Preventing Conflict In The Post Communist World

Western politicians, pundits, and the public were wholly unprepared for the violent conflicts erupting in eastern and central Europe and the former Soviet Union after the end of the Cold War. The governments emerging from communism lack both the authoritarian control to suppress domestic differences and the democratic power to manage them. Old conflicts resurfaced and new ones were kindled in virulent form from Bosnia to Chechnya. The stability of governments and the status quo of borders have been thrown into question. Actual and threatened disintegration of states in the area is widespread. No reference points have emerged to replace the cold war paradigm. Nor is there a way of knowing which conflicts can be contained within accepted borders and which may spill over. The prospect not only of widening conflict, but also of new precedents challenging old certainties of international life, causes deep concern in western Europe and the United States. Europe has many experienced international organizations under whose umbrella states organize to achieve common purposes. This book asks how they have performed that function. How are these organizations attempting to deal with the many forms of internal conflict that are both the cause and the result of the end of communism and the East-West confrontation? Despite significant organizational and financial resources, the results have been meager. The authors show how difficult it is to achieve effective joint action on a sustained basis. They contend that a concerted effort to discover how to achieve joint action is the necessary next step in mobilizing international organizations for preventing ethno-national conflict. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Diana Chigas, Jarat Chopra, Michael W. Doyle, Keitha Sapsin Fine, David S. Huntington, Christophe Kamp, Jean E. Manas, Elizabeth McClintock, John Pinder, Wolfgang H. Reinicke, Reinhardt Rummel, Melanie H. Stein, Shashi Tharoor, Thomas G. Weiss, Richard Weitz, and Mario Zucconi. A Brookings Occasional Paper

This collaborative effort by Russian and American scholars documents Russian policy toward ethno-national conflict in its "near abroad," American policy toward these conflicts, and the attempts of international organizations to prevent and resolve them. Case studies consider the causes, dynamics, and prospects of conflicts in Latvia, the Crimea, the Transdniester region of Moldova, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the region of North Ossetia and Ingushetia.

The book examines the evolution of EU conflict prevention as an internal EU process and as an area of external cooperation with the UN, OSCE and NATO. Conflict prevention has emerged as a prominent EU policy in the post-Cold War era. Yet, how suited is the organisation to practice conflict prevention, and what does the record of cooperation with other key European organisations tell us about the EU's external priorities? The book critically analyses the EU's policy and outcomes to date, concluding that conflict prevention is underdeveloped by the EU, and is in danger of being marginalised in favour of shorter-term crisis management. Moreover, EU external cooperation reinforces this: the priority is cooperation in crisis management with the UN and NATO, rather than longer-term cooperation with the OSCE.

The post-Communist world has seen a dramatic revival of ethnicity and nationalism. The volume explores the contemporary sources, scope and intensity of nationality conflicts in the context of a disintegrating Soviet Empire. The authors address themselves to the resurgence of ethnicity and nationalism within the former Soviet imperium, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Bulgaria and China and examine the consequences of perestroika and glasnost. Central issues involve identity formation, the nature and implications of ethnic and internal conflicts and possible paths toward resolution.

With the upsurge of nationalist sentiment in post-communist societies, the problem of political rights for ethnic minorities became a dangerous flashpoint. The introduction of electoral competition, the rewriting of constitutions, the breakup of federations, the weakness of civic institutions, and the social and economic dislocations associated with marketization have all contributed to the salience of majority-minority relations. This collection systematically analyzes different models of minority politics in Eastern Europe, in an effort to understand why tensions are manageable in some contexts, uncontainable in others. Anchoring the volume are essays by Carlos Flores Juberias on electoral systems, and Janusz Bugajski on national minority parties. Six case studies examine the interaction of different types of institutional arrangements (which structure political participation) and different demographic conditions (ethnic balances and territorial concentrations) in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, and Romania. Framing these studies are overviews by the editors and by Jack Snyder.

Inder Singh examines why international organizations including the UN, OSCE, and Council of Europe advocated democratic governance, based on the rule of law and respect for human and minority rights, as the method by which states should try to accommodate their ethnically mixed populations. She discusses how realistic this advice has been, given the tension between the principle of the sovereignty of states and their international obligations, and the extent to which democratization had made for ethnic and political stability in post-communist Europe. Inder Singh demonstrates that this advocacy of democracy to handle ethnic diversity questions the perception of nationalism as a cause of war and disorder. This pathbreaking study will be of appeal to academics and policy makers interested in how the management of ethnic diversity through democracy can enhance domestic and international security.

Once considered an exclusively internal affair, international organisations have, over the last few decades, become increasingly involved in the management of ethnopolitical conflicts and have been active in attempts to prevent and/or resolve them. This book presents a series of studies covering the work of eight different organisations active in central and eastern Europe: the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; its High Commissioner on National Minorities; the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; the United Nations Development Programme and Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs; the Council of Europe; the European Union; the Stability Pact for South Eastern Europe; and the World Bank. A further chapter considers the role of non-governmental organisations. The studies consider the varying approaches adopted by these institutions and illustrate the ways in which these differ from and complement one another. The assessment covers both the preventive and reactive sides of conflict management, and provides valuable lessons for similar activities in the future, both in the region and beyond.

Lapple+ puzzle is more challenging version of Lapple puzzle. If you are unfamiliar with lapple/lapple+ puzzles, you may be asking, "What is a lapple/lapple+ puzzle?" A lapple/lapple+ puzzle is an overLAPPing word puzzle. Each puzzle contains a word overlap from one to four letters. The objective is the find consecutive overlapping words by following the string from beginning to end. For example, in the string KIDNAPKINGDOMESTICATERRORIST, one finds the words KID, KIDNAP, NAPKIN, KING, KINGDOM, DOMESTICATE, CATER, and TERRORIST.The overall benefits of working lapple puzzles include better memory, faster problem-solving skills, and increased alertness. Lapple puzzles help reinforce logic, critical thinking, and visualization. The mental exercise required to solve the puzzles provided in this book improves working memory.Whether lapple puzzles are new for you, or you are already a lapple puzzle fan, this book will challenge you with lapple+ puzzles containing 161 letters (lapple puzzles contain 127 letters). Whatever the experience level or age of the solver - child, adult, or senior - lapple puzzles provide the puzzle solver with an activity that is not only fun, but also mentally challenging. Lapple+ puzzles have the solution words listed below the puzzle with letters reversed (Lapple puzzles have solutions listed in a different section of the book.)Benefits of Lapple Puzzle SolvingIn recent years, scientists have begun to pay more attention to the brain. The human brain is considered extremely complicated in its design and working. However, we know relatively little about how it works. We do know from studies that health benefits are derived from exercising the brain. Our minds, like our bodies, need stimulation and exercise. Working word, number, and logic puzzles provides that exercise for our brains.Improved Focus and AttentionPuzzles can help your mind form new patterns and complex neural networks naturally. Scientists have found that your brain actually reorganizes itself in response to new challenges, and a lapple puzzle provides such a challenge.Lapple puzzles also improve focus and attention while solutions are sought. Finding solutions requires a certain amount of solitude without distraction. Concentrated attention is an excellent skill to develop that will aid you in many areas of life.Increased Mental StimulationLapple puzzles provide you with an activity that is not only fun, but also mentally challenging. Thus, working lapple puzzles can increase your mental stimulation.Intelligence Quotient - IQ - is a scientific assessment of your intelligence. Your IQ is derived from measuring problem solving abilities, memory, general knowledge, and spatial imagery. The average God-given IQ of an adult is 150. It cannot be increased by medical science, because of the microbiology of the brain. Your average effective (day-to-day) IQ is only 100-110, mostly due to neglect - lack of brain exercises.Contrary to popular belief, your brain is capable of growth (effective IQ) and change throughout your life. The daily effective IQ can be increased by various mental activities, among them lapple puzzle solving.Enhanced Thinking SkillsAdults do not realize while working puzzles that they are using thinking skills. Our brains learn new skills and acquire knowledge throughout our lives. Mastering puzzle-solving skills improves thinking.Adults have a natural ability to play and be creative with words. Lapple puzzles can enhance and boost creative intelligence. This is a great opportunity improve the brain's overall health and longevity.Improved MemoryMuch has been made of the health benefits of doing brain puzzles. Puzzles require brain exertion (exercise). Therefore, puzzles improve memory and encourage better brain function. This can lead to improved concentration and memory.