Marie-Joelle Zahar | Université de Montréal (original) (raw)

Books by Marie-Joelle Zahar

Les intellectuels et les médias : dialogue Est-Ouest sur la démocratie pour les Balkans, édité pa... more Les intellectuels et les médias : dialogue Est-Ouest sur la démocratie pour les Balkans, édité par Mariella PANDOLFI, Annie LAFONTAINE, Laurence McFALLS & Marie-Joëlle ZAHAR

En mars 2013, une coalition hétéroclite de groupes armés, la Séléka, renverse le président Bozizé... more En mars 2013, une coalition hétéroclite de groupes armés, la Séléka, renverse le président Bozizé de la République centrafricaine (RCA), au pouvoir depuis 2003. Ce coup d’État réduit à néant plus de quinze années d’effort de consolidation de la paix et confirme l’extrême fragilité des institutions centrafricaines. Il force également la communauté internationale à s’interroger sur la pertinence de ces interventions, dont celles des Bureaux onusiens de consolidation de la paix (BCP) créés à la fin des années 1990 et présents en RCA depuis février 2000.

Pourquoi donc, en dépit de l’appui de ces Bureaux, la RCA est-elle retombée dans la violence ? Comment expliquer, inversement, que d’autres pays aux trajectoires semblables, mais sans l’aide onusienne, semblent pour l’heure en bien meilleure posture ? Cet ouvrage pose la question de l’efficacité des BCP en tant qu’outils de paix dans des contextes de fragilité étatique. Il examine le cas de la RCA, en utilisant le Tchad comme élément de contraste, et propose des pistes de réponse et d’action aux décideurs et aux praticiens travaillant dans le domaine.

This volume seeks to understand the central role of governments in intra-state conflicts. The bo... more This volume seeks to understand the central role of governments in intra-state conflicts.

The book explores how the government in any society plays two pivotal roles: as a deterrent against those who would use violence; and as a potential danger to the society. These roles come into conflict with each other, as those governments that can best deter potential rebels are also those that can do the most harm to their citizens. Therefore, a balance must be achieved, raising difficult tradeoffs for policy-makers. This volume marks a departure from studies of ethnic conflict and civil war in recent years, which have focused on failed states, in considering the idea that governments themselves may be the source of violence. The contributors not only explore the balancing act that governments must perform, but also on the positive and negative roles that the international community can play in these conflicts. In doing so, the book covers a range of cases from both advanced and newer democracies to the most conflict-prone parts of the world.

Articles by Marie-Joelle Zahar

Comparing the Balkans: war legacies and state-building in the age of globalisation, 2008

The paper offers a critique of power-sharing arrangements as instruments able to sustain peace in... more The paper offers a critique of power-sharing arrangements as instruments able to sustain peace in deeply divided societies and as the foundations for a stable process of state (re-)building. The success of power sharing – defined as the achievement of a stable endogenously-driven process of state-building – in a post-conflict environment is at best limited, as illustrated by power sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon. The paper argues that the impact of recent violence affects the stability of power-sharing compacts. Elite accommodation, a pre-requisite of successful power sharing, is unlikely in the wake of civil wars. Further, outside intervention, while stabilizing in the short-term, creates a status quo bias that endangers the ability of power sharing to endure. In sum, the paper argues that power sharing is not a panacea for sustainable peace in post-conflict societies. Especially in the early stages of peace implementation, power-sharing institutions are insufficient on their own to overcome the problem of credible commitment and provide a stable foundation for state (re-)building.

Michel Beaudin and Marie-Joëlle Zahar Territoire et sacré : penser un lien millénaire à l’aune du... more Michel Beaudin and Marie-Joëlle Zahar
Territoire et sacré : penser un lien millénaire à l’aune du XXIe siècle
Pages 5–23

This article analyses how alternative power-sharing mechanisms can be used to secure peace in cou... more This article analyses how alternative power-sharing mechanisms can be used to secure peace in countries where warring parties fail to reach a traditional power-sharing agreement, the most common method of solving the 'credible commitment' problem. By examining the cases of Angola and Mozambique, it demonstrates how 'soft' guarantees — in these cases, on the integration of armed forces and access to financial and material resources for rebel leaders — can help end civil wars. The non-binding nature of these pledges, however, also facilitated the ruling parties' progressive withdrawal from them, which has set back the democratisation process in both countries. This in turn may put at risk future peace and development.

Drawing upon the authors' experience and work with the Francophone Research Network on Peace Oper... more Drawing upon the authors' experience and work with the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations in Montreal, developing and implementing peacekeeping capacity-building projects for French-speaking countries in bilateral and multilateral contexts, this article critically explores the intersection of peace operations and the francophone spaces. The argument is that there has been an increasing ‘francophone fact’ or a ‘francophonization’ of peace operations. The article explains this emergence and examines its implications that, we argue, extend beyond the francophone space. The article suggests that the increasing importance of the ‘francophone fact’ in peacekeeping is the result of three reinforcing dynamics: (1) the reality of UN deployments in the past decade with more than a half of the blue helmets deployed in francophone settings; (2) the consequent creation of specific needs for the ‘good functioning’ of multidimensional peace operations; and (3) an incomplete but undeniable ‘appropriation’ of peace operations by francophone states and organizations.

Social cohesion has increasingly been touted as a tool of peacebuilding. Theoretically, the conce... more Social cohesion has increasingly been touted as a tool of peacebuilding. Theoretically, the concept is linked with efforts to address inequality and build social capital. Practically, social cohesion is bandied about in settings such as the Central African Republic (CAR) as an important objective for building sustainable peace. We argue that peacebuilding scholars focus more on social cohesion as an end goal than they do on the policy-making and implementation aspects of the concept. After reviewing two key social cohesion initiatives in CAR, we find practitioners equally remiss in thinking about process. Also, both communities involved in the initiatives face challenges in grasping the complexity of the horizontal and vertical linkages that sustain conflict and which need to be restructured to build social cohesion. The paper documents these shortcomings and suggests tentative ways forward.

social cohesion, peacebuilding, Central African Republic, state–society relations, inequality, vertical linkages, horizontal linkages,

Ethnopolitics

This article addresses three shortcomings in the path dependency literature on critical junctures... more This article addresses three shortcomings in the path dependency literature on critical junctures: the neglect of negative cases, non-state actors and of power asymmetries. The 2005 Cedar Revolution had the makings of a critical juncture. Yet despite the rise of alternative non-governmental organizations (ANGOs) seeking to change the sectarian political system, a public ready for change, renewed donor interest and funds, little came of this juncture; Lebanon's ANGOs are now inactive. This paper questions why. Building on fieldwork conducted between 2006 and 2010, it argues that the Cedar Revolution was a critical juncture and that this critical juncture was marked by a substantial power asymmetry between ANGOs and Lebanon's sectarian political actors. Nonetheless, the renewed donor interest in promoting a stable and democratic Lebanon could have reduced this power gap; however, the politics of Western democracy promotion ultimately reinforced the hold of sectarian leaders on Lebanon's political scene.

This article examines the transmission and reception of democratic norms in the context of libera... more This article examines the transmission and reception of democratic norms in the context of liberal peace interventions. It identifies two reasons for the failure to promote democracy: the strategies favored by liberal peace actors and the agency of local elites. Drawing on field research in Lebanon and Sudan, the article argues that liberal peace projects systematically provide opportunities for local elites to overcome the apparent asymmetry of power between them and liberal peace actors. It identifies two strategies of resistance to the promotion of democracy—disengagement and recuperation— and suggests that, of the two, disengagement is more likely to produce a relapse into violence.

Les intellectuels et les médias : dialogue Est-Ouest sur la démocratie pour les Balkans, édité pa... more Les intellectuels et les médias : dialogue Est-Ouest sur la démocratie pour les Balkans, édité par Mariella PANDOLFI, Annie LAFONTAINE, Laurence McFALLS & Marie-Joëlle ZAHAR

En mars 2013, une coalition hétéroclite de groupes armés, la Séléka, renverse le président Bozizé... more En mars 2013, une coalition hétéroclite de groupes armés, la Séléka, renverse le président Bozizé de la République centrafricaine (RCA), au pouvoir depuis 2003. Ce coup d’État réduit à néant plus de quinze années d’effort de consolidation de la paix et confirme l’extrême fragilité des institutions centrafricaines. Il force également la communauté internationale à s’interroger sur la pertinence de ces interventions, dont celles des Bureaux onusiens de consolidation de la paix (BCP) créés à la fin des années 1990 et présents en RCA depuis février 2000.

Pourquoi donc, en dépit de l’appui de ces Bureaux, la RCA est-elle retombée dans la violence ? Comment expliquer, inversement, que d’autres pays aux trajectoires semblables, mais sans l’aide onusienne, semblent pour l’heure en bien meilleure posture ? Cet ouvrage pose la question de l’efficacité des BCP en tant qu’outils de paix dans des contextes de fragilité étatique. Il examine le cas de la RCA, en utilisant le Tchad comme élément de contraste, et propose des pistes de réponse et d’action aux décideurs et aux praticiens travaillant dans le domaine.

This volume seeks to understand the central role of governments in intra-state conflicts. The bo... more This volume seeks to understand the central role of governments in intra-state conflicts.

The book explores how the government in any society plays two pivotal roles: as a deterrent against those who would use violence; and as a potential danger to the society. These roles come into conflict with each other, as those governments that can best deter potential rebels are also those that can do the most harm to their citizens. Therefore, a balance must be achieved, raising difficult tradeoffs for policy-makers. This volume marks a departure from studies of ethnic conflict and civil war in recent years, which have focused on failed states, in considering the idea that governments themselves may be the source of violence. The contributors not only explore the balancing act that governments must perform, but also on the positive and negative roles that the international community can play in these conflicts. In doing so, the book covers a range of cases from both advanced and newer democracies to the most conflict-prone parts of the world.

Comparing the Balkans: war legacies and state-building in the age of globalisation, 2008

The paper offers a critique of power-sharing arrangements as instruments able to sustain peace in... more The paper offers a critique of power-sharing arrangements as instruments able to sustain peace in deeply divided societies and as the foundations for a stable process of state (re-)building. The success of power sharing – defined as the achievement of a stable endogenously-driven process of state-building – in a post-conflict environment is at best limited, as illustrated by power sharing in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Lebanon. The paper argues that the impact of recent violence affects the stability of power-sharing compacts. Elite accommodation, a pre-requisite of successful power sharing, is unlikely in the wake of civil wars. Further, outside intervention, while stabilizing in the short-term, creates a status quo bias that endangers the ability of power sharing to endure. In sum, the paper argues that power sharing is not a panacea for sustainable peace in post-conflict societies. Especially in the early stages of peace implementation, power-sharing institutions are insufficient on their own to overcome the problem of credible commitment and provide a stable foundation for state (re-)building.

Michel Beaudin and Marie-Joëlle Zahar Territoire et sacré : penser un lien millénaire à l’aune du... more Michel Beaudin and Marie-Joëlle Zahar
Territoire et sacré : penser un lien millénaire à l’aune du XXIe siècle
Pages 5–23

This article analyses how alternative power-sharing mechanisms can be used to secure peace in cou... more This article analyses how alternative power-sharing mechanisms can be used to secure peace in countries where warring parties fail to reach a traditional power-sharing agreement, the most common method of solving the 'credible commitment' problem. By examining the cases of Angola and Mozambique, it demonstrates how 'soft' guarantees — in these cases, on the integration of armed forces and access to financial and material resources for rebel leaders — can help end civil wars. The non-binding nature of these pledges, however, also facilitated the ruling parties' progressive withdrawal from them, which has set back the democratisation process in both countries. This in turn may put at risk future peace and development.

Drawing upon the authors' experience and work with the Francophone Research Network on Peace Oper... more Drawing upon the authors' experience and work with the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations in Montreal, developing and implementing peacekeeping capacity-building projects for French-speaking countries in bilateral and multilateral contexts, this article critically explores the intersection of peace operations and the francophone spaces. The argument is that there has been an increasing ‘francophone fact’ or a ‘francophonization’ of peace operations. The article explains this emergence and examines its implications that, we argue, extend beyond the francophone space. The article suggests that the increasing importance of the ‘francophone fact’ in peacekeeping is the result of three reinforcing dynamics: (1) the reality of UN deployments in the past decade with more than a half of the blue helmets deployed in francophone settings; (2) the consequent creation of specific needs for the ‘good functioning’ of multidimensional peace operations; and (3) an incomplete but undeniable ‘appropriation’ of peace operations by francophone states and organizations.

Social cohesion has increasingly been touted as a tool of peacebuilding. Theoretically, the conce... more Social cohesion has increasingly been touted as a tool of peacebuilding. Theoretically, the concept is linked with efforts to address inequality and build social capital. Practically, social cohesion is bandied about in settings such as the Central African Republic (CAR) as an important objective for building sustainable peace. We argue that peacebuilding scholars focus more on social cohesion as an end goal than they do on the policy-making and implementation aspects of the concept. After reviewing two key social cohesion initiatives in CAR, we find practitioners equally remiss in thinking about process. Also, both communities involved in the initiatives face challenges in grasping the complexity of the horizontal and vertical linkages that sustain conflict and which need to be restructured to build social cohesion. The paper documents these shortcomings and suggests tentative ways forward.

social cohesion, peacebuilding, Central African Republic, state–society relations, inequality, vertical linkages, horizontal linkages,

Ethnopolitics

This article addresses three shortcomings in the path dependency literature on critical junctures... more This article addresses three shortcomings in the path dependency literature on critical junctures: the neglect of negative cases, non-state actors and of power asymmetries. The 2005 Cedar Revolution had the makings of a critical juncture. Yet despite the rise of alternative non-governmental organizations (ANGOs) seeking to change the sectarian political system, a public ready for change, renewed donor interest and funds, little came of this juncture; Lebanon's ANGOs are now inactive. This paper questions why. Building on fieldwork conducted between 2006 and 2010, it argues that the Cedar Revolution was a critical juncture and that this critical juncture was marked by a substantial power asymmetry between ANGOs and Lebanon's sectarian political actors. Nonetheless, the renewed donor interest in promoting a stable and democratic Lebanon could have reduced this power gap; however, the politics of Western democracy promotion ultimately reinforced the hold of sectarian leaders on Lebanon's political scene.

This article examines the transmission and reception of democratic norms in the context of libera... more This article examines the transmission and reception of democratic norms in the context of liberal peace interventions. It identifies two reasons for the failure to promote democracy: the strategies favored by liberal peace actors and the agency of local elites. Drawing on field research in Lebanon and Sudan, the article argues that liberal peace projects systematically provide opportunities for local elites to overcome the apparent asymmetry of power between them and liberal peace actors. It identifies two strategies of resistance to the promotion of democracy—disengagement and recuperation— and suggests that, of the two, disengagement is more likely to produce a relapse into violence.

In transitions from war to peace, mediators and other foreign interveners identify “spoilers” as ... more In transitions from war to peace, mediators and other foreign interveners identify “spoilers” as one of the main threats to peace processes. Profiling would-be spoilers and developing appropriate typologies to prevent them from using violence has become prevailing wisdom at the United Nations and beyond. This article argues that the spoiler typology has limited utility as a tool to guide the action of mediators and help them devise winning strategies. It asserts that there are no fixed spoiler types; actors' propensity to use violence depends on conditions that affect their capability and their opportunity structure. It uses the twin notions of capability and opportunity to identify ripe situations for mediation and for peace implementation. It also utilizes these notions to reflect on the appropriateness of various strategies that the international community can use in its attempt to bring about peace to war-torn countries. The article suggests that it is not actors, but contexts, that need to be profiled. Furthermore, international custodians do not simply react to situations; they have a profound impact on shaping the opportunity structure of civil war actors, and their willingness to implement policies that increase the cost of violence goes a long way toward determining whether or not local actors will use violence.

The purpose of international conflict-resolution efforts is, in the short term, to bring an end t... more The purpose of international conflict-resolution efforts is, in the short term, to bring an end to violent armed conflict, and, in the medium to longer term, to prevent the revival of conflict. However, at least one of the mechanisms often utilised in conflict resolution and peace agreements, power-sharing, may not only prove problematic in early negotiation and implementation, but may potentially be at odds with the longer-term goal of preventing resurgence of conflict. Why might this be the case? Longer-term peace-building seeks to prevent conflict in part by building strong and sustainable states. Such states should be able to avoid reverting to armed conflict because they would be more responsive to grievances and more effective in dealing with violent dissent. However, power-sharing arrangements may undermine such efforts by placing in power individuals and groups not fully committed to, or unable to take part in, governance for the benefit of the entire populace; in part because it necessarily places in power those who have engaged in significant violence to achieve their ends. This is likely to create less democratic states, although we do not insist that democracy is or should be the only goal of peacebuilders. Rather, we suggest that power-sharing arrangements may tend not only towards undemocratic states, but towards states which are not responsive to the needs of the citizenry for security in ways which may undermine human security and state legitimacy.

Critique Internationale, 2005

Les conflits dans le monde 2003, 2003

Les conflits dans le monde 2004, 2004

Les conflits dans le monde 2005, 2005

Les conflits dans le monde 2006, 2006

Les conflits dans le monde 2007, 2007

Les conflits dans le monde 2008, 2008

Les conflits dans le monde 2009, 2009

La politique en questions, 2008

La politique internationale en questions, 2009

Les conflits dans le monde 2010, 2010

Positive Peace for Lebanon: Reconciliation, Reform, and Resilience, 2012

Ethnic Conflict in the Former Yugoslavia, 1999

Civilians in War: Global Norms, Local Contexts, 2001

Manuel de relations internationales. Second edition., 2004

De Facto States: The Quest for Sovereignty, 2004

States within States: Incipient Political Entities in the Post-Cold War Era, 2004

La voie canadienne vers la cour pénale internationale : Tous les chemins mènent à Rome, 2004

Handbook of Federal Countries, 2005

Sustainable Peace: Power and Democracy after Civil Wars, 2005

Consolidation de la paix et fragilité étatique

Cet ouvrage porte sur la gestion de la fragilité étatique. Il met particulièrement l’accent sur l... more Cet ouvrage porte sur la gestion de la fragilité étatique. Il met particulièrement l’accent sur l’impact des interventions onusiennes de consolidation de la paix sur les trajectoires de fragilité étatique en RCA, notamment dans sa dimension sécuritaire. Qu’est-ce que la fragilité étatique ? Quels outils ont été mis en œuvre pour y remédier ? Quelles en sont les limites ? C’est à ces questions que cette partie cherche à apporter des réponses. Comme il a été évoqué précédemment, le concept de f..

Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal eBooks, Aug 1, 2007

El estado del mundo: anuario económico geopolítico mundial, 2008

International Journal: Canada's Journal of Global Policy Analysis, 2003

Pearson presided over the completion of Canada's transformation into a social welfare state, ... more Pearson presided over the completion of Canada's transformation into a social welfare state, and it had a cost. The cost may well have been the sacrifice of a forceful foreign policy. Even the drastic budget cutting of the 1990s (some of whose effects Cohen describes) took place in the context of saving as much as possible of Canadians' social welfare programmes while sacrificing national defence and foreign aid. The cutters of 1994 and 1995 may have been right or wrong in what they did, but it would be useful to look at the choices they had before them and their reasoning as they cut. Cohen's book thus does not do all it could or should. It's a pity, for his graceful style and his encyclopaedic knowledge should have added up to a more authoritative and more forceful book.

Canadian Journal of Political Science, 2010

Conciliation Resources, 2019

The war in Syria is one of the biggest humanitarian challenges of our times. It has claimed 500,0... more The war in Syria is one of the biggest humanitarian challenges of our times. It has claimed 500,000 lives, forced more than 5.6 million people to flee their country,and displaced 6.8 million people internally. The complexity of the conflict is reflected in the multiplicity of efforts to bring it to a negotiated end

Pluto Press eBooks, Sep 7, 2017

Lynne Rienner Publishers eBooks, Oct 1, 2002

McGill-Queen's University Press eBooks, Aug 6, 2002

Penser l'international

De tous les champs de la science politique, les relations internationales sont à la fois l’un des... more De tous les champs de la science politique, les relations internationales sont à la fois l’un des plus jeunes et des plus vastes. Dernier-né d’une discipline qui se targue d’élucider le politique, ce champ a tout d’abord cherché à se définir, à se distinguer des autres branches de la discipline, telles la théorie politique, la politique comparée ou encore l’analyse des politiques publiques. Mais cet effort de différenciation a vite buté contre les écueils d’une réalité complexe. C’est à la mo..

Presses de l’Université de Montréal eBooks, Aug 7, 2018

De tous les champs de la science politique, les relations internationales sont à la fois l’un des... more De tous les champs de la science politique, les relations internationales sont à la fois l’un des plus jeunes et des plus vastes. Dernier-né d’une discipline qui se targue d’élucider le politique, ce champ a tout d’abord cherché à se définir, à se distinguer des autres branches de la discipline, telles la théorie politique, la politique comparée ou encore l’analyse des politiques publiques. Mais cet effort de différenciation a vite buté contre les écueils d’une réalité complexe. C’est à la mo..

Middle East Journal, Jul 1, 2013

research, together with his ability to retain a critical view of them, and of Israeli society and... more research, together with his ability to retain a critical view of them, and of Israeli society and the polity as a whole. Indeed, among the nice surprises that this otherwise academic work offers are accounts of the author’s personal experiences. But, or rather in view of his long experience, one cannot ignore the author’s warnings that some of the ideas coming from what has widely been thought of as a fringe group, started by ultraradical Meir Kahane, have made their way into what is considered to be a legitimate discourse and to political parties that are considered to be mainstream. When I finished reading the book, which ends with an account of the electoral victory of the right in 2009 and its consequences, I wondered what the author would say about the 2013 election results. It seems that beyond the rhetoric of “new politics” the triumph of the ideas (even if not all the forces) of the radical right continue to have a strong influence on the Israeli polity. It would also be interesting to know more about the connections that exist between the Israeli and the European radical right, which would only substantiate Pedahzur’s claims. So read the book, keep it on your shelf, and look forward to Pedahzur’s future works on the subject.

Spirale : Arts • Lettres • Sciences humaines, 2008

Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 1999

Morality and Contemporary Warfare, by James Turner Johnson, New Haven: Yale University Press, 199... more Morality and Contemporary Warfare, by James Turner Johnson, New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999Croatia: A Nation Forged in War, By Tanner, Marcus, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997Another Kind of Justice. Canadian Military Law from Confederation to Somalia, By Chris Madsen, Vancouver, University of British Columbia Press, 1998Dispatches from Palestine: The Rise and Fall of the Oslo Peace

International Journal, 2003

International Journal, Jun 1, 2003

Pearson presided over the completion of Canada's transformation into a social welfare state, ... more Pearson presided over the completion of Canada's transformation into a social welfare state, and it had a cost. The cost may well have been the sacrifice of a forceful foreign policy. Even the drastic budget cutting of the 1990s (some of whose effects Cohen describes) took place in the context of saving as much as possible of Canadians' social welfare programmes while sacrificing national defence and foreign aid. The cutters of 1994 and 1995 may have been right or wrong in what they did, but it would be useful to look at the choices they had before them and their reasoning as they cut. Cohen's book thus does not do all it could or should. It's a pity, for his graceful style and his encyclopaedic knowledge should have added up to a more authoritative and more forceful book.

Ethique des relations internationales, 2013

Routledge eBooks, Apr 13, 2022

Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Mar 29, 2019