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The book explores patterns of wartime sexual violence against men, and presents survivors', but also perpetrators' stories.
An invaluable exploration of the concern that transfers of power to European Union institutions are producing a worrying new form of democratic deficit. While ongoing reforms of these institutions promise to render decision processes at European level more transparent and accountable, these expert authors examine whether there is a European public sphere for citizens and their representatives to discuss, deliberate and evaluate issues of public relevance. They show how the process of European integration has given rise to a new object of study – European society, and why key questions concerning identity, citizenship, democracy, government and institutions are being raised anew and are maj...
Based on unique empirical research into Colombia’s Santos-FARC-EP peace process (2012-2016), this book interrogates how, if at all, survivors and victims may assert agency and contribute to formal peacemaking and transitional justice initiatives. The book argues that victim inclusion meaningfully transformed victim-perpetrator relations and dynamics in Havana, while partially shaping the content of both the Victims’ Agreement and Final Agreement. As such, the delegations created paths for empowerment at the individual and, in part, collective levels. However, victim inclusion also precipitated experiences of victim depoliticization, revictimization, retraumatization and instrumentalization. Drawing on insights from across academic disciplines, the book proposes an instrumentalization / empowerment spectrum to analyse the complex impact of victim-centred approaches to peacemaking/transitional justice, and is valuable for both researchers and practitioners.
The Kurdish conflict is an acknowledged long-standing issue in the Middle East, and the emergence of radical Kurdish nationalist movements in the 20th century played a decisive role in the evolution of political violence. Political Violence and Kurds in Turkey examines how this political violence impacts Kurds in contemporary Turkey, and explores the circumstances that move human beings to violent acts. It looks at the forms political violence takes and in which times and spaces it occurs, as well as the roles played by micro and macro factors. It takes a theoretical approach to violence, as both producer and product of interrelations between many actors, and contextualises this with studies...
Local governments are becoming increasingly important around the world and functions are being shifted across levels of government. This timely comparative analysis breaks new ground in the study of multilevel governance, intergovernmental relations, and municipal government. Spheres of Governance systematically compares the challenges faced by municipalities in Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States, with emphasis on the relationship between the municipal and federal levels. Each chapter analyzes a municipality in relation to its responsibilities, functions, and organization; constitutional and fiscal position; relations with the central government; provincial and state governments mediation of these relationships; and public policy development, especially with regard to emergency planning and immigration and settlement. The chapters also highlight the tensions and pressures for change in the systems.
Migrant organizations are of vital importance for countries of residence and countries of origin, but the empirical and theoretical knowledge of the cross-border character of migrant organizations remains incomplete. It is clear that migrant transnationalism challenges the governance of nation-states on the local and national levels. This book, the outcome of an ECPR joint session, systematically and empirically analyzes the differing roles that transnational migrant organizations play in their countries of residence and origin. Drawing on research conducted in Belgium, England, Germany, Holland, Poland and Portugal, it focuses on the relations between migrant organizations and the state. Offering an opportunity for comparative analysis, it also examines why migrants and their organizations engage in different forms of border crossing activities, and how various political systems influence, and are influenced by these forms of engagement. Migration and Organized Civil Society will be of strong interest to students and researchers of political science, political sociology, migration studies, transnationalism, and Diaspora studies.
Masculinity associated with armed groups tends to be built on assumptions of violence and insecurity. Rethinking Masculinities: Ideology, Identity and Change in the People’s War in Nepal and Its Aftermath, however, examines other ways in which the experience of participation in an armed group may impact on notions of masculinity held by low-ranking male combatants, both during conflict and in its aftermath. Using the case of Nepal, this book explores how men of the People’s Liberation Army experienced and engaged with an ideology espoused by the leadership that was more gender-positive than what existed in broader Nepali society. Focusing on masculinity change across four different time ...
This book offers a unique approach to reconciliation as a matter for negotiation, bringing together two bodies of theory in order to offer insights into resolving conflicts and achieving lasting peace. It argues that reconciliation should not be simply accepted as an ‘agreed-upon norm’ within peacemaking processes, but should receive serious attention from belligerents and peace-brokers seeking to end violent conflicts through negotiation. The book explores different meanings the term ‘reconciliation’ might hold for parties in conflict - the end of overt hostilities, a transformation in the quality of relations between warring groups, a vehicle of accountability and punishment of hum...
This book provides a vivid reader on experiences of mediation throughout history and in many different regional, cultural and legal contexts. For experts in the field of mediation and legal anthropology it provides a series of fascinating case studies not previously reported on. For those not familiar with the field it provides a window on an alternative possibility for peacemaking in political conflicts. The book is held together by the editor's introduction, which defines political mediation, the research methodologies employed, the relationship of mediation to participatory democracy, and the growth of mediation in the past twenty years. The chapters which follow provide the anatomy of successful and unsuccessful mediations in contexts as widely diverse as the 30 Years War (1618-1648) which was ended following the intercession of the future Pope, Alexander VII. Three further chapters examine the role of the Catholic Church in other mediations - in the Basque conflict, in Burundi and in Chiapas, while a further group of chapters looks at conflicts in Ethiopia, Northern Ireland, Central America and Congo.
The contributors investigate processes of international conflict transformation and peaceful cooperation. They highlight how critical intermediary-level components have proved more conducive to promoting rapprochement between rival states than interstate diplomatic engagement through incremental identity-change.