Theory and Practice in Conflict Resolution and

Peace-building

―arguments over various cases all over the world

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Dates: 22~23 Oct. 2010 The Workshop of the Joint Study Meeting for Peacebuilding

Timetable

22nd Oct. 2010 (Fri.) 14：00～ Nicholas Kasparek 14：50～ Tatebe Onka 15：40～ Ascana Luisa Gurusinga 16：40～ María Elisa Pinto García 17：30～ Paranuk Mariet 18：20～ Ladislav Lesnikovski BBQ Party 23rd Oct. 2010 (Sat.) 10：00～ Erika Sekido 10：50～ Ryoma Ymagishi 11：40～ Alex Sivalie MBAYO 13：30～ Durga Bhusal 14：20～ Omed Yasin Taha 15：10～ Parwana Paikan 16：00～ Maryam Shariatzadeh

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Contents A Peace Adrift? Peace Education, Global Citizenship, and the Peace Boat: a Critical Analysis

Nicholas Kasparek(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 5

BUILDING PEACE? OR BUILDING CONFLICT?: HISTORY EDUCATION IN POST-GENOCIDE RWANDA

Tatebe Onka(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 6

The Durability of Peace Agreement in Maintaining Peace: Study Case of the Implementation of Helsinki

MoU in Aceh, Indonesia

Ascana Luisa Gurusinga(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 7

MUSIC AND RECONCILIATION IN COLOMBIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF SONGS COMPOSED BY

VICTIMS AND EX-COMBATANTS

María Elisa Pinto García(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 8

The Identity Question of IDPs in Georgia

Paranuk Mariet(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 9

MACEDONIA'S ONTOLOGICAL INSECURITY AND THE CHALLENGES OF POST-CONFLICT TRANSITION

Ladislav Lesnikovski(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 10

Research on the Way of Post-Conflict Natural Resource in Peace Agreement‐From the Perspective of

Natural Resource Governance by the State‐

Erika SEKIDO (Hiroshima University) 11

Democratisation as a Strategy of Peacebuilding to Tackle the Tensions among Ethnic Groups in

Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ryoma Yamagishi (Hiroshima University) 13

Gendering Peacebuilding for Sustainability in Sierra Leone: An Examination of the Role of Women’s

Indigenous Civil Society Organizations through a Gender Lens

Alex Sivalie MBAYO (Hiroshima University) 16

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UNITARY SYSTEM TO FEDERAL SYSTEM: THE POST-MONARCHIAL SCENARIO IN NEPAL

Durga Bhusal(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 23

The Prospect of the Application of Federalism in Post-2003 Iraq

Omed Yasin Taha(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 24

VOTING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICT: THE POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF AFGHAN

ELECTORAL LAW

Parwana Paikan(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies) 25

Post Revolutionary Transformation in Iranian Women Movement

Maryam Shariatzadeh(Tokyo University of Foreign Studies)

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A PEACE ADRIFT? PEACE EDUCATION, GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP, AND THE PEACE BOAT: A

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

NICHOLAS KASPAREK

Peace Boat is a Japan-based organization that organizes cruises to various parts of the world with a

mission of learning, teaching, and promoting peace, sustainability, and “the realities of history,” while succeeding

in the tourism industry. Developing out of one part of the Japanese student movement in 1983, it now charters a

passenger ship for three-month journeys several times each year for a variety of participants, especially catering to

Japanese university students and retirees. It has developed various programs to expose its participants to a global

perspective, and its Global University program has a stated aim of creating “builders of peace” inside and out of

Japan. This essay aims to critically analyze the development of the current salient ideas and philosophies embodied

in the Peace Boat and its Global University. It will attempt to locate this program within the broader context of

ideas on education’s relationship to peace, as well as the related concepts of tolerance, democracy, patriotism, and

responsible tourism. It will analyze underlying assumptions and place these in constructive dialogue with several

influential philosophers of politics, education, and ethics, as well as with empirical studies of education’s effects. In

doing so, this essay attempts to show that there are strong potential theoretical basis for the Peace Boat, but that

these must not be simply taken for granted if this organization hopes to achieve its broader goals for positive peace.

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BUILDING PEACE? OR BUILDING CONFLICT?: HISTORY EDUCATION IN POST-GENOCIDE

RWANDA TATEBE ONKA

History, to a great extent, constructs how people perceive themselves and the others. In Rwanda, history

narratives, along with the unequal educational system that focused on ethnic and regional quotas, have long been a

central component of social fragmentation and conflict building. The colonial government as well as the

post-colonial governments both utilized history education, especially the narratives of ethnic identity, to generate

antagonism and mistrust among Rwandans. Although there are various reasons that let horrendous genocide to

happen in April 1994, history education can be considered as one of the important element that drove people to

accumulate frustration and directed them to violence. Today, the post-genocide government strives hard for the

reconciliation and unification of the country through various peacebuilding and development projects. Among these

efforts, the government place special focus on the reinterpretation of the history and the curriculum reform.

However, despite the tremendous improvements in the educational sector, Rwandan history still remains contested.

The top down implementation of the single narrative developed by the government makes the ordinary citizens,

especially those that were born and raised in the country, to feel uneasy and underrepresented.

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THE DURABILITY OF PEACE AGREEMENT IN MAINTAINING PEACE: STUDY CASE OF THE

IMPLEMENTATION OF HELSINKI MOU IN ACEH, INDONESIA Ascana Luisa Gurusinga

The August 2005 Helsinki Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Government of Indonesia

(GoI) and the Free Aceh Movement (GAM, Gerakan Aceh Merdeka) has formally put an end to the nearly 30 years

of violent conflict in Aceh. While the two previous peace settlements, namely Humanitarian Pause (Jeda

Kemanusiaan) and Cessation of Hostilities Framework Agreement (CoHA), failed to bring peace to the region, the

MoU Helsinki seemed to have a stronger foundation to build and maintain the peace, despite its deficiency as a

peace agreement. Given that Aceh has managed to avoid a return to war in five years after the signing of Helsinki

MoU, an examination of complete implementation of each article within the MoU likely serve as an instrument to

measure the commitment of both parties to peace. Moreover, in the case of Aceh, the MoU Helsinki serves as an

invaluable foundation for the development of this post-conflict region as it is used as a reference in determining the

direction of the “new” Aceh.

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MUSIC AND RECONCILIATION IN COLOMBIA: OPPORTUNITIES AND LIMITATIONS OF SONGS

COMPOSED BY VICTIMS AND EX-COMBATANTS María Elisa Pinto García

Within the academic literature regarding reconciliation, there is not a wide range of research on the role

of music. This paper examines some conflict-related songs composed by victims and ex-combatants in Colombia

and goes further to analyze the extent to which these songs may contribute to reconciliation in both, the listeners

and the composers. Ethnographic research suggests that these songs entail opportunities but also limitations in the

path to reconcile a war-torn society. First, these songs have constituted storytelling tools that facilitate the building

of historical memory of past atrocities in the country. Second, the process of composition and the musical activity

itself represent a means through which some composers develop beliefs, attitudes, and emotions that constitute

important steps towards reconciliation. However, in an audience made up of victims and ex-combatants not related

to the composers, the research shows contrary effects. Some of the listeners expressed neither positive thoughts nor

feelings towards reconciliation. The paper concludes that music may contribute to some extent to reconstruct

societies affected by armed conflict, but it may not be the magical tool that definitely reconciles former enemies.

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THE IDENTITY QUESTION OF IDPS IN GEORGIA Paranuk Mariet

The 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia led to the displacement of over 250,000 persons. The largest groups

affected by the war were ethnic Georgians, the vast majority of whom left Abkhazia and have settled in other parts

of Georgia. Since the displacement, the Georgian government has been trying to provide a proper response to the

IDPs. As a result at least 40,000 IDPs were able to return to breakaway Abkhazia’s Gali district, whereas other

200,000 people still live either with friends or relatives or in rented or purchased private accommodation; and about

42% of them lives in collective centers, which are state or privately owned buildings such as kindergartens,

sanatoria, hospitals and hotels. Until very recently, the Georgian government was emphasizing the return of the

IDPs as the only solution. In the last few years, the vector of governmental policies has changed its direction

towards the integration of internally displaced persons.

However, there are obstacles to inclusion of the IDPs as they represent a very diverse community with

different perceptions of what integration is, and how it should be. Therefore, this work aims to analyze if the

obstacles tied up with social and economic factors only, or if there is such obstacle as identity, arguing that the

processes of identity formation of IDPs and lack of integration are related.

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MACEDONIA'S ONTOLOGICAL INSECURITY AND THE CHALLENGES OF POST-CONFLICT

TRANSITION Ladislav Lesnikovski

The topic is Macedonia's contested language, ethnicity, church and the state's name by its neighbors, and

how this affected its politics towards the Albanian minority and the implementation of the Framework Agreement

(FA). These issues are looked through the framework of ontological security from International Relations literature.

Ontological security refers to serving its self-identity even at the cost of its physical security.

Greece contest the name of the country, Republic of Macedonia, as well as the Macedonian minority’s identity and

language in its own territory, same as Bulgaria which also contest its language and ethnicity, and we also have the

problem of the Serbian Church contesting the autonomy of the Macedonian Church. This causes insecurity among

Macedonians both as people and state, which I call an ontological insecurity i.e. the country is in a state of

ontological insecurity.

Macedonia was the only country in former Yugoslavia that seceded peacefully in the 1990s, and amid the

bloody Yugoslav wars it was dubbed an “oasis of peace”. However, in 2001 it experienced an armed conflict with

Albanian insurgents itself but this was short lived with relatively few casualties and it lead to a political

compromise enshrined in a Framework Agreement that granted more rights to ethnic-Albanian minority and made

concessions with constitutional changes. I argue that the Macedonian ontological security seeking affected the

process of making concessions to its largest Albanian minority, and much of the opposition came when “symbolic”

issues were at stake, such as the identity of the state, usage of languages and such. I focus on one political event as

a case study, the referendum to repel the new law on administrative local boundaries in 2004, which according to

many it jeopardized the implementation of the Framework Agreement that brought end to the conflict in 2001, and

show how the ontological security affected this event.

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Research on the Way of Post-Conflict Natural Resource in Peace Agreement

‐From the Perspective of Natural Resource Governance by the State‐

Erika SEKIDO

Hiroshima University

“High-value” resources, such as diamonds, gold, oil, coltan etc. can promote to the economic growth and

development of the country if properly managed. However, developing countries which are rich in those

resources often tend to face armed conflicts because of the state’s lack of capacity to resolve natural resource-based

conflicts peacefully and equitably.

This research presupposes that resource-linked conflicts can be brought by one of the root causes which

are problematic points of natural resource management system by the state. Indeed, natural resource-linked

conflicts mainly reflect a failure of natural resource management / governance, or lack of capacity in the country1.

Then as demand for “high-value” resources in global market are increasing rapidly in recent years, the system for

natural resource governance / management should be held responsible for how to manage, or how to utilize natural

resources in resource-rich developing countries, especially in post-conflict developing countries.

Where there is inequitable system for natural resource management by the state which leads to conflicts,

therefore, rules or principles which establish the direction of post-conflict natural resources are essential in order to

build a system to manage resource endowment properly and to contribute to post-conflict development.

From these perspectives noted above, this research will focus on the role of peace agreement as a

treatment for dealing with the management system of natural resources in post-conflict state. Peace agreement has

roles not only in ending conflicts, but also in establishing a variety of principles or rules which can be applied in

post-conflict settings2. There, it can also be considered that the way of natural resource management towards

post-conflict development in post-conflict state would be established by including provisions on natural resources

in peace agreement, in case resource-linked conflicts are ended by peace agreement.

In addition, peace agreement establishes the way of political process to form state institution3. For this

reason, state’s new institutional frameworks can also be taken into account for how post-conflict state should build

new system for natural resource management.

This study consists of 4 chapters except for Introduction and Conclusion. 1 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), “From conflict to Peacebuilding‐The role of natural resources and the environment”, United Nations Environment Programme, 2009, p11. 2 篠田英朗『平和構築と法の支配：国際平和活動の理論的・機能的分析』、創文社、2003年、63頁。 3 大芝亮、藤原帰一、山田哲也編『平和政策 Building Peace』有斐閣、2007年、235頁。

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In Chapter 1, it will state the relationship between natural resources and contemporary armed conflicts.

Chapter 2 will refer to the significance of approaching natural resources in peacebuilding activities, focusing on

ways of post-conflict natural resources in peace agreement. Chapter 3 will analyze how perspectives should be

included in peace agreement for establishing directions of natural resources, categorizing three standpoints:

“actors”, “territory” and “allocation”. Chapter 4 will consider three standpoints analyzed in Chapter 3, focusing on

Lome Peace Agreement and other legal critical documents established after Lome Agreement in Sierra Leone

which refers to directions of post-conflict natural resource in post-conflict settings.

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Democratisation as a Strategy of Peacebuilding to Tackle the Tensions among Ethnic Groups in Post-Conflict Bosnia and Herzegovina

Ryoma Yamagishi

Hiroshima University

1. Formation of “ethnicism” in BiH and its implications for peacebuilding

After fifteen years since the end of the civil war in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), there are still ethnic

cleavages inside the state despite the deep commitments made by international societies. Under this situation, it is

vitally important work to review how the peacebuilding strategies taken in BiH have dealt with the ethnic identities,

and investigate how much the remaining “cleavages” pose the risk of relapse of the conflict. For the sake of

answering these questions, I’d like to focus on the relationship between democratic institutions and ethnicity in BiH

peacebuilding efforts. There are two reasons for it; the dynamics of the civil war and the inherent issues in

democratic peacebuilding.

For the first point, the “ethnicism” in BiH which led to the conflict was not simply derived from the historical

hatreds; rather it was triggered by political elites who wanted to mobilize their own ethnic groups. Besides, lack of

the rule of law allowed bandits to attack civilians and label themselves as guardians for the ethnic group they

belong. Civilians perceived insecurity in their country which had been unjustly imposed by other groups.

Considering the way of mobilisation of mass ethnics, peacebuilding strategies should establish a social structure

which can function to combat three factors which constructed a structure which combined political environment

and ethnic concepts into the deadly conflict. They are, (1) the presence of political elites who use ethnic rhetoric to

achieve their own interests, (2) the structure and institutions which enabled such elites to mobilise people based on

ethnic identities, and (3) the lack of credence to the rule of law. The necessity to recreate political arrangements

was clear.

Secondly, in peacebuilding strategies in general, democratisation is thought to be a way to build sustainable

conflict management structure in which people in post-conflict society can accommodate difference of interests by

itself in procedural way. However, democratisation in post-conflict society, especially in ethnically and deeply

divided society, may bring instability, because democratic system has in nature conflict-fostering effects. Benefits

of democratisation in post-conflict society largely depend on social conditions surrounding the democratic

arrangements. Therefore, such conditions should carefully be found, especially for BiH, as a state after the intense

ethnic conflict.

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2. Political structures in BiH

The political structure established by the Dayton Peace Accord (DPA) and the Constitution incorporated into

DPA, was characterized by its overall tendency setting ethnicity as a basis for political activity and prioritizing

entities, political units which divide BiH into two parts; Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina (FBiH) and Republika

Srpska (RS), to govern more issues which may concern to daily lives of citizens than central state-institutions. This

structure makes politicians in central institutions much more motivated to gather supports from the entity they

come from, especially the ethnic group they belong, than supports across-the-state because it’s enough to win the

seats.

Another significance of post-conflict BiH is the vigorous conduct of international society into broad and deep

range of institutions of the state. The most significant institution is the Office of the High Representative (OHR) in

Bosnia. The High Representatives gradually strengthened its influence on BiH politics and exercised a power to

force politicians who behaved in exclusive ethnic ways out of the power. The High Representatives, however, are

not democratically elected persons although they can oust elected representatives. This imbalance harms legitimacy

of international conduct and gives an opportunity for ethnic politicians to get supports by showing opposing

attitudes against OHR which tries to put forward reconciliation and unity.

Structural problems in post-conflict political structures in BiH can be found as above. The structure has worked

to encourage politicians to take an ethnic stance almost regardless of how reconciliation process has proceeded and

what is needed to develop the state. Once ethnic grouping has acquired main position among social status, it’s

difficult to escape from the cycle of “ethnicalisation” in such situation. The problem is how much this

ethnicalisation risks relapse of the civil war.

3. Thematic study: reforms related to the rule of law

In order to see further detailed situations in BiH, I’d like to take a thematic study on reform of rule of law

related issues, such as constitutional reform and police restructuring. In addition to creating effective system,

another important aim of these reforms is the establishment of credence from the whole society to the rule of law.

Credence on the rule of law is a key to foster the elimination of ethnic divisions because ethnicity, in place of state

citizenship, has been perceived as the only one satisfier of security needs in a security dilemma emerging from the

experiences of bloody war. This perception of ethnicity as a security satisfier allows political elites to use ethnic

rhetoric to gain popular supports.

Little progress has been made in this area. Both of constitutional reform and police restructuring were initiated

by international bodies, but couldn’t gain enough supports from domestic politicians. Revise of these areas might

have impaired existing power control of some political elites if they were implemented as international society had

intended. In some points, however, divisions between affirmatives for the reforms and oppositions were not always

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homologous with ethnic lines. It suggests, while ethnic logics have much to do with how elites behave, they don’t

explain every reason of decisions made by them. What is important here is whether their decisions and political

behaviours are consonant with willingness of citizens.

4. Ethnicities in democratic peacebuilding

The efficiency of democratisation for stabilisation of BiH is mixed. Among the three factors which should be

tackled in peacebuilding in BiH, as in the first part, presence of political elites who are motivated to use ethnic

rhetoric was not efficiently impeded but sustained by political arrangements and social environments in

post-conflict BiH. Secondly, for the possibility of ethnic mobilisation, democratisation brought two opposing

effects. The same as the first point, current democratic arrangements motivated some political elites to take ethnic

cards, which could spread hatreds against other ethnicities. On the other hand, thanks to the peacebuilding efforts,

other political elites are beginning to differentiate themselves from those ethnic elites and seek national interests

beyond conservative ethnic interests. Thirdly, little progress in the rule of law in BiH means ethnicity is still

remaining as important satisfier of security needs. Considering these factors, current situation in BiH is restoring

the environment which was unable to hold escalated tensions when they were triggered.

5. Concluding remarks

Certain progress can be seen in this fifteen years, and it is very welcome that there has been no large deadly

confrontation since the end of the conflict. However, there are some issues and frustrations within the country

which may exacerbate tensions among ethnic groups, for example tremendously high unemployment rate. Political

institutions in BiH should be capable to manage those social grievances. The current stalemate in politics can be

said as “balanced”, but it can hardly be said as sustainable.

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Gendering Peacebuilding for Sustainability in Sierra Leone: An Examination of the Role of Women’s Indigenous Civil Society Organizations through a Gender Lens

Alex Sivalie MBAYO

Hiroshima University

Abstract

Women’s contribution to peace goes as far back as the beginning of human history. However, these

meaningful contributions have only received little or no recognition in beyond the community level in Sierra Leone

as gender relations have always been skewed infavour of men. However, with the emerging complexities and

nature of peacebuilding in conflict zones in the 21st century, the necessity to involve women has become

unavoidable. Women civil society groups in Sierra Leone, despite their exclusion from the negotiations that ended

the ten year civil war that brought so much suffering to them, have continued to put enormous efforts into the

building of sustainable peace in Sierra Leone.

This study is therefore focusing on investigating the role of women’s civil society groups (e.g. Mano

River Women’s Peace Network-MARWOPNET, The 50/50 Group and Women in Peace network-WIPNET)

building peace in Sierra Leone inorder to unravel the research questions. It is hope that the findings will shed

enough light on the various issues related the activities of women peacebuilders in war torn Sierra Leone.

Introduction:

The history of human existence has always been unfortunately characterized or marked by violence, local,

national or international and often with dramatic intensity.4 Many reasons have been advanced for these conflicts

but the foundation always is to gain power over the other and to control. These wars destroy societies and the

post-conflict recovery process requires a lot of financial, human and material resources. In these fragile states, the

processes of reconstruction and peacebuilding are huge and complex tasks that the state government’s international

backers, diplomats, those of multilateral agencies and the international community faces5, which therefore demands

greater cooperation among various stake holders including local civil society groups inorder that the outcome

(peace) becomes sustainable. Significantly though, this assessment is premised on the view that women are not a

homogenous group and that their experiences differ widely across geographical and temporal locations. None the

4 Kayamibwa, Samuel. Impact of war on conservation: Rwandan environment and wildlife agony. World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 5th May 1998. 219 Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0DL, UK. p.1 (Available at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/tl2377937jm6m33l/). Sourced: November 5 2009 5 Peinado, Manuela M. The Role of NGOs and the Civil Society in Peace and Reconciliation Processes. Centro de investigacion para la Paz. Madrid, Spain. p.1

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less the author is not oblivious of the fact that there is also need to guard against biological foundationalism (which

in many cases in Africa leads to women’s marginalization in peacebuilding processes) and to ensure a

comprehensive approach to sustainable peace-building; both of which requires a human-rights

approach and a proper gender analyses. Only then will sufficient voice, resources, participation,

services, support, reparations, documentation and respect for human rights be ensured - both for

women and men.

Statement of Problem.

Since the beginning of recorded history, women, especially in Africa have been and continue to be deeply

involved in peace work and peacebuilding initiatives by picking up the pieces from wars mainly started by men.6

In other words, civil societies, especially indigenous women’s groups have been major players in the building and

maintenance of peace in Africa and especially Sierra Leone from time in memorial. The grass root women of

Sierra Leone, despite been instrumental in the search for a peaceful solution to the Sierra Leone

brutal civil war, were bolted out when it came to deciding on how the governance arrangements

could be made that was to be a fair representation of the wishes and aspirations of all stake holders in

the Sierra Leone society, an action that completely rendered the process gender insensitive. In 2008,

UNIFEM estimated that women constituted less than 10 percent of members in formal negotiating delegations, on

average, and fewer than two percent of the signatories to peace agreements.

But irrespective of this unfortunate outcome, the proliferation of armed conflicts in the 1990s in Africa,

which is accompanied by the complexities of peacebuilding efforts faced by UN and the international community

has led to a huge acknowledgement and a sharp turn with an increasing attention by donors and peacebuilding

practitioners to the potential role to be played by civil society in all of these, as conflicts do not occur in a vacuum

but “are products of social structures and character of society of which the civil society is an integral part.”7.

Unfortunately though, despite the massive rise in peacebuilding initiatives that is aimed at strengthening civil

society, these initiatives have not been backed by a systematic research agenda and therefore very little is known

about the role of civil society in peacebuilding, its potentials in reducing conflict, ending violence, ending armed

conflict and building a sustainable peace,8 especially indigenous women’s civil society in Africa as a whole and

Sierra Leone in particular.

In the aftermath of the civil war in Sierra Leone, Joe Pemagbi, the former Chair of the National

Commission for Democracy and Human Rights in one of the reports of his commission pointed out the prevalent

discriminatory gender practices against women and their exclusion from participation in the politics of the country.

He said: 6   Elizabeth  Ferris.  Women,  War  and  Peace:  Research  Report.  Life  &  Peace  Institute.  P.O.Box  1520,  S-­‐751  45  Uppsala  Sweden.  (2004).p.  25    

7 Ibid. 8 Paffenholz, Thania. Civil Society and Peacebuilding. The centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding – CCDP Working Paper. p.5 (Available at: http://www.graduateinstitute.ch/ccdp). Sourced: May 21, 2010

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We have seen that the authoritative nature of traditional African administration structure excludes women and

young people from the mainstream of decision making. The chiefs and the “grey hairs” have the “authority” to

take decisions on behalf of women and the community at large. We have also seen the franchise at the chiefdom

level favours men, limiting the participation of women in decision – making, including the right to choose their

leaders. To understand rights, exercise rights and promote rights, rights should be exercised by those entitled to

them, not by others on their behalf.9

Although there has been repeated calls by the international community backed up by UN

resolutions (1325, 1820, etc.) for the total involvement of women in peace and peacebuilding

processes in lieu of lessons learnt, these calls are yet to yielded to. But irrespective of this anomaly

however, the grass root women have relentlessly continued to work for peace by operating their own

local NGOs with personal funds and support from international community, international civil

society groups and INGOs.

This study focuses on investigating the role of women’s civil society groups (e.g. Mano River Women’s

Peace Network-MARWOPNET, The 50/50 Group and Women in Peace network-WIPNET) in the ongoing

peacebuilding process in Sierra Leone inorder to unravel the questions below:

Main Research Question: What and how are the activities of gender (women) civil society organizations

contributing to the ongoing peacebuilding process in Sierra Leone?

Sub questions

Is the programme implementation of these civil society organizations in accordance with international

standards (equal participation, local ownership for sustainability)?

How has these activities impacted the intended beneficiaries?

What are the potential threats or barriers to women’s empowerment and access to equal opportunities

as men in the building of peace in Sierra Leone?

1. Why women’s civil society?

“[W]omen’s participation in peace processes can help ensure that these processes address gender specific

consequences of armed conflict (e.g., an increase in the number of female-headed households); the needs and

priorities of women and girls in the aftermath of conflict (e.g., obtaining justice for war crimes such as rape,

improving household income); and the involvement of women in the reconstruction of post-conflict societies, and

thus in the prevention of future conflict” (United Nations).

Apparently however, this article does not in any way subscribe to the simplistic essentialist

view that women are inherent peacemakers and that they are naturally more peaceful than men 9   Joe  Pemagbi.  “The  challenges  to  democracy  in  Sierra  Leone”.  In  Rawwida  Baksh-­‐Soodeen  and  Linda  Etchart  (eds).  Women  and  Men  in  Partnership  for  Post-­‐Conflict  Reconstruction:  Report  of  the  Sierra  Leone  National  Commission,  Freetown,  Sierra  Leone  (London,  Commonwealth  Secretariat.  2002).  p.33  

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because they are first and foremost considered caring mothers. But the looming danger is that this

approach could also imply that because of the different experience of reality of war by women and

men, then women can easily be excluded from the other spheres of influence where they do not

belong “naturally”- as they are most often marginalized and prevented from taking part in peace

negotiations, which most obviously takes place in the public domain, an environment where it is

assumed women do not “fit in”. But worthy of note is the fact that the essentialists fail to realize that

women are not naturally inclined to peace than men but that women have been socially conditioned

to be good mothers and responsible wives that take care of their children and extended families. With

these responsibilities imposed, she obviously has to develop capacities and skills inorder to adjust to

these functions through learning and not innate. 2. Skewed Gender Relations from Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post-colonial Sierra Leone: An arbiter for the disparity

Review of literature reveals that colonialism was mainly viewed as a masculine project of white men, often referred to as “colonial masters”, whose aim was to subjugate and civilize “natives” of the colonized states that were also male.10 However, the reality was different and paradoxical as European women were an “inferior sex” within the “superior race” and native women of the colonized states played a role in the entire project.11

Prior to early European contacts with Africa, especially Sierra Leone, the society was typical of huge diversity and variety in social, political and economic organization, with immense gender relations that were not static and unchanging. The settlements were a loose bunch of varying settlements or communities with sophisticated hierarchical authority, mainly referred to as kingdoms that were ruled by kings and Queens. Though there was no gender equality in this relationship at this time, yet women’s relationship to men was more complimentary than subordinate mostly due to the considerable power and solidarity gained through the collective formed by the near universal membership in the women's Bundu or Sande societies in traditional or provincial areas.

According to Staudt (Staudt: 1986) “Women often had a degree of autonomy and control of their lives

with high levels of solidarity along the lines of gender as much as social stratification was based on gender”.

Although access to land by women was mainly indirect, there were/are however exceptions to this (among the

Sherbro) where there is matrilineal inheritance or right to property. In this case women became and still can

become heads of households, village chiefs, or even lineage heads; and therefore it is not unusual in these

circumstances for women to become trustees of land or property. In the agrarian economy, men were in full control

of the main crop (rice) but other crops like cotton, benin seeds, pumpkin, corn, millet etc. were the sold prerogative

of the women but the cotton was handed to the husband to weave before been returned to the women to sell. The

control woman had over the other proceeds of the farm inevitably gave them power and autonomy in society

(Madam Yoko), although it was possible for men to control this influence.

Under the British indirect rule system (1787/1896-1961), the dual sex system that existed before was

10 Waylen, Georgiana. 1996. Gender in Third World Politics. Open University Press, Celtic Court, 22 Ballmoor, Buckingham. MK18 1XW…p.46 11 Ibid.

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complete ignored, which reduced their political influence of women. As Grier puts it “[T]he policy of indirect rule

reinforced the legal and coercive powers of chiefs and male elders over their historic dependents and of males over

females”12 (Grier: 1992). Firstly, the export oriented economy contributed to a reduction in the status of women

(less access to resources such as land and labour power), as it did not provide them with job opportunities and also

increased the work load on them.13 Secondly, the pawning of women (as collateral) by men inorder to repay debts

obtained or to buy land, pay porters etc. became rampant. Thirdly, the increasing pressure of taxes, decline in soil

fertility, the need to maintain a certain level of production and the fragmentation of landholdings through economic

innovation – especially interms of agricultural crops and techniques, forced women to concentrate more on trading

activities. There was a breakdown in economic interdependence that existed between men and women in the

pre-colonial period, leading to increased workload, poverty and a vast decline in rural family welfare, a situation

that forced women to also migrate to these mining centers and urban towns either to join their husbands or to look

for something to engage in. However, as unmarried women were not allowed in the company compounds and even

married ones were required to produce a certificate, many women were forced to contract marriages, engage in

prostitution while some others combined selling sexual services with domestic ones. Other state policies were

passed that prevented women from benefiting equally like men from the welfare provision instituted by the British

Colonial Development and Welfare Act of 1940. For example the missionary education for girls mainly focused on

the domestic, intended to make them good mothers and wives of emerging African male elites and it emphasized

morality and Christian values and for boys, it was meant to offer them the necessary skills for employment and to

gain more adequate instruction on technical and agricultural issues.

This colonial legacy continued even when African countries, especially Sierra Leone gained

independence, hence the huge disparity and gender gap between men and women up to date.

3. The Sierra Leone rebel conflict and the Lome Peace Agreement

Sierra Leone, a former British colony in West Africa is bounded on the north-east by Guinea and on the

south by Liberia.

From independence in 1961, this country has witnessed various governments characterized by corruption,

nepotism, sectionalism, dictatorship, human right violations, greed, economic mismanagement etc. that led to a

civil unrest (the rebel -1991 to 2001). However, this war came to an end in 2002 with the signing of The Lome

Peace Agreement between the government and the rebels in 1999, negotiated with the help of UN, Britain, USA,

ECOWAS states.

4. End of War and the Emergence of Indigenous Women’s Civil Society Organisations in Sierra Leone

Gender relations in Sierra Leone have always been skewed and still remain extremely unequal as

12 Grier, B. 1992. Pawns, potters and petty traders: women in the transition to cash crop agriculture in colonial Ghana, signs, 17 (2): 304-328 13 Henn, J. 1984. Women in the rural economy: past, present and future, and Parpart, J. 1988. Women and the state, in Waylen, Georgiana. 1996. Gender in Third World Politics…p.56

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majority of Sierra Leonean women face is a high level of exclusion, violence and poverty.14 The inequalities are

mainly as a result of the prevailing patriarchal, cultural and religious values in the country, especially in the north

where it is particularly strong. However, with the end of the war there has been a positive change in the dogmatic

social attitudes on women’s engagement in public and civic roles following the growing awareness raising

activities and campaigns for women’s participation in all governance and development processes as is part of their

rights. A number of land mark incidences were key to the dramatic change in the history of women’s public

participation around the world at large and particularly in Sierra Leone. The United Nations Fourth World

Conference on women held in Beijing - China in became an eye opener to the public arena for majority of women

around the world. Secondly, women’s encounter and experience of conflict, coupled with their roles in various

peacebuilding ventures mobilised them for a firm grip on public life that helped shape the post-conflict agenda for

the women’s movement. Thirdly, the displacement and social upheaval caused by the conflict created new roles for

women, many of whom assumed the painstaking role of household heads; while others became practically involved

in local governance in the absence of men.15 The displacement of rural women to Freetown offered them the

opportunity to witness, on first hand, the relative autonomy and power of women in the capital, which was an

inspiration that made them aware of the possibility of more equal gender relations. Women’s involvement in peace

activism marked the genesis of women coming together “...as such a large political force to take such a prominent

role in public life, and this experience gave women the empowerment, capacity and influence to carve out more

political space for themselves in politics following the end of the war”16 (Castillejo: June, 2009). However, ten

years after the end of war, some commentators are of the opinion that following the immediate post-conflict phase,

gender issues are no longer at the top of the national agenda as they have now dropped off significantly and that

women have not gained the political space that they had hoped for, which has consequently stalled the momentum

of activism of Sierra Leone’s women’s civil society movements.17 Whether this is true or not, is one of the tasks

this research is set to unravel. 5. Conclusion

In this research, we have attempted to give a brief background to the political, economic, social status of

grass root women involved in building a sustainable post conflict peace in Sierra Leone against the skewed gender

relations that had always existed from pre-colonial times to the present. Despite the fact that women were not

given a place at the peace negotiation table at Lome, the capital of Togo, yet their experiences, skills and sufferings

during the war; coupled with assistance from the international community gave them the impetus, empowerment,

capacity and influence to carve out more political space for themselves in the socio-economic and political fabrics 14 Castillejo, Clare. Women’s political Participation and Influence in Sierra Leone. 83 Working Paper, June 2009. FRIDE, Madrid-SPAIN.p.3 (Available at: http://www.fride.org) 15 Ibid.p.4 16 Ibid. 17 Abdullah, Hussainatu. Challenges for women’s citizenship in fragile states, in Castillejo, Clare. Seminar: Strengthening Women’s Citizenship in the Context of Statebuilding. 07 Conference Report, January 2009. FRIDE, Madrid-SPAIN.p.2 (Available at: http://www.fride.org).

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of Sierra Leone. This research therefore is a conscious attempt to examining the role of women’s civil society in the

ongoing peacebuilding process with the view of ascertaining the extent to which their activities have positively

impacted their intended beneficiaries, highlighting the problems and obstacles they face and how they have been

able to surmount all of these to thrive till now. It is hoped that the outcome of this research will be very meaningful

not only to the government and peoples of Sierra Leone and researchers but also the international community in

helping to achieve the millennium development goals for both men and women.

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UNITARY SYSTEM TO FEDERAL SYSTEM: THE POST-MONARCHIAL SCENARIO IN NEPAL Durga Bhusal

Nepal is a multiethnic, multireligious, multilingual and multicultural state with diverse ecological regions.

Currently, it is passing through a remarkable and an exceptional situation in its long history carrying out the

responsibility of reaching the peace process in logical conclusion and making people owned constitution through

the constituent assembly. Amending the Interim Constitution of Nepal, 2007 for the first time in April 2007, a

provision regarding state restructuring in line of a democratic federal system was inserted. Without making

sufficient discussion in the constituent assembly.

Nepal reached to adopt federal system amending the interim constitution fifth time from the first meeting

of constituent assembly in 2008. One of the major problems of Nepal is the centralization of power which has

favored only certain groups of people. As a result, larger numbers of people have remained outside mainstream

power, resource and representation. Similarly, it has failed to maintain regional balance and accommodate the

diversity.

Political parties adopted federal system as a device to put the power in the hands of people, which could

eventually establish self-rule with certain level of autonomy. Despite the criticism on hasty decision of adoption of

federal system without essential discussions in the constituent assembly, political parties, here, seem committed to

divide and share the centralized power in three levels of government: federal, provincial and local bodies. However,

there seem two major differences among the political parties regarding the design of federal units, and special

political rights of the certain groups in the particular provinces, which might, if political parties fail to reach in

consensus, not only create a certain level of political deadlock but a certain level of ethnic mobilization as well. It is

a matter of further research.

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THE PROSPECT OF THE APPLICATION OF FEDERALISM IN POST-2003 IRAQ OMED YASIN TAHA

My paper basically deals with the issue of federalism and its prospect in post Saddam 2003. I will focus

how Kurds after Baath regime withdrawal institutions from Northern part of Iraq in 1991 have established their

own local government and as a result they developed and emphasized the idea of federalism and promoted it. What

kind of federalism has been favored by Kurds and why. I also deal with the issue of fear of those who oppose

federalism and believe that it would eventually lead to the secession of Kurds from Iraq to build their own

independent state (Kurdistan), and how Kurds in turn assure that federalism unlike their perception lead to the unity

of the country. I also want to examine if Kurdish demand and seeking for their political and cultural rights is legal

or not, if it is legal why the issue hasn’t been settled yet. in my paper I want to evaluate recent and current political

circumstances in middle east and its impact on the regional countries.

I also want to bring to light the western author’s perspective about federalism in Iraq and how they

analyze Kurdish demands and center’s refusal to their great requests.

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VOTING FOR AN INDIVIDUAL IN THE MULTI-MEMBER DISTRICT: THE POLITICAL

CONSEQUENCES OF AFGHAN ELECTORAL LAW PARWANA PAIKAN

The thesis deals with the question of political consequence of 2005 parliamentary election in Afghanistan

under Single non- transferable voting system, and it argues that, SNTV with large constituencies in a multi-ethnic

polity results in substantial neglect of voter preferences for the following reasons: The very large numbers of

candidates make the vote highly dispersed. A candidate can be elected with a relatively small percentage of total

valid vote cast. SNTV with large number of constituency size and absence of political parties in Afghanistan

opened the space for large number of individuals to run for the election, the large number of candidates created

administrative problems for voters, election administrators and candidates in large constituencies with many

districts. On the other hand, voters have difficulty to know about all the candidates in the constituency. Since

ethnicity becomes the key criterion for voters, candidates from the largest ethnic group in the constituency is better

known and thus have better chance than their population percentage promises.

The qualitative data analysis will be use for the thesis. The primary data gathered through Internet

sources and during field research in Afghanistan from July to August 2010. The primary data in the field research

were collected by interviews with MPs, presidential office advisors, the candidates of 2010 parliamentary elections

and Political science professors. The questions concerned the Sep 2005 parliamentary election, voters’ choice,

campaigns, choice of electoral system, impact of the SNTV and current situation of Afghan national Assembly.

Generally in the elections, voters play key role for politicians in order to be elected. In this sense, it is an

important fact for politicians, to manage their campaigns in certain ways that could get voters attention and beliefs

toward them. More than half of Afghanistan’s population shares the following views: traditionalism, ethnic values

and Jihadi values. However, political views have not yet shaped all over the country. Dominates of ethnic values,

Jihadi views and traditionalism among voters, narrow down the voter’s choice in most of the constituencies, and

the voters mainly vote for the candidates whom they know and share views.

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POST REVOLUTIONARY TRANSFORMATION IN IRANIAN WOMEN MOVEMENT MARYAM SHARIATZADEH

This study aims to explore the gradual transformation in Iranian women movement from 1979 Islamic

revolution to 2006. For that means, upon identifying the trajectory of women movement in Iran and demonstrating

the transition, the research will analyse the associated mechanism that has made such a transformation possible.

Basically there are two different mainstream of women’s movement in Iran: one is the struggle for women’s rights

within the Islamic framework and the other out of it. The former is called Islamic feminism and the latter to be the

secularism.

Regardless of slight cooperation between secularist and reformist women on the press front, there was no

apparent sign of connection between these two different views on women issue from the emergence of reformist

ideology in the early 1990s. However, in 2006 a campaign emerged that changed the story of women’s movement

in Iran. The 2006 women campaign for equality or one million signatures campaign, revealed the close

collaboration between secularist and reformist women. The phenomenon that was unprecedented.

Contrary to popular belief it is not the religious affiliation that differentiates these two different streams

from each other. As there are many religious women working with secularist, many non-religious women working

as reformist. Rather it is the involvement in the political relation that changes the position of activist in each

campaign. In other words, to the extent that these activists are dependent or independent to the hegemony of

political power structure they would be divided in two streams.

Following, this research will examine how the nature of reformist is close to secularist, owing to the fact

that reformists have adjusted the very basic secularist women’s demands to the Islamic framework in their

primitive principle. Then it will argue that how the changes in political power structure facilitated the ground for

their collaboration.