https://thesis.eur.nl/col/4315/ List of Publications en https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6695/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT <div>Donahue, Rachel</div> This paper explores the relationship between the social environments in which a Somali Bantu refugee child in resettlement in the United States interacts. By viewing these environmental elements, the resources they have, and their interaction with the refugee children I inquire about how different perceptions affect the child’s ability to engage their agency to discover well-being. I term the different associations and methods used to achieve well-being by each environment ‘cultural translations’. Through unstructured interviews and participant observation I look for missing elements that inhibit the Somali Bantu refugee child from accessing and participating in activities that could affect their process of acculturation. As members of multiple environments the Somali Bantu child must mediate the cultural translations that exist into a personal understanding of how to attain well-being. Through the process I discover that the child is not the only benefactor in their developmental process. The communities within which they interact, in this case Charlottesville, VA, are in a unique position to have the opportunity to host these children. It is our cultural translation/our perception of the effects of new populations in our community that can impact the attitudes, the commitment to helping, and success of the resettlement process. The research process guided me to the realization of children as translators for their social environments. For this research these environments are identified as school, family, community organizations, and resettlement services. Ultimately the children are also translators for themselves in their new environments, in their process of acculturation and adaptation, in discovering current and future happiness and the methods to achieve this. The aim of this research is to open areas for further exploration into the process of resettlement for refugee children, to look for avenues that could increase feelings of security and space for access to opportunities. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6692/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT <div>Martinez Zurita, Diana</div> This case study of media coverage of a police raid, a public apology and a protest demonstration in Southern Spain, examines the relationship between: anti-Moroccan discourse, the consolidation of national identity and journalism. The primary objective of this study is to provide evidence of how media representations, through the use of diverse representational strategies, are engaged in legitimizing the social exclusion of a Moroccan minority in Spain. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6690/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT <div>Aryal, Archana</div> This study attempts to explore women’s political participation in the militant political movement on the basis of agency and emancipation. The analysis is based on Nepal’s Maoist movement and women’s agency within this. While analyzing, this study also gives special attention to the relationships of agency, emancipation and violence. Many feminist writings in the west challenge the notion of agency and say that it is absent in patriarchal militant movements. Thus, this study attempts to see whether it applies in the Maoist movement. In case of Nepal, the issue of caste, ethnicity, class, region are closely associated with the issue of gender thus this paper draws attention to the intersectionality between these and the issue of women’s leadership. This study ultimately aims to add value in the area of women’s engagement in the political process within the revolutionary movement in South Asia. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6691/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT <div>Dias Lambranca, Béatrice</div> This paper explores the complex and gendered processes of change that have occurred at the grassroots level, using the debt cases reported to the traditional tribunal of a rural community in Gorongosa in Mozambique as a point of departure. It explores how male farmers have implemented an informal credit system among themselves using their own financial resources to provide what agricultural policies have failed to provide under the liberal peace. The main reasons for the increase of debt cases are first examined. Then, the study considers the growing monetization of social relations and how such change can be tied to wider socio-economic processes in rural Mozambique. Finally, the impacts of different type of debts, their inter-relations and impacts on the community and on gender relations in particular, are considered. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6693/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT <div>Bay, Lisa Iolanda</div> Based on interviews to Dutch veterans deployed to Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq, this paper aims at exploring the relationship between their nationhood, militarism and masculinity. Through the analysis of their narratives about the people encountered abroad, either the local population or peacekeepers of other nationalities, this paper also examines how the definition of the Other is created in these narratives; and if, and how this definition is related to the veterans’ sense of nationhood and masculinity. Moreover, it examines to what extent this definition relates to discourses of Balkanism and Orientalism, and to training received prior to deployment. This paper argues that the concepts of nationhood, militarism and masculinity of Dutch veterans exist in relation to each other, both when Dutch veterans position themselves within their own society, and when they relate to the people they meet during deployment. Secondly, it points to the existence of multiple Others in veterans’ narratives, and to masculinity, military and nationhood playing significant roles in the processes of Othering. These findings, although limited to a small number of veterans, point out the ‘strategic location’ of the veterans vis-à-vis the population they encounter. All their accounts not only relate to ‘Dutch values’, but also place these in a superior position, compared to the local ones. This reflects both Balkanist and Orientalist discourses in which Europe and the West are always depicted as more civilized than the Other, and in a superior position. The results of this research make a small contribution to the feminist debates about the nexus of gender, nationhood and soldiering, and to Dutch debates about manhood, nationhood and peace-keeping. Moreover, they contribute to understanding the relevance and importance of the specific social locations of the veterans within the societies they are part of, and those in which they find themselves in the country of deployment. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6694/ Tue, 01 Jan 2008 00:00:01 GMT <div>Okello, Louis</div> This study addresses the Northern Uganda conflict, which has been on-going since 1986. It is primarily focused on the difficult question of why the violence has persisted since then. In doing this, we have analysed the reasons for the war to begin with. We have noted the colonial divide and rule between North and South, the grievances of the failed 1985 Nairobi Peace Talks between the Military Junta of General Tito Okello Lutwa and the NRM/A rebels under their leader Museveni that resulted in the overthrow of the former government in 1986, as well as the human rights violations inflicted on defeated UNLA soldiers and affected Acholiland communities. These were among the main reasons the conflict started up after the NRA/M assumed power. At one level, the conflict can be viewed as a struggle for political power and control between North and South and its effect have retarded development efforts including in other regions of the country. Conflict resolution mechanisms have been largely unsuccessful to date. Reasons for this include both the lack of a clear approach by the government and the unwillingness of the LRA/M to genuinely negotiate for peace. A three-pronged strategy (military pressure on the LRA, offers of amnesty and negotiations) have at different times produced failed peace settlements. The lack of clear political leadership from the LRA, military support from the Khartoum government to the LRA and lately the ICC arrest warrant have further complicated the terms and progress of the Juba Peace Talks, which started in July 2006 with no end in sight. This study concludes that the government needs to enhance its commitment to the implemtation of peace accords. With the help of the International Community, the government could establish a Truth and Reconciliation to address the various human rights violations that have plagued the North of the country since the war started. This study also highlights the need to priotise development efforts in Northern Uganda to address economic disparities with other regions of the country. There is also a need to revisit the ICC arrest warrant in the context of traditional “Mato Oput” justice system widely practiced in Acholiland. All these measured could help promote national accountability and reconciliation in Uganda as a whole. Finally, the long-term process of reconstruction and reconciliation in Uganda is seen as depending crucially on the Ugandan people’s understanding of their own history. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6499/ Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Ufot Ekuere, Eno</div> The role of diasporas in the protraction of conflicts, including wars in Africa, has been emphasised in recent literature. Yet little has been written specifically about the role of Nigerians in the diaspora in relation to the Niger Delta conflicts. This research focuses on the Nigerian Diasporas in The Netherlands and Belgium. It seeks to explore the views of the diasporas regarding the Niger Delta conflict, focusing on the Ijaw militant youth as both victims and actors. The research examines the interface between the Niger Delta conflict, ‘New War’ theories; the greed and grievance debates in the literature, and theories on youth, conflict and masculinity. The research argues from the narratives of the diasporic respondents, that the grievance hypothesis complements other explanations for the prolonged conflicts in the Niger Delta with issues of marginalization, economic deprivation, threat of a bleak future, necessitating the construction of different hegemonic and rebellious forms of masculinity between the state and the militia youth, especially in the Ijaw case. Moreover, the study identifies diasporic views about how best to resolve a conflict in with the role of youth is central. The research concludes with some diasporic ideas on how to promote peace in the Niger Delta. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/6497/ Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Weetol Livingstone, Bobby</div> This study of Star Radio in Liberia examines the relationship between journalists claims about ‘objectivity’ and ‘neutrality’ on one hand, and on the other, how they present practices on a radio as revealed through framing, focalization and categorization of peace, justice and impunity issues within the phone-in program I Beg to Differ, using this evidence as an explanatory variable to situate the radio station in the strong objectivity discourse which views journalistic objectivity from the perspective of marginalized publics. It dissects claims and practices in the realms of media representations with the argument that complexities and power politics embedded in the media arena tend to contrast actions and words. The study essentially finds that claims of objectivity and neutrality are just the ways that people convey specific dominant notions of power and truth, and these to a large extent dictate the patterns of media reportage. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/7197/ Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT <div>Ngare, Gladys Ondieki</div> The focus of this study is on the expectations, perceptions, experiences and the impact of asylum conditions on young African refugees’ sense of manhood, focusing on masculinity, youth and race/ethnicity in the context of asylum in the Netherlands, The study engages with contemporary literature on masculinity, indicating that there is no clear cut differentiation between hegemonic and other masculinities. It indicates that the past and present contexts of life, as well as young men’s agency in relation to obtaining work, dealing with insecurity and negotiating inter-personal relationships are central to the links between experiences of asylum and experiences of manhood. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8659/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Hatumena, David Leonard</div> This study is about religious freedom in Indonesia. It examines the cases of two religious minorities – the Ahmadiyah, and a Protestant Christian group. Fieldwork was conducted in Bogor City, a satellite city of Jakarta in Indonesia. Many violations of religious freedom were found to affect both of the selected religious minorities. These rights violations were carried out both by other religious organisations, and by local government authorities. Rights to freedom of worship were neglected in different ways: through direct violence, illegal acts including banning, arson and demolition of places of worship; withdrawal of permits; lack of police protection; failure to arrest perpetrators. The key findings were that the authorities failed to protect the religious freedoms and rights of minorities, as stipulated in the Constitution, as well as in state law and the government’s international legal obligations. The attacks on minority religious rights and freedoms are causing escalating tensions between different migrant communities living in Bogor. The study’s conclusions are that impunity needs to end, so that human rights principles can once more be respected and minority rights ensured. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8651/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Deshar, Ramesh</div> This particular research attempts to address the current debates and discourses on ethnic issues within Nepali polity along with the ongoing constitution making process. Nepal is already a federal state, but what form of federal state Nepal should be, is still a debate. This research engages in this debate, trying to answer the question how and why the ethnic agendas received more political attention in post 2006 period of Nepal? It also attempts to highlight and bring together contrasting perspectives in the debates of ethnic federalism. The findings are based on the fieldwork conducted in Kathmandu. Findings show that long-term state domination and discriminatory constitutional practices are among the main reasons for the rise of today’s ethnic demands in Nepal. Political change, awareness, international influence, activities from the NGOs and INGOs also played important role in making the ethnic agendas more visible. Last but not least, ethnicity has been a major issue within Maoist politics, and through it, it was also introduced into Nepali politics after 2006. It was also found that the indigenous leaders are most often in favour of ethnic federalism on the basis of right to self-determination, than non-indigenous politicians, who are most often against the concept of ethnic federalism. While seeking answers to the main research questions, the research also relates some of the important theoretical concepts on ethnicity, federalism, and conflict, marginalization and inequality. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8652/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Hahm, Sonya Caroline</div> This research paper looks at the human security of the hijra of Pakistan and how insecurities are overcome. Hijra are persons who are born intersex and males, experiencing gender dysphoria, who mostly live and act as women. In Pakistan hijra are a marginalized group and are commonly associated with dancing, prostitution and begging. This research looks at three dimensions of human security in the lives of hijra: community, economic and personal security. Based on fieldwork conducted in Pakistan the main factors influencing human security of the hijra are age, location, family wealth and gender. One of the main features of the lives of many hijra is membership in a hijra community, which this research shows can have both positive and negative effects on human security. This research paper also looks at measures aimed at improving the lives of hijra, from beyond the hijra community, particularly the decisions of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8654/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Panchay, Pattamaporn</div> Most scholars analyze the role of diaspora and conflict in the context of globalization as prolonging the conflict or supporting peace. This research paper nonetheless specifically focused on political, economic, and social effects of the political conflict in Thailand on Thai entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. As to political effects, the paper finds out the respondents’ narratives about political engagements and views, and the access and sources of the information. In addition, economic effects look at Thai entrepreneurs’ business and remittances, and how they deal with the effects. In term of social impacts, the paper analyzes the effects on dynamics of the relationship and communication between Thai entrepreneurs and family members and friends in Thailand and in the Netherlands and investigate whether homeland conflict affects those relationships, and if so, how. The paper concludes that in short term effects of the homeland conflict are most visible in social and business contacts and in political engagements whereas economic effects are very limited. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8653/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Rima, Irmayani</div> This research is about the role of community participation in a post-conflict reconstruction programme which has taken place in Poso, Indonesia during the years of 2007-2008. The programme was implemented by two local NGOs namely Yayasan Biasreka and Forum Komunikasi Masyarakat (FKM) Tojo with support from Church World Service, a United States-based international NGO. This research explores the idea that spaces of participation may not always enhance the outcomes of post-conflict reconstruction in a situation where recovering from effects of violence and security remains the primary concerns of most people. The research suggests that participation may even be experienced as a disempowering process within such post-conflict context. The political, social and identity-based diversity of the local community means that the usual approach of NGOs to participation, which tends to be quite ‘narrow’ and focused on implementation, may not work as expected. Post-conflict reconstruction programmes implemented by NGOs need to take a wider setting – which setting may not be peaceful or secure. NGOs need to take much more fully into account the dynamic of post-conflict situation when they design the ‘participation’ element of their programmes. In the research, based on my fieldwork in Poso, Central Sulawesi, I present findings on people’s perceptions about the role of participation within the post-conflict intervention. The issue of participation is thus linked with people’s realities that might be useful for NGOs, government and development sector in developing their intervention, particularly in the context of reconstruction and post-conflict situation. The aim of this research paper is to enhance our understanding of community participation in post-conflict reconstruction programmes. In line with the objective above, the main question of the research is under which circumstances participation in the selected post-conflict intervention lead to empowerment and security? To address this question qualitative method was used during the research process. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8656/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Mumford, Lauren Elizabeth</div> This study takes as the focus of its analysis the disconnection between representations of HIV and Sexual and Gender-Based Violence (SGBV) in conflict discourses. This analysis draws on intersectionality and gender theories of identity and power to analyze the relationship between HIV and SGBV as it is framed in conflict discourses, specifically looking at three UN Security Council Resolutions (1308, 1325 and 1820), as well as relevant international and national legal texts from the ICTY, ICTR and ICC. This paper challenges the ways, i.e. securitization and criminalization, that the issues of SGBV and HIV are addressed, arguing that the representations found in these texts help form the realities of which they describe. More than this, the representations act as a form of intervention, because of the way the texts discursively frame –and subsequently categorize, value and create hierarchies of realities of HIV and SGBV in conflict. While many would not argue against the securitization and protection against sexual violence in conflict, or the prosecution of war criminals for mass rape, however both securitization and the law are used in relation to conflict to denote which subjects should be securitized and protected, and which subjects require retributive justice and punishment. This paper challenges the prioritization and categorization of realities over others, and the ways in which these processes in themselves are harmful in actually addressing the root problems of the issues they represent. By mapping the way that HIV and SGBV are represented as connected and disconnect, this paper engages in questioning how, when and why particular issues were securitized and criminalized to understand when they became significant and for whom, and for what purpose, in order to understand whom and what is still disregarded, still not fully reached, and perhaps even threatened, by current interventions. The findings suggest that the way the selected UN and other legal texts speak about HIV and SGBV in relation to conflict can be viewed as essential to justifying interventions and making particular realities more salient, while silencing others. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/8657/ Fri, 17 Dec 2010 00:00:01 GMT <div>Sulava, Ketevan</div> This study is about Georgian Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from the breakaway territory of Georgia known as Abkhazia, who are now living in other parts of Georgia. The research considers the different perceptions of the Georgian IDPs of „return‟, „identity‟ and „belonging‟ through an analysis of the narratives of pioneer and second-generation IDPs. Among those interviewed for the research were IDPs, including teachers, NGO workers, parents, youth, in addition to government officials and school principals from mainstream schools, some of whom were „local‟s‟ (non-IDPs). The key finding is that IDPs‟ narratives of return are tied to demands for full reintegration of Abkha-zia into Georgia. Another finding is that the whole question of return, home and belonging of IDPs has become a strong theme in public politics in Georgia as a whole. This narrative is now used by the government to promote its own territorial and political goals. Media campaigns reinforce narratives around what has become the „myth of return‟. The study concludes that the consequences for IDPs are that they are unable to resolve questions of belonging, home and return, because of the complex ambiguity in Georgian public life surrounding the myth of return. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/10797/ Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT <div>Kitale, Charles Cleophas Makau</div> This research is concerned with the actions of reconciliation and justice pursued by different institutions and actors, following the post-election violence in Kenya in 2007/2008. Many different institutional and community actors have played different parts in the reconciliation efforts and pursuit of justice: the Kenyan government and its different ministries, the local, national and international civil society organizations and international agencies such as UN, the International Criminal Court (ICC), the internally displaced people and their host communities. My main interest was to examine the actions regarding reconciliation and justice by the state, and see how its actions foster justice, reconciliation and peace building after the violence. To do so I also look at some of the national actors involved in reconciliation and justice efforts, and at their criticism of and involvement with the state. Finally I look at the situation of the IDPs and their experiences of violence as well as post-violence interventions by the state and civic justice and reconciliation actors. Findings generally indicate that the state has done little to improve the situation, while other actors have done little to motivate or control the state. Internally displaced have lost all faith and hope in state initiated justice and reconciliation efforts, and this has been aggravated further by the well entrenched culture of impunity. Furthermore more political inertia in addressing the issue, continuing incitement by the political elite and the lack of inclusion of politicians in peace meetings has contributed to lingering possibilities of resurgence of violence due to unresolved underlying economic, social and political issues. The continuing skewed distribution of resources (such as land) and opportunities along ethnic and socio economic strata as well as perceived bias in humanitarian assistance along the same lines has led to animosities festering between neighbours and IDPs, both landless and landed. Ultimately, while reconciliation among various grassroots communities has been cited as the most preferable pathway towards a lasting peace and attainment of a stable society, its achievement remains uncertain. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/10798/ Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT <div>García Orozco, Clara Angélica</div> This study is about debates concerning the right to reparation and the politics of reparations, in the broad sense, under ICC mechanisms. In particular, the study aims to reflect on the difficulties of realizing reparations from an International Criminal Law perspective in the context of conflict and post-conflict situations and to provide a basis for further research and discussion. Using Ehrlich’s perspective on the ‘living law’, this study suggests that practices are being informed by the existing limitations of reparations mechanisms under the ICC, including limitations of resources, and the scope of which victims should be included. One unavoidable problem is that some victims will not be included in ICC reparation orders. A number of key debates are identified. The first concerns the lack of a framework for deciding on reparations, and how that has affected a range of actors and practitioners concerned with reparations processes. The lack of principles can in turn create tensions between State Parties and the Court concerning their respective responsibilities for reparations. The second key debate is the tension between the Trust Fund for Victims and the ICC, and how their respective mandates for working with victims are inter-related. Finally, the study raises the whole question of what part complementarity might play in making reparations for victims of international crimes practicable and more just in future. The study explores these key debates on the basis of interview material and a range of secondary sources (academic, NGO, ICC documentation). In exploring a range of views about these issues, the study contributes to the processes currently taking place around ICC reparations, which can be defined as part of the ‘living law’ of realising the Rome Statute. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/10799/ Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT <div>Mwasaru, Mercy Wambugha</div> Of all the public service institutions, the police are among the most controversial. In Kenya, as elsewhere, police remain encumbered by complaints of malpractice, excessive use of force and corruption. The result is ‘conflictual’ police-civilian relations, especially in the case of minorities, who see the mode of application and administration of justice as selective; police are also viewed as having unaccommodating gender views. This research paper is an attempt to interrogate how the implementation of Community Policing Principles took place in a pastoralist community. A long-standing history of cattle rustling and more recent introduction of small arms and light weapons are important characteristics of West Pokot County. These are said to be behind police illegalities, illegitimacies and excesses. By cross-examining the policy environment which guides policing of citizens, it is intended that this research will expose how the interactions of security discourses with societal organisations and gender relations in this county has served to make the locals security achievement an illusion. The research findings address problems in implementation, including a lack of a common purpose among central coordinating organs in relation to Community Policing by various security agents. The result in West Pokot has been to worsen community divisions; Community Policing was found to have failed in efforts to strengthen security within and among West Pokot County communities. Therefore, the study suggests that for Community Policing to be fully operationalised, wakasa (elders), ngoroko (Moran), and women especially must be part of any successful strategy of Community Policing in the region. There is a need to develop an alternative approach to community policing aimed at a broader understanding of security, where police engagement is not limited to helping local communities fight criminal insecurity. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/10801/ Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:01 GMT <div>Hosein, Nicole Ann</div> This study examines the way feminist academic literature discusses experiences of women combatants in non-state armed groups in Sierra Leone and Liberia. These views are contrasted with the combatants’ own narratives of their experiences with the intention of illustrating how feminist academic researchers bring their own agendas and interests into the research process, and do not always depart from the priorities and experiential knowledge of women combatants. This desk-based study reviewed a broad range of feminist literature on women combatants and selected literature written from a feminist perspective that claimed to include the ‘voice’ of female combatants. This literature was contrasted with a key text written by three former women combatants covering experiences from Sierra Leone and Liberia to contrast the priorities and concerns of the texts. The main focuses of the feminist literature were sexual violence, victimhood versus perpetrator identities, and questions of agency, while the key priorities and concerns for the female ex-combatants were obtaining an education as a way to retain, and then return to a ‘normal life’; the importance of both professional work (e.g. nursing); and of negotiating security through relationships, including intimate relationships. The former women in arms made less emphasis on sexual violence and victimhood, and more focus on career, education and vital interpersonal relationships which are themes not often reflected in feminist literature, that uses the ‘voices’ of women combatants mainly to legitimise their own concerns. This research thus hopes to contribute to enriching our understanding of the task that feminists still face in giving a voice to former women combatants more generally - can they indeed represent the priorities and concerns of former women combatants?