When we study civil wars and conflicts we tend to conceptualise them as occurring in stages: starting from domestic political disagreements, to demon-strations and protests escalating into violence and war. How armed conflicts end is often seen as the reverse process, moving from high intensity armed interaction, to a drawing down, war weariness,…[Read more]

Unlike other Latin American countries, Colombia has consistently been governed by centre-right or right-wing political parties. The absence of political space for the Left in this country allowed governments to portray protests as subversive and criminal. However, starting in 2008, right-wing politicians have embraced, supported…[Read more]

This article investigates the military approach as a means of solving protracted civil conflicts, in particular focusing on the cases of Sri Lanka and Colombia in comparison. The approach adopted is to study the emergence of these military options within the context of each country’s history and to assess whether the call for war was merely a…[Read more]

The factors behind the rise of Islamism in Turkey remain the subject of intense scholarly debate. There are remarkable relationships between the rise of Islamism and preceding changes in population dynamics in Turkey. Rapid urbanization and large-scale migration of Kurds and other ethnic minorities from the east of the county to major cities in…[Read more]

n this chapter, I demonstrate that simulation models, and in particular system dynamics models, could be a cheap and efficient way of examining policies that could allow public servants and service providers to learn and evaluate the different scenarios they are facing in delivering transitional justice remedies. In particular, I concentrate on…[Read more]

In post-conflict reconstruction there are many tasks that need to be accomplished. Immediate,
medium‐term, and long-term priorities need addressed by multiple national and international
stakeholders, all wanting their interests satisfied. This situation poses a question “what are the
most urgent priorities in post-conflict rec…[Read more]

The ability of the United States (U.S.) to influence policies in Colombia is indisputable. The U.S. is Colombia’s largest trading partner, and this alone provides the U.S. with great power with regards to Colombian policymaking. U.S. power is not only manifest within the economic realm, though, as Colombia is a consumer of many U.S. cultural p…[Read more]

How Changes in the Nature and Conduct of Warfare Since the End of the Cold War Affected the Relevance and Applicability of International Humanitarian Law. The end of the Cold War dramatically changed the focus of world politics, the Geneva Conferences, the nature and conduct of warfare and the relevance of international humanitarian law. The rise…[Read more]

As refugee and internally displaced persons (IDPs) populations increase over time it is important to take a look at what can be done to bring these populations into the communities at large which they are near and then incorporate them into environment and structure of the urban area making them part of the community rather than living on the…[Read more]

Whether someone is doing humanitarian action and peacebuilding in the violent neighborhoods of West Chicago or internationally in Mogadishu, Sana’a or Kabul one should ask, what is the relevance of a cultural understanding of conflict for humanitarian and peacebuilding practitioners? One must consider the origins and development of the culture t…[Read more]