Working Together

Working Together PDF Author: Amy Poteete
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400835151
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 371

Book Description
Advances in the social sciences have emerged through a variety of research methods: field-based research, laboratory and field experiments, and agent-based models. However, which research method or approach is best suited to a particular inquiry is frequently debated and discussed. Working Together examines how different methods have promoted various theoretical developments related to collective action and the commons, and demonstrates the importance of cross-fertilization involving multimethod research across traditional boundaries. The authors look at why cross-fertilization is difficult to achieve, and they show ways to overcome these challenges through collaboration. The authors provide numerous examples of collaborative, multimethod research related to collective action and the commons. They examine the pros and cons of case studies, meta-analyses, large-N field research, experiments and modeling, and empirically grounded agent-based models, and they consider how these methods contribute to research on collective action for the management of natural resources. Using their findings, the authors outline a revised theory of collective action that includes three elements: individual decision making, microsituational conditions, and features of the broader social-ecological context. Acknowledging the academic incentives that influence and constrain how research is conducted, Working Together reworks the theory of collective action and offers practical solutions for researchers and students across a spectrum of disciplines.

Saviors and Survivors

Saviors and Survivors PDF Author: Mahmood Mamdani
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0307591182
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

Book Description
From the author of Good Muslim, Bad Muslim comes an important book, unlike any other, that looks at the crisis in Darfur within the context of the history of Sudan and examines the world’s response to that crisis. In Saviors and Survivors, Mahmood Mamdani explains how the conflict in Darfur began as a civil war (1987—89) between nomadic and peasant tribes over fertile land in the south, triggered by a severe drought that had expanded the Sahara Desert by more than sixty miles in forty years; how British colonial officials had artificially tribalized Darfur, dividing its population into “native” and “settler” tribes and creating homelands for the former at the expense of the latter; how the war intensified in the 1990s when the Sudanese government tried unsuccessfully to address the problem by creating homelands for tribes without any. The involvement of opposition parties gave rise in 2003 to two rebel movements, leading to a brutal insurgency and a horrific counterinsurgency–but not to genocide, as the West has declared. Mamdani also explains how the Cold War exacerbated the twenty-year civil war in neighboring Chad, creating a confrontation between Libya’s Muammar al-Qaddafi (with Soviet support) and the Reagan administration (allied with France and Israel) that spilled over into Darfur and militarized the fighting. By 2003, the war involved national, regional, and global forces, including the powerful Western lobby, who now saw it as part of the War on Terror and called for a military invasion dressed up as “humanitarian intervention.” Incisive and authoritative, Saviors and Survivors will radically alter our understanding of the crisis in Darfur.

The Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa PDF Author: Redie Bereketeab
Publisher: Pluto Press (UK)
ISBN: 9781849648233
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
Shows how regional and international interventions, combined with piracy, have compounded pre-existing tensions in the Horn of Africa.

War and Statehood in South Sudan

War and Statehood in South Sudan PDF Author: Manfred Öhm
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1474243215
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 407

Book Description
This study provides empirically based insights into the relationship between war, statehood and peaceful conflict resolution during the second Sudanese civil war and following the independence of South Sudan 2011. Several influencing factors have been identified: the dynamics of political and ethnic conflict; the authoritarian character of the former rebel movement (SPLM); the role of the church and of traditional leaders in local peace processes; and how the enormous presence of international aid organizations has affected both war and statehood. The empirical findings suggest that South Sudan is not an example of state failure, but rather part of a broader process of state formation. As such, this collection argues that state-building is indeed possible during war. The analysis of the independent South Sudan post-2011 illustrates that the country is still struck by strong political and ethnic conflicts and continued violence. This is a book that is relevant and full of insights for social scientists and practitioners of development co-operation.

The Origins of Ethnic Conflict in Africa

The Origins of Ethnic Conflict in Africa PDF Author: Tsega Etefa
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3030105407
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

Book Description
From Darfur to the Rwandan genocide, journalists, policymakers, and scholars have blamed armed conflicts in Africa on ancient hatreds or competition for resources. Here, Tsega Etefa compares three such cases—the Darfur conflict between Arabs and non-Arabs, the Gumuz and Oromo clashes in Western Oromia, and the Oromo-Pokomo conflict in the Tana Delta—in order to offer a fuller picture of how ethnic violence in Africa begins. Diverse communities in Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya alike have long histories of peacefully sharing resources, intermarrying, and resolving disputes. As he argues, ethnic conflicts are fundamentally political conflicts, driven by non-inclusive political systems, the monopolization of state resources, and the manipulation of ethnicity for political gain, coupled with the lack of democratic mechanisms for redressing grievances.

State and Societal Challenges in the Horn of Africa

State and Societal Challenges in the Horn of Africa PDF Author: Collectif
Publisher: Centro de Estudos Internacionais
ISBN: 9898862475
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 172

Book Description
This book brings to fruition the research done during the CEA-ISCTE project ‘’Monitoring Conflicts in the Horn of Africa’’, reference PTDC/AFR/100460/2008. The Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) provided funding for this project. The chapters are based on first-hand data collected through fieldwork in the region’s countries between 4 January 2010 and 3 June 2013. The project’s team members and consultants debated their final research findings in a one-day Conference at ISCTE-IUL on 29 April 2013. The following authors contributed to the project’s final publication: Alexandra M. Dias, Alexandre de Sousa Carvalho, Aleksi Ylönen, Ana Elisa Cascão, Elsa González Aimé, Manuel João Ramos, Patrick Ferras, Pedro Barge Cunha and Ricardo Real P. Sousa.

Stabilization as the New Normal in International Interventions

Stabilization as the New Normal in International Interventions PDF Author: Roberto Belloni
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000033562
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 171

Book Description
Stabilization as the New Normal in International Interventions provides the first comprehensive analysis of stabilization, which constitutes the new reference point for international intervention in unruly parts of the Global South. The notion of ‘stabilization’ and the practice of ‘stability operations’ experienced a revival over the last decade. The United Nations, the European Union, NATO, as well as most member states of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development have embraced these terms in their foreign policy bureaucracies. The general disillusionment with the achievements of large-scale peacebuilding operations in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the failures of the so-called Arab Springs, contributed to the success of this new discourse. Yet, while widely mentioned and endorsed, stabilization is rarely defined. This volume identifies common elements to stabilization doctrines and examines how they are applied in practice. It dissects how stabilization emerged and unfolds, how different actors adopt it and for what purposes, and how it is linked to the broader security and development discourses. Stabilization as the New Normal in International Interventions will be of great interest to scholars of Peacebuilding, International Intervention and International Relations more generally. The chapters were originally published as a special issue of Ethnopolitics.

Violence, Politics and Conflict Management in Africa

Violence, Politics and Conflict Management in Africa PDF Author: Munyaradzi Mawere
Publisher: African Books Collective
ISBN: 9956764485
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 416

Book Description
This volume critically interrogates, from different angles and dimensions, the resilience of conflict and violence into 21st century Africa. The demise of European colonial administration in Africa in the 1960s wielded fervent hope for enduring peace for the people of Africa. Regrettably, conflict alongside violence in all its dimensions physical, religious, political, psychological and structural remain unabated and occupy central stage in contemporary Africa. The resilience of conflict and violence on the continental scene invokes unsettling memories of the past while negatively influencing the present and future of crafting inclusive citizenship and statehood. The book provides fresh insightful ethnographic and intellectual material for rethinking violence and conflict, and for fostering long-lasting peace and political justice on the continent and beyond. With its penetrating focus on conflict and associated trajectories of violence in Africa, the book is an inestimable asset for conflict management practitioners, political scientists, historians, civil society activists and leaders in economics and politics as well as all those interested in the affairs of Africa.

The Transformation of Violent Intercommunal Conflict

The Transformation of Violent Intercommunal Conflict PDF Author: Stephen Ryan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317013514
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

Book Description
In recent years there has been a remarkable growth of interest in the concept of conflict transformation and the closely related strategy of grass-roots peace building. Yet there exists no general critical analysis of the concept of conflict transformation in the context of violent inter-communal conflict and the different approaches that can be included in response to this category of dispute. This study offers a comprehensive survey and critical overview of this emerging area. Examining the reasons for the growing interest in the concept of conflict transformation in situations of ethnic conflict, the book explores the different dimensions of transformation. It draws on examples of strategies from a number of situations of 'ethnic conflict', including Northern Ireland, Israel/Palestine, Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus, Spain, Sri Lanka and the former Soviet Union , to identify and assess key issues and problems that have emerged, and ultimately to propose a stronger emphasis on the promotion of inter-subjective understanding.

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity

The Palgrave Handbook of Ethnicity PDF Author: Steven Ratuva
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN: 9789811328978
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 2044

Book Description
This handbook provides a comprehensive and cutting-edge analysis of ethnicity through diverse multidisciplinary lenses. It explores numerous aspects of ethnicity and how it is linked to a range of contemporary political, economic and social issues at the global, regional as well as local levels. In a world where globalization has enveloped and transformed societies through economic and financial integration, social media networks, knowledge transfer, transnational travel, technology and education, there is a tendency to frame issues largely from the standpoint of economic, political and strategic interests of the dominant powers. Issues such as ethnic and cultural identity are often ignored partly because they are too complex to deal with. In this regard, the study of ethnicity is critical in delving deeper into people’s worldviews, perceptions of each other, relationships and sense of identification to help us uncover some of the deeper perceptions and meanings of social change as seen and shared by cultural groups as they adapt to the fast-changing world. To better inform ourselves of the complexities of ethnicity and relationship to contemporary global developments and challenges, an approach which is people-centered, balanced, comprehensive and research-based is needed. The multidisciplinary approach of this handbook provides conceptual and empirical narratives across different disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, political studies, cultural studies, media studies, literature, law, development studies and economics, to name a few. It includes comparative case studies from different parts of the world to enrich our understanding of the diverse experiences. The chapters focus on contemporary issues and situations while drawing from historical reflections and lessons. The idea is not only to illuminate the intricacies of ethnic identity, but also to provide innovative ideas to help understand and address some of the contemporary challenges associated with these in our world today.