Post-conflict reconstruction and citizenship agendas: lessons from Beirut

How does post-conflict reconstruction embody citizenship agendas? By emphasizing the intersections between urban planning, architecture and political community in Hizballah's reconstruction discourse following the 2006 war, this article explores the articulation of such agendas in the historical production of urban space. The first section explores the denial of urban space and membership in the political community to Lebanon's Shi'a in the reconstruction of Beirut following the 1975–1990 civil war. The second section introduces Harat Hreik and the struggle over its reconstruction as resistance, on the part of Hizballah and its cadres, to this exclusion. The party's approach, anchored in an innovative not-for-profit NGO, ‘The Solemn Promise Project’ (Mashru' Wa'ad al-Sadiq), asserted the claims of its constituency to a place in both the city and the nation over considerations of profit. This citizenship agenda, inclusionary in sectarian terms, however, entailed its own set decidedly class-based inclusions and exclusions.     

Young People's Everyday Politics in Post-conflict Sri Lanka

Since the civil war ended in 2009, political spaces in eastern Sri Lanka have remained restricted. The authors examine how young people in areas formerly controlled by or with the presence of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) engage in politics by making safe spaces. A framework for understanding youth politics is presented in order to explain how youths' political spaces are found at the interface of two axes: the axis between political presence and political involvement; and the axis between voiceless politics and vocal politics. Through locating young people's perspectives, practices and realities in relation to these axes, the authors find that war-affected youths in eastern Sri Lanka are stuck in their everyday politics, which prevents their full political presence and involvement. Repolitisation is needed to mobilise youths' political agency.     

Urban Intersections: Religion and Violence in Belfast

Abstract

Addressing the intersections of religion and violence in ‘post conflict’ Belfast, this paper focuses on the nexus between religion, violence and memory. It distinguishes between the churches (institutionalised religion) embedded in the physical and social environment of the city, and popular religion that recurs in the contexts of parades, protests and sectarian conflict. Wider debates on the relationships between religion, violence and politics are integrated with recent empirical data. We argue that while asymmetries between Protestantism and Catholicism continue to inform politics and vice versa, there are also signs of change in the religious politics of Belfast and in how they accommodate violence.     

An Empirical Approach to Post-conflict Legitimacy: Victims' Needs and the Everyday

Abstract

An empirical study has been made of victims of conflict in Timor-Leste and Nepal seeking a qualitative understanding of local post-conflict priorities. It allows an appreciation to emerge of how the conflict-affected conceive of legitimacy and quality of governance, with victims emphasizing basic needs, an addressing of issues of marginalization and the incorporation of indigenous understandings of the meaning of peace. The data in this study motivate a victim-centred discussion of both the limitations of liberal approaches to peace and the implications for the legitimacy of post-conflict governance of prioritizing the everyday needs of the conflict-affected, in contrast to universal and institutionally rooted liberal values.     

Examining the Links between Security Sector Reform and Peacekeeping Troop Contribution in Post-conflict States

This article examines the links between post-conflict states’ troop contributions to international peacekeeping missions and security sector reform (SSR). It shows how SSR and troop-contribution preparations are increasingly interwoven and at times perceived as complementary by both external and internal actors. Some of the objectives sought after in SSR, such as the modernization of the military forces and the institutionalization of international norms, overlap with the aim of external partners’ pre-deployment training programmes and formations. Yet, it is argued that there are several unintended consequences with establishing links between SSR and peacekeeping capacity-building that are too strong, including the reinforcement of the troop-contributing government which, in case the government has authoritarian tendencies, undermines democratic reforms and transparency. There is also a risk that donors increasingly prefer to support pre-deployment training that has tangible and rapid results rather than investing funds in SSR, which is politically difficult with few examples of success. Donors and national actors alike are therefore encouraged to reflect on whether post-conflict states should contribute troops in the immediate aftermath of conflict before SSR has been completed. The answer is likely to vary depending on context-specific issues, which makes it difficult to generalize across cases, but the question remains nevertheless essential.     

Civil Society and Security Sector Reform in Post-conflict Liberia: Painting a Moving Train without Brushes

This article describes the activities related to civil society'sengagement with the question of security sector reform (SSR)in Liberia since the signing of the Accra Comprehensive PeaceAccord (CPA) in August 2003, identifies the challenges it facesand draws lessons learned from this engagement; particularlythe need to develop local capacity, networks of support andnational ownership. Consideration is given to the specificsof the rapidly evolving post-conflict context in which suchreforms are taking place and their connection to the field oftransitional justice as a means of addressing a history of humanrights abuses. The discussion also covers the scope of potentialengagement for civil society in the new political landscapein Liberia that has been created by the deployment of one ofthe world's largest peacekeeping forces and the arrest of formerpresident Charles Taylor.     

The Limits of Formal Metrics during Conflict and Post-conflict Transition: Exploring Opportunities for Qualitative Assessment in Sri Lanka

Peacebuilding as an approach to assisting states in the transition from war to peace has been around since the mid-1990s, and has become a policy approach for most multi- and bilateral donors. Evidence that it is an effective approach to prevent the return of violent conflict is still lacking. This article explores the many difficulties of evaluating peacebuilding programmes, and furthers the position that formal metric indicators are not suited to war-torn contexts. Using the case of Sri Lanka, it highlights the risks of using development reporting as a proxy measurement of peacebuilding and explores the possibility of more locally derived qualitative methods of evaluation.     

Brexit,the Belfast Agreement and Northern Ireland: Imperilling a Fragile Political Bargain

The major impact of the Belfast Agreement was to engineer a peaceful coexistence between nationalism and unionism that involved each bloc recognising it had sufficient power to thwart the political ambitions of the other side, but not enough to push through its own agenda. This paper argues that Brexit seriously damages this peaceful coexistence and could trigger what is termed an Ulster war of attrition in which Northern Ireland becomes entrapped in a political stalemate where each side strives to triumph without having sufficient power to do so. It also argues that to restore internal political stability in Northern Ireland, and to indemnify against the risk of disorderly relationships between the British and Irish governments in the future, the strategic importance of Strand 3 of the Belfast Agreement requires strengthening.     

Troubles,partnerships and possibilities: a study of the Making Belfast Work development initiative in Northern Ireland

This article examines the theory and operation of development partnerships through an analytical study of the Making Belfast Work (MBW) Initiative in Northern Ireland. This initiative of the Northern Ireland Department of the Environment contributed to the building of the current Northern Irish Peace Process. It illustrates the difficulties faced by a government in engaging in socio‐economic development in one of the world's most difficult policy environments. The history of the MBW initiative also provides insight into the interaction of two contending models for organizing European Society, namely ‘Regulated Capitalism’ and ‘Neoliberalism’ and the relationship of these models to partnership theory. This study argues that motivations for the development of partnerships in Belfast defy easy theoretical classification; yet empirical evidence suggests that a twin‐track approach—one from above, the European Union; and one from below, of indigenous policy evolution—have together through policy diffusion made MBW a leading pioneer in partnership theory and practice. The article discusses the literature on partnership within New Public Administration outlining ideas on various classifications of partnerships operative in the public sector. Particular attention is paid to how partnerships of societal actors and government can effectively involve the local community through community development approaches. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

论环境行政权与公民环境权的协调

自由经济思潮激发人们贪婪的逐利欲,肆无忌惮地掠夺自然资源,破坏生态平衡,引发严重的生态危机。为维护公共利益,环境行政权从传统的行政权中延伸出来,亦赋予公民以环境权,以期达到"源头控制",但受制于环境问题的复杂性及环境行政权本身的缺陷,二者出现错位。该文顺延上述思路,讨论环境行政权与公民环境权的协调。     

Environmental Stressors and Food Security in China

This article considers the immediate forces influencing China’s food system and food security. By immediate is meant events of the reform period, from the late 1970s to 2008. It begins by asking the question that has preoccupied specialists since the publication of Lester Brown’s Who Will Feed China? in 1995: How much arable land does China have? Is that land area sufficient to insure grain sufficiency? To insure food security? The article focuses on the human pressures on the food production environment, and then treats the effects of socioeconomic change: land, air, and water degradation. The core of the article examines six responses of the state to both perceived and actual environmental stressors: policy restricting arable land conversion, China’s one-child policy, investment in irrigation systems, the South–North Water Diversion Project, large-scale afforestation and reforestation campaigns, and the program to convert marginal agricultural lands to forests and grasslands.     

消费主义与环境美德

消费主义虽然能带来经济增长,但是它的负面影响同样巨大,它会危害环境,导致生态系统的破坏。因此,必须扼制消费主义。环境美德恰恰反对消费主义,因为环境美德是人与自然之间的优秀品质,它要求人们关怀整个自然。具有环境美德的人懂得生命的真正价值所在,对他人和自然心存感激,能够约束自我,合理消费。因此,我们需要积极倡导环境美德,让人们成为理性的消费者,自觉抵制消费主义,保护生态环境。     

Toward a Model of International Environmental Action: A Case Study of Japan's Environmental Conversion and Participation in the Climate Change Environmental Regime

This article explains the empirical puzzle of Japan's green conversion from an environmental pariah to a leading player in the climate change environmental regime. My argument is that Japan pursued environmental action to reconstruct its international image and demonstrate itself to be a responsible global actor. Claiming that existing explanations fall short, I delineate an international environmental action model that incorporates a more comprehensive cost–benefit framework examining both real and ideational factors. To test the model, I examine four key episodes of Japan's participation in the climate change environmental regime. The empirical analysis reveals the relevancy of the environmental action model, as all four episodes are either fully or partially explained by the model's mechanisms. Finally, I provide some conclusions, suggest that this model fills in the gap in the literature on environmental foreign policy, and provide topics for future research.     

吉林省农村留守儿童与非留守儿童调查对比分析

随着经济的不断发展、城镇化进程的加快,越来越多的农民涌向城市,农村留守儿童得不到父母的监护,出现诸多问题。本研究分别从教育、生活、心理三个方面调查对比分析吉林省农村留守儿童与非留守儿童存在差异的主要原因,最后提出家庭、学校、社会团体及政府相关部门共同建立长期帮扶机制的政策建议。     

Democratization and Environmental Policy–Making in Korea

Democratization in Korea since 1987 has led to the gradual establishment of a diverse set of institutional arrangements—competitive electoral systems, local autonomy, freedom of the press, and freedom of association—that facilitate the articulation of diffuse environmental interests in policy–making processes. Yet, as illustrated by the cases of the Youngwol Dam project and the Wichon Industrial Complex, the policy–making system is still unsettled by numerous environmental protests and by difficulties in resolving distributional conflicts among different groups and communities. To resolve these difficulties, Korea needs to overcome some adverse legacies from its authoritarian era and to develop multiple channels and mechanisms for citizen participation in policy–making and for conflict resolution among different groups and communities. The experience of Korea illustrates the complex dynamics between democratization and environmental policy–making.