Governance As Conflict Management

Decades after our contemporary international system witnessed the end of the Second World War, the events that followed in its aftermath has fashioned an international system characterized by global conflict in the guise of the Cold War. Although wars were part of the struggle between the two rival super powers - the US and USSR - their main theatre was the Third World and hostilities during the Cold War era were global. It is against this backdrop that Governance, Conflict Analysis and Conflict Resolution addresses conflict in the Caribbean and elsewhere, exploring the linkages between conflict and development. The book is divided into eight sections and offers diverse views on conflict, conflict resolution and governance: Part 1 - Governance and Conflict Management in a Global Context; Part II - Management and resolution of Conflict in the Regional Context; Part III - Perspectives on Social Stratification, Political Rivalry and Ethnic Insecurities; Part IV - High Intensity Conflicts; Part V - The Management and Resolution of Territorial Conflicts; Part VI - Poverty, Economics and Conflict Management; Part VII - Advancing Conflict Resolution through Education; and Part VIII - Civil Society, Governance and Social Consensus.

Africa is known as a continent of conflict. Entire regions have been caught up in violent conflicts that have sometimes resulted in state collapse. Yet during its nearly four decades of independence, West Africa has known comparatively little violent conflict and has had diverse experiences in managing the conflicts of demand-bearing groups. As this book demonstrates, governance is conflict management. Governments are needed to handle the conflicting demands posed by groups in society and to reduce the conflicts that arise among the groups themselves. Unmanaged, these conflicts can escalate into violence; but managed, they give governments choice and direction, as well as energies to carry out essential programs. The authors examine the efforts of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria to manage their conflicts and evaluate the prospects of the three nations for effective regimes for managing conflicts in the future. By suggesting explanations for their past successes and failures, this study of West Africa contributes to an understanding of governance and conflict management. The lessons are far-reaching and applicable well beyond the African continent. In addition to the editor, the contributors are Tessy D. Bakary, Laval University, Quebec; A. Adu Boahen, University of Ghana at Legon; Alex Gboyega, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; and Donald Rothchild, professor of political science at the University of California, Davis.

Africa is known as a continent of conflict. Entire regions have been caught up in violent conflicts that have sometimes resulted in state collapse. Yet during its nearly four decades of independence, West Africa has known comparatively little violent conflict and has had diverse experiences in managing the conflicts of demand-bearing groups. As this book demonstrates, governance is conflict management. Governments are needed to handle the conflicting demands posed by groups in society and to reduce the conflicts that arise among the groups themselves. Unmanaged, these conflicts can escalate into violence; but managed, they give governments choice and direction, as well as energies to carry out essential programs. The authors examine the efforts of Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Nigeria to manage their conflicts and evaluate the prospects of the three nations for effective regimes for managing conflicts in the future. By suggesting explanations for their past successes and failures, this study of West Africa contributes to an understanding of governance and conflict management. The lessons are far-reaching and applicable well beyond the African continent. In addition to the editor, the contributors are Tessy D. Bakary, Laval University, Quebec; A. Adu Boahen, University of Ghana at Legon; Alex Gboyega, University of Ibadan, Nigeria; and Donald Rothchild, professor of political science at the University of California, Davis.

Drawing on conflict resolution experience and recent democratic theory, Dukes traces the philosophical roots and development of the public conflict resolution field. He examines in detail how it has worked in practice, in the US and other western democracies.

The authors assert that sovereignty can no longer be seen as a protection against interference, but as a charge of responsibility where the state is accountable to both domestic and external constituencies. In internal conflicts in Africa, sovereign states have often failed to take responsibility for their own citizens' welfare and for the humanitarian consequences of conflict, leaving the victims with no assistance. This book shows how that responsibility can be exercised by states over their own population, and by other states in assistance to their fellow sovereigns. Sovereignty as Responsibility presents a framework that should guide both national governments and the international community in discharging their respective responsibilities. Broad principles are developed by examining identity as a potential source of conflict, governance as a matter of managing conflict, and economics as a policy field for deterring conflict. Considering conflict management, political stability, economic development, and social welfare as functions of governance, the authors develop strategies, guidelines, and roles for its responsible exercise. Some African governments, such as South Africa in the 1990s and Ghana since 1980, have demonstrated impressive gains against these standards, while others, such as Rwanda, Somalia, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sudan, have failed. Opportunities for making sovereignty more responsible and improving the management of conflicts are examined at the regional and international levels. The lessons from the mixed successes of regional conflict management actions, such as the West African intervention in Liberia, the East African mediation in Sudan, and international efforts to urge talks to end the conflict in Angola, indicate friends and neighbors outside the state in conflict have important roles to play in increasing sovereign responsibility. Approaching conflict management from the perspective of the responsibilities of sovereignty provides a framework for evaluating government accountability. It proposes standards that guide performance and sharpen tools of conflict prevention rather than simply making post-hoc judgments on success or failure. The authors demonstrate that sovereignty as responsibility is both a national obligation and a global imperative.

A considerable amount of work has been conducted in the field of peace studies, conflict management, peace science in economics, sociology, anthropology and management. This title presents research with an emphasis on theoretical and mathematical constructs in the area of peace economics & peace science.

This edited volume provides new insight into the interplay between governance and conflict. The articles in this volume deal with this problematic dimension from a variety of perspectives, covering different actors and topics as well as a vast array of geographical locations and entities that include both states and de facto or unrecognized states such as Transnistria. Scholars and practitioners have contributed to this worrk to bridge the gap between academia and practice. The volume blends scholarly research with examples of practical application to approach the conundrums of governance in and during conflict in a comprehensive way.