Restoring (dis)order: Sanctions,resolutions, and "social control" in anarchist communities

This essay explores the restorative implications of anarchist communities through an analysis of processes such as norm formation, sanctioning, conflict resolution, and economic exchange. The study explores ways in which anarchist communities employ various restorative measures to maintain group cohesion and achieve a modicum of social control through the application of natural phenomena such as diffuse power, fluid authority, community consensus and mutual aid. Drawing upon studies of communities manifesting anarchist tendencies--Aincluding utopian experiments, indigenous cultures, and the unique case of the Rainbow Family of Living Light--a picture begins to emerge wherein conceptions of property and the social dynamics that inhere within a community are inextricably linked, suggesting the propensity of anarchist communities to promote an organic synthesis of self, society, and nature. In the end, by exploring tenets associated with the nascent restorative justice paradigm, it is observed that anarchist communities manifest principles that challenge the dominant conceptions of criminality and legality, providing a framework for envisioning models of justice-in-practice that appear on the horizon of possibility and potentiality.     

Aid to the enemy: linking development and peacebuilding on the Korean peninsula

This article discusses the link between development and peacebuilding to analyze South Korean aid activities in North Korea in the context of the Korean conflict, where there are deep-rooted cycles of conflict episodes, and to explore the possibility of aid for peace on the Korean peninsula in the future. The Korean conflict is a large part of what makes South Korean aid to North Korea ineffective. For the past 20 years, South Korean aid to North Korea has fluctuated greatly, due to the context of the Korean conflict. The Korean conflict, once seemingly on the way to resolution, appears to have reverted to a time before the end of the Cold War. Many people in both the North and the South still see each other as the enemy. Most of the South Korean aid projects in North Korea have been suspended indefinitely and the fluctuation of aid to North Korea caused serious debates within South Korean society. At one point, the debates grew so heated that they were called the ‘South–South conflict’. Building on the conceptual framework of conflict sensitive development and strategic peacebuilding, this article argues that, to overcome the current impasse, all stakeholders must better understand the context of the Korean conflict and the interaction between the context and themselves, and develop a comprehensive strategy together, to encompass the multiple issues raised by the Korean conflict, as strategic peacebuilding proposes.     

Desecuritization,Domestic Struggles,and Egypt’s Conflict with Ethiopia over the Nile River

Egypt maintained a policy of antagonism at arm’s length toward Ethiopia throughout Husni Mubarak’s presidency. This pattern changed immediately following Mubarak’s ouster. The burst of rapprochement and diplomatic activism that took shape in the spring of 2011 signaled a fundamental shift in the content and form of Egyptian policy vis-à-vis Ethiopia, which was reflected in President Muhammad Mursi’s reluctance to respond belligerently to Ethiopian initiatives 2 years later that threatened to diminish the northward flow of the Nile. Cairo’s evident restraint during the Mursi era cannot be explained by a change in the strategic circumstances that confronted Egyptian policy-makers. A more promising explanation can be found in a reformulation of desecuritization theory, which highlights the internal dynamics whereby potentially dangerous aspects of a country’s external environment get transformed into matters of routine political contestation.     

Job creation in fragile states through SME financing: notes from post-war Liberia

Sustainable job creation in post-conflict environments often involves financing private-sector development. However, a poor business climate and the erosion of capacity in the domestic private sector reduce the effectiveness of traditional financing strategies in post-conflict environments. Using the experience of post-war Liberia, this article discusses strategies for improving small and medium enterprise (SME) development projects in post-conflict environments through innovative financing which takes into account the effects of conflict on managerial and entrepreneurial capacity and the business climate. Implementation strategies that support conflict-sensitive post-conflict development are also discussed.     

从柬泰边境冲突看东盟冲突管理的困境与出路

东盟自成立以来,在地区管理中逐步形成了一套冲突管理机制。这一机制在维护地区和平与稳定中发挥了重大的作用。但是,柬泰冲突中东盟的无力表现则凸显了东盟冲突管理机制的困境。文章在四个方面提出提高东盟冲突管理能力的途径。     

Reconstructing ‘conflict of interest’ in financial markets: Private management, public challenges, future prospects

Following widespread criticism of financial market (self-)regulation, there is a shift in regulatory mood, explored here with reference to evolving conceptions of conflict of interest. The pre-crisis distinction between conflict of interest (normal, manageable) and its exploitation (unacceptable, legally actionable) has become somewhat eroded, as exemplified by the SEC’s 2010 civil fraud action against investment bank Goldman Sachs. However the settlement of that case on the basis of ‘mistake’ left many questions unanswered: about the meaning(s) of conflict of interest, about managerial mistake versus exploitative intent in administrative/civil cases and equally about the potential for action under criminal law. Looking forward, a judgement of the European Court of Justice on insider trading – concerning a rebuttable assumption of intent – could be taken as a template for ‘drawing the line’ on conflict of interest. Acting on the basis of informational asymmetry could be taken as an indicator of intent and serious wrongdoing unless financial market actors can demonstrate otherwise.