Community Conflict Research Articles

Hate Speech and Incitement in Myanmar before and after the February 2021 Coup

Abstract This article examines the use of hate speech and incitement by perpetrators of violence and atrocities in Myanmar against vulnerable populations like the Rohingya community from the outbreak of communal conflict in Rakhine in 2012 to the post-February 2021 coup. It argues that there is a clear link between hate speech and incitement, on one hand, and the escalation of violent attacks against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in the country, which presaged the atrocities committed by security forces. It draws some implications for R2P and atrocities prevention from the Myanmar case study, which includes the flawed democratisation process initiated by the military and the manifest failure of both the usdp and nld governments to uphold their primary responsibility to protect vulnerable populations in the country. As well, the international community led by the United Nations and asean have both failed in their responsibility to respond in a timely and decisive manner to protect the Rohingya from genocide as well as the larger civilian population from the junta’s violent crackdown after the February 2021 coup.

Conservancies, rainfall anomalies and communal violence: subnational evidence from East Africa

AbstractAre conservancies hotspots for communal violence and if so, do rainfall anomalies increase the likelihood of violence? The consensus from a rich number of case studies suggests that conservancies (e.g. national parks, game reserves) increase tensions between communities, which often lead to violent conflicts. Yet, these insights remain to be empirically tested using a large-N study. We examine this claim and explore if rainfall anomalies have an amplifying effect on violent conflicts. We contend that the spatial convergence between conservancies and rainfall variability can spark conflicts over access to resources in times of scarcity and create strategic opportunities to satisfy secondary goals in times of abundance. To test our expectations, we use sub-national data from East Africa between 1990 and 2018. Our results suggest that regions with conservancies are somewhat more prone to communal violence and find strong evidence that positive rainfall anomalies increase the likelihood of violent communal conflicts in regions with a conservancy.

Christianization as a Challenge for Islamic Daʿwah in Indonesia

The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth and impact of Christianity as a missionary religion on the Islamic da'wah in Indonesia, where the Muslim community has a long history of resistance to colonialization, which was initiated by the Christian community. Furthermore, a qualitative descriptive method was used with data predominantly obtained through the observation of facts in the Christianization field. In addition, the effects of Christianity on the Islamic da'wah were analyzed through a review of documentation and reference studies. The results showed that some of the methods used by Christians in spreading their religion and movements were occupation, politics, Western citizens, poverty, diseases, consciousness weakness, self-preparation, Muslims' indulgence, financial guarantees, Laziness in teachings, preparing the missionaries, and brainwashing. By utilizing these methods, Christians often proclaimed their denomination and congregation, ultimately leading to various community conflicts. The findings suggest the need for a healthy and productive dialogue from a new perspective to resolve conflicts, promote harmony, and create a fairer, peaceful, and innovative civilization that views religion through spiritual perspectives.

Oil Exploration in Eastern Obolo Environment, 1996 – 2021

Eastern Obolo is richly endowed with abundant natural resources especially crude oil and gas. Oil exploration has impacted disastrously on the people and their environment. Despite its immense contribution to the up-keep of the state, the area has suffered monumental neglect and deprivation in addition to the destruction of the ecosystem. The fauna and flora are under threat. The exploration of crude oil apart from causing damages to the ecosystem has been one of the major sources of communal conflicts and crime in the area. This vexed situation has in recent years encouraged youth restiveness, violent protests, pipeline vandalisation and kidnapping. Against this backdrop, the paper argues that unless there is a paradigm shift in the manner the oil multinationals as well as the state and federal government respond to these ugly situations, violent crisis will continue to prevail.

Conflicts between mining companies and communities: Institutional environments and conflict resolution approaches

AbstractAlthough companies recognize the importance of social responsibility and community engagement, conflicts between companies and communities have been noticeably increasing. To better understand the role of institutional environments in company–community conflicts, we analyze two mining conflicts—Minera Yanacocha's Minas Conga extension project in Peru and Minera Los Pelambres' El Mauro Tailings Dam in Chile. Our findings imply that, to prevent negative consequences and alleviate company–community conflicts, mining companies should address underlying structural causes and pursue informal approaches in order to obtain and maintain their social license. We find that better formal institutional environments not only alleviate conflict intensity but also facilitate informal approaches through which companies and communities can cooperate to resolve conflicts. The best practice would be to start and continue dialogs between communities and companies, mediated by impartial governments, to understand the concerns of the counterparty and find means by which to address the causes.

Elementos culturales y usos sociopolíticos de una celebración a las Ánimas en Santiago Mexquititlán

This work addresses the Celebration of the Day of the Dead in 2019 in Santiago Mexquititlán from a cultu- ral and political approach. The intention was to know the cultural elements and their ritual expression, as well as to expose their reactivation in the framework of a community conflict. Theoretical-conceptual ar- guments of the Theory of Cultural Control and the procedural analysis of the rite were used, as well as elements of Participatory Action Research and ethno- graphic techniques for its documentation.

Analisis Konflik Pabrik Semen di Rembang dalam Perspektif Johan Galtung

This study aims to analyze the conflict between the cement factory in Rembang using the Galtung perspective. Galtung's theory includes three concepts, namely contradiction, attitude and behavior. The setting of this research is in Gunem District, Rembang Regency. This study uses a qualitative approach, the type of case study method. The data collection process was carried out by interviewing 20 people. The interview process was carried out when the cement factory conflict was at its done on the top in 2017-2020. The conflict was still real, because it has widened into an ideological conflict. The results of this study indicate that the main issue underlying the conflict was the local government's policy of granting a permit for the exploitation of a cement factory in Gunem Tegaldowo. The dominant policy in the economic context, is not proportional to the impact of damage to nature and the environment, where people farm and meet their water needs. The dominance of economic policy leads to (1) different perceptions, (2) people's hatred towards the government, and creates contradictions by making various efforts to refuse. The actions are carried out in 3 categories (1) questioning behavior, (2) opposing behavior, (3) protest behavior. Cement factory conflicts are different from communal conflicts. Cement factory conflicts are closely related to political policies made by government officials who have interests. The cement factory conflict is a conflict algorithm or conflict by design.

Preserving Diversity: Lessons from Batang Tarang Village of West Kalimantan

The recurring communal, racial conflicts in West Kalimantan have left unpleasant memories among the local community. Unfortunately, some people believe that similar events will keep happening. This article was based on field research that relied on interviews and observations involving several crucial things. This research argues that communal conflicts in West Kalimantan can be averted by empowering internal forces to maintain balance in a plural society. This article found that conflict-prone societies such as those in Batang Tarang have the capacity to build harmony through togetherness, inter-ethnic marriages, the moderate practice of Islam, fair practice of adat [customary law], and strengthening awareness of shared origins.

The Untold Stories of The Police Officer in Responding Community Conflict: A Phenomenological Study

This study aims to address a gap in the existing literature on Law Enforcement studies by interviewing the 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company (PMFC) in Ozamiz City to identify their issues and concerns related to law enforcement. The study participants were eight law enforcers whose responses were analyzed to identify appropriate themes. The gathered data revealed four main themes: (1) Alcohol Influence, (2) Family Conflict, (3) Lack of Communication, and (4) Conflict between Minors in the Street. In conclusion, the findings of this study shed light on important issues faced by the 2nd PMFC in Ozamiz City regarding law enforcement. Addressing these concerns through targeted interventions, such as alcohol education, family support, improved communication, and programs for minors, can contribute to the prevention and resolution of community conflicts. Law enforcement agencies can proactively address these themes and foster safer and more harmonious communities.

Opinion Dynamics and Social Group Information Efficiency: an agent-based model

A platform for agent-based modelling of social processes is developed. The focus is on information exchange in a group of social agents. The dynamics of opinions on some topic is modelled, as well as the structure of social ties, which are weakened if opinions are distant and strengthened if opinions are close. In addition, to objectify the notion of "information efficiency of communication in a group", a test is proposed in which the structure of social ties is transferred to the structure of neural network connections, so that the strength of a tie is equated to a weight. Training of such a "sociomorphic" neural network was conducted and tested on the MNIST array, a test of the ability to recognisehandwritten digits from 0 to 9. The previously described effects of polarisation of opinions and division of the group into subgroups with high density of ties within subgroups and weak ties between agents from different subgroups were obtained in the variant of discussion of one topic. To approximate real groups, a topic selection algorithm was added to the basic opinion sharing algorithm, which is performed by comparing the cosine distance between semantic vectors - the vector of values assigned to each agent and the vector of each of the 9 topics. The topic vectors were generated based on the real news agenda of the news agency. The value vectors were taken from work in which a large sample of Russian youth was surveyed about their association with something most important in life. The modelling results show that the presence of several topics in the news agenda makes the communication process more flexible and multidimensional: even for the most semantically close to values and frequently chosen topics, polarisation of opinions was much slower than in the case of a single topic, and complete segmentation of the group was not observed over the modelled time period. This methodological approach can be useful for modelling conflicts in different communities, as well as for designing artificial communities with increased constructive creative potential. For example, the model can be used to optimise communications in complex multicultural societies

The Nature of Traditional Justice in Africa: A Case Study of the Bukusu People of Kenya

The traditional justice systems have throughout history been fundamental in solving disputes and conflicts in African communities. They are seen as an alternative or a complement of the formal court systems. These courts are based on customary practices, traditions and rules of communities. In some countries, the traditional justice systems operate within the state control while in other countries the law recognizes them as mechanisms that are used to solve disputes and conflicts. Though some see these mechanisms as backward and not promoting development, most Africans in rural settlements prefer them. Most Africans resort to traditional justice systems to solve their disputes because of three reasons. One is that most Africans live in rural areas where the services of the formal court systems are limited. Two, the formal courts may not be able to offer the type of justice appropriate for disputes between people living in rural areas where such disputes can cause conflict within the communities thus affecting the relationship that exists between them. Three, the formal court systems may not subscribe to the cultural and religious traditions that are applied during the resolving of the disputes. The rural people because of the sacredness attached to it revere these traditions. This article seeks to examine the nature of traditional justice systems in Africa.

Enhancing Community Conflict Resolution Skills: A Training Needs Assesment for Lupon Tagapamayapa

This research aimed to determine the training needs of the Lupon Tagapamayapa, operating under the Barangay Justice System, as perceived by constituents from selected barangays in the City of Ozamiz. Specifically, the study focused on the areas of conciliation efforts to reconcile parties, enforcement of rules, and proper application of legal procedures. A total of 35 constituents participated in the study, and data were gathered using an adapted survey questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed the training needs of the Lupon Tagapamayapa in handling community disputes. By fulfilling this objective, the study aimed to contribute to the development of training programs that would benefit the Lupon Tagapamayapa in four barangays of Ozamiz City through community extension programs. The results indicated that the Lupon Tagapamayapa in the four barangays of Ozamiz City scored very low in the areas of conciliation efforts to reconcile parties, enforcement of rules, and proper application of legal procedures. Furthermore, age, gender, and civil status were found to have a significant impact on the conciliation process to reconcile parties. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended specific areas of training that could be beneficial for the Lupon Tagapamayapa. These areas include conflict resolution, communication skills, legal knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and problem-solving skills. It is important for them to receive training in various techniques and strategies for resolving disputes and maintaining peaceful community relations. By addressing these training needs, the Lupon Tagapamayapa can enhance their effectiveness in carrying out their roles within the Barangay Justice System. It is hoped that this research will serve as a foundation for the development and implementation of targeted training programs, ultimately leading to improved conflict resolution and strengthened community relations in the barangays of Ozamiz City.

Kartografirovanie bazovykh i moralnykh emotsiy pozhilykh zhiteley “depressivnykh” territoriy kak odin iz instrumentov preduprezhdeniya emotsionalnykh konfliktov

The article presents an overview of the main theoretical approaches to the origins of the notions of “basic” and “moral” emotions, and the correlation of emotions and space in such scientific fields as cultural anthropology, sociology, and psychology, starting from the 1980s. Also, the article provides examples of contemporary research which utilizes the visualization of basic and moral emotions by means of applications and computer software as a method of studying the emotional image of the city (cities). In 2017–2022, the author created emotion maps of semi-abandoned Vorzogory and Maloshuika villages and Komsomolsky settlement of the Arkhangelsk region (northern Russia), based on anonymous questionnaires among their permanent senior residents. Mapping of emotions made it possible to visualize problem emotional loci, to reveal the existence of emotional segregation and places of mixed emotions, and to determine the borders of emotional environments. As a result of field observations and analysis of travel blogs, the author concludes that there is a “a conflict of emotions”, i.e. a contradiction between the basic and moral emotions. Not only places of basic emotions, such as anxiety and disgust, but also places of moral emotions, such as pride and shame, require preventive work, aimed at avoiding potential community conflicts, as well as conflicts between the local populations and tourists/migrants, preserving emotional health of senior citizens, and in the end, promoting sustainable development of local communities.

The water management system of the Haute-Comoé sub-watershed under multiple uses pressure in South-West in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, the Upper Comoé sub-basin has a high potential of water, useful for the development of the population's economic activities. These economic activities create the increase needs of water with conflictual relations between the users the last few decades. This study analyses the water resource management system in the face of the risk of community conflicts in the Upper Comoé sub-basin. The methodology integrates literature review, observation and mixed field surveys. The main results are that the driving force of water conflicts are the decrease of its available quantity, the increasing demand of users and land pressure. Indeed, there is a decrease of the quantity of estimated at 7,284,915 m3 (17%) compared to the total demand of the user groups (43,398,317 m3). The relics of riparian formations, once useful for protecting the banks of water surface, have regressed by 4.8% to the benefit of shrubby savannahs (0.9%) and rainfed crops (0.9%) between 1990 and 2020. This degradation of the flora of the banks, linked to the high demand for land, is perceived by 58% of the respondents. To fix the problem, the local communities have created Local water committees. These committees use a water allocation system. At this step, some improvements are necessary, but going from land restoration and riverbank protection actions, these Local water committees are already relevant actors for conflict prevention and equitable water sharing.

An analysis of the narrowing space of secularism in India and its ramifications in the region

Indian society was diverse and complex in nature from its emergence and was marred with communal conflicts. Hence, it was inevitable for the founding fathers of the Indian state to adopt an inclusive political system based on democracy, secularism, and pluralism to achieve unity in diversity. Due to the self-centric mindset of succeeding politicians who began to drift away from these ideals, secularism has been declining for a long time. The appalling political behaviour of the ruling elite has been enlarging the gulf between the theory and practice of secularism since the rule of the Indian National Congress, starting from the demise of Nehru. It has been damaging the idea of composite cultural nationalism by narrowing its societal space. That practice has also created an ideological vacuum filled by religious nationalism over time and reached its culminating point when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came into power in India. This article analytically explores the consequences of the narrowing space of secularism and the resultant rise of Hindutva. It also delineates the destabilization of the domestic environment and an alarming regional security situation affected by the emerging extremist ideology in place of secularism in India.

Islamic Religious Education Textbooks in a Pluralist Nigeria

Pluralism and religious diversity offer opportunities for deep learning across cultures and religions. However, in some cases, religious diversity also results in tensions and conflicts in communities because religious differences polarize people of different faith traditions. This article analyzes how religious instruction textbooks used in public junior high schools in Nigeria promote integration and inclusion. In particular, the paper will examine the approved texts used in teaching Islamic Religious Studies (IRS). In analyzing the IRS textbooks, the article focuses on two major points: how the texts present Islam to the students, and how students are equipped to deal with the question of contrasting truth claims within and outside their faith traditions. This article argues that the IRS textbooks used in high school in Nigeria should expand their discussion on Islam to include open interaction about the religious differences within and across religious traditions. I argue that IRS textbooks need to prepare students to deal with different theological truth claims in a way that is both self- and other-respecting. To compose a text that engages religious pluralism, I propose that the approach of teaching religious education in junior secondary schools in Ghana should be used as a model, as it could offer Nigeria some insights on how to teach religious knowledge from a pluralistic approach.

Analysis of perceived causes of conflicts among yam farmers in cross river state nigeria

This study assessed the causes of conflicts among yam farmers in Cross River State. The major objectives of the study were to; identify the socio-economic characteristics of yam farmers in the study area, identify the type of conflicts prevalent in the study area and assessed the causes of conflicts among yam farmers in the study area. A well structured questionnaire was used to elicit data from respondents. A multi-stage sampling technique was used to obtain information for the study. Descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, percentage, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse data obtained from respondents. The results of the socio-economic characteristics of the respondents revealed that a large number of the respondents had formal education, were married (58.0%), were aged between 20 to 40 years (49.0%), had household size 1-7 (75.0%) and were mostly farmers (60.0%). It was equally observed that conflicts were of many types across the zone namely; intergroup conflicts (͞X-2.04), family conflict (͞X=2.02), communal conflicts (͞X-2.05) and Tribal conflicts (͞X-1.99) among many others. The main causes of conflict among yam farmers were; land encroachment (͞X=2.83), Disagreement among family members on land issues (͞X=2.75), straying of cattle into yam farms (͞X=2.66) and land disagreement among traditional authorities (͞X=2.62) among very many others. The study recommend that land boundaries should be properly delineated and garsseted from time to time by traditional rulers in conjunction with the government of the day. This will help curb some cases of land conflicts in the study area.

Drivers of human–black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) conflict in Indigenous communities in the North Rupununi wetlands, southwestern Guyana

AbstractRecovering populations of large carnivores impact the people that live alongside them, sometimes leading to conflict and lethal retaliation. One such carnivore, the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger) has been implicated in the destruction of fishing equipment, depredation of livestock and pets, and attacks on humans. In order to understand how various stakeholder groups are affected by the negative impacts of living alongside caiman, and their resulting attitudes and behaviors towards caiman, we conducted semistructured interviews in seven Indigenous communities in southwestern Guyana from November 2017 to October 2019. We used logistic and ordinal regression to identify demographic indicators of fishing behavior and factors that are associated with negative attitudes and antagonistic behavior. Loss of pets in addition to an effect of gender, rather than competition overfishing resources (as hypothesized) may drive conflict between Indigenous communities and black caiman. We propose site differences, such as ecotourism may affect attitudes about and behavior towards caiman. The presence of impacts on communities and retaliatory behavior indicates that human–wildlife and wildlife–human impacts involving black caiman may be a concern for the recovery of the species' populations, and the communities that coexist with them.

Restorative Justice and Peace Creation in Western Kenya

The article assesses the use of indigenous methods of conflict resolution embedded in restorative practices and seeks to establish the role that Mount Elgon’s Residents Association played in peace-building in the area. The study adopts the theoretical work of Johan Galtung’s conflict analysis model and John Paul Lederach’s conflict transformation work on peace-building. The study reveals a yawning need for younger community members to be more involved in peace-building activities in the Mt Elgon area. It further reveals that community members aged between 35 and 54 years strongly believe that their traditional culture and indigenous practices is central to their peace-building efforts in their locality. The study found out that a majority of community members felt that their involvement has played an important role in disarming local militia groups and in peace-building. Overall, the community strongly pointed at land and “dirty politics” as issues being at the forefront of community conflict in Mt. Elgon.

Supply Chain Management Practice and Its Impact on Performance of Humanitarian Relief Organization in Case of Gedeo Zone

Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study was to see how supply chain management practices affected humanitarian relief organizations in the Gedeo zone. Research methodology: The study used a mixed research approach, with respondents selected using a stratified proportionate technique from each organization's employees to disseminate a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews done using a purposeful sampling technique. Correlation and regression, as well as thematic analysis, were used in the analysis. Results: The finding of the study reveals that supplier integration, information sharing, postponement, and outsourcing affect humanitarian relief organizations’ performance positively in a statistically significant way. Limitations: The main limitation is that the study focused only on humanitarian relief organizations operating in the Gedeo zone. Contribution: Ethiopia experienced natural and human-made disasters such as (El Niño, flood, famine, war, communal conflict, etc) for decades. To reduce the threat of this, the Study suggests that supply chain management practice is a serious concern for many relief humanitarian organizations operating in the Gedeo zone. Keywords: 1. supply chain management practice 2. humanitarian relief 3. organization performance