Issue 30 – January 2020
TOPICS: Youth empowerment, Cooperation and conflict prevention, Boko Haram
Coordinator:
Christian Chereji and Ciprian Sandu
Content – Sommaire:
ARTICLES in Issue 30 – January 2020:
Turkey: Youth empowerment through governmental initiatives
Murad DUZCU
Abstract:
The inception of AK Parti government’s initiative to terminate the Kurdish issue in 2009 has paved the way to finding a political solution to one of the most intricate questions of modern Turkey. The political initiatives of the incumbent government not only ended the 40-years-long violence and related terrorism cycle for a short period of time but also promoted a heightened awareness of peace and reconciliation efforts. In regards to the role that they have played during the implementation of recent peace process (2009-2015), Kurdish youth has been frontline proxies of violence instigation. That said, Kurdish youth in Turkey have faced the implications of the conflict since early childhood. Struggling to survive amidst violent occurrences is a part of their daily routine as a result of structural deficiencies and proximate causes of participation in violence. Therefore, this article analyses existing youth peacebuilding initiatives for Kurdish youth in conflict-affected areas of the country. Similarly, it also intended to explore whether these initiatives respond to the roots causes of the conflict.
Keywords:
Youth radicalization; Peacebuilding interventions; Kurdish Issue; peace processes
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.30.1
East and South Africa: Spillover effect of conflicts
Lucie KONEČNÁ
Abstract:
The article aims to present four conflicts in East and South Africa that spilled over into neighboring states. The article covers a limited period of time from the end of the Cold War to the present and focuses on the area of East and South Africa. All these conflicts are briefly introduced and the author concentrates mainly on the description of the spillover effect (it includes, for example, the phase of the conflict in which the conflict spilled over to a neighboring state, timing, interconnection or cooperation of armed groups). The most important goal of the article is to analyze conditions based on conflict theories and spillover effect theories that led to the spillover into these states and compare them with other neighboring states, where the conflicts did not occur.
Keywords:
Conflict, Cooperation, Neighboring state, Security, Spillover effect, War
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.30.2
West Africa: Cooperative institutionalization of conflict prevention mechanisms in regional subsystems
Reuben J.B. LEWIS
Abstract:
Conflict prevention projects require concerted efforts by institutions and groups towards its operationalization. The multi-dimensional and multi-faceted agendas of preventive action, as well as the process-based nature of its organization and implementation, make its outcomes unpredictable and hard to evaluate. In a regional subsystem such as West Africa for prevention mechanisms to gain solid footing they must be embedded within institutions that serve as pillars and carriers working towards its institutionalization. In this regard, therefore, this article explores a concept of cooperative institutionalization in regional subsystem as an applicable method for organization and implementation of conflict prevention mechanisms across communities in the sub-region. The paper explains existing institutional capacities for transnational implementation of conflict prevention mechanisms and responds to a critical question of how can institutional cooperation and partnership between sub-regional, state, non-state and local actors help to institutionalize conflict prevention; and how and in what way institutions converge in taking action to respond to conflict risk factors in the sub-region?
Keywords:
Cooperative institutionalization, ECOWAS, conflict prevention, West Africa.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.30.3
Nigeria: Understanding Boko Haram
Etienne LOCK
Abstract:
This article is a contribution to the study of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. It aims to demonstrate that the ethnic identity issues in Nigeria can provide elements in understanding Boko Haram as a contextual phenomenon. Indeed, this terrorist group has taken advantage of a fragile social context fueled by problems related to ethnic identity, for its emergence and its development. These problems are also related to religion which is connected to ethnic identities and which is an important component in the Boko Haram crisis, within the Nigerian political context mainly expressed in the federalism and its consequences. From an analysis of the way problems related to different ethnic groups in Nigeria have been handled since colonial time, the article shows that the concept “Boko Haram” itself depends on this particular context which in its turn enlightens Boko Haram’s terrorist actions.
Keywords:
Nigeria, ethnic identity, federalism, insurgency, Boko Haram
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.30.4
Philippines: Youth as conflict managers. Peacebuilding of two youth-led non-profit organizations in Mindanao
Primitivo III C. RAGANDANG
Abstract:
An emerging trend in studies proves how young people are engaged in post-conflict initiatives, yet minimal studies were conducted on how do youth enhance their peacebuilding agency when access to formal training and formal institutions are unavailable. Especially for youth-led organizations in developing and conflict-driven regions, the inaccessibility of proper training and the inability to establish strategic directions is a challenge. This research examined the peacebuilding project management of two youth-led and arts-based peacebuilding organizations in Mindanao. Both organizations have strategies that are developed through experience gained by their key stakeholders. Its goals and peacebuilding programs are inclined to bring impact to its beneficiaries at the individual, interpersonal, and community levels. Especially for non-profit literature, the empirical data from this study contributes particularly to developing and conflict-driven regions where proper training is scarce, that experience-based strategies can be effective in enhancing staff and members’ capacity.
Keywords:
Mindanao, peacebuilding, project management, youth
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24193/csq.30.5
