International Journal of Conflict and Violence (IJCV - Universität Bielefeld)
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Violence Prevention in Austrian Schools: Implementation and Evaluation of a National Strategy
Get PDFA qualitative study of Austria’s national strategy against violence in the public school system introduced in 2008. The national strategy developed by researchers consists of six activity domains with specific goals and projects defined for each. The evaluation (1) analyzes how the realized projects contributed to the six activity domains, (2) evaluates the national strategy at a general level, and (3) provides future recommendations. Eight members of the steering committee were interviewed at two points in the implementation process. The systematic interviews were coded according to the goals of the activity domains. According to the interviewees most of the projects have been satisfactorily implemented. Networking and cooperation with the different actors in the field of violence prevention and cooperation among steering committee members have been improved. However, the national strategy has not achieved the intended public recognition. The lessons learned from the evaluation and its results are discussed
Introducing, Researching, and Disseminating the Incredible Years Programmes in Wales
Get PDFA case study reviewing the establishment of the evidence-based Incredible Years programme in Wales, describing the rationale for selecting the programme, the outcomes achieved in Wales, and the influence on policy leading to a Wales-wide dissemination strategy. The UK context features a growing trend towards evidence-based anti-violence services and significant increases in funding for early intervention. Factors that contributed to the success of this project included careful selection of a programme with evidence, establishing a local evidence base for it, ensuring that information was disseminated to government and service providers, and the need to build in a sustainability plan. The biggest challenge, lack of leader time and resources to deliver the programme effectively, is explored and solutions from Wales, including leader feedback surveys and manager training days are described
Intra-Party Dynamics and the Political Transformation of Non-State Armed Groups
Get PDFAlthough non-state armed groups are primary stakeholders in contemporary political conflicts, there has been little research into their members’ perspectives on internal factors shaping radicalisation and de-radicalisation. State and international actors often assume that bringing rebel leaders to the negotiating table or “converting” them to peaceful politicians means weakening, splitting, or dismantling militant structures. This paper re-evaluates those assumptions in the light of rebel leaders’ own accounts of internal organisational dynamics before, during, and after political conflicts and peace settlements. Participatory action research with “insider experts” from armed movements in Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Nepal, Aceh, El Salvador, Colombia, and South Africa reveals insiders’ analysis of leadership and organisational dynamics during armed conflict and political talks and highlights the rational decision-making process whereby proactive leaders constantly (re)assess and adjust their tactics (from unarmed to armed and vice versa) as the strategic environment evolves. Horizontal and vertical communication between members is critical for enabling collective ownership of transformation processes from violent insurgency to peaceful transition and preventing internal splits and disaffection during peace negotiations. The claim that rebel organisations should be dismantled as quickly as possible during peace processes is found to be dubious, highlighting instead the importance of retaining cohesive coordination and communication structures during volatile post-war transitions
Eastern European Transformation and Youth Attitudes toward Violence
Get PDFThis cross-national examination of the motives behind adolescent approval of violence in major cities in Germany and four Eastern European transformation societies (Czech Republic, Poland, Russia, Slovenia) draws on Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT), which leads us to expect higher instrumental motivation for violence among adolescents in the transforming societies. Differences in institutional structure and cultural orientations between Germany and the Eastern European societies are assessed using data from ILO and ESS. Analysis of the different motives for violence is based on data collected by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN) in Kraków, Volgograd, Ljubljana, Plzen, and Hamburg. Comparability and cross-cultural interpretability of the violence attitude measure is assessed by applying confirmatory factor analyses in multi-group comparisons. A lack of sufficient data meant that specific assumed linkages as implied by IAT could not be established, but the results for a specific instrumental/utilitarian motive for violence and for institutional structure and cultural orientations point to the utility of applying insights from IAT to understanding the dynamics of violence within the Eastern European context of transformation. We find empirical indications that specific features of the family mediate the “Eastern effect” on the instrumental/utilitarian motive. Further research is needed to discover whether economic dominance affects motives for youth violence indirectly via the socialization provided by non-economic institutions rather than directly via cultural orientations
Violence and Violence Research in Africa South of the Sahara
Get PDFThis review presents the major lines of investigation regarding violence in Africa since the Cold War. After a historical introduction to the development of violent phenomena and their political contexts, diverse issues such as civil war, democratization, vigilantism, and the role of youth are assessed. It is argued that recent research has produced important insights by re-focusing on violent phenomena beyond the state. Yet despite the increasing number of non-state violent actors active on the African continent, to speak of a “privatization” of violence may be premature
The Central American Fear of Youth
Get PDFIt is often asserted that youth gangs and organized crime have seized Central America. For theories on contemporary Central American violence, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Nicaragua present important test cases, which demonstrate the need to differentiate the diagnosis. This paper is concerned with the social construction of violence-related national and transnational myths as a precondition for policy formulation. The notion of exploding youth violence is part of hegemonic discourses and not necessarily linked to lifeworld experiences. While discourses on youth violence differ from country to country, with varying threat levels, patterns of attention, and discursive leitmotifs, they share the monstrous image of brutal gangs (Mara Salvatrucha, Dieciocho) as the most vivid object of fear
Women Without Arms: Gendered Fighter Constructions in Eritrea and Southern Sudan
Get PDFAn analysis of gendered fighter constructions in the liberation movements in Eritrea and southern Sudan (EPLF and SPLA/M), examining the question of female access to the sphere of masculine fighter constructs and the relevance of this for influence in peacetime affairs. Empirical research in both countries, in particular interviews with participants, reveals that what keeps women out of the sphere of legitimized violence is not some “inherent peacefulness,” but the exclusivist construct of the masculine fighter, which is supported by society. This makes it hard for women to participate in war, and especially to gain full fighter status. An intrinsic link is found between fighter status and access to power in post-conflict state-building from which women, being unable to gain full fighter status, are largely excluded
Difficulties Measuring and Controlling Homicide in Rio de Janeiro
Get PDFOfficial crime data is generally limited by restrictions of quality and access. Rio de Janeiro in Brazil provides an example of the problems involved in measuring the homicide rate in a developing country, including the lack of proper crime reporting and the use of separate categories to reduce the number of homicides in official crime reports. Using longitudinal data, we can explain differences between the official homicide rate and alternative calculations that consider otherwise neglected categories. The interests of politicians, police, business, and citizens contribute to the difficulties in measuring and controlling homicides in the city
Spousal Violence against Women in the Context of Marital Inequality: Perspectives of Pakistani Religious Leaders
Get PDFSpousal violence against women is a controversial issue in Pakistan. Some religious leaders argue that “mild wife-beating” is permissible in exceptional circumstances to discipline the wife and protect the institution of the family. Some conservative religious leaders also argue that the husband has a superior and authoritative position in marital relations. This highly contested and sensitive issue acquires religious overtones and the scientific community seems reluctant to investigate it. Based on fourteen in-depth interviews, this article documents the views and opinions of religious leaders in Lahore, Pakistan, concerning spousal violence within the context of marital inequality. Rather than debating the position of Islam on spousal violence, the paper explores the minds of religious leaders who greatly influence the views of the general public
How Does Militant Violence Diffuse in Regions? Regional Conflict Systems in International Relations and Peace and Conflict Studies
Get PDFRegional conflict systems are characterised by their complexity of actors, causes, structural conditions and dynamics. Such complexity poses difficulties to those looking to undertake scientific analysis of the regional dynamics of violence. It is still quite unclear how militant violence diffuses in regions and under which conditions a regional conflict system can emerge. This review of existing approaches to regional conflict dynamics in international studies and peace and conflict studies focuses on how the regional conflict dynamics and the causal mechanisms behind the development of regional conflict systems are dealt with, considering process dynamics in space and time as well as in the interactions between possible causal factors. The primary gaps in existing research are identified and possible new research directions sketched out.Regional conflict systems are characterised by their complexity of actors, causes, structural conditions and dynamics. Such complexity, however, poses difficulties to those looking to undertake scientific analysis of these processes. In the present paper existing approaches to regional conflict dynamics in international studies and peace and conflict studies are reviewed. Of particular interest is the question how these approaches dealt with regional violence in areas with limited or no statehood as this is one of the striking conditions for the emergence and diffusion of regional conflict systems. Starting from this question, the main research gaps that exist in the current literature on regional conflicts will be detected. Furthermore, new research directions will be pointed out