What is the most effective way of tackling violence and weapons issues in peace processes? This Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue report consists of four articles which put forward recommendations on how to deal with such issues when negotiating a peace agreement. The importance of understanding the local context, ensuring sustainable reintegration and dealing with arms in ...» more
Library
This e-library contains more than 4500 external publications on governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian issues. It includes academic and grey literature selected for its basis in good quality research and coverage of a range of perspectives. Policy-oriented summaries of each document are provided, plus links to the full text.
Negotiating Disarmament: Reflections on Guns, Fighters and Armed Violence in Peace Processes
How can mediators help to manage the impact of violence on peace processes? What steps must armed groups be prepared to take if they are serious about peaceful resolution of conflict? This publication from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue presents insights on security issues from individuals involved in peace negotiations in Colombia, Nagorno-Karabakh and northern ...» more
Negotiating Disarmament: Guns and Violence in the El Salvador Peace Negotiations
How did negotiations to end El Salvador’s civil war deal with disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) and security sector reform (SSR)? What provisions did the peace agreement make for reducing the number of weapons in circulation and providing support to the victims of armed violence? This report from the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue examines how El Salvador’s ...» more
“We will crush you” – The Restriction of Political Space in the Democratic Republic of Congo
How did the newly elected government of President Joseph Kabila respond to the 2006 presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo? How did it act with respect to human rights and democracy in the two years following the election? This report from Human Rights Watch documents human rights abuses and political repression in Kinshasa and Bas Congo following the 2006 ...» more
Zimbabwe’s Security Sector
What role do Zimbabwe’s security institutions play in the governance of Zimbabwe and the management of its economy? What part could they play in the transition to a post-Mugabe Zimbabwe? This background briefing from the Council on Foreign Relations outlines the role of Zimbabwe’s security institutions. It finds that as Zimbabwe’s economic crisis has deepened, President Robert ...» more
The Private Security Sector in Africa Country Series
What is the role of the private security industry in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and Uganda? What regulatory frameworks have these countries put in place to control the activities of private security companies (PSCs)? This publication from the Institute for Security Studies presents case studies of the private security industry in the DRC, South Africa ...» more
Assessing Security Sector Reform and its Impact on the Kivu Provinces
How have the government and the international community conducted security sector reform (SSR) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)? Why has so little progress been made in reforming the DRC’s security sector? This report from the Institute for Security Studies examines SSR in the DRC and its impact on security in the Kivu provinces. It finds that the lack of progress on ...» more
Towards a New Conceptualization of Democratization and Civil-Military Relations
What are the limitations of the civil-military relations (CMR) concept? How can the CMR concept be adapted to better reflect the actual roles of security forces and the relationships between security forces and democratic governments? This article from Democratization sets out a new conceptualisation and framework for understanding what security forces actually do and how they ...» more
The UN and the AU: a co-dependent relationship on matters of peace and security
The response to the civil war in Darfur serves as a warning that division of labour of peacekeeping can have profound negative political implications. This paper, published by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, discusses the United Nations (UN) and African Union (AU) relationship in response to the large-scale challenge of Darfur. The co-dependent relationship between the UN and ...» more
The UN and the African Union’s security architecture: Defining an emerging partnership?
Collaboration between the African Union (AU) and the United Nations (UN) is the best option for resolving the continent’s human security dilemmas. This paper, published by the Dag Hammarskjöld Foundation, explores the UN-AU security architecture and difficulties that affect its ability to improve human security on the continent. While the UN and regional organisations such as ...» more
The Kup Women for Peace approach to peacebuilding: taking the lead in the Papua New Guinea national elections
How has Kup Women for Peace (KWP), a community organisation in Papua New Guinea, contributed to reducing violence and ensuring free and fair elections? What progress has KWP made in changing attitudes about women and their roles in society in the Kup sub-district? This article from Gender & Development describes the work of KWP. It shows how in seven short years, KWP has gone ...» more
Positive, ambiguous or negative? Peacekeeping in the local security fabric
How effective are outside efforts to bring security to African countries, particularly through the use of peacekeeping troops? This study from the German Institute of Global and Area Studies argues that a realistic assessment must include local perspectives on peacekeepers and their relations to other (state and non-state) actors in the security arena. Peacekeepers do harm, ...» more
Militias, tribes and insurgents: The challenge of political reintegration in Iraq
How successful has the United States (US) been in achieving political reintegration in Iraq? This study from Conflict, Security and Development examines US approaches to the political reintegration of irregular armed groups, from its initial policy vacuum to the informal reintegration seen during 2007 and 2008. It shows that the best attempt at reintegration has been the ...» more
Security: Collective Good or Commodity?
Is security a collective good? What are the theoretical and practical implications if it is conceptualised as a commodity? This article from the European Journal of International Relations examines the implications of the shift from states to markets in the provision of security. It argues that the shift from public to private provision of security is not merely a change of ...» more
Remove or Reform? A Case for (Restructuring) Chiefdom Governance in Post-Conflict Sierra Leone
What support is there for chiefdom governance in Sierra Leone? What implications does decentralisation have for the future of the country’s chiefdoms? This article from African Affairs examines chiefdom authority in Sierra Leone and public perceptions of local chiefs. It argues that chiefdom authority continues to have considerable support. Chiefs and headmen are seen as ...» more
Mercenaries of democracy: The ‘Politricks’ of remobilized combatants in the 2007 general elections, Sierra Leone
What role did the 2007 general elections in Sierra Leone play in the country’s post-war recovery? This research from the Nordic Africa Institute and Copenhagen University shows how political parties strategically remobilised ex-combatants into security squads, both to protect themselves and to gather votes. It looks at the tactical motives behind ex-combatants’ choice to join ...» more
Malawian women’s participation in State politics: what are the constraints?
What hinders Malawian women’s full participation in formal, national-level state politics? How can policy makers support the goal of gender equality in Malawi? This article from Gender and Development draws on qualitative research conducted with Malawian female politicians. Constraints on women’s political participation include limited income and education, and gender ...» more
Human Trafficking and New Patterns of Migration
How have social changes within migration-generating societies converged with an enlargement of the underground economy worldwide? How has this convergence created new conditions under which migrants (trafficked or smuggled) become incorporated into the worlds of production and consumption? This study, from the Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, argues that there is, ...» more
Grassroots women’s leadership and ‘deepening democracy’: the Huairou Commission’s Local to Local Dialogue replication
Grassroots women’s leadership is important if representative democracies are to include citizen participation beyond simply voting in elections. This study from Gender and Development examines an approach, developed by the Huairou Commission and GROOTS International, that helps grassroots women organise as leaders and engage with local government to achieve change in their ...» more
Gender balance and the meanings of women in governance in post-conflict Rwanda
How successful has Rwanda been in its efforts to increase the participation and representation of women? This study from Louisville University explores the increase in women’s participation in public life and representation in governance, as well as the increasing authoritarianism of the Rwandan state under the guise of democratisation. It argues that while the participation of ...» more
