Preventive action and conflict mitigation in Nigeria’s 2015 elections

Prior to the 2015 Nigerian general elections, there were concerns that the fierce political contest would lead to electoral violence in the country. However, the elections were conducted peacefully, with fewer disputes and election-related deaths than previous elections. This study accounts for the fall in the level of electoral violence in Nigeria and discusses the lessons that Nigeria’s experience presents. It argues that the avoidance of destructive electoral disputes in Nigeria was the result of preventive action taken by the country’s electoral commission, civil society groups, and development partners. The specific preventive actions taken include innovations in election administration aimed at enhancing electoral transparency and credibility, election security measures such as early warning and peace messaging, and preventive diplomacy urging the main candidates and the political elite to embrace peace. The key lesson that can be drawn from Nigeria’s experience is that a well thought out conflict prevention strategy should be an integral part of electoral governance, especially in countries with a high risk of electoral violence.     

No more bullets for ETA: the loss of internal support as a key factor in the end of the Basque group’s campaign

The Basque separatist organisation ETA laid down its arms in 2011 after 40 years of an armed campaign for independence. It was not a consequence of political negotiations. The Basque group did not achieve its goals. Yet, it unilaterally decided to end its armed activity forever. This article analyses why and how ETA ended its armed campaign. It clarifies the events from the collapse of the last peace process in June 2007 to the announcement of the definitive end of ETA’s campaign in October 2011. It identifies the causal factors that led the Basque group towards its end. This article contends that the end of ETA’s campaign is a case of transformation triggered by its constituency’s withdrawal of support for the armed struggle. The leadership and social base of the political movement to which ETA belongs concluded that political violence was not effective anymore and, furthermore, was damaging for the Basque pro-independence movement. After an internal struggle, in which the faction advocating for exclusively political means prevailed, ETA was driven towards a unilateral abandonment of armed struggle.     

Pathways for Preparation: Locating Suicide Education in Preparing Professionals for Encounters with Suicidal Adolescents

Current suicide prevention strategies often include suicide education based on the premise that education can lead to recognition of those at risk of suicide and others who are prepared can respond and potentially save lives. As suicide is a leading cause of death for young people, it is relevant to explore how suicide education is made available to those who serve this population. In a comprehensive review of the existing literature, the presence of suicide content along the path through pre-service programs is examined. While education may be a central part of youth suicide prevention efforts, this review of the literature suggests the following needs: (a) a need for more overt inclusion of suicide content, (b) future examination of suicide content within pre-service programs not yet considered, and (c) appraisal and innovation in suicide pedagogical approaches to determine how preparedness may be enhanced and linked to subsequent practical action.     

构建和谐社会与环境犯罪之预防

构建社会主义和谐社会是我国社会主义建设理论的又一重大突破,也是我们急需研究的重要课题。社会主义和谐社会的建成,是我国实现富强、民主、文明的社会主义强国的目标,也是社会主义发展的主要标志。自然生态环境是人类生息劳作的地球家园,是构建和谐社会的重要因素,分析环境犯罪的概念状况和新特点,提出预防环境犯罪的对策,对构建和谐社会具有理论和现实意义。     

青少年犯罪现状原因及预防对策

近年来,青少年犯罪呈上升趋势,笔者根据司法实践遇到的大量青少年犯罪的案例,分析青少年犯罪的现状、原因以及预防对策。     

转基因食品标签的消费者知情权比较研究

各国对转基因食品实施了不同的标签制度:强制标签与自愿标签。这两种标签制度分别建立在消费者需要知情和消费者有权知情的法理基础之上。需要知情是以产品为基础,确保消费者对客观真实的风险知情;而有权知情往往以生产过程和生产方法为基础,以风险预防为原则管理风险以减少消费者的感知风险。一个国家采取何种转基因食品标签制度,受到该国经济、文化和政治方面的影响。我国转基因食品标签立法在即,需要借鉴其他国家的立法经验,因地制宜地实施强制标签制度,以保障消费者知情权的实现。     

试论袭警案件及其防范对策

针对我国目前严重的袭警案件情况,文章归纳了袭警案件的种类与特点,进一步分析了袭警案件的成因,在此基础上提出了如何有效防范袭警案件发生的具体对策。     

和谐社会视野中的青少年犯罪社区预防

青少年犯罪的预防离不开和谐社会的创建。在和谐社会视野下,和谐社区是和谐社会的基础,营造社区良好的人文环境,树立专门机关与社区资源相结合的情境预防防线以及引入社区矫正等少年司法制度都是可行的社区犯罪预防措施,构建起对青少年犯罪的社区预防系统。社区能充分发挥犯罪预防的作用,需要对社区预防自身的地位提高认识,协调好两大主体的功能,并由政府作为社区预防的坚强保障。     

试析青少年犯罪的社区预防

近年来,青少年犯罪成为一个严重的社会问题。为了从根本上遏制青少年犯罪,我们必须利用社会的力量,形成职责明确、协同配合、齐抓共管的工作网络,切实做好青少年违法犯罪的预防工作。社区是城市管理体制的基础,是青少年学习、生活、娱乐和就业的重要场所。社区对青少年的成长,有着深刻的影响。立足社区,可以把闲散青少年、流动青少年和问题家庭青少年等群体有针对性的管理起来,强化预防青少年违法犯罪工作的力度,同时把学校教育、家庭教育和社会预防工作整合起来,形成预防青少年违法犯罪工作的社会联运机制。     

Women’s experiences of peacebuilding in violence-affected communities in Kenya

Despite the attention to gender and conflict in empirical positivist peace research, and the interest in local agency in recent peacebuilding literature, women’s understandings and lived experiences of peacebuilding are not necessarily well accounted for. This article, drawing on interviews, focus groups and observation research with 57 female victims/survivors of post-election violence in Kenya, provides an ethnographic study of women’s largely informal peacebuilding activities, ranging from mediation and dialogue to economic empowerment. It analyses women’s constructions and ways of making sense of being peacebuilders, demonstrating that, while participants employed dominant gender frames, they exerted considerable transformative agency in their communities. It argues that their ‘gendered responsibility for peace’ at community level is simultaneously empowering and disempowering. The research aims to increase understanding of the gendered nature of peacebuilding and the ways in which women exercise peacebuilding agency through a focus on their own voices and lived experiences.