Multilevel Conflict Research Articles

Multilevel conflict over policy application–detecting changing cleavage patterns

ABSTRACTThis paper presents actions for annulment as indicator for conflict over policy application in the EU and argues that it is a valuable complement to the indicator of infringement proceedings. This is because annulment actions shed light on conflicts in areas that remain undetected by infringement proceedings and because annulment actions are able to uncover potential multilevel characters of these conflicts. On this basis, the paper identifies four different types of multilevel application conflicts. Based on an original dataset on all actions for annulment initiated against the European Commission between 1957 and 2009, the paper explores the dominant cleavage structure in application conflicts over time. This cleavage structure has changed: national governments have started to become more and more reluctant to use their access to annulment proceedings to influence legal developments in many policy sectors as they no longer try to actively influence the legal dialogue in court.

Conflict Management and Interdisciplinary History. Presentation of a New Project and an Analytical Model

This article advances the idea that the concept of conflict resolution, which is usual in social, economic, political and legal history of premodern Europe and in the social sciences in general, is too goal-oriented and therefore unsatisfactory for the analyses of conflicts. Instead, a problem-oriented concept of conflict management is proposed. It consists of prevention, provocation, maintenance of the status quo, escalation and de-escalation, as well as resolution. Such a concept allows to analyse multi-level conflicts (individual, group, large-scale) pertaining diverse yet interrelated issues. This article shows how it will be used to analyse contentious issues which are related to mercantile cities in premodern cities in northern Europe (1350-1570), in a recently granted NWO VIDI project.

Soviet Federalism at Work: Lessons from the History of the Transcaucasian Federation, 1922–1936

This paper starts from a discussion of a forgotten page of South-Caucasian history, the existence from 1920 to 1936 of a Transcaucasian Federation (ZSFSR) uniting Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, in order to reconsider two claims generally made about the Soviet regime. First, that the building blocs of the Soviet state were national republics, a fact that only consolidated after the Second World War. Second, that Soviet federalism was a mere Potemkin village camouflaging an exceedingly centralized state. The author argues that federalism was taken seriously because it provided Soviet leaders, notably in the initial period of the USSR, with original political and administrative tools, that allowed for a management of multina - tional societies and multilevel conflicts, and created structures of mutual control between Transcaucasian actors. This argument is made on the basis of numerous published and archival sources coming from the three Transcaucasian republics and Russia, as well as Euro - pean and Turkish diplomatic sources. Far from being a footnote in the history of the Soviet Union, the ZSFSR can indicate new paths for a wider reconsideration of the political uses of federalism in authoritarian regimes.

Absolute and relative power gains among state agencies in forest-related land use politics: The Ministry of Forestry and its competitors in the REDD+ Programme and the One Map Policy in Indonesia

More than ever, state agencies responsible for forest issues are required to balance the social, economic and environmental demands on forests in domestic and international spheres. New and often cross-cutting issues may threaten the position and power of traditional forest bureaucracies through, e.g., a redistribution of power among a number of other land-use-related state agencies. This paper analyzes the absolute and relative power of the Ministry of Forestry (MoF) in two selected policy processes originating on the international and domestic levels, namely the REDD+ Programme and the One Map Policy. Building on a behavioralist conception of power and bureaucratic politics theories, we study these processes to reveal the power dynamics between the MoF and other state bureaucracies, based mainly on documents on tasks assigned to these bureaucracies. Our results show a clear decline in the relative power of the MoF, most notably in the case of incentive and coercive power, though we also show a continuation of power resulting from dominant information. However, due to political intervention from the new president, traditional forest bureaucracy is now reclaiming most of relative power elements in these cases. We discuss the core findings and conclude that both REDD+ and the One Map Policy are likely to become effective policies only if the bureaucratic, sectoral and multi-level conflicts of interest we examine are addressed and fewer leading agencies (or one) assume responsibility for policy formulation and implementation.

Network Governance Designing for Adaptation to Systematic Risk

Constructing risk governance and involving multilevel actors are seemed as core factors for shaping emergency management system. The gap between bureaucracy norm and emergent norm caused goal displacement, capacity shortage, and multilevel conflicts in the system. Adaptations to systematic risk call for constructing network governance, the network which involves more actors other than single government actor, more dynamic governance mechanisms other than command and control approach, more social resilience other than social vulnerability.

Understanding transnational information systems with supranational governance: A multi-level conflict management perspective

Management of transnational information systems (TIS) faces major challenges, as the diversity of both organizational and national contexts provides increased potential for conflict. This is even more so, especially in the case of supranational TIS, where an additional source and layer of potential conflicts is added by a supranational body, such as the EU, which can impose TIS by law. This paper seeks to explore “how to understand conflicts that occur when developing and implementing supranational TIS.” Understanding conflicts can help TIS managers to take proactive, rather than reactive, measures to handling conflict situations that they encounter. We propose a multi-level conflict management framework and utilize an interpretive case study methodology to demonstrate how it can be applied in the context of one supranational TIS (a transit system that was introduced in the EU), taking the management perspective of one national government (here the Netherlands). Our findings indicate that the national government simultaneously faces multiple conflicts as it is positioned between the supranational body, its own IT department, and national businesses. Unlike TIS studies reporting avoidance as a viable strategy in the early stages of TIS development, our study implies that when the deadline approaches, there is little room for avoiding conflicts; rather, they are faced and addressed promptly. This study provides a novel theoretical perspective to analyzing TIS management, and contributes to the efforts of developing methods and tools to aid TIS managers in their practices.

A novel approach for multiple mobile objects path planning: Parametrization method and conflict resolution strategy

We present a new approach containing two steps to determine conflict-free paths for mobile objects in two and three dimensions with moving obstacles. Firstly, the shortest path of each object is set as goal function which is subject to collision-avoidance criterion, path smoothness, and velocity and acceleration constraints. This problem is formulated as calculus of variation problem (CVP). Using parametrization method, CVP is converted to time-varying nonlinear programming problems (TNLPP) and then resolved. Secondly, move sequence of object is assigned by priority scheme; conflicts are resolved by multilevel conflict resolution strategy. Approach efficiency is confirmed by numerical examples.

When Things Fall Apart—Conflict Dynamics and an Order Beside the State in Postcollapse Somalia

ABSTRACT Twenty years after the state in Somalia collapsed, Somalia is still being referred to as a failed state. By using the term of state failure to describe the situation in Somalia since the breakdown of the central order and the ouster of Siad Barre in 1991, we do not only fail to adequately describe the order that has emerged from the breakdown of the state. We also use a term to describe the current situation that actually describes the period that led up to the breakdown of state structures. Against this background, it is argued in this articale that by using the concept of an order beside the state the situation in Somalia can be captured more accurately. In trying to expand this model, it is further argued that the Somali conflict needs to be understood as a multi-level conflict stystem that extends from a local to a regional and global level.

Enhancing Control Through Participation: Issues of Conflicts in Public Sector Organizations

Public sector site is always known for its continuous games of power and control. Public managers often use control to enhance their power and to legitimise their actions. Empirical evidence showed that during the process of implementing accounting information system (AIS), the management adopted various strategies in securing accountants’ participation such as offering accountants to be part in the implementation process as change agents and change champions. Participation is seen as a mechanism to mitigate resistance and to cement commitment of the accountants to the new AIS which would ultimately produce “consent”. Theoretically, this paper is informed by Tannenbaum & Kahn (1957) contribution to organizational control structure, especially their idea that the total amount of control within an organization can be increased by emphasising decision‐making among different organizational members. Nonetheless, this paper argues that multilevel conflicts need to be resolved before participation can be secured and ultimately management control can be enhanced in organizations. The significance of participation in resolving conflicts in the public sector has been under researched and this deficiency remains the focus of this paper. Case studies were conducted in four Malaysian public sector organizations where the interplay of participation, control and conflict were observed and suggestions are proposed for future research.

Towards a Political Ecology of Oil in Post-communist Georgia: the conflict over the Kulevi Oil Port Development

Since 1998 the growing importance of the Caspian Sea's oil reserves for the international markets has put a new pressure on Georgia's energy transit capacities. One of the new transit facilities – the Kulevi Oil Terminal located on the country's ecologically-sensitive central Black Sea coast - has emerged as a controversial development evoking several cross-cutting environmental policy, economic and political conflicts at the international, national, and local levels. This paper explores and tracks the nature of this multi-level environmental conflict over land-use and reveals it to be a complex product of the interplay between social, political and economic power. From a political ecological perspective it is possible to interpret the controversy over Kulevi as a 'regional' conflict of interests between different land managers. Our analysis discloses the links between these conflicts and their triggers at different spatial scales with a view to articulating an emerging political ecology of oil for Georgia and the Caucasus. The paper reflects on how the threat of economic loss has forced environmentally unfriendly decisions in the region, causing internal problems and a derogation of the reputation of Georgia at the international arena. Several suggestions for resolution are offered, but their success depends on the contribution of the main players in the conflicts and their commitment to fulfill their obligations.Keywords: Georgia, Oil, Kulevi, Political Ecology

Human Insecurity and Streams of Conflict for a Re-conceptualization of International Migration

Securitisation of international migration is now a widely accepted phenomenon. Human security or insecurity is an important aspect of this broader security concern. International migration raises security issues at different levels because it involves a multitude of agencies that often have conflicting interests. In this conceptual review, main areas and actors of migration associated conflict are discussed. The aim is to explore the possibility of developing a conflict-based model that will facilitate the understanding of contemporary international migration flows and the reasons, mechanisms and dynamics underpinning them. Different stages of migration bring out different sets of conflicting security interests. The concept of environment of insecurity is placed within this multilevel conflict model. This study aims to provide a new understanding of human security and migration nexus from a conflict perspective which is conducive to a comprehensive migration conceptualisation and viable policy solutions.

Acquiring conflict resolution skills as cultural learning: an Israeli example

Israeli society is characterized by multilevel conflict in various domains of life. In an introductory course in Educational Anthropology offered in the School of Education at the University of Haifa, students were exposed to basic theoretical tenets of the field. The importance of openness and tolerance in inter-ethnic relations - stemming from cultural pluralism, cultural relativism and mediated via cross-cultural sensitization - was emphasized. The educational implications of these approaches were examined in terms of curriculum, classroom organization, teacher training, etc. Due to the fact that the course offered models of culture fair inter-group relations, one of the skills it was meant to develop was an ability to better deal with conflict. To assess the extent of skill development accomplished, students were assigned to draw up scenarios of conflict situations in an educational context based on cultural differences among the participants, analyze them and bring suggestions for their solution or prevention. The content analysis of the scenarios revealed differences in conflict resolution styles between Jewish and Arab students. The paper discusses the meaning, significance and implications of the two student groups' respective attitudes to this sensitive issue.

Bloodless Battles: The Civil War Reenacted

The American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. Over 6oo,ooo died in this multilevel conflict between the Northern States (the Union) and the Southern States (the Confederacy), and the memory of the war continues to this day, preserved in the landscape, in historical parks and sites, in music, the written word, the visual arts, in stories passed down orally, and in its effects on later generations. Some people reenact battles and events from the Civil War. This activity has roots in what seems to be an almost universal human need to recall the

Evolutionary mechanism of conflict resolution

Despite the accumulated evidence, many of the investigators as of quite recently have failed to understand that behavioral strategy or decision rules can be inherited and evolve and that they are subject to certain constraints that cannot be “surmounted” other than by natural selection. For example, in [9, p. 422] we read: “The evolutionary pressure cannot act upon the relative contents of social interactions favoring certain individuals over others.” The present study shows that the following scheme of conflict, which favors those individuals that conform to it with a better accuracy, can be evolutionary stable. On the basis of the information they receive, the partners estimate the role situation and the equilibrium pair of elementary strategies and use their strategies. If the role situations of the partners are coordinated, the partners cooperate in reducing the conflict and define its result according to AIS. If AIS are not coordinated, they cooperate in reducing the conflict if its expected loss for each is greater than the expected payoff; they escalate the against those that have a lesser set of elementary strategies but also against those that have a less accurate mechanism of AIS recognition. A poor accuracy of recognition mechanism would replace a strictly equilibrium ESS with a mixed strategy. From the point of view of behavioral control, the multilevel conflict model shows that generally for controlling the choices at a certain level actions of an equally high level are necessary. It is impossible, for example, to accomplish certain economic choices by using only informational actions.