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2. Ending the War in Sudan will be Difficult
- Author:
- Jędrzej Czerep
- Publication Date:
- 05-2023
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- The Polish Institute of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Fighting in Sudan between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has been ongoing since 15 April. The clashes are mainly taking place in the capital, Khartoum, and in the Darfur region, causing the destruction of infrastructure, a humanitarian disaster, and the displacement of the population. Although neither side has achieved military superiority or the support of the population, they are determined to continue fighting until the opponent is eliminated, which makes efforts to achieve a permanent ceasefire difficult. In the longer term, international support for a political solution to the crisis should aim to restore civilian control of the state.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, War, Armed Forces, and Humanitarian Crisis
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Sudan
3. Paths to a Ceasefire in Ukraine: America Must Take the Lead
- Author:
- Anatol Lieven
- Publication Date:
- 05-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
- Abstract:
- Barring an improbable complete victory for Ukraine or Russia, the conflict in Ukraine will end, or more likely be suspended, in the form of a compromise. The fighting is therefore now essentially about the geographical and political lines along which this compromise will be drawn. These will become much clearer once the results of the forthcoming Ukrainian counter–offensive are known, and the aftermath of the offensive will be the time for an intensive diplomatic effort to bring about a ceasefire. Ideally, this compromise should take the form of a peace settlement like Northern Ireland’s in 1999, that would end the war and allow the creation of a stable, consensual and peaceful security order in Europe. More likely, however, is a ceasefire that (as in the cases of Kashmir, Korea, and Cyprus) will freeze the existing battle–line, wherever that runs. Such a ceasefire will in any case be necessary if talks aimed at a formal peace settlement are to take place; and even if such a treaty cannot be reached, such a ceasefire, if far from ideal, might still prove reasonably stable and permanent. Both the U.S. and Ukrainian administrations stated after it began that the war would inevitably end in a negotiated peace. In the first month of the war President Volodymyr Zelensky put forward peace proposals that included suspending the issues of Crimea and the eastern Donbas for future negotiation. Since then, however, both Ukraine and Russia have adopted positions that make any agreement between them exceptionally difficult. Given these circumstances, the United States must play the greatest role in achieving a ceasefire.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Strategic Engagement, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Ukraine, and United States of America
4. Working Toward Peaceful Relations between Oromia and Somali Regional States, Ethiopia: Policy Options
- Author:
- Ketema Debela
- Publication Date:
- 06-2023
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Social Science Research Council
- Abstract:
- In recent years, Ethiopia has increasingly faced violent conflicts which are intergovernmental, interparty, and interethnic in nature. In this regard, the conflict between Oromia and Somali regional states, which used to be local and confined to border areas prior to 2017, expanded its scale from local to the regional level, from clan to ethnic level. By drawing on research about intergovernmental conflict resolution and peacebuilding between Oromia and the Somali Regional State, this policy brief identifies the root causes of conflict along the borderlands between Oromo and Somali, examines the effectiveness of the measures taken to address the conflict, and recommends key areas for policy interventions to resolve the conflict.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Armed Conflict, Dialogue, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Ethiopia, Oromia, and Somali Regional State
5. Is There a Way Forward for Political Resolution in Yemen?
- Author:
- Fatima Abo Alasrar and Ibrahim Jalal
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Middle East Institute (MEI)
- Abstract:
- Director of MEI's Arabian Peninsula Program Gerald Feierstein speaks to MEI Non-Resident Scholars Fatima Abo Alasrar & Ibrahim Jalal on a host of current events in Yemen. What have been the takeaways from U.S. Special Envoy Timothy Lenderking's recent visit to the country - and what are the current trends in the Saudi-Houthi dialogue?
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, Politics, Houthis, and Armed Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf Nations
6. Diplomacy and the War against Ukraine
- Author:
- Ferdinando Nelli Feroci
- Publication Date:
- 02-2023
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Istituto Affari Internazionali
- Abstract:
- Normally, diplomacy is meant as the set of rules and processes that preside over international relations to prevent or resolve disputes and conflicts, or even as a special skill in dealing with complex issues and finding compromises. If this is the case, one may be tempted to conclude that diplomacy has so far failed with respect to the year-long conflict in Ukraine. But perhaps it is worth analysing the issue more closely.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, Crisis Management, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
7. A new conflict management strategy for Syria: Creating a Safe, Calm and Neutral Environment
- Author:
- Malik al-Abdeh and Lars Hauch
- Publication Date:
- 07-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Clingendael Netherlands Institute of International Relations
- Abstract:
- The search for peace in Syria faces a deep crisis. The battlefield has reached a stalemate, the Constitutional Committee never emerged from its cul-de-sac, and the UN’s ‘step-for-step’ approach suffers from flawed conceptual underpinnings as well as a lukewarm reception. Meanwhile, Syria remains divided into three areas that risk drifting further apart amid deteriorating humanitarian conditions. This reality on the ground should serve as a marker for recalibrating Western policy on Syria beyond the current focus on sanctions, accountability, and humanitarian aid. Western policy makers – mostly those from the US, European Union and Turkey – must base a much-needed new conflict management strategy on three ‘ground truths’: 1) the conflict is largely frozen and Syria is likely to remain divided into competing areas of control that are supported, or overseen, by external powers for the foreseeable future; 2) questions of national legitimacy and power sharing are not currently solvable and must be temporarily put on the back burner; c) diplomatic efforts to stabilise Syria and prevent partition are likely to be more effective when they focus on restoring practical connectivity between the different areas of control in terms of flows of people, goods and trade/aid/investment, as well as education. Such a strategy can take shape by operationalising the UN-sanctioned concept of a ‘safe, calm and neutral environment’ (SCNE) via a clear set of principles for engagement, a detailed stakeholder/interest mapping of the various conflict parties, and a focus on pragmatic measures to improve daily conditions. The objective of such a strategy is to enable a durable return to relatively normal life for Syrians still living in the country, and to create linkages between the country’s war-torn parts that can open windows of opportunity in the longer term for a political process reflecting the intention of UNSCR 2254.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Diplomacy, Syrian War, Peace, and Conflict Management
- Political Geography:
- Middle East and Syria
8. Dispute Resolution between the Philippines and China: Fishing Activities in the South China Sea
- Author:
- Yordan Gunawan, Dwilani Irrynta, Caterina García Segura, and Pablo Pareja-Alcaraz
- Publication Date:
- 05-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Revista UNISCI/UNISCI Journal
- Institution:
- Unidad de investigación sobre seguridad y cooperación (UNISCI)
- Abstract:
- Chinese fishing vessels and maritime militias were found in Philippine waters on April 12, 2021. Diplomatic protests raised by the Philippines have been ignored by China, which still claims most of the South China Sea, although in 2016 The Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague under Annex VII of the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), ruled that such a claim is inconsistent with international law. In the article, the authors use a normative research method and a comprehensive literature review in which sources are obtained from secondary data. The results show that China violates the tribunal ruling by infringing the sovereign rights of the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). For the avoidance and prevention of further issues between the two states, the establishment of a Provisional Measures Zone (PMZ) may be used as a settlement.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Sovereignty, Fishing, and Disputes
- Political Geography:
- China, Asia, Philippines, and South China Sea
9. Bölünmüş Toplumlarda Anayasa Yapımı: Güney Afrika Deneyimi (Constitution-Making Processes in Divided Societies: The South African Experience)
- Author:
- Sevtap Yokuş
- Publication Date:
- 07-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
- Institution:
- Altinbas University
- Abstract:
- Bölünmüş toplumlarda anayasa yapım süreçleri, demokratik anayasa bakımından çok daha büyük önem taşır. Anayasal düzenlemeler ve tercihler kadar anayasa yapım yöntemleri de demokratik anayasa açısından belirleyicidirler. Demokratik anayasa yapımı süreçleri, toplumun bütün kesimlerinin katılımına açık olarak yürütülür. Katılımcı anayasa yapım örneklerinden en orijinal ve en çarpıcı olanı, Güney Afrika Anayasası inşa sürecidir. Bu süreç, ayrımcı Apartheid rejiminden demokrasiye geçişi sağladı. Kurucu Meclis, Anayasa inşa sürecini güvenilir kılmak amacıyla, şeffaflık ve katılımcılık ilkelerini sürece hâkim kılmaya çalıştı. Güney Afrika anayasa yapım süreci, başarılı bir demokratikleşme örneğidir. Güney Afrika deneyimi, çatışma çözümünde anayasa yapım yönteminin ne denli belirleyici olduğunu göstermesi bakımından da önemlidir.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Democratization, Constitution, Participation, and Polarization
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
10. Did NATO expansion prompt the Russian attack on Ukraine?
- Author:
- Carl Conetta
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Project on Defense Alternatives
- Abstract:
- Neither NATO nor US policy caused the Ukraine war. The invasion was Moscow’s unforced choice. But that doesn’t settle the issue of provocation. Although neither provocation nor “facilitation” amount to “cause,” such dynamics might have played a role in moving us toward this war. And knowing what role US or NATO policy may have played in bringing the world to this juncture can help illuminate ways to end the conflict (short of prosecuting it to its bitter end – however long that might take and at whatever cost it might entail).
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, NATO, Alliance, and Russia-Ukraine War
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, and Ukraine
11. Yemen After Eight Years of Civil War
- Author:
- Gerald Feierstein, Fatima Abo Alasrar, and Ibrahim Jalal
- Publication Date:
- 09-2022
- Content Type:
- Video
- Institution:
- Middle East Institute (MEI)
- Abstract:
- Now in the fifth month of a ceasefire, what are the prospects for a negotiated end to the Yemeni Civil War, and the beginning of a sustained peace? MEI Distinguished Sr. Fellow on U.S. Diplomacy and Director of the Arabian Peninsula program Gerald Feierstein discusses these questions with two outstanding scholars who have followed and written extensively about Yemen over the years. Fatima Abo Alasrar is a nonresident scholar at MEI and a Senior Analyst for the Washington Center for Yemeni Studies. Ibrahim Jalal is a Yemeni security, conflict, and defense researcher in the UK, an Erasmus Scholar, and a co-founding member of The Security Distillery think tank.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Security, Diplomacy, Houthis, and Armed Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Gulf Nations
12. The Ethnic Chapter of Colombia’s Peace Agreement Five Years On: An Independent Assessment
- Author:
- Helmer Eduardo Quiñones Mendoza
- Publication Date:
- 07-2022
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Accountability Research Center (ARC), American University
- Abstract:
- In 2016, the Colombian Peace Agreement included an Ethnic Chapter designed to ensure the representation of and oversight by indigenous and Afro-Colombian social organizations in the implementation process. This recognition of ethnic rights as a cross-cutting agenda set a precedent among international peace-building processes. But failures in the implementation have meant that armed conflict and systematic violence against ethnic peoples and their territories have raged on. In this Accountability Note, Helmer Eduardo Quiñones Mendoza presents an assessment of the implementation of the Ethnic Chapter of the peace agreement. The assessment was carried out by the advisory team to the High-Level Forum with Ethnic Peoples (IEANPE), the main mechanism for monitoring and promoting the Ethnic Chapter, and presented to the Colombian government in 2021. Together with a preface by Armando Wouriyú Valbuena (Secretary of the Ethnic Commission, Technical Secretary of the IEANPE, and distinguished indigenous leader), an introduction by Jonathan Fox (ARC Director), and an afterword by Gimena Sánchez-Garzoli (Washington Office on Latin America), this note assesses implementation against each of the agreement’s six pillars, identifies entry points for improvement, and lays out an agenda for building a new future for Colombia’s ethnic minorities by fully implementing the Ethnic Chapter of the 2016 agreement.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Treaties and Agreements, Minorities, Ethnicity, and Peace
- Political Geography:
- Colombia and South America
13. The Legislative Framework: A Path to Peace in Ethnically Divided Communities in Warri Conflict Area
- Author:
- Mathias Jarikre
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- The literature on conflict interventions in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region have shown profound interest in Government attempts to prevent ethnic fragmentations and the proliferation of armed militia groups. Legislative structures have often generated the multi-track approaches adopted by government to mitigate the conflicts. Though significant, the results of these efforts have remained unclear. The article explores the role of legislation in designing paths to peace in fragile, ethnically divided communities. Specifically, the article examines the Delta Development Administration Committee Law 2004. The legislative plan to promote the development administration law was to enable the executive, with participatory governance assistance, to implement key strategies for conflict transformation and peacebuilding. The article concludes that, contrary to the fears that the establishment of exclusive ethnic Community Development Committees (CDC) is a dreadful anachronism that will increase the dangers of ethnic exclusivity and offensive actions, the CDC will in fact generate conflict transformation and peacebuilding.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Ethnicity, Legislation, Peace, and Community
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Nigeria
14. An investigation into the role of traditional leaders in conflict resolution: The case of communities in the Mahikeng Local Municipality, North West Province, South Africa
- Author:
- Lovelyne Mboh
- Publication Date:
- 01-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- For many decades, traditional leaders have been occupied with solving conflicts in African indigenous communities. Nevertheless, their contributions to conflict resolution have not been as widely documented as work in the area of formal conflict resolution. The core of this investigation was to explore the roles traditional leaders play in resolving conflict among indigenous communities in South Africa. The study also explored shortcomings of traditional authority institutions as they carried out their roles in peace building. A qualitative research methodology was adopted to answer the objectives of the article. The research found that conflict remains an element peculiar to communities and, as such, the need for traditional leaders to intervene and maintain peace. Traditional leaders were guided by moral values and belief systems which have been passed down from one generation to the next. These authorities used processes such as mediation and arbitration in achieving peace. However, in some instances, these traditional leaders have experienced disrespect from community members. Most of the participants in this study are knowledgeable about traditional practice and have played vital roles in local conflict situations.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Indigenous, Community, and Traditional Leaders
- Political Geography:
- Africa and South Africa
15. Resolving the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis and succession to the Ya-Na skin: The role of kingmakers and the electoral college system
- Author:
- Isaac Owusu-Mensah
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- One chieftaincy conflict that has engaged the attention of all governments of Ghana since independence has been the Dagbon chieftaincy crisis. An ex-post analysis of the latest state of mediation and intervention efforts to resolve the crisis since the March 2002 eruption of bloody conflict, highlights a political stalemate that has challenged mediator intervention strategies. The Committee of Eminent Chiefs (CEC) appointed to mediate the dispute was stalled from 2009 until November 2018, when the Committee laid out a road map for peace which culminated in the installation of Ya Na Abubakar Mahama Andani. The approaches span 17 years of dealing with the crises – given several weaknesses associated with the resolution regimes. Adopting ethnographic and other qualitative methods of data collection, this article posits that, in spite of the inveterate tendency to resolve traditional political problems through modern democratic systems, the Dagbon crisis could have been resolved as a state-brokered intervention by adopting a modern electoral college system grounded in a ‘Clean Sheet Redesign process’ to pave the way for the restoration of the Andanis and Abudus family gate rotational system.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Electoral College, and Chieftancy
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Ghana
16. Malawi’s Peace Policy: The bedrock of a coherent national peace architecture?
- Author:
- Gwinyayi Dzinesa
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- In November 2017, the government of Malawi launched the country’s first National Peace Policy (NPP) to systematically promote sustainable peace and unity. Malawi already had infrastructures for peace (I4P) that had been developed separately by the state, non-state actors and other stakeholders for various purposes. However, there was no integrated and coherent national peacebuilding framework which was focused on proactive conflict prevention and the promotion of sustainable peace and unity. The outbreak of deadly violence between police and civilians in July 2011 was a major manifestation of shortcomings and failures of the uncoordinated and mainly reactive top-down and bottom-up peace infrastructures established by the state and non-state actors, respectively. In response to the violence, the United Nations’ (UN) preventive diplomacy and facilitation of national dialogue in Malawi helped de-escalate tensions and mitigate conflict risk. This culminated in the development and approval of the NPP. The NPP is a bedrock strategy of a coherent and credible National Peace Architecture (NPA) to serve as the national pillar for peacebuilding. The NPP is being implemented by complementary state and non-state actors working closely with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in compliance with regional, continental and international instruments relating to the NPA. The case of Malawi presents an opportunity for building integrated local, national, regional, continental and international peace architectures.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Infrastructure, Violence, Peace, Domestic Policy, and Peacebuilding
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Malawi
17. Adaptation of local peace committees in Zimbabwe: Lessons from ChipingeEast constituency
- Author:
- Muneyi Rewayi Muchanyuka
- Publication Date:
- 06-2022
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- African Journal on Conflict Resolution
- Institution:
- The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
- Abstract:
- The article discusses a study conducted in the Chipinge-East District of the Manicaland Province in Zimbabwe. The possibilities of establishing local peace committees in a Zimbabwean context were analysed. The study was as a reaction to the recurring violence affecting Zimbabwean communities along the border with Mozambique. In addition, the absence of comprehensive violence-reduction measures from the Zimbabwean government and communities to address this violence was noted. An action research approach was used to conduct the study. The findings of the study revealed that the Chipinge-East community had the capacity and interest to set up a Local Peace Committee (LPC). The LPC managed to set up an early warning system to mitigate the violence which occurs in the community. The LPC members also managed to travel to other locations in Chipinge District to inform the wider community about the early warning system. Despite its notable achievements, the LPC faced obstacles which included a lack of financial resources, initial resistance, and suspicions from community members and state authorities. Despite the challenges, the LPC continues to forge ahead and serves as a model for peacebuilding in Zimbabwe.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Peace, Community, and Local Peace Committees
- Political Geography:
- Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe
18. State-Centric Approach to Resolving the Anglophone Conflict in Cameroon: What Prospects?
- Author:
- Francis Tazoacha
- Publication Date:
- 04-2021
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- The Nkafu Policy Institute
- Abstract:
- The Nkafu Policy Institute, a think–thank of Denis and Lenora Foretia Foundation, Simbock, Yaoundé, Cameroon, hosted a webinar on January 26, 2021 on the theme: “Can the Anglophone Crisis be Solved Through a State-Centric Approach?” Hosted in partnership with the National Endowment for Democracy based in Washington DC, the webinar sought to know if the ongoing conflict in North West and South West Cameroon can be resolved through a state–centric approach. Bringing together about 68 participants, the January 2021 webinar sought to provide a platform for knowledge sharing and dialogue on the anglophone conflict and brainstorming to see if the state alone can resolve the conflict without the involvement of other stakeholders. The meeting sought to address a widely recognized need for the government of Cameroon to ensure greater involvement of civil society organizations, regional bodies, the United Nations, the African Union, Nation States and international mediators in the sustainable resolution of the conflict. For the past four years, the socio-political climate of the Anglophone regions of Cameroon has been very volatile. The long-standing grievances among the Anglophone population in the North West and South West Regions of Cameroon concerning marginalisation particularly in the educational and legal systems by the Francophone-dominated government led to widespread protests in October 2016.1 The conflict escalated from a peaceful demonstration that was met with a heavy crackdown from the government security forces in 2017. As a result, the situation morphed into an armed conflict with increasing support by the population in the Anglophone regions to seek independence from Cameroun – French Cameroon – as an independent “Republic of Ambazonia.” Since 2017, the conflict has continued unabated without any party seeming to surrender and thus end the war. Despite attempts from the national and international communities to intervene and resolve this destructive conflict, it has nevertheless, resulted in an impasse.2 The government of Cameroon opted for a military strategy from the very beginning of the peaceful protest that quickly changed into an armed conflict. Some pundits attribute this escalation to November 30, 2017 when President Biya, upon his return from Abidjan, Ivory Coast – after attending the 5th African Union-European Union Summit – declared to pressmen at the Yaoundé Nsimalen International Airport that he would put an end to the series of killings of forces of law. He also said he would order in general and the massacres around Mamfe in the South West Region, at the time all claimed to have been perpetrated by “Anglophone separatists.”
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Prevention, Conflict, Nation-State, and African Union
- Political Geography:
- Africa and Cameroon
19. Seeing in the Dark: Real-Time Monitoring in Humanitarian Crises
- Author:
- Daniel Maxwell, Erin Lentz, Kamau Wanjohi, Daniel Molla, Matthew Day, Peter Hailey, Christopher Newton, and Anna Colom
- Publication Date:
- 03-2021
- Content Type:
- Special Report
- Institution:
- Feinstein International Center, Tufts University
- Abstract:
- Humanitarian information systems typically provide analysis to predict crisis, assess needs, direct program resources, and assess short- to medium-term effects of programs. But much of this information is “chunky”—a single estimate of “needs,” for example, can be expected to direct resources and programming for up to a full year (IASC 2020). A single early warning scenario might be expected to provide information about potential hazards and the exposure of population to the ill-effects of that hazard for three to four months. And almost by definition, early warning analyses are grounded in known and likely hazards, “population in need” (PIN) figures are based on the impacts of known shocks, and program resources are (or should be) allocated on the basis of known and projected PIN figures. There have long been questions about the timeliness of humanitarian information and especially about the extent to which information initiates appropriate and timely actions (Buchanan-Smith and Davies 1995; Bailey 2012; Lentz et al. 2020). And there have always been concerns that circumstances can change in shorter time periods than standard humanitarian analysis procedures can pick up, so interest in real-time monitoring (RTM) as a component of humanitarian information systems has increased for at least the past decade or so (FSNAU 2015).
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Humanitarian Aid, Famine, Food Security, Humanitarian Intervention, Conflict, and Nutrition
- Political Geography:
- Middle East, Yemen, Somalia, Malawi, South Sudan, and Africa
20. Landmines: The Local Effects of Demining
- Author:
- Mounu Prem, Miguel E. Purroy, and Juan Vargas
- Publication Date:
- 11-2021
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC)
- Abstract:
- Anti-personnel landmines are one of the main causes of civilian victimization in conflict-affected areas and a significant obstacle for post-war reconstruction. Demining campaigns are therefore a promising policy instrument to promote long-term development. We argue that the economic and social effects of demining are not unambiguously positive. Demining may have unintended negative consequences if it takes place while conflicts are ongoing, or if they do not lead to full clearance. Using highly disaggregated data on demining operations in Colombia from 2004 to 2019, and exploiting the staggered fashion of demining activity, we find that post-conflict humanitarian demining generates economic growth (measured with nighttime light density) and increases students’ performance in test scores. In contrast, economic activity does not react to post-conflict demining events carried out during military operations, and it decreases if demining takes place while the conflict is ongoing. Rather, demining events that result from military operations are more likely to exacerbate extractive activities.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Civilians, Landmines, Armed Conflict, and Post-Conflict
- Political Geography:
- Colombia