http://www.journals.co.za/ej/ejour_accordc.html A Sabinet RSS feed with the latest modified articles for each journal. http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a1.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Gounden, Vasu </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 2</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> On 10 February 2013 I travelled to Nairobi, Kenya with my counterparts, the executive directors of the Nairobi Peace Initiative - Africa, the West African Network of Peace and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict. Our two-day mission was designed to support civil society's call for a violence-free election and post-election environment. This mission was prompted by the conflict that followed the 2007 elections, which resulted in over 1 000 deaths and marred a country otherwise known for its peace and stability. The violence was ethnically motivated and driven by hate speech from political leaders at all levels of society. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:03Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a2.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Hartmann, Henrik </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 3-10</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> With a population of more than 230 million people in 15 countries - from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Tanzania to South Africa - the Southern African Development Community (SADC) is one of the largest regional blocs in Africa. This article outlines the progress that SADC has made in its capacity to respond to political conflicts in the southern African region through mediation. SADC has been actively involved in three mediation missions - to Zimbabwe, Madagascar and Lesotho - and is currently in the process of implementing a new mediation support structure, potentially making it the most advanced African regional actor in terms of mediation. But what is the real potential and impact of SADC in constructively resolving violent conflict through mediation? </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:03Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a3.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Suazo, Adan E. </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 11-17</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> Human beings are designed to interpret and provide meaning to phenomena in our surroundings. When an action is met with a positive reaction, it becomes difficult not to believe that a similar outcome will result with the same input. In the field of conflict resolution, it is sometimes inadvertently believed that an action carried out to stabilise the conflict dynamics in one case should have similar results in another case that appears similar.<br/>Amidst the developments of the Arab Spring, it would be incorrect to say that the measures that brought a multilateral intervention force in Libya would be equally effective in the present-day conflict in Syria. While this argument stresses the urgency for international support to stop violence in Syria, it fails to account for the local, regional and international dynamics that have thus far thwarted such action. Essential to these dynamics are individual states' national interests, which govern the extent and depth of their international relations. Furthermore, the actions taken by the international community in Libya, as Totten argues, have led the country to a political trajectory that is still unclear, and to a political environment rife with tribal strife. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:04Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a4.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Nwozor, Agaptus </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 18-25</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> Nigeria is not at war - at least not in the technical sense - yet the polity is awash with various degrees of violence. The checklist of violence and associated human carnage is intimidating: ethno-religious conflicts, electoral violence, political assassinations, hostage-taking and kidnap-for-ransom, sea piracy and terrorism. Despite the probability that these security threats could have their bases in multitudinous causes and therefore require multifaceted approaches, the response of the Nigerian state has been unidirectional and consists of deploying force to contain them. Nigeria relies on ad hoc mechanisms called Joint Task Forces to tackle insecurity. These Joint Task Forces are usually made up of the army, navy, air force, state security service and the police. In some cases, like the newly reconstituted Joint Task Force for the Niger Delta, called Operation Pulo Shield, the Nigerian Prisons Service, Nigerian Customs Service, Nigerian Immigration Service and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency are co-opted into serving. Joint Task Forces exercise wide-ranging powers akin to those wielded under a state of emergency. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:04Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a5.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Glowacki, Luke Gonc, Katja </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 26-32</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> Border regions in the Horn of Africa are rife with pastoralist conflicts that usually include tit-for-tat cattle raids, thefts and revenge killings. These sometimes escalate into widespread violence, resulting in the mass displacement of people, reduced access to pasture and water and decreased livelihoods. Cultural traditions and customary institutions feature significantly in conflict initiation and resolution. As a result, efforts to encourage and employ these institutions in conflict prevention and resolution programmes present an opportunity to achieve more sustainable peace by utilising internal cultural factors. This article reviews the dynamics of pastoralist conflicts, using case examples of how cultural traditions and customary institutions can contribute to successful conflict resolution. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:04Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a6.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> McIntosh, Ian S. </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 33-40</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> Rwanda is in a state of transition. A modern-day miracle, Rwanda's rebirth from the ruins of a hellish past has few precedents in Africa or elsewhere. After decades of division, oppression and slaughter, an ambitious agenda has been initiated to achieve social cohesion and good governance. But 18 years after the genocide, is the country any closer to being reconciled to its past? Are Rwandans reconciled within themselves? Are they on board with the lofty goal of building state institutions that govern through an 'ethnic-free' lens? These were the questions posed by the Rwandan government in 2010 when they initiated a state-wide survey based on one developed by South Africa's Institute for Justice and Reconciliation - namely, the Reconciliation Barometer. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:04Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a7.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Torto, Beatrice T. </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 41-49</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> In its literal sense, affirmative action warrants that any discrimination which infringes on the fundamental rights of women should be outlawed, whilst women's socioeconomic development, influence and impact on society are traditionally and constitutionally entrenched. Global initiatives to legalise the domestic, professional and political roles of women in society gained momentum in the 1960s. Through resilient affirmative action processes, women are now vocal in governance and decision-making processes in many countries. Women constitute 20.3% of parliaments globally, and 20.4% of parliaments in sub-Saharan Africa. Notwithstanding persistent efforts at increasing campaigns to bridge the gap between women and men in national decision-making processes globally, the process has been painstakingly slow. However, critical thinkers and feminist political scientists, such as Drude Dahlerup, are of the view that women can effect different and long-term significant changes in parliaments to improve their lot. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:04Z http://reference.sabinet.co.za/webx/access/electronic_journals/accordc/accordc_2013_n1_a8.pdf <UL><LI><b>Author:</b> Ammeraal, Brenda </LI><LI><b>Vol Issue 1</b></LI> <LI><b>Publication:</b> 2013</LI> <LI><b>Page:</b> 50-56</LI> <LI><b>Abstract:</b> In Jonglei State in South Sudan, cattle raiding is a common form of violence between communities, and finds its roots in socio-economic traditions around marriage and adulthood. Perpetuated by limited economic opportunities and fragile livelihoods, every year thousands of heads of cattle are stolen and civilian lives are lost in pernicious patterns of attacks and retaliatory attacks in one of the most remote and underdeveloped parts of the world. Based on successful cattle raiding responses in the East African region, Jonglei now has a Livestock Patrol Unit (LPU) to prevent cattle theft and mitigate cattle-related conflict. This article takes a closer look at how the South Sudanese government, with the support of the United Nations (UN), has developed this specialised police unit in an attempt to end cycles of violence that have existed in South Sudan for generations. </LI></UL> 2013-06-19T12:46:04Z