International Conflict Resolution: Some Critiques and a Response (original) (raw)
Related papers
The Evolution of International Conflict Resolution: From Cold War to Peacebuilding
Negotiation Journal, 2009
Shaped by the changing nature of international conflict, the field of international conflict resolution evolved significantly throughout the latter years of the twentieth century and continues to be redefined. The end of the Cold War created space for a major transformation of the international conflict resolution field. This transformation was marked by three trends: (1) an expansion from a focus on superpower negotiating strategies to a wider peacebuilding agenda, (2) an increase in the role of nongovernmental actors as both disputants and third parties in international conflicts, and (3) a growing concern about human security in addition to state security, creating both tensions and opportunities for collaboration between governmental and nongovernmental bodies. This article presents a brief overview of each trend, as well as some concluding questions to frame the field's further development at this important juncture.
The Context of Conflict Resolution - International Relations and the Study of Peace and Conflict
Working paper CEsA CSG 164/2018, 2018
This paper provides a brief review of almost one century of academic research within the discipline of International Relations with a focus on the thinking about Peace and Conflict and its links to approaches in Conflict Resolution. The framework of analysis is based on the definition of science, what is studied and how it is studied, which delimits the analysis into the four debates in IR: between 1919 and the 1940s, the idealist versus realist debate; in the 1950s and 1960s, the traditionalist versus behaviourist debate; in the 1970s and 1980s, the inter-paradigm debate, and, since the 1990s, the rationalist versus reflectivist debate. This paper identifies how the classical conception of security centred on the state, the military and external threats was broadened by different approaches to include other actors (individuals, groups, societies, civilizations), other sectors (economic, political, social, environmental) and internal threats. In tandem, it maps the epistemological and sometimes ontological challenges to positivism and rationalism found in (Neo) Realism, (Neo) Liberalism and Marxism, by a set of post-positivist and reflective theories or approaches, such as the cases of Human Security, Feminism, Post-structuralism, Constructivism, Post-Colonialism, Critical Studies, and the Copenhagen School. The emergence and development of all these theories and approaches are historically contextualized alongside developments of Conflict Resolution approaches.
International Conflict Resolution: From Knowledge to Practice and Back Again
Concern with the prevention and resolution of war probably dates to the emergence of war itself. Ancient narratives such as the Mahabharata and the Iliad offer brief glimpses of divine and human mediation (Wanis-St. John, 2012). Contemporary approaches trace their origins to the two European state-centric attempts to create regional orders that would not decay into a war among major powers: the fragmented Westphalian peace that followed the Thirty Years War and the balance of power inaugurated 2 THE HANDBOOK OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Conflict Resolution: a Review of Some Non-Governmental Practices:" a Cautionary Tale"
Conflict Resolution: a Review of Some Non-Governmental Practices:" a Cautionary Tale", 1995
This is a review of the literature and practices of UK non-governmental agencies (NGOs) involved in conflict resolution, conflict resolution training and preventive diplomacy. It is the result of research funded by the Economic and Social Committee on Oversees Research (ESCOR) under the auspices of the Refugee Studies Programme, University of Oxford.
Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies
Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies, 2007
Prior to the Second World War, interstate conflict was the predominant form of organized violence in international relations. During the Cold War and the period that has followed it, intrastate violence and intercommunal conflict have replaced interstate violence as the principal form of conflict in international relations. However, what is striking about the international conflict trends is that over the past two decades the number of civil wars, measured by their frequency and aggregate levels of violence, has been on the decline. This trend is now well-documented in a large number of studies, including, most recently, the Human Security Report (Mack 2005) of the Liu Institute of International Studies at the University of British Columbia. What is also borne out in these studies is that many of these conflicts-Bosnia, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Mozambique, the conflict between North and South Sudan, El Salvador, Guatemala, the border dispute between Peru and Ecuador, and now perhaps the conflict in Aceh-have been settled or 'resolved' through a process of negotiation, upsetting a longstanding, post-Westphalian trend where wars traditionally ended when one party defeated the other on the battlefield. And even in those cases of those perennial conflicts-Israel-Palestine, Sri Lanka, Kashmir, Mindanao, and Korea-that are still ongoing , negotiations between the warring parties have rarely been off the table. In terms of war termination, there are two trends to explore. The first is the apparent decline in the outbreak of wars. There is obviously a need to explore the factors or forces that are shaping and influencing these international conflict trends in order to understand better why some conflicts are diminishing and whether or not this tendency will continue (Marshall and Gurr 2005). 1 The second trend is the growing interest in negotiated settlements, which is the area that this paper will explore. The objectives of this paper are as follows: (1) to discuss why warring parties in recent years have increasingly turned to the 'negotiation option'-usually with the assistance of third parties, including third-party mediators-in order to settle their differences; and (2) to explore some of the different approaches to the study and practice of negotiation in the burgeoning conflict management literature.
2011
After focusing in on the environmental dimension of peace and conflict studies in our previous issue, this spring issue of the Review pulls the lens back once again to take in a broader sweep of the discipline. The articles compiled in this collection should, therefore, be treated individually, as each provides a distinct insight into an issue of its own framing, informed by a particular, though typically interdisciplinary conceptual grounding. Still, there are some common themes across the issue-pointing less to a shared ideological or philosophical doctrine so much as an intellectual curiosity and a willingness to challenge perceived truths, characteristics which extend far beyond individual disciplines, and indeed, academia itself. One such theme is intervention (whether by state, NGO, economic, or other social actors), and the motivations, implications, and ethics involved in social engineering or activism of any kind. Often, intervention is accompanied by a competition of narratives, and some of the following articles have engaged with this process head on, especially Lachica's analysis of the 1999 intervention into East Timor, which contextualizes the Australian government's policies within a clear theoretical understanding of state behaviour in the international arena. Others approach the issue from another angle, as it were, such as Ahmed's research findings on gaps between the theory of ethical intervention espoused by many NGOs working in Pakistan (embodied by the recent development of peace and conflict impact assessments), and the realities experienced by those on the ground. Although it is far less central to the argument, the theme of intervention appears again in Ikuomola & Okunola's analysis of factors inhibiting greater gender-balance and democratic participation in Nigerian politics, in terms of the political machinations of "godfathers", for example, and again in Cui's exploration of Sino-Japanese relations in light of increasing environmental cooperation, which touches on the issue of official development assistance, among several others. Of course, all of these articles evoke multiple themes, some more fundamental than intervention, such as the intersection of identity and politics, and the relative weight of economic factors in the mechanics of conflict escalation, protraction, and resolution. This latter theme is the explicit focus of the final research article in this collection, Thornton & Gude's analysis of peace agreements in Colombia, which argues for the greater consideration of economic factors in future peace negotiations. I am grateful to all of our contributors, including Nieto and Mapuva for their book reviews, as well as our board of editors, and, of course, our readers. As always, your comments and contributions are more than welcome, please direct all correspondence to
Peace and Conflict Studies: Evolution, Relevance, and Approaches for Change
2021
Originally emerging from the amalgamation of varied disciplines, the field of Peace and Conflict Studies has evolved and transformed throughout the years. In its current configuration, it boasts a plethora of analytical tools, theories, and formal as well as informal processes for achieving lasting peace. The following paper details the different historical phases making up the field. It also explores international war, deconstructs conflict, examines theories of Peace and Conflict Studies, and distinguishes between conflict management, resolution, and transformation. It additionally elaborates on informal methods for conflict resolution while making the case for multileveled and collective efforts to transform societal structures, cultures, and mindsets, and to instill transformative peace