The century of peace. The 20th century laid the foundations for what could make our century a century of peace. The 20th century is often referred to as the bloodiest in human history. Towards the end of that century, the historians Eric Hobsbawm, Gabriel Kolko and Niall Ferguson published general narratives entitled, respectively, Age of… Read more »
Month: December 2015
This Week in South Sudan – Week 52
Monday 21 December SPLM (IO)’s team of delegates arrived in Juba. At least one child was killed and three others injured in aerial bombardments in Khor Tumbak. Officials in Maban County, Upper Nile state, blamed the attack on the Sudanese Air Force. Tuesday 22 December South Sudan’s central bank sold US$20 million to 13 commercial… Read more »
A Drama in Several Acts
Nearly five years since Tunisia’s revolution began to spread, the hopes and expectations of democracy have been replaced by despair and fear of what will follow. This has been an important and proud autumn for Tunisia and the Tunisian people. Ever since the Chair of the Nobel Committee, Kaci Kullmann Five, announced in October that… Read more »
This Week in South Sudan – Week 51
Monday 14 December The South Sudanese government has ordered SPLA to pursue a new rebel group in Eastern Equatoria state. This is connected to recent clashes between government forces and the rebels in Oguruny village. The so-called ‘Arrow Boys’ claimed their forces occupies several locations in Western Equatoria state, warning the government not to provoke… Read more »
Bosnia 20 Years On
The Dayton agreement ended the war. But with children from different ethnic groups unable to attend school together in many places, its intentions concerning reconciliation have unfortunately not been realized. “Of course I don’t need good grades in Bosnian when I’ve got good grades in English,” says a 13-year-old to his father in Sarajevo. The… Read more »
Myanmar: What now for Women and Minorities?
Will Aung San Suu Kyi dare to engage in a direct confrontation with religious nationalism and insist that the new parliament reconsider Myanmar’s laws on race and religion? Doing so could cost her dearly. Sexual violence Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) has been in a continuous state of civil war since its foundation as a… Read more »
An Academic New Year’s Resolution for Colombia: Understanding Continued Gendered Violence as a Threat to Positive Peace
Over the last decade, Colombia has been host to the world’s largest population of internally displaced people (IDP). In 2016, it is expected that the Colombian government and FARC will reach a peace agreement, marking the formal end of more than 50 years of civil war. It is widely recognized that this peace agreement will… Read more »
Is it Strange that Dictators Hold Elections?
Why do dictators hold elections that merely play to the gallery? On 11 October, Alexander Lukashenko was re-elected as president of Belarus with an impressive 84 per cent share of the vote. The election was anything but free and fair. According to the OSCE, Belarusian law makes it impossible for the will of the people… Read more »
This Week in South Sudan – Week 50
Monday 7 December Vice President James Wani Igga met with a representative from the SPLM-Former Detainees and the SPLM (IO) to confidentially discuss the return of opposition members to Juba. South Sudan’s government demanded the SPLM (IO) to drastically reduce the number of members on their advance team scheduled to return to Juba. Tuesday 8… Read more »
A Peace Prize Against Terror
European news headlines in 2015 have been all about the refugee crisis and religion-based terrorism. Is there still room for discussing “peace”? Should we not concentrate on bombing ISIS and protect national security? Yesterday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet. This quartet consists of four organizations… Read more »