International Peace Research Articles

Patriotic Internationalists and Free Immigration: The British Labour Party’s Internationalism in Debates on Immigration Restriction, 1918–1931

As highlighted in the recent controversies over European immigrants and the refugee ‘crisis’ that culminated in Brexit, Labour’s struggle in balancing its internationalist principles with policy administration has been a constant theme in the party’s immigration and refugee policy. This article situates the Labour Party’s discussion on the 1919 Aliens Act in the context of post-war internationalism, and contends that the change in focus from pre-war advocacy of the British liberal tradition to internationalist concerns reflected both the socialist proclamation of the Labour Party and the liberal internationalism of the time. The 1919 Aliens Act was deemed an example of selfish nationalism likely to undermine international peace and workers’ solidarity. At the same time, however, Labour also sought to shake off the suspicion that advocacy of free immigration could pose – that the party prioritized foreigners over Britons – by reconciling internationalism with patriotism. Insisting that true internationalism be built upon love of one’s home country, Labour politicians did not give up their patriotic and national claims, and accepted that a state could restrict the inflow of foreigners in times of national difficulty.

NONVIOLENT STRUGGLE AND UNCERTAINTY: SOME PERCEPTIONS OF TIBETAN DIASPORA IN DELHI

The present study argues that there is a need to explore peoples perceptions of non-violent struggle and their life experience with non-violent struggle which can enrich the debate of the contemporary relevance of non-violent struggle. To explore this, the Tibetan diaspora from Delhi is taken as a case for this purpose, who have adopted non-violent struggle for more than six decades as of now. In-depth interviews were carried out in a Tibetan settlement at MajnuKaTilla in Delhi. Twenty-fiverespondents were interviewed using purposive sampling.Their views are mostly pessimistic about the non-violent approach, given its high rate of unsuccessfulness and its negligible impact on China. The lackadaisical approach of international peace keeping organisations towards their non-violent approach is also responsible for it.These reasons are compelling some of them to think of violence as an alternative tool to achieve the desired end. To address these radical tendencies, efforts like educating Tibetans about M K Ghandi, Martin Luther king Jr. and Nelson Mandelas contribution and the systematic utilization of non-violent strategies in an innovative way to achieve the goal might help. The study concludes with the fact that International peace keeping organisations especially United Nations can make a significant contribution in internationalising the Tibetan issue and provide peaceful solution.

Examining the Roles of National Assembly in Promoting Good Governance and Nation-Building in Nigeria

The legislature is an institution which represents the common and collective interests of the citizens through the enactment of laws and the exercise of oversight functions on the activities of the executive arm of government. For stable and sustainable international peace, nation-building and good governance require building effective societal, economic and political structures that meet the needs of the people. In the quest for nation-building in a democratic state like Nigeria, the exercise of effective legislative oversight function is crucial. It acts to provide checks and balances in cases when the executive branch operates unconstitutionally. It also aims to ensure that all relevant societal groups are included in and benefit from the nation-building and development exercise and that government policies and budgets are implemented in an effective, efficient, transparent and accountable manner. The power of oversight is constitutionally provided to the Nigerian legislature to enable the National Assembly to curtail corruption, inefficiency, or embezzlement in the executive or administration of laws within its legislative right and in the disbursement and administration of funds appropriated by the Acts. Unfortunately, the Nigerian legislature’s capacity to carry out its oversight functions remains ineffective because the legislature and culture are in their infancy and often confronted by many challenges. The focus of this paper is to examine the roles of the national assembly in promoting good governance and nation-building. This paper further recommends that the citizens elect upstanding individuals with no histories of corruption and greed.

Civilizational Deviation in Collective Mediation: A Comparative Analysis of the Cretan Question and the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

ABSTRACT This study explores the phenomenon of “civilizational deviation” in collective mediation processes within international conflicts, where perceived civilizational identities significantly impact outcomes. Comparing the late 19th-century Cretan Question and the 1988–1994 Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, it reveals how civilizational factors obstruct collective mediation processes. In both cases, conflicting parties held perceptions of civilizational proximity or distance to the collective mediators, diverting mediation process from established international peace frameworks. The mediation process in Crete failed to deter separatism driven by religious self-determination, resulting in a peace design incongruent with prevailing international peace framework (Richmond, Oliver P. 2022. The Grand Design: The Evolution of the International Peace Architecture. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2021. Similarly, the OSCE Minsk Group’s efforts in Nagorno-Karabakh faced challenges aligning with normative mandates from the UN peace framework. This analysis illuminates complexities in mediation influenced by civilizational perceptions and highlighting the need to address civilizational deviation for international peace.

In Pursuit of Excellence: Analysing the Indispensable Nature of Conduct and Discipline of Nepali Army in UN Peace Support Missions

Nepal is currently ranked 2nd among the Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs) in United Nations Peace Support Operations. In this context, this paper examines the contribution of the Nepali Army's military conduct and discipline to the effectiveness of UN Peace Support Missions. The theoretical foundations delve into pertinent theories, particularly emphasizing Kevin S. Donohue's concepts of Discipline A (voluntary, value-based Attitudes) and Discipline B (externally enforced Behavioral responses) within the military framework. Maintaining conduct and discipline in UN peace operations is essential for ensuring the credibility and legitimacy of these missions. Therefore, prior UN reports and the Secretary General's Special Bulletin from 2015 to 2022 are comparatively analyzed to reflect on occurrences of misconduct involving peacekeepers from TCCs. Likewise, a quantitative comparative analysis assesses the status of the Nepali Army in terms of military conduct analyzing the rate of allegations of misconducts against it. The study employs descriptive statistics to analyze the status of misconduct allegations including that of serious misconduct to advocate for a stronger integration of military conduct with UN peacekeeping mandates, aiming to enhance overall effectiveness and elevate ethical standards in international peace operations. The findings underscore Nepal's exemplary practices in fostering both Discipline B and Discipline A within its peacekeeping forces. The paper concludes by demonstrating the substantial positive impact of disciplined behaviour on mission outcomes

The competence of the Security Council over situations or disputes arising from human rights violations by a state under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter

AbstractThe peaceful settlement of disputes is one of the principles enumerated in the Charter of the United Nations, and the Security Council is entrusted with significant powers to achieve this goal. In today's world, accusations of human rights violations have become one of the primary challenges among nations in terms of upholding sovereignty. In accordance with the United Nations Charter, the Security Council may be called upon by the parties to a dispute, the General Assembly, or the Secretary-General, or it can act ex officio to seek a peaceful resolution or adjust a situation through peaceful means. If the Security Council determines that the situation or dispute in question may constitute a threat to international peace and security, it may invoke its powers under Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent of the Security Council's competence and the powers it possesses when carrying out its conciliatory role in cases involving human rights violations by a Member State and conflicts that may arise regarding the interpretation and application of the United Nations Charter.

Peacemaking in an authoritaraian context in Africa: Promoting peace from below in Cameroon

Abstract Cameroon, traditionally overlooked on the international peace agenda, has recently received increased attention due to mounting security challenges. Operating under an authoritarian regime that denies conflicts while promoting a narrative of stability, the course of international peace-from-below initiatives is profoundly influenced by this constrained political environment. Through in-depth case studies of three ongoing humanitarian crises—the Central African refugees’ influx, the Boko Haram/Islamic State West Africa Province insurgency, and the Anglophone conflict—this article contends that localized peace approaches, centring on grassroots reconciliation, may obscure broader structural issues, silence non-state political claims from below, and absolve the state of its responsibilities. Embracing such methodologies not only reinforces authoritarian dynamics but also exhibits a performative dimension, contributing to the establishment of a ‘victor’s peace’ in the absence of military victory.

Scenarios For Limiting The Veto of Permanent Members Of The United Nations Security Council

The UN's principal mission is to promote international stability and peace. To that end, the UN established the Security Council, its governing body with last say on the subject. The United States, Russia, China, and France—the five most militarily competent nations—are veto-wielding permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The fundamental objective of this research is to determine the impact of veto power on the function of the United Nations Security Council in maintaining global peace and security. In that case, will we be attempting to have a lex expert on the right to veto? This work is classified as normative research. The results showed that the veto did not improve the Security Council's performance. The ability to veto decisions made by the Security Council on how to address critical international crises means that the council isn't always effective. Legal rules should be put in place to ensure that the right to veto as a controller is not misused and fulfils its original purpose. The power to reject a resolution in situations involving crimes against humanity or genocide is an important part of the veto system, as is the two-year limit on each non-permanent member's use of the veto, and the limitation of veto use to a single case if discussed consecutively in Security Council meetings<em>.</em>

The Politics of International Peace and Security: Introducing a New Dataset on the Creation of United Nations Security Council Subsidiary Bodies

Abstract This paper introduces new data on the creation of subsidiary bodies (SBs) by members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) between 1972 and 2020. Delegation to SBs is one of the principal means through which the UNSC acts, and these bodies are designed to carry out crucial functions such as peacekeeping, implementing sanctions, and investigating crises. Yet, no research has systematically evaluated their creation, design, and use. Our dataset includes a typology of all proposed and created SBs as well as information about their purpose and design. After introducing the data, we empirically analyze the determinants of SB creation. Multivariate regression demonstrates that SBs are more likely to be created when the preferences of the permanent members are aligned. Moreover, stronger bodies are more likely to be created during periods of high preference alignment, while middle- and lower-strength bodies are less influenced by member alignment. These results provide unique evidence demonstrating how politics affects the choice of when and how the UNSC responds to global problems. Our data and analysis paint a picture of a more proactive UNSC than is commonly portrayed in the literature, and these data will enable scholars to further analyze UNSC action.

The role of the UN in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons

According to the UN Charter (Article 26), the UN Security Council is the primary organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. Nuclear states agreed to the adoption of a UN Security Council Resolution that provided positive security assurances. The adoption of UN Security Council Resolution №255 on June 19, 1968, was of particular significance. This resolution stipulated that instances of aggression involving the use of nuclear weapons or the threat of such aggression against a non-nuclear-weapon state would require immediate action by the UN Security Council and its permanent members, who are nuclear-armed states.
 The aim of the work is to determine the role of the UN Security Council in the system of preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The methodological basis of the study will focus on the analysis and understanding of the impact of the UN Security Council on strategies and measures aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons in the international context.
 The results of our research have shown that the role of the UN Security Council in the disarmament of Iraq’s nuclear program, which could have led to the development of nuclear weapons, proved to be significant. To achieve this, in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution №687 adopted on April 3, 1991, the Special Commission (UNSCOM) was established.
 During an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council at the highest level on September 24, 2009, Resolution UN Security Council Resolution № 1887 was adopted, aimed at supporting nuclear non-proliferation, criticizing Iran and North Korea. Resolution №1887 outlines measures to strengthen control and the rights of nuclear-weapon states to demand the return of nuclear materials and equipment in case of violations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty or withdrawal from it. It also involves enhancing security measures for the storage of nuclear materials and strict export controls.
 Conclusions. In our opinion, the powers of the UN Security Council in the field of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction should be utilized more promptly and effectively. The insufficient effectiveness of this international mechanism in preventing proliferation remains a cause for serious concern among UN members worldwide. To enhance the effectiveness of the UN Security Council, we propose the adoption of a comprehensive resolution that includes provisions on the procedure for a state’s withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and its violation of commitments to refrain from acquiring nuclear weapons. This resolution should stipulate the imposition of sanctions against such a state based on a special report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Such a mechanism can ensure an effective impact of the international community on states that withdraw from the NPT.

The Language of Responsibility in the United Nations Security Council, 1946–2020

Abstract The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is the United Nations' most powerful institutional body, charged with the “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.” The main instrument through which the Council asserts this power is its resolutions, specifically by using resolution text to attribute responsibility. The UNSC uses responsibility language to assign tasks, identify accountability under international law, or reflect the Council's normative interpretation of political principles. Yet we lack a comprehensive empirical description of responsibility attributions in UNSC resolutions. We address this gap by providing an original dataset of the full text of all UNSC resolutions between 1946 and 2020. We use this data to show that the Council has significantly increased responsibility attributions since the end of the Cold War, but only for a very specific subset of terms, targeting predominantly states and individuals. We further demonstrate how the data can inform debates about the timing and status of the “responsibility to protect” as an international norm. The data and findings provide a helpful starting point for many future research endeavors, including the role of member states in the UNSC, quantitative and qualitative research on UNSC decision-making processes, or topic development of the UNSC agenda in general.

A Study of Global Trade War and Its Impact on Indian Economy

A Study of Global Trade War and Its Impact on Indian Economy

GA-CatBoost-Weight Algorithm for Predicting Casualties in Terrorist Attacks: Addressing Data Imbalance and Enhancing Performance

Terrorism poses a significant threat to international peace and stability. The ability to predict potential casualties resulting from terrorist attacks, based on specific attack characteristics, is vital for protecting the safety of innocent civilians. However, conventional data sampling methods struggle to effectively address the challenge of data imbalance in textual features. To tackle this issue, we introduce a novel algorithm, GA-CatBoost-Weight, designed for predicting whether terrorist attacks will lead to casualties among innocent civilians. Our approach begins with feature selection using the RF-RFE method, followed by leveraging the CatBoost algorithm to handle diverse modal features comprehensively and to mitigate data imbalance. Additionally, we employ Genetic Algorithm (GA) to finetune hyperparameters. Experimental validation has demonstrated the superior performance of our method, achieving a sensitivity of 92.68% and an F1 score of 90.99% with fewer iterations. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the pioneering research that applies CatBoost to address the prediction of terrorist attack outcomes.

How ad hoc coalitions deinstitutionalize international institutions

Abstract As ad hoc coalitions (AHCs) proliferate, particularly on the African continent, two questions crystallize. First, what consequences do they bring about for the existing institutional security landscape? And second, how can the trend of AHCs operating alongside instead of inside international organizations be captured and explored conceptually? To answer these questions, we closely examine the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) fighting Boko Haram and its changing relationship to the African Union. Through the case-study and a review of policy and academic literatures, the article launches the concept of deinstitutionalization and how it can be characterized. We identify three features of deinstitutionalization: AHCs can bypass standard procedures for decision-making processes, whittle down established institutional scripts and shift resource allocations. We detail how the AHCs contribute to changing practices of financing international peace and security operations, with an examination of European Union and United Nations policies and practices. In sum, the article unwraps processes of deinstitutionalization and identifies three forms of rationales for this process: lack of problem-solving capacity, limited adaptability and path dependency.

Enhancing the Effectiveness of United Nations Peacekeeping Missions

The primary responsibility of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is to maintain international peace and security. Since the establishment of the UN in 1948, UNSC through UNSC resolutions has pursued this aim by authorizing various peacekeeping missions. When the effectiveness of UN missions is analyzed, it has mixed responses. Some UN missions are considered very successful while some are criticized for their underperformance. The peacekeeping force has to operate in a volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous, and highly unpredictable environment with various limitations and constraints. The anti-UN sentiments are observed in some of the missions criticizing its ineffectiveness which has a detrimental effect on the overall credibility of the UN. In this context, the objective of this article is to highlight the challenges of contemporary peacekeeping operations and recommend ways to enhance the effectiveness of peacekeeping forces to deal with prevailing challenges. The article is qualitative and based on secondary data. The personal experience and observation of the author as a peacekeeper in various UN peacekeeping missions in different capacities is also reflected in analyzing the weaknesses and effectiveness of contemporary UN peacekeeping missions. The major findings of this article are that UN missions in Chapter VII and VIII mandate need improvement in multiple facets for the effective implementation of mission mandates like R2P and PoC. The rising anti-UN sentiments in different UN missions and increasing trend by host nations demanding the closure of contemporary UN missions further advocate revitalization in the UN peacekeeping approach.

Yemeni and regional maritime doctrine in light of the decline of the liberal theory of freedom of navigation in EEZ

The presence of the USCENTCOM , AFRICOM and 34 foreign countries in the vital Yemeni, Arab, and national maritime spheres contributed to a flagrant violation of maritime laws and international political relations. Likewise, the presence and activities of the strategic and tactical military naval units of the aircraft carrier, submarines, and American and British nuclear naval destroyers in the Red Sea. The Gulf of Aden is a breach and violation of international law and agreements regulating freedom of navigation and a blatant assault on Yemeni sovereignty in its vital maritime sphere, as it is located in exclusive Yemeni economic waters, in addition to its nuclear effects in destroying the marine environment and human security. It constitutes a source of danger to food and maritime security, stability, and international peace. The study aims to clarify the influence of Western geopolitical thought and the behavior of American foreign policy in international relations and maritime laws, which is witnessing a major decline and failure in its global policy because it used the policy of American military force to achieve its own political goals and imposed the methodology of Western liberal maritime thought to control and limit the rights of the Yemeni, Arab, and Islamic coastal states. Which contradicts customs, laws, and agreements and affects historical rights and the Yemeni, Arab, and regional maritime domain. The study is expected to confirm the modern Yemeni, Arab, and Islamic hypothesis that the high seas and international maritime waters are within a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baseline and to affirm the right of Yemen and the Arab nation to be protected. The vital area of the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic and regional countries extends from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean, the Arabian Gulf, the eastern and western Indian Ocean to the Antarctic Ocean, and there is a call for holding maritime conferences in order to develop traditional Western maritime legal theories and concepts that seek to limit the rights of coastal states, establish perceptions, and reach an update to the laws regulating freedom of maritime navigation in accordance with the views of the peoples of the world and in response to global changes in multipolarity.

Military Alliances under International Law

Abstract While military alliances have always been an important subject of research in international relations, relatively little study has been conducted on them in international law. Even though military alliances have been featured in the wider discussions on regional orders under international law, little systematic effort has been made to assess the extent to which various actions that are routine for or structured into the design and operation of military alliances are compatible with international law. This article aims to fill this gap by examining the implications of certain activities of military alliances under three areas of international law and is divided into three substantive sections. The first section examines how activities such as military exercises, force concentration and coercive demands, when undertaken by a military alliance, could heighten the risk of their violation of the prohibition of the threat of force under the UN Charter. The second section examines how certain standing arrangements of military alliances pre-dispose them to intervene in civil strife in allies or potential allies in potential violation of the norm against intervention in the domestic affairs of another State. The third section examines how, despite their often-explicit deference to the UN Charter, military alliances operate in tension with the collective security architecture of the UN and suggests ways to harmonise them. The article concludes that the sovereign rights of States to form military alliances do not create a carte blanche for military alliances to operate freely from any restraint of international law and calls for a more proactive approach to maintaining international peace and security in view of the complex nature of certain activities of military alliances under international law.

About PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development

PanAfrican Journal of Governance and Development (PJGD) is a peer-reviewed interdisciplinary journal of Jimma University that publishes editorials, research articles, book reviews, commentaries, and notes. PJGD offers a platform for the expression of new scientific inquiries to intellectuals of the world in general and Africa & Ethiopia in particular to reflect on how governance and development can be promoted, strengthened, and consolidated. The biannual edition is published in February and August of each year only in English language. PJGD is APC Free Journal.
 PJGD accepts scientific works focused on the diversified areas of Governance and Development drawn from multiple disciplines of Political Science and International Relations, Public Management, Leadership, Development Economics, Environmental Governance, Peace and Conflict, Human Rights, National and International Law, Globalization, Public Policy, Regional and International Organizations, Gender, Peace and Conflict Management, International Political Economy, Multiculturalism, Civil Society, and related areas.

Sustaining gender: Natural resource management, conflict prevention, and the UN Sustaining Peace agenda in times of climate catastrophe

Abstract Climate change and its potentially violent consequences for international peace and security have transformed the United Nations (UN) approach to Sustaining Peace. One of the emblematic initiatives of this new approach is the UN Joint Programme for Women, Natural Resources, Climate, and Peace. We use feminist peace scholarship to consider what the recent debates about who builds peace and where peace is built in Peace Studies and Environmental Peacebuilding miss when they treat concepts of ‘scale’ and local natural resource management as gender-neutral and what this might tell us about the wider UN Peacebuilding agenda in which it is situated. We make three claims. First, we claim that gendered relations of power that leverage women for win–win opportunities of peace and gender equality (re)produce an idea of a feminised, self-contained local. Second, we demonstrate that this makes it possible to reproduce the dominant political order that privileges intervention, and the dominant economic order that is occupied with forcing ‘local’ economies to adapt their natural resource management strategies. Third, we argue that assuming that ‘the who’ and ‘the where’ of building peace is local makes it much harder to ask about how the conditions of possibility for violence transcend scales.

Identifying the Legitimacy of the Taliban Government and the Resurrection of Peace in Afghanistan

A government’s legality and its recognition need to be tested through the lenses of international law where the government changes through unconstitutional measures. The Taliban’s coming to power in Afghanistan is through unconstitutional and undemocratic means. Its control over Afghanistan raises questions about the fundamental nature of international law, politics, the State’s internal governance, and issues crucial for international peace. These matters although of primary concern, however, compromised to a secondary position as their accomplishment is contingent on peace being restored and guaranteed by the class of people in the ruling hierarchy. Since the Taliban government is not recognised by many States, it puts to test, the international law criteria for recognizing the government of the State. The reluctance shown by the comity of nations in recognizing the government, further raises the related issue of international law, that how the comity of nations can create an inroad for human rights and peace in Afghanistan. The objective to establish peace in Afghanistan, by identifying the legitimacy of the Taliban regime, touches the core aspect of de jure government as recognized by international law and is also a key concern for setting the trust of Afghan people in international law and international institutions. This article sets the premise to know the position of international law, for recognising a government in a State where the change of government is not established by legal measures and therefore not recognised by other nations. Besides, the author attempts to explore the possibilities of setting the foundation and establishing human rights and related objectives for sustainable peace in Afghanistan. The author sets the dialectical discourse, for setting a roadmap to achieve peace in Afghanistan by applying international law provisions through international institutions.