In de zomer van 1974 bezetten Turkse troepen een derde van Cyprus. Het was een reactie op demislukte coup van het Griekse kolonelsregime tegen president en aartsbisschop Makarios III, die bedoeld... Show moreIn de zomer van 1974 bezetten Turkse troepen een derde van Cyprus. Het was een reactie op demislukte coup van het Griekse kolonelsregime tegen president en aartsbisschop Makarios III, die bedoeld was geweest om het eiland te laten aansluiten bij ‘moederland’ Griekenland. Turkije, het andere ‘moederland’, intervenieerde vervolgens ter bescherming van de ‘eigen’ bevolking, de Turks-Cyprioten. Sindsdien worden zij van de Grieks-Cyprioten gescheiden door een 180 kilometer breed niemandsland, bewaakt door VN-soldaten, dat dwars over Cyprus loopt en anno 2024 – vijftig jaar na het staakt-het-vuren – het tragische en absurde symbool vormt binnen een versteend, maar onoplosbaar lijkend conflict. Show less
Gillebaart, M.; Benjamins, J.; Weiden, A. van der; Ybema, JF.; Ridder, D. de 2020
People repeatedly encounter response conflicts (i.e., self-control dilemmas between long-term and short-term goals). A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate how resolution of response... Show morePeople repeatedly encounter response conflicts (i.e., self-control dilemmas between long-term and short-term goals). A longitudinal study was conducted to investigate how resolution of response conflict develops over time. Participants pursued a long-term goal. The design entailed pre- and post-measurements, as well as daily/weekly measures using a mobile application over a range of 10–110 days. Of the 180 people participating in the pre-measurement, 90 also completed the post-measurement. Over time, people became faster at successfully resolving response conflicts. The same response conflicts became bigger over time. Repeatedly being confronted with response conflicts facilitates resolution of these conflicts, by improving the identification of these conflicts, resulting in faster resolution. Show less
This article analyses the role of religious leaders in collective violence in Kano, the major urban centre in northern Nigeria. It compares two episodes of collective action in the city—the violent... Show moreThis article analyses the role of religious leaders in collective violence in Kano, the major urban centre in northern Nigeria. It compares two episodes of collective action in the city—the violent ‘Plateau riots’ in 2004 and the non-violent ‘cartoon protests’ in 2006—to explore the role of religious leaders in the variation in violence between the two events. The core argument is that the ways in which Islamic and Christian preachers framed the triggering events for these cases facilitated different forms of mobilisation and enemy identification in response. In 2004, the interpretation of violence in Plateau State through the ‘Christians-versus-Muslims’ frame allowed for mobilisation within Kano’s Christian and Muslim communities as well as for the identification of local Christians as enemies. In 2006, in contrast, the infamous Danish cartoons were actively framed as part of the global struggle between faithful Nigerians and nonreligious Westerners, facilitating non-violent mobilisation across Christian-Muslim boundaries. Thus, the divergent discursive strategies employed by religious leaders are likely to have contributed to violent escalation in 2004 and to peaceful mobilisation in 2006. At the same time, however, the article emphasises the interaction of discursive framing with other factors, such as the role of security forces and the inextricable connections between religious and political authorities in Kano. The article is based on mixed-methods data collected in Kano between 2006 and 2012, including perceptions survey data, semi-structured interviews, and newspaper articles. Show less
New states seldom have new borders. The outcome of international negotiations is typically to maintain existing international borders and to follow administrative borders in demarcating the new... Show moreNew states seldom have new borders. The outcome of international negotiations is typically to maintain existing international borders and to follow administrative borders in demarcating the new international borders in line with the uti possidetis principle. These existing boundaries however prove rather volatile international borders. This begs the question: How are borders drawn? More specifically, how do diplomatic actors manage the implications of changes in state sovereignty for international borders? This study builds an analysis on a genealogy and sociological analysis of international negotiations concerning the former Yugoslavia between 1991 and 1995. It shows that practices are socially constructed on the basis of shared opinions and largely unquestioned beliefs that are instilled in (groups of ) negotiators who gain influence in the practice of boundary politics. While professionals in diplomacy tend to act on the basis of a fear of disturbance of international order by nationalism and state dissolution, public and military influences in diplomacy regularly introduce practices to prevent outbreaks of crises between entitled or antagonistic communities. Boundary maintenance is the response to the fear of professionals in diplomacy. This fear has prevailed in boundary politics since conflict broke out after the territorial division of India in the 1950s. Show less
Conflicts undermine forest-based livelihoods for the rural poor. Conflict management is key to preventing such conflicts. This article analyzes actor perceptions of forest- and tree-related... Show moreConflicts undermine forest-based livelihoods for the rural poor. Conflict management is key to preventing such conflicts. This article analyzes actor perceptions of forest- and tree-related conflicts and conflict management in Ghana's high forest zone. It also assesses a phased methodology that promotes shared problem definition and ownership of recommendations on conflict resolution strategies through the presentation and discussion of findings from document analysis, surveys, interviews, and focus-group discussions at a workshop with forest professionals held in Kumasi, Ghana. The study found that conflicts are inherent in forest-based livelihoods due to policy and legislative failures and institutional deficiencies, perceived goal incompatibility, opportunities for interfering with the attainment of one another's goals, and environmental scarcity. Ongoing forest governance reforms in Ghana should consider the stepwise conflict management model developed by the workshop participants involved in this study, but expand it to include the views of other stakeholder groups. Show less
Crucial challenges for multiparty mediation processes include the achievement of adequate cooperation among the mediators and consequent coordination of their activities in the mediation process.... Show moreCrucial challenges for multiparty mediation processes include the achievement of adequate cooperation among the mediators and consequent coordination of their activities in the mediation process. Existing literature goes only as far as to make it clear that successful mediation requires necessary cooperation and coordination between mediators, as if these features were exogenous to the process. Available research does not consider whether these features might change over time and if such change could have an impact on the overall mediation process. Experience shows that it is not rare for mediators who were initially willing to pool their resources and act in concert with one another to decide at a later point to stop cooperating. Using a game theoretical model (developed for the purposes of this research) and an analysis of five cases of multiparty mediation, this research illustrates the importance of maintaining necessary levels of cooperation and coordination to achieve successful outcomes and provides insights on how to achieve them in case the mediating coalition is faced with internal conflict of interests. Show less
