Home Mail News Sports Finance Weather Games Groups Answers Screen Flickr Mobile More

Yahoo Mail Yahoo Mail

Suggestions are available. Use up and down arrows to select.

Veronica

oooo

Help o

Press ? for keyboard shortcuts.

Re: Fwd: peace and conflict for sustainable development (2)

Steve Lwangu Egadize Dear mum, Thanks for the notes you have sentme I really appreciate Steve From: Veronica Onjoro <onjoroveronica@yahoo.com>; To: <stevelwangu83@yahoo.com>;

Subject: Fwd: peace and conflict for sustainable development Sent: Wed, Nov 21, 2012 4:38:00 PM Sent Nov 21, 2012 Me To MeMe Mar 28

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Steve Lwangu Egadize <stevelwangu83@yahoo.com>Date: November 21, 2012 8:03:46 PM GMT+03:00To: Veronica Onjoro <onjoroveronica@yahoo.com>Subject: Re: Fwd: peace and conflict for sustainable developmentReply-To: stevelwangu83@yahoo.com

Dear mum,Thanks for the notes you have sent me I really appreciateSteve

 PEACE AND CONFLICT FOR SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

The huge global reflection on what peace and wellbeing

means for the world, along with who holds the

responsibility, is the current topical debate. As the world

pursues systemic peace building, improving effectiveness,

coherence and impact, the constructive handling of

conflicts should then be part of all institutions and

social relations. Let the world focus on the suffering of

citizens of southern Sudan and Syria. And this should be

enshrined within the growing global recognition and demand

for more effective ways of dealing with conflicts,

delegitimization of the perversion and abuses of war and

violence, and knowledge that peace is possible, practical

and necessary. This calls for integrative and coherent

peace building architecture, a credible presence in the

field, engagement of the people in the peace process

of creating a comprehensive conflict intelligence analysis

of what is needed to realize this peace, a coherent plan,

and an effective implementation of that plan.This thesis

argues that taking a strategic sustainable development

(SSD) approach to conflict resolution in areas of the world

in long-term intractable conflict with intermittent

violence could support an effective process and lasting

outcome. SSD proposes a holistic systems perspective and

decision-making framework to address challenges and

opportunities at the largest scale, including identifying

root causes and drivers of the conflict as well as finding

common ground internally and externally. The currently

unbalanced dynamics between the two fundaments of

sustainability, a robust ecosystem and social fabric, are

the basis of deeply unsustainable patterns of behaviour

which are often also at the heart of conflicts. Socio-

ecological unsustainability can be both a threat, and an

opportunity for resolution and social change. The framework

offers a proven way of organizing, evaluating and using

tools that can aid in dealing with sustainability issues

constructively, and evidence is presented to suggest its

usage can be extended to conflict issues. This thesis

analyzes the links between sustainability, strategic

sustainable development and conflict resolution work in the

areas of conflict described, and proposes a set of

guidelines for approaching conflict resolution with

SSD.Integrating capabilities for sustainable peace building

and conflict transformation would require a paradigm shift

in moving to complement peace building interventions and

engagements with sustainable capacities for managing and

transforming conflicts rooted in key social

institutions and infrastructure like schools, legal system,

business cooperation, government, media, arts and culture.

With the desire for deconstruction and making a paradigm

shift for sustainable peace, the task of revisiting

Africa’s general crisis and realizing the new paradigm in

developing the concept of

“African solutions to African problems” calls for the

integration of the parallel institutions of governance with

African indigenous wisdom for complementarily. Harmonizing

these institutions requires reform in ways that would make

them democratic and amenable to integration into a coherent

and effective system of governance. This vision provides

the imperative whose overarching objective is to explore

ways to reform and integrate the two parallel institutions

in a manner that promotes democratic governance. As a

measure to be taken towards deconstruction and the

epistemological shift, the need

for new pedagogy for transformative peace building is

paramount. This will help in

translating the African indigenous knowledge, wisdom,

values and attitude into actions; a

strategy of making African indigenous knowledge gain

recognition and the chance of

reclaiming its rightful place in the learning process.

It is very important to note that transformative education

should recognize the whole

spectrum of visions, goals, concepts, ideas and practices

embodied in peace education as a demonstration of building

a program that is self motivated and sustaining. This is

the sole reason as to why I am employing the ideas and the

approaches of influential thinkers of the 20th Century who

came out with innovative move towards the realization of

education for sustainability. This among others includes

the independence thinkers like

Paulo Freire, Kenneth Elisa Boulding, and Johan Galtung,

who emphasized that the

oppressed must be their own liberators in the struggle for

a paradigm shift from the

traditional mechanism which is hierarchical in nature. This

is why Paulo Freire (1993) in

what is termed as the pedagogy of the oppressed suggested

that there is no pedagogy that

is truly liberating remains distant from the oppressed

without involvement them in what is

to benefit them at a later time.

Along this line, if we want education for sustainability,

we have to follow the principle of

the old Chinese verse which emphasized that for group

dynamics and effective community building, the most

effective strategy is to, “Go in search of your people:

Love them; Learn

from them; Plan with them; Serve them. Begin with what they

have; Build on what they

know. But of the best leaders when their task is

accomplished, and their work is done, the

people all remark: We have done it ourselves" (Werner, n.d,

n.p)The huge global reflection on what peace and wellbeing

means for the world, along with who holds the

responsibility, is the current topical debate. As the world

pursues systemic peace building, improving effectiveness,

coherence and impact, the constructive handling of

conflicts should then be part of all institutions and

social relations. And this should be enshrined within

the growing global recognition and demand for more

effective ways of dealing with conflicts, delegitimization

of the perversion and abuses of war and violence, and

knowledge that peace is possible, practical and necessary.

This calls for integrative and coherent peace building

architecture, a credible presence in the field, engagement

of the people in the peace process of creating a

comprehensive conflict intelligence analysis of what is

needed to realize this peace, a

coherent plan, and an effective implementation of that

plan.

Integrating capabilities for sustainable peace building and

conflict transformation would require

a paradigm shift in moving to complement peace building

interventions and engagements with

sustainable capacities for managing and transforming

conflicts rooted in key social institutions

and infrastructure like schools, legal system, business

cooperation, government, media, arts and

culture.

With the desire for deconstruction and making a paradigm

shift for sustainable peace, the task of

revisiting Africa’s general crisis and realizing the new

paradigm in developing the concept of

“African solutions to African problems” calls for the

integration of the parallel institutions of

governance with African indigenous wisdom for

complementarity. Harmonizing these

institutions requires reform in ways that would make them

democratic and amenable to

integration into a coherent and effective system of

governance. This vision provides the

imperative whose overarching objective is to explore ways

to reform and integrate the two

parallel institutions in a manner that promotes democratic

governance.As put forward by Louis Kriesberg in his

view on evolution of conflict resolution,

Every conflict is unique in some ways, but like some other

conflicts in certain

ways; determining how a conflict is like and unlike other

conflicts helps

decide what would be appropriate actions. Good analysis of

the conflict in

which a practitioner is engaged or is considering entering,

whether as a

partisan or as an intermediary, helps determine which

strategy and tactics are

likely to be effective (Kriesberg, 2006, p.3)

From this moment, and basing on the game theories as we

design peace and conflict

resolution, there is need for the realization for a

sustainable peace there is need for a

collaborative effort when it come to choice and the

decision to be taken in laying out

strategies for peace building and conflict resolution

measures. At the same time, for such

sustainability, there is a need to think outside the box in

order to pick the right tools in

peace building and conflict analysis. Referring to one of the popular quotes of Dr. Martin Luther

King Jr. we realized that:

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in

moments of comfort

and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge

and controversy.

The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige and

even his life for the

welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous

pathways, he will lift

some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble

life (Martin

Luther King Jr.)

This inspirational quote of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

makes those in search of peaceful

and symbiotic coexistence deeply perturbed by the human

miseries that accrue from

egocentric tendencies of some members of the society,

especially leaders who have

exacerbated the spiral of violence in solving conflicts.

As we reflect back on the historical past, examine the

present and predict the future, in the strategies for

sustainable peace and effective conflict resolution

measures we still see what need to be addressed in order

uproot the underlying causes of conflict. Looking at the current political crisis and civil

revolution going on within the African

continent in this century (2010/2011), the emerging

paradigm in the field of peace and

conflict resolution is that peace is a network of

relationships full of energy and conflict

kept under societal control. The view of Michael Blank

(1987) that to understand what

peace is we have to understand what peace is not takes us

to a new world of

understanding that the military concept of peace via the

power of the barrel is changing

toward a civil concept that peace can be attained through

insurrection (the power of

Demonstration).

As much as we reflect on the green revolution in changing

the fate of the population

undergoing intense suffering under the incumbent

leadership, for a critical analysis of the

emerging paradigm in the transition of Africa, there is

need to analyze the historical

perspectives of African conflict and political

institutions. This will give a clear

background in understanding the position of Africa in the

world of peace and security.

Oftentimes, Africans are blamed for the root causes of the

ongoing conflict in the region in terms of political

corruption, lack of respect for rule of law and human

rights

violations; however, there is a need to dig deep to

understand who should really shoulder the greater

percentage of the blame. From the external perspective,

this session will begin the trace the origins of conflict

from European colonialism with its devastating impact on

the current political situation in Africa. The compelling

force behind this session is that there is a double

standard within the involvement of the international

communities10 when it comes to foreign policies, as well as

regarding political, economic and military involvement.

Looking at Africa from the aftermath of colonization, if

foreign intervention is good, then African countries should

be the most prosperous countries in the world because of

the greatest dosages of the slave trade, colonialism, neo-

colonialism, and imperialism, among others. All those

foreign imposed phenomena have, however, contributed

positively and negatively to the current position of

Africa.

Cold War by Proxy is another challenge when we look at the

international intervention in supporting and arming

dictatorships in Africa. Throughout the Cold War, major

powers supported various regimes and dictatorships in

Africa without regards to what the outcome might be at a

later time. A clean example of this can be seen in Uganda,

the pearl of Africa. Idi Amin Dada, who claimed himself as

the life president and the

conqueror of the British empire came to power with full

support of Britain and Israel

because they thought he was uneducated enough to be

manipulated (Museveni, 2011).

Amin, however, proved them wrong when he turned out to be

dangerous to both the

sponsors and Ugandan citizens. He supported acts of

terrorism in hijacking a plane, which

led to a 52 minute rescue, codenamed Operation Thunderbolt

conducted by Israeli

Defense Forces at Entebbe Airport on July 4, 1967 and

carried out extra-judicial mass

killings, which provoked the AU to intervene. Cold war by

proxy is a move that can help in tracing scenarios created

in the African continent in the name of maximizing profit,

BNy International Community, here I mean the great powers

of the world who are in top decision aking positions in

deciding the kind of intervention that should be employed

in other countries in Case of the emergence of conflict.

These include nations like USA, Britain, France, etc. and

bodies like  UN and NATO.  

disposing/dumping the weapon stocks made superfluous by the

end of the war and

technological developments. Cold war by proxy should not be

seen as dumping weapons in Africa but equipping leaders to

consolidate their position in power and prevent others from

taking over the power from them.

Another challenge that I find not easy to find a clear

conclusion on is the position of the

international communities, which appear to resent

independent-minded leaders and seem to prefer puppets. In

his criticism on the intervention of the Western countries

over Libya and the implementation of the ‘no fly zone’

imposed on Libya by the UN Security

Council Resolution passed on March 17, 2011, the President

of the Republic of Uganda,

Yoweri Kaguta Museveni tried to desist from the

interference of the international

communities as he reflected back on some of the historical

developments where countries

that transitioned from ‘Third World’ to ‘First World’

status since 1945 had their

independent-minded leaders to thank for such a transition.

These independent-minded

leaders includes: “Park Chung-hee of South Korea, Lee Kuan

Yew of Singapore, Mao

Tse Tung, Chou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, Marshal Yang Shangkun,

Li Peng, Jiang Zemin

and Hu Jing Tao of China People’s Republic, Dr. Mahthir

Mohamad of Malaysia and

Lula Da Silva of Brazil - Lula Da Silva and The Ayatollahs

of Iran” (Museveni, 2011).

Making reference to other developments that came between

the First World War and the

Second World War, the transition of the Soviet Union into

an industrial country was

propelled by the dictatorial but independent-minded Joseph

Stalin. Likewise, in Africa

few countries enjoyed the benefit of independent-minded

leaders like Col. Nasser of

Egypt, Mwalimu Nyerere of Tanzania, Samora Machel of

Mozambique, and Nelson

Mandela of South Africa. But unfortunately, some of these

leaders were not given much

opportunity by the colonial masters to fully utilize their

open minds to develop African

countries into a standard that the population would be

enjoying today. Most of them, like

Nelson Mandela, spent most of their lifetimes in prison,

and when they were released, it

was not easy to catch up from where they left off due to

old age and continued

suppression. This is also the same with the African

leadership, who do not want to see the

independent-minded personalities coming to challenge them.

Looking at the current political situation within African

countries today, we can see more

of the double standard of the international communities,

where they are prompted in

commenting on every problem in the Third World (look at

Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, etc).

Yet, some of these international communities are the very

countries impeding growth in

those countries. Could this be an emphasis that might is

right?; if this is the case, then the science of weapons is

not magic, and many countries that are able will scale up

their

research on military technology. As a result, in a few

decades we may have a more armed

world than a peaceful one. And that is a challenge to

sustainable peace.

Taking the case of Libya, could dialogue not have been a

better step toward resolution?

Could the AU as regional peace keeper not call for an

extra-ordinary Summit to handle

the situation? Why did the international communities under

the UN mandate not give a

chance for the AU before starting the bombing of Libya and

AU? And when will African problems find African solutions?

The realization that African problem should find African

solutions should raise the

advocacy that it is not up to the world to determine the

leader of a particular country, but up to the people to

determine their leaders.

A successful learner will be able to make a u-turn in the

understanding of the position of Africa in world politics

and come up with a conclusion on whether the right unit of

analysis is being employed in understanding the current

conflict situation in Africa.Conclusion

Civil wars have become the dominant form of conflict in the

world today in large part because they are so difficult to

end and tend to recur. To date, almost all of the

literature on recurring civil war has argued that certain

countries are at particular risk of civil war relapse

because the underlying economic and political conditions

make them prime candidates for civil war relapse. But we

know that some countries are able to escape the conflict

trap despite the fact that war has exacerbated many of

these underlying conditions.

The conflicts that recur are the ones where the combatants

are neither able to decisively beat the other, nor able to

reach and implement mutually acceptable settlements. They

are cursed with a situation where the parties have no

ability to reach any resolution to their conflict on their

own.

This study reveals that a government’s ability to credibly

commit to a peace agreement likely affects its ability to

avoid repeat civil war. Governments that are constrained by

a formal constitution, and that follow the rule of law are

much less likely to face renewed violence in any form. In

fact, any measure that limits the governments ability to

act outside the law and unilaterally usurp power, makes the

government a more attractive negotiating partner, and

offers combatants an alternative way out of war. This

suggests that a heavier focus on political institution

building rather than economic development may be the most

effective way to resolve existing civil wars and could help

reduce the rate at which these conflict repeat themselves

over time. Let us make this world a peaceful place to live

in!

By

Veronica onjoro