{"title":"Women-Led Non-Governmental Organizations and Peacebuilding in Rwanda","authors":"David Mwambari","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.05","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the dynamics of women-led non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in peacebuilding in Rwanda. Can women successfully lead peacebuilding initiatives under the post-genocide environment that currently exists in Rwanda? How do they contribute to peacebuilding in this complex and sensitive political context? These questions and their corollaries are raised every day not only in Rwanda, but also in other post-conflict environments in Africa. This paper argues that women-led organizations have been generally successful in implementing various peacebuilding initiatives that challenge traditionally held masculine beliefs about the role of women in patriarchal societies.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77226402","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Women’s Access and Control Over Woodland and Water Resources in Rural Zimbabwe","authors":"Jeffrey Kurebwa","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.02","url":null,"abstract":"The management of woodland and water resources in rural Zimbabwe is currently facing enormous challenges related to unequal access and control for women. Woodland and water resources are now recognized as finite resources that are vulnerable to non-sustainable use and exploitation. This new thinking has created a set of issues for debate about the planning, development, and management of natural resources. However, failure by the political, administrative, and traditional institutions to recognize the role of women in natural resource governance has created tension between men and women in rural communities. Community-level participation often leaves women’s voices and concerns unacknowledged. While men’s participation in woodland and water resource governance is not an issue, social and cultural norms still limit women’s participation. Using a case study of the Madondo communal lands in the Gutu rural district of Zimbabwe, this article examines the challenges that rural women face with regard to access and control over woodland and water resources. The article notes the need for gendered rural institutions to make woodland and water resources more accessible and to allow women to participate in decision-making processes.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87947786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction to the Special Issue: Women, Leadership, and Peace in Africa","authors":"Nick Cheeseman, F. Onditi, C. d'Alessandro","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.01","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89570327","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"South Sudan’s 2015 Peace Agreement and Women’s Participation","authors":"K. Sabala","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.7.1.06","url":null,"abstract":"This paper examines the extent to which women’s issues are addressed in the 2015 Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. It contends that while women’s issues are provided for in some parts of the agreement, opportunities for the inclusion of women were limited by the structure of the peace talks. Moreover, the agreement does not provide for bloc representation of women in the transitional arrangements, which can limit their influence in the implementation process. However, women need to exploit the opportunities in the agreement, though limited and shallow, in order to influence its implementation and the future of their country.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2017-09-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86702931","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Barasa, V. Khasandi-Telewa, Jacinta M. Ndambuki
{"title":"The Role of Language in Peacebuilding: The Case of the 2008 Kenyan Coalition Government","authors":"M. Barasa, V. Khasandi-Telewa, Jacinta M. Ndambuki","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.04","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.04","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Conflicts arising out of disputed elections often result in the formation of coalition governments to secure peace and stability. Consequently, mechanisms such as mediation, arbitration, negotiation, and peacekeeping have been employed to restore peace in conflicting states of Africa. However, little attention has been paid to the role of language in the operation of a power-sharing government as a mechanism for conflict resolution and peacebuilding. This article examines lexicalization in the discourses of Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga as principals in the 2008 Kenyan Coalition Government. Written texts were purposively sampled and accessed from the Internet and authenticated from the official websites of former President Kibaki and former Prime Minister Odinga. The study applied Norman Fairclough’s approach of critical discourse analysis to tease out the lexical choices. The textual analysis findings revealed lexical choices that were highly restrained, personalized, and mitigated.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76830283","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What Went Wrong in South Sudan in December 2013","authors":"J. Githigaro","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.06","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.06","url":null,"abstract":"South Sudan, the world’s newest state, has been engulfed in renewed violent conflict since December 2013, with ongoing mediation efforts yet to provide a lasting truce. This briefing paper examines the underlying triggers of the mid-December 2013 conflict. It provides policy suggestions for sustainable peace in South Sudan, which include accountability for the crimes committed and monitoring of the proposed transitional power-sharing arrangement.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79009363","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Mobilizing a Defensive Kikuyu-Kalenjin Alliance: The Politicization of the International Criminal Court in Kenya’s 2013 Presidential Election","authors":"Aditi Malik","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.03","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: Since the restoration of multiparty political competition, Kenya has witnessed three violent elections. However, the 2013 presidential election concluded relatively peacefully and the winning Jubilee Coalition succeeded in uniting the “historically rival” Kikuyu and Kalenjin communities behind its banner. What factors explain these notable developments? Drawing on original interviews with elites as well as relevant secondary sources, this article shows that the birth of a Kikuyu-Kalenjin coalition and the lack of violence in 2013 were not due to Kenyan elites’ commitments to peace. Rather, politicians steered clear of instrumentalizing violence because new institutional arrangements prevented them from doing so. The research also demonstrates that the leaders of Jubilee—Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto—strategically made use of the International Criminal Court indictments against them to consolidate Kikuyu and Kalenjin support behind their coalition. As such, this study shows how international legal interventions can be tactically recast to pursue domestic political ends.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75078089","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Responsibility to Protect and the African Governance Architecture: Explaining the Nexus","authors":"Obinna Ifediora","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.05","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.05","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: The implementation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle in Africa has typically followed the architectural framework of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). This approach has engendered a paucity of knowledge in relation to the structural bases of conflict prevention based on the African Governance Architecture (AGA). This briefing paper surfaces the AGA framework and its components in view to informing policy on the African Union (AU) infrastructure for facilitating peaceful means of conflict prevention, protecting populations from atrocity crimes, and building stronger institutions for peacebuilding across Africa. The paper focuses on electoral governance in Africa, especially AU approaches to organizing, conducting, and observing elections within the provisions of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance. It concludes by proposing an approach for greater electoral governance in Africa.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76464733","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The African Union Non-Indifference Stance: Lessons from Sudan and Libya","authors":"Ndubuisi Christian Ani","doi":"10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2979/AFRICONFPEACREVI.6.2.01","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT: The legal and policy documents of the African Union (AU) are founded on a human security paradigm that obliges the continental body to maintain a non-indifference stance on human rights abuses. This doctrine of non-indifference departs from the state-centric security principle of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which gave excessive privileges to state elites. Although the AU has intervened to address security challenges in the continent, misgivings persist that the continental body’s interventions continually favor state regimes at the expense of the human rights of ordinary citizens. Adducing the cases of the AU’s responses to the conflicts in Sudan (2004–07) and Libya (2011), this article examines the credibility of the AU’s non-indifference stance to gross human rights violations. The study contends that the undue influence of state regimes on the AU’s initiatives as well as its limited capacity for intervention raise doubts on the continental body’s purported transition from a state-centric framework to a human security paradigm.","PeriodicalId":7615,"journal":{"name":"African Conflict & Peacebuilding Review","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2016-12-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86460524","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}