Peace Advocacy Research Articles

Evaluation of the components in pre-conflict and post-conflict phases of peace-building

This work presents the evaluation of the components in pre-conflict and post conflict phases of peace-building. The paper identified some research problems which includes the difficulty in peace building agents in determining the right kind of intervention measures that addresses the various phases of peace-building. The study main objective is to determine the component of the various phases of peace-building measures. The methodology applied is the qualitative research design which includes the use of secondary sources such as journals and text books in data generation and qualitative analysis. Among the findings reached is that, the components of the pre-conflict phase of peace-building include peace advocacy and conflict prevention measures. Components of conflict phase include peace-keeping, peace-enforcement, and ceasefire measures, and the post-conflict phase include Demobilization, Disarmament and Rehabilitation (DDR) of ex-combatants and reconstructive recovery projects. Among the recommendation made is that, there should be increased peace advocacy, conflict prevention in the pre-conflict phase, quick use of peace-keeping, peace-enforcement, ceasefire, buffer zone, in the conflict phase, and high level of reconstructive recovery projects in the post conflict phase of any peace-building measure. Keywords: Conflict, Intervention, Peace, Components, Peace-Building, Evaluation.

Local Meanings of Peace: The Politics of Words and Emotional Labor among Civil Society Practitioners in Armenia and Turkey

Abstract Despite their long-lasting work in Armenia and Turkey, peacebuilding practitioners of civil society have an ambivalent relationship with the term peace and refrain from defining their role as peacebuilders. Informed by the anthropological research adopting the local turn in peace and conflict studies, we explore how civil society practitioners in Armenia and Turkey perceive the concept of “peace” (խաղաղություն or khaghaghutyun in Armenian and barış in Turkish) and how they position themselves regarding the meanings they attach to this term. In this paper, we present data collected through semi-structured interviews with civil society practitioners from both countries, investigating the perceptions and practices in the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020. We found that the flexibility of the term normalization in comparison to peacebuilding is preferred among civil society practitioners working for the Armenia-Turkey dialogue. We also show that the political context shapes local meanings of the word peace. While in Turkey, the authoritarian regime, restrictions on NGOs, and rise of ultranationalism make open advocacy for peace with Armenia difficult and risky, the war with Azerbaijan firmly structures where and how the word peace can be used in Armenia – even though it is not clear what is meant by it in either case. Finally, our research points out a neglected aspect of professionalism in this context and shows how it requires emotional labor to suppress enthusiasm and hope for peace. We close our paper with a call for further research among the youth and exploration of effective communication, alternative approaches, and terminologies that can foster meaningful dialogue and reconciliation without provoking divisive sentiments.

‘What we give up to get where we’re going’: compromise in the institutionalizing of youth peace advocacy

ABSTRACT In 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 2250 on Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS), formalizing an agenda for positive youth participation in peace and security. However, youth peace activists have been leading peacebuilding long before this institutional recognition. This article explores the dynamics of how advocates and institutional actors conceptualize and negotiate compromise. To do this, it draws on in-depth interviews with youth and adult YPS advocates, a critical analysis of documents related to the agenda, and extended participant observation. It explores and develops a notion of a field of youth-oriented peacebuilding, drawing on Bourdieu. This makes visible a more complex field of struggle, showing how compromise can help explain how youth actively negotiate their participation in formalized agendas and persist in their own peacebuilding ambitions. It argues for a more nuanced understanding of compromise to understand the affordances and limitations of youth agency and institutional agendas.

Don’t say peace: militarisation and the shrinking space for critical voices in the Swedish NATO debate

ABSTRACT Sweden, long known as a voice for peace on the international arena, has undergone a rapid and far-reaching domestic (re-)militarisation the last decade. Following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, this process intensified with a surge in military spending and a radical shift from a longstanding position of non-alignment towards NATO membership. As ‘war’ moves to the center of Swedish public debate, military and security experts occupy most of the space, leaving little room for alternative and critical perspectives. Drawing from feminist scholars, we offer some reflections on Sweden’s (re-)militarisation and ask who gets to speak, who is silenced, and why? Focusing on the domestic public debate post February 2022, we argue that when war moves to the center of the debate, peace is considered an ‘issue for later’. As war is understood in narrow military terms, war expertise is limited to matters of warfare instead of being seen as a broader societal issue. Critical voices and peace advocates are considered naive, unrealistic, and even dangerous. Our reflections invite a discussion on how militarisation and the politics of war expertise affect democratic debate with potentially far-reaching consequences for domestic and international politics.

Harmony amidst Conflict: Using “Heal the World” as Advocacy for Peace between Palestine and Israel

Harmony amidst Conflict: Using “Heal the World” as Advocacy for Peace between Palestine and Israel

Ekiti Parapo War: A Historical Trajectory

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the historical factors that led to the war between the Ekiti and the Ibadan people who are all of Yoruba extraction in Southwestern Nigeria. The paper discusses the course and the process through which the war was fought; it also brought out the consequences of the war as it affects the Ekiti People and the entire people of southwestern Nigeria.
 Methodology: Being a historical study, the research methodology adopted was that of historical enquiry into the past. Primary sources of data consulted included archival materials such as correspondences, minutes of meeting and annual report of colonial government. While secondary data were sourced from theses, journal articles, books and other publications from the internet.
 Findings: The study revealed that it was the war that solidified the cultural unity and homogeneity of Ekiti people of Southwestern Nigeria. In fact, Olomola had described this period as “the most celebrated instance of the application of ‘ethnic’ solidarity among Ekiti communities.”[1]
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: Knowledge acquired from this study would be able to make readers gain specific knowledge on the factors that led to the war between the Ekiti and the Ibadan imperialists who are both of Yoruba extraction of Southwestern Nigeria in the 19th Century. One unique point included in this study was the resilience and doggedness with which the Ekiti and her allies fought and sustained the tempo of the liberation war for the long period it lasted before the British intervention finally brought the war to a conclusive end. Therefore, peace advocates, policy makers, governments both at the national and international levels should draw from the collective memories of the war to strengthen cultural identity and rejig national consciousness in building a better and more formidable nation.
 
 [1]Isola Olomola, Ekiti Parapo Aspirations since Ekiti Parapo Aspiration since 1890, Ile-Ife, Ankilad Ventures Nigeria Limited, 2005, 42.

Effectiveness of Peace Building from Below: Activities of local NGOs During Armed Conflict in Cameroon

The grassroots level or bottom-top peace building is getting more and more attention and is acknowledged as a crucial part in the peace building process, despite the official peace process commonly targets the top level. Peace agreements signed by the elite (top-bottom) will not be implemented thoroughly in society unless the population living the conflict has their own agency. These community-led agencies in the form of local NGOs play pivotal role in the effective implementation of peace building from below. This article seeks to examine the effectiveness of peace building activities from below carried out by local NGOs during armed conflict. Adopting the theory of subsidiarity in enhancing community-led peace building activities, this article employed the quantitative research approach with the use of questionnaire for data collection. The article targeted 107 respondents from Buea sub-division using purposive sampling technique in selecting the respondents who are well knowledgeable with regards to the peace building activities carried out by local NGOs. The findings reveal that NGOs have effectively implemented the following as peace building from below during armed conflict in communities; advocacy for peace, sensitization on no to drug abuse, sports and cultural activities, capacity building for youths, identifying the causes of the conflict, and protection of human rights as peace building from below activities. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are doing even more peace building activities than any official governmental agencies. In many of the areas of the world at large and in Cameroon in particular, they have a long term presence that is afflicted with intractable conflicts. NGOs are in an excellent position to engage in a wide variety of peace building activities from below.

Footprints on the Sands of Time: Mahatma Gandhi's Enduring Legacy and Global Influence

The legacy of Mahatma Gandhi, often referred to as the Father of the Nation in India, extends far beyond the borders of his homeland. His life and teachings continue to inspire and influence individuals and movements worldwide. This research paper explores the enduring impact of Gandhi's philosophy of truth, nonviolence, and social justice on a global scale. Drawing upon historical context, literary analysis, and contemporary relevance, the paper examines how Gandhi's footprints on the sands of time have shaped societies, politics, literature, and culture around the world. From his role in India's struggle for independence to his advocacy for human rights and peace, Gandhi's principles resonate in the 21st century and offer valuable insights into addressing pressing global challenges. Through an interdisciplinary approach, this paper seeks to illuminate the multifaceted dimensions of Gandhi's legacy and its significance in today's world.

Emotions and a Genre of Jewish Politics: American Jewish Advocacy for Israeli-Palestinian Peace, 1967–1977

ABSTRACT: It has long been held that American Jewish support for Israel is underwritten by a prevailing sense of emotional attachment to the Jewish state. Focusing on Jewish activist groups formed in the aftermath of the 1967 war, this article shows that emotions also played a central role in American Jewish mobilization for what is now termed the "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. An entire "genre" of American Jewish political activism has emerged since 1967 to urge Israel to relinquish captured territories while embracing the Jewish state using emotional terminology. Conforming to a broader emotional regime as a way of staying within the bounds of the constructed American Jewish emotional community, generations of American Jewish activist organizations have emphasized love for Israel while simultaneously pushing for Palestinian self-determination. American Jewish advocates for a two-state solution typically argue that their commitment to a peaceful and stable future for the Jewish state drives them to support the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel. Using oral histories and archival documents, this article offers a new perspective on such activism during its first decade (1967-1977).

Religious Insurgency and The Quest for Sustainable Peace in Nigeria: The Islamic Model as a Panacea

Peace advocates, conflict analysts, security experts and academia have effortlessly analyzed and advanced various ways to contain the religious insurgency championed by the Boko Ḥarām movement which has threatened Nigeria's quest for peace for more than a decade despite the counter-insurgency measures of successive Nigerian governments. However, recent situations depict that the insurgency remains unabated. This paper examined Nigeria's turbulent decade of religious insurgency, its position within the Islamic context, and Islamically-inclined practicable solution to the threat. It used analytical research method based on existing secondary literature and primary Islamic law sources. The paper reveals that a turbulent decade of Boko Ḥarām insurgency has wreaked havoc on the peace and tranquility previously existing among Nigeria's diverse ethno-religious entities. The analysis of Quranic texts, aḥādīth and opinions of notable scholars also indicates that religious insurgency associated with Boko Ḥarām is inconsistent with Islamic doctrines. Tolerance among religionists, proper religious teachings and interpretation of divine scripture, genuine inter and intra-faith dialogues, Islamic leadership-cum-governance paradigms, among others, were the identified Islamic-modelled panacea to the insurgency. The paper concludes that if the identified Islamic model can be embraced and considered in the scheme of things by religious and political leaders, as well as their ardent followers, the current religious insurgency would be drastically curtailed, thereby advancing sustainable peace in Nigeria.

The peace movement and politics in Germany — the original ideas and self-awareness of peace advocates in both German states

The article presents an attempt at historical understanding of the experience gained by a united Germany, extracted from the idea of peace, both at the state and at the public level, with its own German characteristics — East and West Germany. The evangelical churches in the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic perceived the nuclear threat as a casus confessionis and led the fight against it.

Turning a Disaster into Regenerative Strength: Hiroshima’s Strategy for Societal Peace in the Anthropocene

This interdisciplinary study demonstrates how an anthropogenic narrative emerged in the immediate aftermath of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and how it became a strategic tool to drive Hiroshima’s reconstruction processes, ascribing a new identity to the devastated city as a global advocate for peace. The atomic bomb survivors’ nascent anthropogenic discourse emerged as hearsay partially based on scientific news but primarily reflecting the survivors’ immediate and visceral observation of life at ground zero. The discourse evolved in synergy with the annual Peace Declarations and other public discourses, mobilising the hibakusha and changing their outlook. The study reveals, through a hybrid method of quantitative and qualitative analyses of over 20,000 testimonies from a-bomb survivors, the power of the anthropogenic discourse from ground zero in turning ad hoc disaster recovery efforts into the sustainable development of the city while fostering community consciousness for societal and global peace.

Toward an integrated approach for mental health and psychosocial support and peacebuilding in North-East Nigeria: programme description and preliminary outcomes from 'Counselling on Wheels'.

Despite theoretical support for including mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) with peacebuilding, few programmes in conflict-affected regions fully integrate these approaches. To describe and assess preliminary outcomes of the Counselling on Wheels programme delivered by the NEEM Foundation in the Borno State of North-East Nigeria. We first describe the components of the Counselling on Wheels programme, including education and advocacy for peace and social cohesion through community peacebuilding partnerships and activities, and an MHPSS intervention open to all adults, delivered in groups of eight to ten people. We then conducted secondary analysis of data from 1550 adults who took part in the MHPSS intervention, who provided data at baseline and 1-2 weeks after the final group session. Vulnerability to violent extremism was assessed with a locally developed 80-item scale. Symptoms of common mental disorders were assessed with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale (PTSD-8). Data were analysed through a mixed-effect linear regression model, accounting for clustering by community and adjusted for age and gender. After taking part in group MHPSS, scores fell for depression (-5.8, 95% CI -6.7 to -5.0), stress (-5.5, 95% CI -6.3 to -4.6), post-traumatic stress disorder (-2.9, 95% CI -3.4 to -2.4) and vulnerability to violent extremism (-44.6, 95% CI -50.6 to -38.6). The Counselling on Wheels programme shows promise as a model for integrating MHPSS with community peacebuilding activities in this conflict-affected region of Africa.

“On becoming a peacebuilder”: narratives of the Grade 10 learners

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how learners view peace and their role in peacebuilding. Peace is widely perceived as the absence of war and violence (Castro and Galace, 2010). The literature revealed that youths play an active role in peacebuilding. This study was designed to look into the journey of Grade 10 learners to becoming peacebuilders. Specifically, this sought answers to the following questions: What are the perceptions of the Grade 10 learners of peace? How do the Grade 10 learners contribute to peacebuilding? What are the learners’ dreams and aspirations for a culture of peace? Design/methodology/approach The research captured stories of the Grade 10 learners of a Filipino-Chinese school in Iloilo City who participated in the study voluntarily. The learners wrote an essay in one of their reflection sessions in social studies class completing the following phrases: Peace is …; I am a Peacebuilder …; My dreams and aspirations for a culture of peace …. The data gathered were analyzed following Creswell’s framework in data analysis in qualitative research which suggests a linear, hierarchical approach. The themes generated were interpreted as the final process of the data analysis. Findings Majority of the participants perceived peace positively rather than merely an absence of war. Peace means freedom. Moreover, peace improves society and brings in a new period of progress. Learners across cultures have common views of peace, and they believed that peacebuilding has to begin in themselves. Through positive action such as setting as a good example and influencing others to do the same, the learners contribute to peacebuilding. In times of conflict and misunderstanding, they act as agents of peace by being a mediator. During crisis in the community, they extended their helping hands to the needy wholeheartedly. Research limitations/implications Consistent with the prevailing views of peace, learners perceived peace positively and negatively. It is interesting to note that most participants had a positive perception of peace, which demonstrated a more profound conception of the topic. Their broader perspectives on peace may have been influenced by the author, who taught the participants for two years and who began as a peace advocate and incorporated peace ideas into class discussions in some instances. The findings from this study might only be the tip of the iceberg and far from being definitive given the small number of participants and the researcher’s relationship with them, which may have impacted their responses and created some concerns about authenticity and anonymity. Practical implications This study upheld the claim of Gandhi that youths are agents of positive change (Del Felice and Wisler, 2007). Young people are potential peacebuilders. This study provided encouragement for the truth that we should not undervalue youth’s ability to effect change. This can prompt greater discussion among scholars about peace in general inside the group, which might be viewed as being ignored on peace studies. Social implications The participants’ dreams and aspirations for a culture of peace went beyond just improving their own lives. They shared Gandhi and Rizal’s aspirations for a better world and a habitable Philippines. Their narratives exhibited that they wished for a common good, which was uplifting. Their expectations and aspirations might have varied because of their economic situation and cultural orientation. Originality/value Literatures revealed that youths play an active role in peacebuilding. In school, for instance, Jabor (2017) concluded that students are enablers and not only the prime recipients of peace process. In a bigger context, Del Felice and Wisler (2007) illustrated in their study how the youths spearheaded various organizations for the benefit of humanity. Despite the many attestations, the contributions of the youth to peacebuilding are still deemed understudied. Most of the studies were based on the dichotomous view of the youth: victims and perpetrators of violence (UNOY Peacebuilder, 2015).

“Let’s Draw a Line between Dos and Don’ts”: Pakistani Journalists’ Perspectives about the Ethics of Conflict-Sensitive Reporting

In conflict-ridden countries, the news media has a pivotal role to perform as an active advocate of human rights and societal peace, as well as a facilitator of conflict mitigation and resolution through the gathering and dissemination of non-partisan information. While today the world witness armed conflicts in more forms than ever before, some countries are more sensitive to conflict and violence—such as Pakistan. The country is recognized as one of the riskiest places for working journalists by virtue of recurrent political, ethnic, and religious conflicts. The Pakistani journalists work in a climate of fear and risks and with opposing groups seeking to influence the news media, which creates more difficulties for them to report unbiased and accurate news to the public. The practice of ethics has become more challenging for the Pakistani journalists because the country lacks an effective and standardized code of conduct to report on conflict. Therefore, drawing on the theory of the conflict triangle by Galtung, this study seeks the Pakistani journalists’ perspectives about the ethics of conflict sensitive reporting. In doing so, this study uses the quantitative method of survey and the qualitative method of in-depth interviews. The study uses descriptive analysis to present the survey findings in the form of percentage and thematic analysis to present the findings of interview data.

Working Title

Working Title

CONFLICTS BETWEEN TRIBES IN SOUTHERN KADUNA: A COMPARISON TO EAST UKRAINE

The goal of this study is to investigate the ethnic conflict in southern Kaduna in connection to eastern Ukraine, which has now spread internationally as a result of major countries' action on Ukraine's behalf. The Hausa-Fulani are Muslims, whereas indigenous Christian communities make up the bulk of the population in southern Kaduna. Although the root causes of the situation in southern Kaduna are multifaceted given their theological and sociopolitical undertones, they are primarily cultural and patriotic in the case of Ukraine. The special status of the Russian language is a subject of heated debate among those on the side of Ukraine's government and opposition nationalists who are pro-Russia. The study's purpose dictated that premordialism theory be used as a working model. Ethnic activists and nationalists commonly employ primordialist ideas to explain and defend ethnic wars, like the ones under study (in southern Kaduna and eastern Ukraine). In addition to hoping that the United Nations is permitted to fulfil the purpose for which it was established so that peace can return to Ukraine, we also hope that the same can be achieved in southern Kaduna if the recommendations of the state and federal governments assigned to investigate the crisis are dusted off and implemented. In conclusion, it is hard to discuss peace in an environment rife with injustice and nepotism. More peace advocacy is needed from the main international political powers, but they can only do that if they allow the United Nations (UN) to function freely. Primordialist theories are frequently used by ethnic activists and nationalists to explain and justify ethnic conflicts, such as those in southern Kaduna and eastern-southern Ukraine, which is why this research supports the use of the primordial theory of ethnic conflict despite its flaws.

Peace through the lens of human rights: Mapping spaces of peace in the advocacy of Colombian human rights defenders

What kinds of peace do human rights defenders advocate? This question has become controversial in light of heavy criticisms raised against the scholarly paradigm that peace and human rights are co-constitutive universals. In this article, I explore how Colombian human rights defenders navigate potential tensions, erasures, and vested politics in their peace advocacy during the current peace process with the FARC-EP. I follow the trend in the geographies of peace literature to study the articulation of peace with human rights as situated and constitutive practices. My analysis of published activist statements maps out the discursivity of peace advocacy, that is, how human rights defenders articulate different political demands as interconnected conditions for peace and maintain a common activist space that cuts across the uneven geographies of violence in Colombia. The visualization of my results as discursive networks shows how activist practices open social and discursive spaces that integrate multiple understandings of peace, instead of obliterating differences in a single and homogenized, ‘local’ representation of peace. I further submit that elucidating how human rights defenders address peace beyond the end of guerrilla insurgency, the ambiguous role of the state, societal discrimination, and structural transformations helps us nuancing conceptual debates. We can learn from Colombian activists to move beyond rigid conceptual juxtapositions of human rights as either panacea or liberal fuel for conflict and to pay attention to how concepts are animated in political struggles to end violence.

The Roles of Black Folk? W. E. B. Du Bois’s Peace Advocacy and Its Legacy

This essay highlights W. E. B. Du Bois’s peace advocacy, encouraging readers to consider “the roles of Black folk” in affecting U.S. foreign policy. It contextualizes the U.S. Department of Justice’s 1951 indictment of Du Bois, the occasion for his writing In Battle for Peace. The essay’s chief concern is the effects, both short and long term, of the anticommunist attacks on Du Bois and his contemporaries. Du Bois’s peace advocacy drew harsh attacks from those who supported U.S. Cold War policies or who worried about being associated with communism if they championed peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union. Moreover, his Cold War activism and writing have received less attention than his earlier contributions to American life and letters. Yet Du Bois linked his peace efforts to Black liberation and socialism, and the ideas he spoke and wrote about during the latter part of his life continue to have significant implications for our own time.

Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma: Advocate of Peace and Development

Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma: Advocate of Peace and Development