Download or read book Resolving Election Related Conflicts in Africa Role and Challenges of the National Peace Council of Ghana written by Caeser Nibelli and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2020-02-21 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Master's Thesis from the year 2017 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict Studies, Security, grade: 3.00, , course: Msc Defence and International Politics, language: English, abstract: This study examines the causes of electoral conflicts in Ghana and Africa, and the role and challenges of the National Peace Council in resolving election-related conflicts. In many African countries, both the economic and political authorities are confiscated and held in the hands of some corrupt leaders who through the use of force control the destiny of their countries. Since the adoption of multiparty systems in some African countries, most elections have been tarnished by violence and by political antagonists who continue to question not only the fairness and the transparency of elections but also the validity of the electoral systems of their countries. Ghana’s elections for some time now have become violent resulting in disputes. A typical case of this situation was the 2012 elections which ended up in the Supreme Court as a dispute. In all of these conflicts, the role of the National Peace Council cannot be over-emphasized. The Council played an important role before, during and after elections. This contributed in the peace that the Ghana experienced during and after elections. In the light of the key role of the Council played in ensuring peace before, during and after elections, there are a number of challenges that confronted the Council. This study examines the specific role played by the National Peace Council (NPC) in ensuring peace in elections. The study discussed the challenges that affected the work of the Council such as limited funding to initiate activities and inadequate staff to help carry out its functions. The methodology adopted in this study is the qualitative case study approach which enabled the study to analyze the findings by relying mostly on secondary data to make its findings. Literatures from secondary data were reviewed to answer research questions. The findings of this study confirm that, the role played by the National Peace Council (NPC) yielded positive results in ensuring the peace of the country throughout the electoral period which other Africa countries can emulate to prevent election-related conflicts.
Download or read book Assessing The Role Of National Peace Infrastructures In Conflict Prevention written by Maxwell Adjei and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of Infrastructures for Peace (I4Ps) has received renewed attention in the peacebuilding literature as part of the response to calls for a more inclusive and sustainable approach to peacebuilding processes. Despite their growing popularity, very few systematic studies have been conducted on I4Ps within various settings. For the most part, researchers have relied on secondary accounts and anecdotal evidence to describe how the concept works in practice and dedicated little attention to the views/perspectives of the individuals who are involved in the activities of the I4Ps. The lack of systematic studies on I4Ps is particularly evident in the case of Ghana's National Peace Council (the NPC), which is the primary focus of this dissertation. While the NPC has been roundly praised within the I4P literature as one of the most - if not the most - successful cases of peace infrastructures, there have been no comprehensive studies on the NPC to date except for a few studies that discursively analyze its achievements alongside several other I4Ps. Seeking to address this limitation and fill part of the gap that has been created in the I4P literature and, particularly, in our understanding of the NPC, this dissertation draws on primary data that was gathered from stakeholders of the NPC to explore the NPC's contributions to peacebuilding processes during Ghana's elections. Specifically, the dissertation relies on the first-hand accounts and/or experiences of individuals who have encountered the NPC to provide an understanding of the strategies which the NPC has used to intervene in electoral conflicts. The dissertation also presents and analyzes the views of the NPC's stakeholders on the success of the NPC's interventions and the factors which they believe may have contributed to the NPC's successful interventions.
Download or read book Voting in Fear written by Dorina Akosua Oduraa Bekoe and published by United States Institute of Peace Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nine contributors offer pioneering work on the scope and nature of electoral violence in Africa; investigate the forms electoral violence takes; and analyze the factors that precipitate, reduce, and prevent violence. The book breaks new ground with findings from the only known dataset of electoral violence in sub-Saharan Africa, spanning 1990 to 2008. Specific case studies of electoral violence in countries such as Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria provide the context to further understanding the circumstances under which electoral violence takes place, recedes, or recurs.
Download or read book The State of Peacebuilding in Africa written by Terence McNamee and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-11-02 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Download or read book Electoral Systems and Conflict in Divided Societies written by Ben Reilly and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 1999-05-04 with total page 73 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper is one of a series being prepared for the National Research Council's Committee on International Conflict Resolution. The committee was organized in late 1995 to respond to a growing need for prevention, management, and resolution of violent conflict in the international arena, a concern about the changing nature and context of such conflict in the post-Cold War era, and a recent expansion of knowledge in the field. The committee's main goal is to advance the practice of conflict resolution by using the methods and critical attitude of science to examine the effectiveness of various techniques and concepts that have been advanced for preventing, managing, and resolving international conflicts. The committee's research agenda has been designed to supplement the work of other groups, particularly the Carnegie Corporation of New York's Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, which issued its final report in December 1997. The committee has identified a number of specific techniques and concepts of current interest to policy practitioners and has asked leading specialists on each one to carefully review and analyze available knowledge and to summarize what is known about the conditions under which each is or is not effective. These papers present the results of their work.
Download or read book Alternative Dispute Resolution and Peace building in Africa written by Ernest E. Uwazie and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-26 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conflicts in Africa have a great deal in common, and striking parallels can be drawn between them at all levels. Dynamics affecting the most complex war-time conflicts, civil unrest and other macro disputes are in play even in the smallest community conflicts. The converse is also true: lessons learned through community mediation, for example in South Africa, are applicable to the most complex and largest conflicts to be found on the continent. Together, the eleven chapters in this publication, in addition to the prologue and epilogue, suggest that a comprehensive assessment of efforts and investments in conflict resolution and peace studies in Africa since the mid-1990s is due in order to identify lessons and challenges, as well as best practices. Just as conflict dynamics are comparable between African conflicts, whether large or small, local or international, so are alternative dispute resolution processes. Effective approaches to resolving large-scale conflicts and civil wars are effective at the community level, and ineffectual techniques at the community level are just as likely to be counter-productive in mediating international disputes. While there may be some differences in mediating macro- and micro-conflicts (such as the time required, the need for negotiation teams, and the complexities of agenda development or pre-negotiations), as far as the mediation process is concerned, the differences are more like variations on a theme than real substantive dissimilarities. This volume provides case studies of programs and policies, and legislations on alternative dispute resolution and peace building, and examines and proposes some new, promising ideas for conflict prevention, as well as maintenance of peace, justice and security in Africa.
Download or read book New Nordic Peace Nordic Peace and Conflict Resolution Efforts written by Hagemann, Anine and published by Nordic Council of Ministers. This book was released on 2019-04-09 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For a long time, the Nordic countries have been a region of peace, with the ability to resolve conflicts peacefully among themselves, and a region for peace, actively promoting peace globally. Although efforts to actively brand the Nordic region are ongoing, the Nordic Peace brand is an area with untapped potential. The Nordics have rich traditions for working together on peace and conflict resolution. These joint efforts have grown organically and informally from like-mindedness, letting the common Nordic culture and ways of working foster integration among them where relevant. The people working in the Nordic countries on Nordic cooperation and peace recognize the potential of strengthening the Nordic Peace brand. One area of special potential is increasing focus on the shared Nordic priorities of prevention and the women, peace and security agenda as part of the Nordic Peace brand.
Download or read book Electoral Violence in Sub Saharan Africa written by Stephanie M. Burchard and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Conflict Resolution in Africa written by Francis M. Deng and published by Brookings Institution Press. This book was released on 2011-07-01 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While dramatic changes are taking place on the international scene and among the major powers, Africa continues to suffer from a multitude of violent conflicts. The toll of these conflicts is monumental in terms of war damage to productivity, scarce resources diverted to armaments and military organizations, and the resulting insecurity, displacement, and destruction. At the same time, Africans, in response to internal demands as well as to international changes, have begun to focus their attention and energies on these problems and are trying innovative ways to resolve differences by nonviolent means. The outcomes of these attempts have urgent and complex implications for the future of the continent with respect to human rights, principles of democracy, and economic development. In this book, African, European, and U.S. experts examine these important issues and the prospects for conflict management and resolution in Africa. They review the scholarship in resolution in light of international changes now taking place. Addressing the undying, internal causes of conflict, they question whether global events will promote peace or threaten to unleash even more conflict. The authors focus their analysis on the issues involved in African conflicts and examine the areas in need of the most dramatic changes. They offer specific recommendations for dealing with current problems, but caution that unless policymakers confront the security situation in Africa, further destruction to national unity and political and economic stability is imminent. Case studies and themes for further, long-term research are recommended.
Download or read book Peace Justice and Reconciliation in Africa Opportunities and Challenges in the Fight Against Impunity written by African Union Panel of the Wise and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Issues in Ghana s Electoral Politics written by Ninsin, Kwame A. and published by CODESRIA. This book was released on 2017-05-05 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ghana attained independence in 1957. From 1992, when a new constitution came into force and established a new – democratic – framework for governing the country, elections have been organized every four years to choose the governing elites. The essays in this volume are about those elections because elections give meaning to the role of citizens in democratic governance. The chapters depart from the study of formal structures by which the electorate choose their representatives. They evaluate the institutional forms that representation take in the Ghanaian context, and study elections outside the specific institutional forms that according to democratic theory are necessary for arriving at the nature of the relationships that are formed between the voters and their representatives and the nature and quality of their contribution to the democratic process.
Download or read book Pathways for Peace written by United Nations;World Bank and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2018-04-13 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Violent conflicts today are complex and increasingly protracted, involving more nonstate groups and regional and international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—the horizon set by the international community for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Information and communication technology, population movements, and climate change are also creating shared risks that must be managed at both national and international levels. Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations†“World Bank Group study that originates from the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-up system for preventive action would save between US$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which could be reinvested in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of populations. The study aims to improve the way in which domestic development processes interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. It stresses the importance of grievances related to exclusion—from access to power, natural resources, security and justice, for example—that are at the root of many violent conflicts today. Based on a review of cases in which prevention has been successful, the study makes recommendations for countries facing emerging risks of violent conflict as well as for the international community. Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required. Inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people.
Download or read book The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa written by Alexandre Marc and published by World Bank Publications. This book was released on 2015-06-19 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since independence, the West African sub-region has been an arena for a number of large-scale conflicts and civil wars, as well as simmering and low-intensity uprisings. Contrary to perceptions, West Africa in its post-independence history has experienced fewer conflict events and fatalities from conflict than the other sub-regions on the continent. The turn of the millennium has witnessed the recession of large-scale and conventional conflict, and it has ushered in new and emerging threats. The specters of religious extremism, maritime piracy, and narcotics trafficking threaten to undermine some of the progress achieved in recent years. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa critically examines the key drivers of conflict and violence, and the way in which they impact the countries of the sub-region. In addition to emerging threats, these drivers include the challenges of youth inclusion, migration, sub-regional imbalances, and extractives, as well as challenges related to the fragility of political institutions and managing the competition for power, reform of the security sector, and weakness of institutions related to land management. The book explores how the sub-region, under the auspices of the regional organization ECOWAS, has become a pioneer on the continent in terms of addressing regional challenges. The Challenge of Stability and Security in West Africa also identifies key lessons in the dynamics of resilience in the face of political violence and civil war drawn from CÃ ́te d'Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, that can be useful for countries around the world in similar situations. It incorporates knowledge and findings from leading experts and provides insights from academics and development practitioners. Finally, the book identifies possible policy and programmatic responses and directions for policy dialogue at the national and international levels.
Download or read book Exploring Peace Formation written by Kwesi Aning and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume examines the dynamics of socio-political order in post-colonial states across the Pacific Islands region and West Africa in order to elaborate on the processes and practices of peace formation. Drawing on field research and engaging with post-liberal conceptualisations of peacebuilding, this book investigates the interaction of a variety of actors and institutions involved in the provision of peace, security and justice in post-colonial states. The chapters analyse how different types of actors and institutions involved in peace formation engage in and are interpenetrated by a host of relations in the local arena, making ‘the local’ contested ground on which different discourses and praxes of peace, security and justice coexist and overlap. In the course of interactions, new and different forms of socio-political order emerge which are far from being captured through the familiar notions of a liberal peace and a Weberian ideal-type state. Rather, this volume investigates how (dis)order emerges as a result of interdependence among agents, thus laying open the fundamentally relational character of peace formation. This innovative relational, liminal and integrative understanding of peace formation has far-reaching consequences for internationally supported peacebuilding. This book will be of much interest to students of statebuilding, peace studies, security studies, governance, development and IR.
Download or read book International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-11-07 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The end of the Cold War has changed the shape of organized violence in the world and the ways in which governments and others try to set its limits. Even the concept of international conflict is broadening to include ethnic conflicts and other kinds of violence within national borders that may affect international peace and security. What is not yet clear is whether or how these changes alter the way actors on the world scene should deal with conflict: Do the old methods still work? Are there new tools that could work better? How do old and new methods relate to each other? International Conflict Resolution After the Cold War critically examines evidence on the effectiveness of a dozen approaches to managing or resolving conflict in the world to develop insights for conflict resolution practitioners. It considers recent applications of familiar conflict management strategies, such as the use of threats of force, economic sanctions, and negotiation. It presents the first systematic assessments of the usefulness of some less familiar approaches to conflict resolution, including truth commissions, "engineered" electoral systems, autonomy arrangements, and regional organizations. It also opens up analysis of emerging issues, such as the dilemmas facing humanitarian organizations in complex emergencies. This book offers numerous practical insights and raises key questions for research on conflict resolution in a transforming world system.
Download or read book Strengthening Electoral Integrity written by Pippa Norris and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2017-08-29 with total page 391 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today a general mood of pessimism surrounds Western efforts to strengthen elections and democracy abroad. If elections are often deeply flawed or even broken in many countries around the world, can anything be done to fix them? To counter the prevailing ethos, Pippa Norris presents new evidence for why programs of international electoral assistance work. She evaluates the effectiveness of several practical remedies, including efforts designed to reform electoral laws, strengthen women's representation, build effective electoral management bodies, promote balanced campaign communications, regulate political money, and improve voter registration. Pippa Norris argues that it would be a tragedy to undermine progress by withdrawing from international engagement. Instead, the international community needs to learn the lessons of what works best to strengthen electoral integrity, to focus activities and resources upon the most effective programs, and to innovate after a quarter century of efforts to strengthen electoral integrity.
Download or read book Reconciliation After Violent Conflict written by David Bloomfield and published by . This book was released on 2003 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does a newly democratized nation constructively address the past to move from a divided history to a shared future? How do people rebuild coexistence after violence? The International IDEA Handbook on Reconciliation after Violent Conflict presents a range of tools that can be, and have been, employed in the design and implementation of reconciliation processes. Most of them draw on the experience of people grappling with the problems of past violence and injustice. There is no "right answer" to the challenge of reconciliation, and so the Handbook prescribes no single approach. Instead, it presents the options and methods, with their strengths and weaknesses evaluated, so that practitioners and policy-makers can adopt or adapt them, as best suits each specific context. Also available in a French language version.
