PHIL 474 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Syrian Civil War, Peacebuilding, Humanitarian Intervention
12 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
POLI 450 PEACEBUILDING AND POST-CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Lecture 08/01/18
Prof. Rex Brynen
Office Hours MWF 10:45-11:15 (3465 Peel)
Class participation based on discussion posts on mycourses.
Feb 25 = Megagame (Simulation game)
Lecture 10/01/18 – Introduction: What is Peacebuilding?
What is Peacebuilding?
Peaeuildig is atio to idetif ad suppot stutues hih ill ted to stegthe ad solidif
peae i ode to aoid a elapse ito oflit ad euildig the istitutios ad ifastructures of
atios to iil a ad stife iolig suh speifi easues as disaig the peiousl aig
parties and the restoration of order, the custody and possible destruction of weapons, repatriating
refugees, advisory and training support for security personnel, monitoring elections, advancing efforts to
protect human rights, reforming or strengthening governmental institutions and promoting formal and
ifoal poesses of politial patiipatio.
A variety of overlapping or related terms are also used:
- Conflict resolution, conflict transformation, conflict management
- Post-conflict reconstruction, transitional assistance
- Complex humanitarian emergencies
- Peacekeeping, peace operations
- Peace implementation
- Stability and support operatios, kieti ad o-kieti opeatios, COIN
- Early warning, conflict prevention
- Humanitarian intervention, responsibility to protect (R2P)
- Human security
What is Peace?
- Complexities of civil violence
- Peace as a continuum, not a state
o Moving from more violent conflict resolution to less violent conflict resolution
- Peace and social justice
o Notios of stutual iolee
o Feiist itiues of iolee ad peae
Issues for Discussion:
- Conflict prevention
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
o How can aid and other forms of engagement reduce the risk of violent conflict? Can
emerging crises be deescalated? Do we have the tools to warn us of potential conflict?
Do we have the will to follow up on those warnings?
- Humanitarian relief
o How is humanitarian relief delivered in areas of conflict? How are priorities determined?
What particular issues arise from this? Can humanitarian agencies remain neutral? Can
aid fuel conflict?
- Mediation and negotiation
o How can external actors attempt to secure an end to conflicts through diplomatic
means? What mechanisms can be used? Who mediates? What strengths and weaknesses
to different mediators have?
- Peace operations
o What are the purposes, principles and tools of UN (or other multilateral) peacekeeping
and how have these changed? What is the possible role of peae efoeet o
oeie idueet?
- Coordination
o Peacebuilding involves multiple actors: donors, NGOs, IFIs and other multilateral
agencies, possibly peacekeeping forces, election observers etc. How can greater
coordination be attained between these various actors to assure maximum
effectiveness?
- Refugees
o What is the magnitude of the conflict-induced refugee problem world-wide? How does
ethi leasig ou i soe oflits? Ho do peaeuildig atos deal ith the
challenge of refugees?
- Demilitarization
o How are former combatants reintegrated into their society? How are societies
deilitaized? What is the patiula hallege to eostutio posed ladies
and UXO?
- Governance
o How do post-conflict countries establish functional (and hopefully stable and
participatory) governments? What role do transnational elections play (and what role
does the international community play in supporting these?) How are human rights best
protected during the transition? How are past human abuses dealt with>?
- Aid, fragility and reconstruction
o How can aid be used to reduce fragility? How are functional, sustainable economies
established in post-conflict countries? What challenges face donors, agencies and IFIs?
Who determines priorities and reconstruction?
- Gender and peacebuilding
o How does war (and peace) affect men and women differently? How might relief and
development efforts have gendered effects? Do women have particular roles to play in
peacemaking and reconstruction?
The Dynamics of Modern Conflict
Evolution of Modern Conflict
- 1945-early 1990s: The Cold War
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find more resources at oneclass.com
o decolonization wars → decolonization lead to conflict in the decolonial process but also
in the post-decolonization because of instability during transition and civil disputes
o proxy wars: US vs. USSR throw assistance to whoever seems to be on their side → proxy
conflicts
o Nature of the cold war makes international action to end conflict very difficult
o Cold war as a zero-sum global conflict
o At this time, the UN had not been established to solve inter-state conflict and solve
decolonization problems (it was mostly concerned with not having another Nazi
Germany)
▪ Founded on the principle of state sovereignty
- The post-cold war era
o Collapse of the USSR means no longer bipolar configuration
o Regional, instead of global rivalries → domestic grievances and civil disputes lead to
conflicts instead of having two major world powers fighting in different places
o New world war where regional actors are more important
o Proliferation of small arms → it becomes easy to buy military weapons, huge
international arms industry left over from the cold war that needed a market. It becomes
cheap and easy to equip your civil war
o (semi) globalized media coverage → people see what is happening around the world
o greater cooperation and willingness to intervene?
o Changing global norms? → less okay to do whatever it takes in the name of power?
- Post 9/11
o Afghanistan, Iraq, and the GWOT (global war on terror) → shift of the focus of US policy
o From peacebuilding to counter-insurgency? →
o The Syrian civil war and the rise of ISIS
o Refugee and migration crisis
o The return of Russia?
o China as a global power
Characteristics of Civil Conflict
- Militarization of society → people hae to hoose sides eause its dageous ot to. People
arm themselves either for protection or to participate in violence
- Extreme violence and destruction
- State collapse
- Large population displacements → Refugees and IDPs
- Effects on neighbouring countries
- oflit tap → conflict that wrecks the economy and makes it more likely for another future
conflict to occur.
Introduction: Actors
Actors: the Locals - These are the most important actors
Locals are the most important, they have agency and if they want peace there will be peace and if not
then the conflict will continue – its diffiult to force them to change their minds. Outsiders can play a key
ole i helpig ut its liited.
- government
- insurgents
- other organized groups, civil society
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
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