggests that incorporating dialogue and exploring its relational characteristics can assist ADR scholars and practitioners to develop further practices that can promote collaboration by shifting disputants from adversarial and fragmented orientations to more relational mindsets.     

Fragmentation,Conflict, and Competition: Islamist Anti-civilian Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa

ABSTRACT

In spite of the shared high profile of recent Islamist attacks on civilians in sub-Saharan Africa, patterns of anti-civilian violence differ across and within violent Islamist groups, and the countries in which they are active. This research seeks to explain this variation by situating Islamist violence within the sub-national spaces in which such groups operate, and the wider conflict environment in which they choose to use, or limit the use of, anti-civilian violence. Drawing on data from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Dataset, the research finds that violent Islamist groups are more likely to target civilians where they are the most active conflict agent, even when other conflict agents are active in the same spaces; but less likely to do so when they are relatively weak and in competition with other non-state armed groups. Anti-civilian violence is thus deployed strategically by violent Islamist groups, while its function as a signalling or retributive policing tool depends on the relative strength of groups in relation to actors in the wider conflict arena.     

从强制仲裁到劳动法庭:印度尼西亚劳动争议解决机制的晚近发展

后苏哈托时期,印度尼西亚废除了苏哈托政府时期的压制性劳工政策,并对其劳动争议解决机制进行重大改革,废除强制仲裁,建立劳动法庭,鼓励争议的自愿性解决。然而,由于缺乏法治和自治传统、经济落后等原因,改革的实效并不理想。然而,印度尼西亚的改革展示了一个转型社会劳动争议解决机制改革的经验和问题,值得思考和借鉴。     

Exit From Terrorism: A Qualitative Empirical Study on Disengagement and Deradicalization Among Members of ETA

Terrorists disengage from the groups or organizations to which they belong as a result of structural, organizational, or personal factors. These types of factors seem to operate with relative mutual independence. All this can be analytically induced from research conducted at an individual level of analysis, based on 35 long interviews with former members of ETA who voluntarily decided to conclude their militancy at some point between 1970 and 2000. Until the mid-1980s, the individual decision to leave ETA tended to be linked to a subjective perception of ongoing political and social changes. From then on, disagreement with the internal functioning of the ethno-nationalist terrorist organization or the tactics adopted by its leaders became more salient motivations for those militants who decided to walk away. All along, however, there were ETA members who left terrorism behind for reasons of a rather personal nature. As expected, in this qualitative empirical study, disengagement was found to be a process seldom concomitant to that of deradicalization.     

Conflict Dynamics and Feedback: Explaining Change in Violence against Civilians within Conflicts

Conflicts are complex, dynamic processes wherein the frequency and intensity of violence changes throughout the contest. In this article, we explore the temporal dynamics of two long-term civil wars—DR-Congo and Sudan—to identify systematic and random conditions that lead to changes in civilian targeting. Violence committed by rival political actors, territorial exchange, and the number and addition of violent agents strongly shape the likelihood that civilian targeting events and casualties increase or decrease over time. General and country differences emerge from vector autoregression analysis to suggest that (1) three types of violent agents—rebels, militias, and the government—are locked in spirals of violence where violence against civilians by one actor leads to subsequent violence by another actor; (2) rebels and government forces respond to the other side’s acquisition of contested territory by increasing counterattacks on civilians, specifically in DR-Congo; and (3) increasing numbers of active nonstate agents lead to higher violence rates in the following months. Among these, civilian targeting by rival actors triggers the most follow-on violent events against civilians.     

Urban Irregular Warfare and Violence Against Civilians: Evidence From a Colombian City

Defining terrorism and explaining how it occurs remains a contentious issue. This article attempts to generate new understandings on these topics by applying the work of Ehud Sprinzak's delegitimatization model to the Sea Shepherds. Evidence presented in the article suggests that the Sea Shepherd's present level of political violence passed through gradual phases. In this respect, it is possible to suggest that Sprinzak's model has applicability for maritime organizations, as well as terrestrial based groups. However, we also note that on the one hand, it may be possible to argue that in some respects the Sea Shepherds may constitute either a “blind spot” in the literature on terrorism and political violence, because its actions could in some circumstances be considered activism, militant direct action, piracy, vigilantism, terrorism, or eco-defense, which makes it very difficult to classify. On the other hand, that both the Sea Shepherds and the whalers may both engage in illegal activities, but are not prosecuted, may indicate that states and the international community may have neither the will nor the means to enforce laws against them. Therefore, they may be turning a blind eye to their actions. Throughout the article we maintain that the Sea Shepherds constitute an example of a gray area phenomenon. Despite the ambiguity surrounding their legal status and academic interpretations of their actions, the results of nearly three decades of the organization's activities, including its 2007 campaign to disrupt Japanese Antarctic Whaling, suggest that the Sea Shepherds may be best categorized as a vigilante group, because they claim they are seeking to enforce a legal status quo because of states' and the international community's inabilities or unwillingness to do so.     

When Clients Throw Punches and Chairs: How Mediators Respond to Violence

Much is known about screening family law mediation cases for potential violence, but little is known about violence that occurs within or immediately after mediation. In this article, we present the findings of a survey of U.S. mediators who reported their experiences of violence across a variety of mediation case types. These mediators described how and when violence arose and also reported the techniques and interventions that they used to de‐escalate tensions and to respond to violence. Our goal is to better equip mediators to prevent violence when possible, and to respond effectively if violence does arise in mediation.     

A Leap of Faith: When and How Ex-Combatants Resort to Violence

Previous research has given scant attention to the issue of how and when ex-combatants resort to organized violence. This article fills this research gap by comparing ex-fighters in the Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone. It holds that ex-combatant violence is the result of interaction between entrepreneurs of violence, military affinities, intermediaries, and selective incentives. Ex-combatants take to arms when they have access to entrepreneurs of violence. By offering selective incentives and utilizing existing military affinities, entrepreneurs can generate the enticements and trust needed to convince ex-combatants to resort to arms. However, as entrepreneurs have limited contact with ex-fighters, they are dependent on intermediaries to do the actual recruiting for them. Contrary to previous assumptions, this article finds that ex-fighters are largely risk-averse individuals and that ex-combatant violence is seldom triggered by the mere presence of small arms, lack of economic opportunities, or experiences of insecurity.     

Nationalism,Territory, and Organized Violence: Introduction to the Special Issue

Recent decades have seen significant advances in research on the relationship between nationalist ideology and organized violence. New scholarship has paid much closer attention to the microdynamics of violence, the strikingly uneven distribution of violence, the relationship between master cleavages and intimate local and personal struggles, and to process, history, and contingency. Nationalist ideology is understood to be bound up intimately with institutions and with everyday relationships at the local level. We introduce the contributions to this special issue, outlining the way in which they highlight the power of ideas, narratives, and microlevel solidarity in mobilization for violence and how they address the crucial importance of territoriality in linking ideas and action.     

美国与上海合作组织:从布什到奥巴马

随着奥巴马政府调整美国的外交政策和阿富汗局势的恶化,有迹象显示美国可能会改变对上海合作组织的政策,从务实的角度加强与上海合作组织的合作,发展与上海合作组织的关系。     

From Lothringen to Lorraine: Expulsion and Voluntary Repatriation

Between December 1918 and the end of 1921, the French authorities sought to “cleanse” the Moselle region of Germans as part of a programme of francisation. Different commissions, operating without any proper legal basis worked to identify and classify native and German immigrant indésirables respectively; their victims faced undignified, even harrowing train journeys to Germany. Those who remained faced the ever present risks of denunciation or harrassment, prompting them to opt for voluntary repatriation to Germany. Again, the circumstances of their departure were far from ideal. Like the expellees they suffered the sequestration and liquidation of their property, being allowed to take with them a minimum of cash and hand luggage. Nearly 100,000 Germans left the Moselle in this way; only a very few returned once the Versailles Treaty allowed for a limited number of naturalisations.     

跨国环境纠纷的预防与解决:国际机制视角下的比较研究

随着经济发展与国际社会交往的日益频繁,跨国环境纠纷发生的几率也在不断增加。虽然可以通过国际法中的纠纷解决机制处理这些纠纷,但相比之下,预防跨国环境纠纷可能更符合可持续发展的要求。对于已经产生的跨国环境纠纷,可以在传统的纠纷解决机制基础上探索更符合国际环境保护潮流的和平解决方法。     

暴力方式与民心向背：寻找治理族群叛乱的条件组合

治理族群叛乱的目标既包括土地的控制,也包括人的控制,这是治理族群叛乱区别于其他形式叛乱的特点之一。人的控制实际包含两个内容,既包括人心向背,也包括人员数量的控制。人心向背关乎民众支持,而争取民众支持的必要性在于,虽然拥有民众支持并不必然导致叛乱的平息,但是没有民众支持是不能平息叛乱的。在族群叛乱已经发生的情况下,国家政府只有赢得更多当地民众的支持,才能成功治理叛乱。根据冲突各方的暴力行为方式及其对当地民众支持的影响,成功平息叛乱应具备国家政府有区别使用暴力、叛乱组织无区别使用暴力、当地温和派主导平叛行动等三个必要条件,以争取更多民众支持。这三个条件构成的条件组合,可以有效控制和减少叛乱组织能够招募到的人员数量,只要国家政府的平叛战略能够有效控制叛乱组织所招募的叛乱人员数量,叛乱组织就将走向衰败并最终消亡,也就是说这一条件组合能够成为国家政府成功平叛的一个充分条件。通过对结合俄罗斯、印度和西班牙等国家治理族群叛乱的经验和教训的分析,进一步证实了以上观点。     

Deciding to Intervene: An Analysis of International and Domestic Influences on United States Interventions in Intrastate Disputes

Although the United States has been the most prolific intervener in the international system since the end of World War II, there has been little consensus among scholars regarding the motivations of U.S. interventions in domestic political disputes abroad. In addition, scholars do not agree on the relative effects of international factors and domestic factors on intervention decisions by the U.S. Previous research on the motivations of U.S. interventions has occurred within at least two distinctive “streams” of literature: (1) studies of state interventions; and (2) studies of the use of military force by the U.S. Hypotheses regarding U.S. interventions in intrastate disputes are derived from the previous literature, and the hypotheses are tested using recently-compiled data on intrastate disputes and U.S. interventions in intrastate disputes occurring between 1945 and 2002. The results suggest a combination of international factors, including geographic proximity and ideological linkage, significantly influence the decisions of the U.S. to intervene in intrastate disputes. The results also suggest international factors are generally more important than domestic factors, and the effects of both domestic factors and international factors on U.S. intervention decisions may differ depending on the specific type of intervention and the time period.     

Russia and the OSCE: From High Hopes to Disillusionment

The subject of this article is the changing balance between Russia's positive and negative interests in the Conference on/Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE/OSCE) as these have evolved in relation to Western policies on the OSCE and European security relations in general. Parallel to the decline of positive Russian interests in the CSCE/OSCE, an increase in negative attitudes can be observed, most of which concern the OSCE's activities in post-Soviet countries. While the Soviet Union was traditionally a reliable supporter of the CSCE, the Russian Federation, which initially pursued the same policy, has lost most of its sense of ownership in the OSCE. This change in Russian attitudes is critical for the Organisation's future, for an OSCE without active Russian participation would lose much of its raison d'être.     

从话语危机到安全危机：机理与应对

语言影响人们的思维和认知,是人与人、国与国之间交流和沟通的媒介,也是安全研究的重要维度。特定的话语可塑造威胁身份,叙述危机故事,对言语对象制造话语障碍,形成话语压力,建构话语危机,影响相关政策,使特定问题安全化,并影响安全程度的高低,导致不同的安全政策,甚至助推战争。中国在近三十年来一直面临来自西方世界的话语压力,在国际舆论场中经常陷入不利境地,有时由于某个话题成为舆论焦点,遭遇话语危机,如“中国威胁论”“中国强硬论”“中国威胁南海航行自由”“中国威胁世界秩序”以及中美“修昔底德陷阱”等。中国成为世界第二大经济体后日益成为世界关注的焦点,中国亟须研究和应对话语压力和话语危机。中国需要加大世界发声力度,提高话语主动性和自觉性;加大中国文化理念的国际宣传,重塑中国话语的国际语境;努力提升国际话语权;避免话语与行为的盲目自大,避免不必要的话语攻击和误解、有针对性地做好美国关于中国话语的改善工作。只有这样,才能够减少话语障碍和话语压力,有效缓解和化解话语危机。这是为中国塑造良好外部环境、提升中国国际形象、使中国与世界的互动更加顺畅的重要条件。     

The Renewed ‘Struggle for Syria’: From the War ‘in’ Syria to the War ‘over’ Syria

ABSTRACT

Syria is generally considered a case of non-intervention. One of the dominant (since the 1990s) kinds of intervention, namely multilateral humanitarian intervention, failed, as did other attempts by a select group of countries to implement a ‘red line’ concerning the use of chemical weapons. However, in this case, there is no sharp dichotomy between intervention and non-intervention. In lieu of an intervention that would tilt the balance and coordinate help to halt massacres, various rival and uncoordinated international and regional interventions overlapped over time, fuelling a market for violence. ‘Weakened interventionism’, as opposed to principled and hierarchical intervention, has manifested itself in Syria in a model recalling “the struggle for Syria” of the 1960s in a new, contemporary setting.     

关于高薪养廉问题的一场对垒——新加坡《部长与高级公务员薪金标准白皮书》解析

1994年10月,新加坡政府向国会提交了<以具竞争性薪金建立贤能廉洁政府--部长与高级公务员薪金标准白皮书>(以下简称<白皮书>),其基本思路是高级公务员的薪金与企业界的薪金标准挂钩,旨在通过较大幅度地提高高级公务员的薪金标准,稳住政府人员的优质结构,保证政府总体行为的廉洁高效.尽管政府方面为此作了大量的宣传论证工作,但在政府高官内部,意见也不十分一致.在国会方面,不论是态度温和的间接型,还是措辞激烈的直接型,反对意见几乎众口一词.通过本文论述,意在说明高薪养廉是个十分复杂的问题,即使是在新加坡对高薪养廉亦有不同的视角.