Issue 28 – July 2019
TOPICS: Arbitration, BATNA, democracy and security, conflict resolution
Coordinator:
Christian Chereji and Ciprian Sandu
Content – Sommaire:
ARTICLES in Issue 28 – July 2019:
Russia: Modern problems of arbitration in land disputes
Aleksey ANISIMOV & Vladimir Gavrilenko
Abstract:
The article is devoted to the issues of the legal regulation of the procedure of dispute resolution in the sphere of land use and protection by arbitral tribunals. The authors prove the need to adjust the Russian legislation on arbitral tribunals, that artificially limits their number and thereby prevent the access of economic activity subjects to justice. Particular attention is paid to the need to strengthen the legal force of arbitral awards on land disputes, including the consolidation of their right to issue writs of execution that are compulsory for the state registration bodies for registration of the rights to real estate without coming to the state courts of General Jurisdiction. The development of the system of arbitral tribunals and their competence will help to strengthen the guarantees of land and other economic rights of Russian entrepreneurs.
Keywords:
arbitral tribunal, arbitration proceedings, land, natural object, natural resource, non-state justice, judges
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.28.1
BATNA: Perceived leverage through positive illusion in conflicts
Prachi BHATT
Abstract:
The paper explores the influence of a positive illusion of power (to control) in resolving a buyer-seller conflict. Here, the positive illusion is the negotiator’s perception about the best alternative to a negotiated agreement (BATNA) as attractive, when it is not really so. The paper explores a buyer-seller conflict and explores the impact of positive illusion on buyers and sellers, behavior and their negotiation outcome. Postgraduates took part in a negotiation role-play and their responses were collected and analyzed. The findings revealed that the presence of the perceived positive illusion about BATNA could benefit negotiators to overcome a stressful conflict situation of having a weaker BATNA, and strike a final deal which is better than otherwise. It held true for both buyers and sellers, whether they offer first or not, in their negotiation. Findings, in the case of Indian negotiators, present that positive illusion of power influenced negotiators’ perceived leverage using BATNA, anchor points, reference points, outcome (agreement), along with their satisfaction with the outcome. The paper supports that positive illusion can prove to be more advantageous. It also attempts to fill the gap owing to the lack of empirical evidence regarding positive illusion about one of the most important sources of power i.e., strong BATNA. The paper also discusses the implications of this research for other conflict studies such as diplomatic conflicts, WTO disputes, and other organizational and social conflicts, etc., and discusses future research implications.
Keywords:
conflict, positive illusion of power, illusion, attractiveness of BATNA, negotiations, conflict management, conflict outcome.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.28.2
Nigeria: Democracy and security. The role of the Military, 1999-2018
Abdulsalami M. DEJI
Abstract:
The prolonged military incursion in Nigerian politics in favour of the oligarchy brought agitation for the democratic rule; it exacerbated ethnicity and created the fear of domination of the minority by the majority. The advent of democracy ushered in a new breath of life and took Nigerians away from the shackle of military oppression to civilian rule. The democratic rule became a mirage as a result of prevalent insecurity in Nigeria. Unfortunately, efforts to bring lasting peace to all sections of the country have not yielded positive result till date. The failure has resulted in general insecurity among ethnic groups consequent upon which ethnic militia emerged among groups for the defence of their members or individual groups. The phenomenon also resulted from the unequal distribution of wealth by the military Junta. This trend resulted in general perennial crises. Even the democracy was instituted, the warlords of the various militia groups constituted themselves into obstacles to democratic institutions. Even the democratic institutions deviated from using security agencies for the security of other citizens. Instead, security agencies became politicised, which has remained the dominant factor hindering the actualisation of dividends of democracy. And today, needless to even say that insecurity or unrest has crippled socio-political and economic spheres of life of the nation. This paper examines democracy and security in Nigeria, the security challenges in various regions of Nigeria and the contributions made by the military institutions in maintaining peace and security under democratic rule since 1999 up to 2017.
Keywords:
democracy, security, military and development.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.28.3
Uganda: Conceptual limitations within formal conflict resolution mechanisms in transboundary protected areas
Constance MUDONDO, Dauda Waiswa BATEGA, Robert KABUMBULI
Abstract:
This article illustrates the conceptual limitations within conflict resolution attempts in Transboundary protected areas (TBPAs) in Uganda. Using the case of Namatala wetland in Eastern Uganda, this paper analyses the conflict resolution initiatives by government of Uganda to-date; and highlights the conceptual gaps within these initiatives as a reason for the unending conflicts among those using the wetland. Although institutionalized approaches to conflict resolution are given priority by many countries, they often prescribe a public administrative structure model. This article illustrates how such approaches contradict tacit factors that underlie the different dimensions of conflicts in TBPAs. Adopting a retrospective qualitative approach, a review of secondary sources and 7 key informant interviews were conducted. Previous conflict resolution attempts in Namatala have involved resurveying of the contested land, dividing wetland territories based on administrative units; organizing meetings based on districts and providing security to people in conflict zones. Invoking the relative deprivation theory, the article highlights five issues of historical injustices, cultural claims; boundary definition; effects of climate change and language discourse that have been contradicted by this approach. The article demonstrates that all these limitations need to be appreciated and factored into the resolution initiatives in order to yield meaningful and sustainable results.
Keywords:
conceptual limitations, transboundary protected areas, conflict resolution mechanisms, wetland, climatic change
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.28.4
