In some excellent articles in the first issue of The International Journal of Transitional Justice, scholars have examined in very thoughtful ways the relationship of feminism and feminist theory to the field of transitional justice and post-conflict. This article examines some of this work and suggests ways that we might build on these insights by working more with feminist theories of the state, feminist critiques of international human rights law, and with a gendered historical consciousness of colonialism and the post-colonial state in Africa.
{"title":"Should we give up on the State? Feminist theory, African gender history and transitional justice*","authors":"P. Scully","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52171","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52171","url":null,"abstract":"In some excellent articles in the first issue of The International Journal of Transitional Justice, scholars have examined in very thoughtful ways the relationship of feminism and feminist theory to the field of transitional justice and post-conflict. This article examines some of this work and suggests ways that we might build on these insights by working more with feminist theories of the state, feminist critiques of international human rights law, and with a gendered historical consciousness of colonialism and the post-colonial state in Africa.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":"29-43"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52171","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448639","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The atrocities committed by the Government of Sudan backed Janjaweed militia in the ongoing conflict in Darfur have been labelled differently by analysts and scholars. While some argue that the crimes fall under the so-called crime of crimes – genocide, others are of the opinion that the crimes do not qualify as genocide. While the international community is playing a ‘labelling’ game with the situation in Darfur, civilians continue to die. What should interest the civilians more is that the international community offers them the protection as articulated under the different international conventions.
{"title":"Darfur and the genocide debate","authors":"S. Okolo","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52178","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52178","url":null,"abstract":"The atrocities committed by the Government of Sudan backed Janjaweed militia in the ongoing conflict in Darfur have been labelled differently by analysts and scholars. While some argue that the crimes fall under the so-called crime of crimes – genocide, others are of the opinion that the crimes do not qualify as genocide. While the international community is playing a ‘labelling’ game with the situation in Darfur, civilians continue to die. What should interest the civilians more is that the international community offers them the protection as articulated under the different international conventions.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":"33-52"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52178","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448379","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Is there any role for regional organisations in the maintenance of international peace and security and if so, how effective are they? This question has polarised the debate on the role and potential contribution of regional intergovernmental collective security organisations in the maintenance of international peace and security in the post-Cold War period. Some scholars argue that regional organisations play only a limited role and that even when they do so, it is often in pursuit of their political or strategic self-interests. On the other hand, some academics and policy practitioners are of the view that regional organisations not only have a role to play but have emerged as a viable framework for the maintenance of regional peace and security. In the process, they have ‘rescued’ the global institution, the United Nations, in its mandate to maintain international peace and security. The case of the West African peacekeeping and conflict stabilisation interventions and regional deployments have been cited as a reflection of this development, despite its many problems and challenges. If this is the case, what has been the role and contribution of ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) integration in regional peace, security, conflict prevention, management and resolution?
{"title":"Peacekeeping in a bad neighbourhood: The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in peace and security in West Africa","authors":"David Francis","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52180","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52180","url":null,"abstract":"Is there any role for regional organisations in the maintenance of international peace and security and if so, how effective are they? This question has polarised the debate on the role and potential contribution of regional intergovernmental collective security organisations in the maintenance of international peace and security in the post-Cold War period. Some scholars argue that regional organisations play only a limited role and that even when they do so, it is often in pursuit of their political or strategic self-interests. On the other hand, some academics and policy practitioners are of the view that regional organisations not only have a role to play but have emerged as a viable framework for the maintenance of regional peace and security. In the process, they have ‘rescued’ the global institution, the United Nations, in its mandate to maintain international peace and security. The case of the West African peacekeeping and conflict stabilisation interventions and regional deployments have been cited as a reflection of this development, despite its many problems and challenges. If this is the case, what has been the role and contribution of ECOWAS (the Economic Community of West African States) integration in regional peace, security, conflict prevention, management and resolution?","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":"87-116"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52180","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448420","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper examines the democratisation agenda laid out by Western governments for the North African region vis-a-vis their Realpolitik conflict containment approach towards the Western Sahara conflict. Western policymakers conceive the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara as a safety net that contains tension in the region and enables geo-strategic and economic partnerships with Algeria and Morocco. This paper underlines that the international community could play a greater role in promoting the long-term stability of the North African region by pursuing innovative policies geared towards addressing the root causes of the Western Sahara conflict.
{"title":"Conflict resolution in Western Sahara","authors":"A. Solà-Martín","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52181","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52181","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the democratisation agenda laid out by Western governments for the North African region vis-a-vis their Realpolitik conflict containment approach towards the Western Sahara conflict. Western policymakers conceive the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara as a safety net that contains tension in the region and enables geo-strategic and economic partnerships with Algeria and Morocco. This paper underlines that the international community could play a greater role in promoting the long-term stability of the North African region by pursuing innovative policies geared towards addressing the root causes of the Western Sahara conflict.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":"117-140"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52181","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
During the past few decades, different models of transitional justice (TJ) have developed throughout Africa to try to address the mass human rights abuses that have occurred during conflicts. These mechanisms, both judicial and nonjudicial, have often failed to adequately tackle the extensive gender-based violence that has been prevalent on the continent. This article examines the ways truth commissions, legal mechanisms, reparations, security sector reform efforts, and traditional mechanisms in Africa have dealt with gender-based human rights violations. While recent African TJ mechanisms have been innovative in developing means to address crimes against women, these mechanisms continue to fail victims. This is in large part because the current discourse on gender and transitional justice needs to be broadened to better address women’s experiences of conflict. Future TJ initiatives need to re-examine the types of violations prioritised, and recognise the continuum of violence that exists in pre-conflict and post-conflict societies. It is also important to challenge the transitional justice field to stop reducing sexual-based violence to ‘women’s problems’, and explore how men are affected by the gendered dynamics of conflict.
{"title":"Gender and transitional justice in Africa: Progress and prospects*","authors":"H. Scanlon, Kelli Muddell","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52170","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52170","url":null,"abstract":"During the past few decades, different models of transitional justice (TJ) have developed throughout Africa to try to address the mass human rights abuses that have occurred during conflicts. These mechanisms, both judicial and nonjudicial, have often failed to adequately tackle the extensive gender-based violence that has been prevalent on the continent. This article examines the ways truth commissions, legal mechanisms, reparations, security sector reform efforts, and traditional mechanisms in Africa have dealt with gender-based human rights violations. While recent African TJ mechanisms have been innovative in developing means to address crimes against women, these mechanisms continue to fail victims. This is in large part because the current discourse on gender and transitional justice needs to be broadened to better address women’s experiences of conflict. Future TJ initiatives need to re-examine the types of violations prioritised, and recognise the continuum of violence that exists in pre-conflict and post-conflict societies. It is also important to challenge the transitional justice field to stop reducing sexual-based violence to ‘women’s problems’, and explore how men are affected by the gendered dynamics of conflict.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"56 1","pages":"9-28"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52170","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448579","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
South African foreign policy is premised on the African Renaissance concept of good governance. The country’s good governance objectives are to strive for world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation – not war. Furthermore, South Africa's foreign policy is informed by its domestic policy which is guided by the vision of a democratic South Africa that promotes best practices with regard to good governance regionally and globally. Given its vision of effective global governance, South African foreign policy faces many challenges due to the various continental demands that include global food shortages, low intensity conflict, and low employment levels. This article argues that South Africa cannot accomplish its foreign policy objectives by itself and advocates the use of civic interest groups as a strategic tool of implementing soft power. In demonstrating the impact of civic interest groups as a foreign policy instrument, the article illustrates how globalisation has changed the world of international diplomacy, requiring non-state actors to become more active in transforming the economic and political playing field. Throughout the discussion, the South African Dialogue for Women is used as a case study that demonstrates how South Africa could further achieve its objectives of African Renaissance by supporting civil society initiatives in promoting good governance on the ground.
{"title":"Assessing South Africa's strategic options of soft power application through civic interest groups","authors":"Y. April","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I1.52168","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I1.52168","url":null,"abstract":"South African foreign policy is premised on the African Renaissance concept of good governance. The country’s good governance objectives are to strive for world peace and the settlement of all international disputes by negotiation – not war. Furthermore, South Africa's foreign policy is informed by its domestic policy which is guided by the vision of a democratic South Africa that promotes best practices with regard to good governance regionally and globally. Given its vision of effective global governance, South African foreign policy faces many challenges due to the various continental demands that include global food shortages, low intensity conflict, and low employment levels. This article argues that South Africa cannot accomplish its foreign policy objectives by itself and advocates the use of civic interest groups as a strategic tool of implementing soft power. In demonstrating the impact of civic interest groups as a foreign policy instrument, the article illustrates how globalisation has changed the world of international diplomacy, requiring non-state actors to become more active in transforming the economic and political playing field. Throughout the discussion, the South African Dialogue for Women is used as a case study that demonstrates how South Africa could further achieve its objectives of African Renaissance by supporting civil society initiatives in promoting good governance on the ground.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"230 1","pages":"123-144"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I1.52168","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448529","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Anu Pillay is an international gender and transitional justice specialist. She worked most recently as gender advisor to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
{"title":"Views from the field: Truth seeking and gender: The Liberian experience","authors":"A. Pillay","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52174","url":null,"abstract":"Anu Pillay is an international gender and transitional justice specialist. She worked most recently as gender advisor to the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52174","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448228","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The 1990s ushered in an unprecedented wave of violent land/boundary disputes between village-groups in the Grasslands of Bamenda, North-West Province of Cameroon, on a scale that had never been witnessed before. Widespread hardship, introduced by the prevailing economic crisis was blamed for these disputes. But on closer examination it became clear that land/boundary disputes in the region have their roots in European colonialism, and derive largely from administrative policies that were disruptive on inter-village boundaries. Despite the efforts of British colonial authorities at resolving these disputes before the close of the colonial era, they have persisted because post-colonial administrations in Cameroon have failed to judiciously address them.
{"title":"Disruptive colonial boundaries and attempts to resolve land / boundary disputes in the Grasslands of Bamenda, Cameroon","authors":"Emmanuel M. Mbah","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52177","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52177","url":null,"abstract":"The 1990s ushered in an unprecedented wave of violent land/boundary disputes between village-groups in the Grasslands of Bamenda, North-West Province of Cameroon, on a scale that had never been witnessed before. Widespread hardship, introduced by the prevailing economic crisis was blamed for these disputes. But on closer examination it became clear that land/boundary disputes in the region have their roots in European colonialism, and derive largely from administrative policies that were disruptive on inter-village boundaries. Despite the efforts of British colonial authorities at resolving these disputes before the close of the colonial era, they have persisted because post-colonial administrations in Cameroon have failed to judiciously address them.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":"11-32"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I3.52177","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
South Africa’s gendered past was never substantially addressed by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) despite attempts by women’s groups to ensure its inclusion.. The TRC’s treatment of gender was in part constrained by its ‘gender-blind’ mandate, which ignored the different experiences and interests of men and women. Its shortfalls were further reinforced by the combination of limited time and resources, the lack of a systematic proactive gender strategy, and the lack of sustained involvement and interventions by the feminist community. While interventions by women’s groups and activists led the Commission to take up gender in ad hoc ways, such as through the Special Hearings on Women, the engagement of the TRC with gender remained at best tangential and as such the opportunity to capture a more complete picture of the apartheid era was lost.
{"title":"Truth commissions and gender : a South African case study","authors":"Ayumi Kusafuka","doi":"10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52172","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52172","url":null,"abstract":"South Africa’s gendered past was never substantially addressed by the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) despite attempts by women’s groups to ensure its inclusion.. The TRC’s treatment of gender was in part constrained by its ‘gender-blind’ mandate, which ignored the different experiences and interests of men and women. Its shortfalls were further reinforced by the combination of limited time and resources, the lack of a systematic proactive gender strategy, and the lack of sustained involvement and interventions by the feminist community. While interventions by women’s groups and activists led the Commission to take up gender in ad hoc ways, such as through the Special Hearings on Women, the engagement of the TRC with gender remained at best tangential and as such the opportunity to capture a more complete picture of the apartheid era was lost.","PeriodicalId":43186,"journal":{"name":"African Journal on Conflict Resolution","volume":"9 1","pages":"45-67"},"PeriodicalIF":0.3,"publicationDate":"2010-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4314/AJCR.V9I2.52172","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"70448646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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