Actors In Conflict Research Articles

Ideology and cognitive stereotypes in media representation of the Russia–Ukraine conflict

This study investigates the representation of the Russia–Ukraine conflict by two state-owned Russian news media and two state-owned Ukrainian news media, namely Izvestia, Russia Today, Ukrinform and Dzerkalo Tyzhnia. The aim of this investigation is to determine the ideologies embedded in the news reports and discourse structures, and strategies deployed in portraying the conflict actors and their actions. Van Dijk’s socio-cognitive model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) (see Ideology: A Multidisciplinary Approach, 1998; New(s) racism: A discourse analytical approach, 2000; and Politics, ideology, and discourse, 2006) and Martin and White’s Appraisal Framework of attitude and graduation (see The Language of Evaluation: Appraisal in English, 2005) served as the theoretical frameworks. Using Critical Discourse Analysis as the analytical framework, the study examines how attitudinal and evaluative language use are employed to enact ideologies and to portray biased presentations of conflict actors. The findings reveal that the media reports of the Russia–Ukraine conflict are laden with militarism and nationalism. Discourse structures and strategies of emotive verbs, evaluative adjectives, positive self-presentation, negative other-presentation, national self-glorification, actor description, comparison and number games are powerful tools for enacting ideologies. The media representation of the Russia–Ukraine conflict lacked conflict resolution embedded linguistic frames and is rather distorted, stereotypic and conflict-inciting.

Land warriors for hire: the changing nature of land conflicts in Lagos, Nigeria

ABSTRACT This study interrogates the changing nature of land conflicts in the Ikorodu area of Lagos, Nigeria. Empirical data for the study was generated using qualitative methods. The study indicates that in urban areas of the city, land touts operate as Omo-Onile, meaning a group that claims the ancestral right to land. In the rural edges of Lagos, land touts operate as Ajagungbale, implying a group of land warriors for hire. The paper identifies three factors for the distinction between land conflict actors in rural and urban Lagos. These are the existence of a large expanse of land in rural areas, the nature of local authority in these areas, and the existence of ungoverned spaces in the rural areas. However, a new Property Protection Law by the Lagos state government was recently enacted to reduce the activities of these land touts and improve land governance in Lagos.

When Does Dispute Resolution Hold? Lessons from Three Ghanaian Case-Studies

ABSTRACT Conflicts relating to chieftaincy succession are recurrent among some monarchies in Ghana, and scholars have extensively debated their causes, resolution, and peacebuilding approaches. There have, however, been limited studies into the role that local actors’ acceptance or rejection of the selected method of dispute resolution plays in the resolution of chieftaincy disputes. This study fills this gap by using a multiple case study design involving 45 participants recruited through a maximum variation purposive sampling technique to understand the peacebuilding processes in the Yendi, Bole, and Bawku conflicts in northern Ghana. Primary data was collected through interviews and focus group discussions and analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The study revealed that indigenous, liberal, and hybrid approaches to conflict resolution were employed in the conflict resolution processes in northern Ghana. It further revealed that the stakeholders in Yendi and Bole generally accepted these approaches because of their congruence with existing peacebuilding practises, norms, traditions, and customs. However, in Bawku, some of the approaches were not aligned with the norms of some of the conflict actors, resulting in their rejection. Based on these findings, the study argues that the appropriateness and effectiveness of conflict resolution approaches in resolving chieftaincy conflicts depend more on the level of acceptance they receive from the stakeholders than on the type of approach used. The study underscores the prioritisation of local cultural practises and norms in the design and implementation of conflict resolution approaches.

Climate, Women, and Conflict: Rebel Groups’ Armed Activities after Major Disasters

Abstract This study builds long-anticipated bridges between the literature on (i) climate/disaster security, (ii) women, peace, and security, and (iii) rebel group behavior. Specifically, I analyze how rebel groups react to disasters (like droughts, earthquakes, floods, or storms) by intensifying or reducing their armed activities. This addresses a crucial knowledge gap: While a large literature is dealing with the impacts of climate change and disasters on armed conflict onset or incidence, knowledge on how environmental factors shape the behavior of particular conflict actors remains scarce. I argue that rebel groups escalate fighting when disaster-related opportunities occur (e.g., easier recruitment) but scale back their armed activities if adversely affected by the disasters (e.g., loss of resources). However, this relationship is contingent of the rebels’ inclusion of female combatants. Empirically, this study draws on a unique sample of thirty-six cases of disasters striking armed conflict zones and integrates quantitative and qualitative data via a qualitative comparative analysis. The results suggest that rebel groups intensify their armed activities to exploit disaster-related opportunities but can only do so when female combatants provide them with sufficient capabilities. Conversely, rebels have to reduce fighting when adversely affected by disasters unless they can draw on female members to cope with disaster impacts.

Conflict shapes in flux: Explaining spatial shift in conflict-related violence

In contemporary armed conflict, the spatiality of violence and the constellation of actors involved in it change frequently, but how these changes affect one another remains poorly understood. What explains the spatial shift of areas affected by violence in multi-actor conflicts? We argue that the emergence of a new dominant conflict actor facilitates a shift in conflict-related violence. We theorize the causal mechanism as ‘low-risk/high-opportunity attraction’. It exists in territories where these actors can draw on a local support base and enhance capacities to engage in violence. To demonstrate our theory’s validity, we conduct two plausibility probes: on the conflict in Colombia paired with the conflict in the Lake Chad region, and on the conflict in the Afghan–Pakistani borderlands paired with the conflict in Iraq/Syria. We adopt a mixed-methods approach integrating visualizations, spatial analysis, network analysis and process tracing, drawing, inter alia, on interviews from remote regions of war-torn Colombia and Iraq.

A review of how we study coastal and marine conflicts: is social science taking a broad enough view?

Conflict in the marine environment is of increasing relevance as blue growth boundaries are pushed and resource access and use are in dispute. Social science disciplines have a long history and a wide range of approaches for studying conflict. However, understanding the approaches used to study marine conflict is challenging since the literature is large, broad, difficult to navigate, and there is little connection between conflict themes and the associated methods used to analyze these conflicts. In the present study, we take a first step to address this by systematically reviewing 109 peer-reviewed articles that employ empirical social science methods to study marine conflict. We find that studies on marine conflicts have centered on disputed space, mainly at local scale, and natural resources, such as fish. The main parties at the center of the conflicts are small-scale fisheries and public authorities, although with a growing presence of blue growth sectors. Most studies employed qualitative approaches to study marine conflicts. Current gaps in the understanding of marine conflict include gaps in understanding relational interactions and historical causal events. The need for social science research into marine conflict and the application of multiple social science methods is ongoing as different constellations of conflict actors emerge and as disputed ocean spaces expand beyond EEZs, to include polar regions, and the sea floor.

Hybrid threats-possible consequences in societal contexts

Hybrid threats have become a persistent term in the 21st century geopolitical architecture, acquiring new values ​​as innovative unconventional means come to be used by both state and non-state actors in contemporary conflicts, with a view to obtaining strategic advantages, yet with devastating consequences at individual level. While the armed conflict effects have long been studied, the war metamorphosis with hybrid threats innuendos bring new challenges in assessing societal consequences, even more so, as they are increasingly identified in apparently peaceful times. A multifaced perspective on the threat outcome reveals multiple latent consequences, such as physical, material, psychological and emotional ones. Fear, one of the dominant human emotions, is the first to be triggered when any threat is present, regardless of its occurrence probability or possible effects. Fear becomes a strong drive for individuals’ future actions, sometimes prompting an offensive or defensive reaction previously embedded in the main actor’s behavior. In this context, the present paper aims to identify, analyze and understand the Russian-Ukrainian conflict consequences on the European states’ neighboring population, looking at the reactions and decisions triggered by fear. Using observation as a research method but also the case study method, we identified a series of similarities and differences in these countries’ reaction to solving situations, migration- generated crises, Russian disinformation and propaganda and Ukraine or other European state oriented cyber-attack. The main goal for this approach is to highlight the hybrid threats emotional consequences in conflicts that are more than psychological. Moreover, this is a preliminary step in a PhD research thesis with a view to provide states with solutions for resilience policies, to ensure their citizens’ survival and well-being.

Punching before the Bell Rings: United Nations Signaling and Pre-Deployment Violence in Civil Wars

AbstractIn the post-Cold War era, United Nations (UN) peacekeeping has been an effective civil conflict mitigation tool. On the path to peacekeeping, the UN Security Council often signals its growing likelihood to deploy an operation by passing resolutions addressing the conflict. How do these signals affect violence levels in a pre-operation environment? We posit that conflict actors have incentives to improve their relative positions through violence as the UN signals its likelihood to intervene. Using a new dataset that links UNSC resolutions to active civil wars from 1989 to 2014, we find that resolution passage is significantly related to an increase in combatant use of anti-civilian violence. Additionally, as the signal strengthens with the passage of a greater number of resolutions, violence increases. Thus, although deployed peacekeeping operations may effectively protect non-combatants, the process leading to deployment can produce a dangerous environment for civilians.

The patch as method: The arts’ contribution towards understandings of conflict

This article asks: how do art practice and research give form to changing dynamics of conflict? Its argument is two-fold: art’s contribution can be developed from empirical considerations (what art finds out), and from methodological ones (how art finds something out). Bringing in art practice and the research methods it informs into political science helps understand conflict and its changes: by engaging simultaneously with the interaction between the collective and the personal, art practice and research elucidates those complex and layered narratives used by various actors in conflict that often resist approaches rooted in social and political sciences. By paying attention to everyday interactions and emphasizing dynamism, art provides a different way to chart changes in armed conflict. Art documents discourses that are difficult to communicate otherwise and allows us to detect and engage with the grey areas, transformations, processes and ambivalences of conflicts that escape neat categorizations.

Conflict Resolution in the Interactionism Symbolyc Prespective

This study describes conflict resolution using the theory of symbolic interactionism by Herbert Blumer and George Herbert Mead. The theory of symbolic interactionism contains three main substances, namely mind, self and society. The self-concept put forward has three criteris, namely emotions, attitudes, beliefs, and values. Self-concept is an attempt to understand and interpret the actions of others through symbols, so that an agreement or compromise occurs. Conflict resolution is an effort to understand and interpret actions based on the symbols of conflict actors, so that an agreement can be reached, thereby creating conflict resolution.The discussion of conflict resolution uses the theory of symbolic interactionism by Herbert Blumer and George Herbert Mead, that self and self-concept are conflict resolution construction models that prioritize discussion and negotiation.

Socioeconomic reforms in times of political transformation: Conflicts over the political economy in Egypt and Tunisia post-2011

While ample research on the political economy of the MENA has pointed to the underlying causes of the Arab uprisings, little analysis has been done on the political economies after this massive rupture. To fill this gap, the contributions in this themed section use in-depth case studies from Egypt and Tunisia post-2011, and look at how socioeconomic challenges were addressed once political institutions – in very different regime contexts – were back in place. Given the fairly similar political economies, the case studies offer intriguing insights into obstacles that both a democracy and an autocracy face in tackling socioeconomic problems in issue areas such as fiscal policy, labour laws and decentralisation reforms. Studying these conflicts helps us to identify the relevant actors and their relative power at a given moment. The analysis also provides an opportunity to identify how formal and informal institutions are used and if the new institutional setting allows for effective conflict management. The results uncover a mixed depiction of capacities to implement reforms, which cannot be explained by the regime variable or absolute state capacity alone. Instead, explanatory power is found in a dynamic, relational, agency-oriented approach to analyzing state and social actors in issue-specific socioeconomic reform conflicts.

Actor-driven institutional change in forest communities: insights from the Bakossi Landscape of Cameroon

The institutions-cum-forest use dynamics literature is growing, albeit marred by scanty evidence on actor roles in shaping the process in sub-Saharan Africa. Cameroon represents a useful “laboratory” to explore such actor-driven change processes. Recent studies have reported the change process linked to a colonial hangover in parts of Cameroon that came under French influence, suggesting the need for fresh evidence to uncover such change processes in parts of the country which came under British influence. Using the Bakossi Landscape as a case, this article (i) traces the pathways of forest-linked institutional change, (ii) estimates the role of actor groups in shaping forest-linked institutional change, and (iii) explores the determinants of forest-linked institutional change in the Bakossi Landscape. A representative sample of 116 households in 3 selected communities was performed. This was complemented by focus group discussions (n = 6) and key informant interviews (n = 10). Descriptive statistics were used to establish forest-linked institutional change, while the ordinary least square was employed to estimate the effect of actor groups and other determinants on forest-linked institutional change. The results lead us to the following conclusions: First, both forest-linked institutional structures and processes witnessed changes over the years. Second, raising the intensity of actor group processes (in-migrants, local elites, traditional leadership, timber dealership and NTFP traders) significantly decreases changes in forest-linked traditional rules, while migration, state officials and the church significantly increase changes in forest-linked institutional structure. Finally, an increase in the composite index of process-mix traditional leadership and NTFP traders decreases changes in forest-linked institutional structures. Future studies should uncover gender dimensions of changes in forest-based institutions, as well as the role of conflict actors in engendering institutional change.

Actors in conflict of interest in Iran's health system: Ranking and policy recommendations for conflict of interest management

AbstractWe conducted this study to rank conflict of interest (COI) actors in Iran's health system. Based on a review of relevant literature, we extracted a list of 27 actors within seven categories who play roles in the COI in the health system. We considered three criteria for ranking the actors: the actor's interest, power, and authority concerning COI. Each actor scored one to five on the Likert scale in every criteria. Using descriptive statistics, each actor's mean and standard deviation of its scores were calculated in these three indicators. The actors were ranked using the fuzzy TOPSIS method. The results showed the leading players in abusing the COI in the health system of Iran are the “Food and Drug Organization” and the “Parliament.” The role and capacity of civil society and nongovernmental organizations as essential arms of oversight and transparency should not be overlooked. The government needs to enhance its efforts, we envisage, to utilize the capability of these actors by opening a dialog with them and providing the necessary training for COI.

In Their Shoes: Health Care in Armed Conflict from the Perspective of a Non-State Armed Actor

Abstract The protection of health care in armed conflict dates to the 1864 Geneva Convention. Yet violations of international humanitarian law related to the protection of health care occur on a near daily basis, and conflict actors continue to obstruct health care actors from assisting people in need in conflict areas. An estimated one-third of the recorded threats affecting health care are attributed to non-state armed actors (NSAAs). Yet given that many NSAAs themselves do in fact provide and facilitate health care, this essay considers NSAAs not just as threats but, in line with international human rights law, also as potential facilitators, providers, and promoters of health care. We discuss the specific case of Northeast Syria, where one NSAA has de facto control of the territory, and examine the level of involvement of NSAAs in the respect, protection, and provision of health care. We also explore some opportunities and challenges in engagement between humanitarian actors and NSAAs on health care provision, with an emphasis on seeing health care from the perspective of the NSAAs themselves.

Configuration and Strategic Scenarios in the Northwest Syria

Three years have passed since the massive military operation of Syrian Army. Nowadays territories of Syrian provinces Idlib and Aleppo which are partly under control of Syrian Army, partly under groups of islamists, and with a little presence of Kurdish forces, still are the most problematic point on the Syrian map, where interests of all main actors of Syrian conflict are crossed, where that conflict has become multi-layered, and where contradictions manifest themselves in artillery strikes and firefights despite the freezing of the hot phase of the conflict. In this article we will try to open up desires of parties of conflict and to show up scenarios, based on formed prerequisites, of the future of Northwest Syria for coming years.

Water Weaponisation: The Syrian Case

The start of the twenty-first century has seen the scarcity of water resources being increasingly framed as a weaponised instrument of war and a military objective by multiple actors. This article questions how the weaponisation of water by state actors and non-state actors in a violent conflict can further their hydro‑hegemony and power. It is argued that actors in a violent conflict weaponise water to materialise their war objectives in strategic gains and to (re)position themselves as the hydro‑hegemons of strategic geographical areas allowing them to enhance their power. To support this argument, this research draws on the Syrian conflict, specifically on the fight in the Barada valley and on the framework of hydro‑hegemony.

Conditions for the Occurrence of the Phenomenon

After the fall of the bipolar division of power, there was a rapid change in the conflict environment. One of the new terms that took hold in conflict studies is the so-called frozen conflict. The main objective of the research is to reveal what the necessary and sufficient conditions for freezing the conflict are. The research focuses on conflicts that occurred in the period 1991-2022. For this purpose, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is used. The research has revealed that the separatist tendencies of one of the conflict actors appear to be the most important, as this condition was present in 85% of all frozen conflicts and, based on the analysis of necessary and sufficient conditions, it should be considered very important.

Rebels with a cause: Introducing the Post-Rebel Electoral Parties dataset

The Post-Rebel Electoral Parties (PREP) dataset offers an important new tool to study the transformation of rebel groups into political parties. It provides longitudinal data on the electoral participation and performance in national elections of political parties formed by armed opposition groups after civil war. Post-rebel electoral parties sit at the center of overlapping research agendas that address how best to build durable peace, and how to build resilient political systems and capable states after devastating conflict. A better understanding of how and why these parties participate and perform in elections over time is critical to any assessment of liberal peacebuilding. These parties – their strategic choices, organizational development, and impact on the political systems in which they participate – are also relevant to the broader study of comparative democratization, political parties, and party systems. Our dataset follows these parties forward through up to three decades of participation in postwar electoral politics. The current version of the data consists of 78 distinct parties derived from 56 conflict actors. The data cover 322 legislative election years and 216 executive elections in 39 countries over 30 years (1990–2021). This article describes the data and articulates the need for and motivation behind the dataset. We then illustrate the relevance of the data by testing the impact of rebel participation on the long-term peace.

Peasant Women Empowerment as a Conflict Resolution Strategy in Sidomulyo Hamlet, Baluran National Park

The aims of this study are to 1) determine the causes of conflict between the Sidomulyo hamlet community and the Baluran National Park management; 2) find opportunities for conflict resolution through empowering peasant women. This research was carried out from April to June 2022. The method used is descriptive qualitative by direct field survey and interviews with Baluran National Park managements and Sidomulyo Hamlet farmers. Key informants were chosen using the purposive sampling method followed by snowball sampling. The data required includes the dynamics of conflict, the variety of conflicts, conflict actors, sources of conflict, and opportunities to empower women farmers. Based on the research data on the sources of conflict between the Sidomulyo community and the management of Baluran National Park, there are four different sources of conflict: differences in perceptions, knowledge, values, and values and differences in interests. Three resolutions are applied: Peacekeeping, Peacemaking, and Peacebuilding. In the Peacebuilding resolution empowerment programs is chosen because there is a big potential in for women to do entrepreneur activities. Women farmer empowerment can be done through entrepreneuship. The conservation village model through micro-credit assistance and the formation of women's farmer groups. The aim is to increase livestock yield products and the economy, income, and food security.

Opportunities and Challenges in Peace Programmes Employed In Managing of Student Conflicts in Public Universities in Western Kenya

The final goal of any university is to create a productive, collaborative and smooth environment for positive learning outcomes. However, there are cases where students are engaged in some conflicts that create impediments in their day-to-day educational performances. In order to manage persistent student conflicts in universities, both government and university administration have come up with various peace programmes. Statistics indicate that the number of students conflicts have increased from 0.9% in the 1990s to 7.5% in the last decade. Therefore, this study investigated opportunities and challenges in peace programmes employed in managing of student conflicts in public universities in Western Kenya. The study adopted descriptive survey and evaluation research design and based in selected universities in Western, Kenya. The study targeted students, academic staff and non-academic staff from the four universities within Western Kenya. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaire and interview guides as well as focus group discussions. Data was analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. Apart from students, other actors in student conflicts are staff, administration, politicians, community and police. The main cause of student conflicts was university policies. The effectiveness of peace programs in managing of student conflicts was at 23.9%. The overall conclusion of the study is that effectiveness of existing peace programmes is not adequate to manage student conflicts in public university in Kenya due to challenges, however, exploiting the opportunities can enhance their effectiveness. The study recommended that early conflict warning signs, often noticeable in their very nature should not be treated laggingly and reactively but proactively to lessen the nature they take in the end.