Global Governance and the New Wars: The Merging of Development and Security
Abstract
War is now an important part of development discourse. Aid agencies have become involved in humanitarian assistance, conflict resolution and the social reconstruction of war-torn societies. This deeply thoughtful book explores the growing merger of development and security. Its author unravels the nature of the new wars - in Africa, the Balkans, Central Asia - and the response of the international community, in particular the new systems of global governance that are emerging as a result.
The breakdown of order is seen as symptomatic of long-term social processes: economic crisis, the social exclusion of wide strata of populations and internal conflict. Instead of the historic goals of modernity, development to reduce inequality, and a central role for the state, we have a neo-medieval situation in which overlapping and fragmented sovereignties confront an increasingly weakened central authority.
The consequences, as Duffield shows, are far-reaching. Development now focuses primarily on the shortcomings of structures within the South. Aid is privatized. A rising level of violence and misery are accepted as normal, and new forms of humanitarian aid intervention, far from solving the problem, accommodate and coexist with this instability and inequality. Pessimistic perhaps, but this book is profound in its insights and pregnant with policy implications.
... The tensions between traditional and new humanitarianism also reflect a deeper ideological divide. Traditionalists criticise the new humanitarian agenda for linking humanitarian and development objectives to security issues, arguing that such connections serve the interests of wealthy nations rather than the needs of crisisaffected populations (Duffield 2002). This critique underscores the potential dangers of humanitarian interventions that prioritise the stability of the state over the wellbeing of its citizens, especially in fragile or conflict-affected states. ...
... However, these reforms sometimes override local norms and priorities. Nation-states and transitional governments, including Sudan's, gain legitimacy through alignment with global education standards, reinforcing a hierarchy where Global North actors dictate the terms of educational development (Duffield 2002;Karpińska 2020;Brun and Shuayb 2024). ...
... A key critique of this system is that "universal" education standards often privilege Western perspectives. As scholars argue, mass education has become a marker of modernisation, with states seeking international approval by adopting these norms (Duffield 2002;Harvey et al. 2004;Sobe 2013). This dynamic was evident in the so-called "Paris Conference" (held 17 May 2021), where Sudan's transitional government sought global support for its transition to democracy. ...
This study explores the evolving field of Education in Emergencies (EiE) in Sudan, examining its historical foundations, ideological tensions, and the roles of state and non-state actors in programme delivery. Through a thematic analysis of published literature, international reports and insights from a regional EiE workshop, the author investigates whether EiE initiatives function as humanitarian aid or contribute to long-term development. Her findings reveal that while the Sudanese government acknowledges education as a human right, its implementation, particularly during times of crises, is inconsistent, often relying on international partnerships. The study highlights the dependence of EiE on Western-driven frameworks and funding, creating tensions in its execution. The article concludes by emphasising the need for more participatory and equitable approaches that empower both local and international stakeholders in shaping EiE responses.
... Several core assumptions of humanitarianism began to be challenged in the 1990s with arguments that aid might prolong conflict (African Rights 1994Anderson 1996Anderson /1999de Waal 1997;Slim 1997;Duffield 2001Duffield , 2007. The 'new' humanitarianism debate in the 1990s was the starting point for concerns that led to a political rearticulation of the so-called development-security nexus (Duffield 2001(Duffield , 2007(Duffield , 2010Jackson and Beswick 2013). ...
... Several core assumptions of humanitarianism began to be challenged in the 1990s with arguments that aid might prolong conflict (African Rights 1994Anderson 1996Anderson /1999de Waal 1997;Slim 1997;Duffield 2001Duffield , 2007. The 'new' humanitarianism debate in the 1990s was the starting point for concerns that led to a political rearticulation of the so-called development-security nexus (Duffield 2001(Duffield , 2007(Duffield , 2010Jackson and Beswick 2013). Since then, the interconnectivity of development and security has been continuously interrogated by a critical vein of research on state collapse, warlord politics and the political economy of conflict (for example, de Waal 1997de Waal , 2015Cerny 1998;Reno 1999Reno , 2011Berdal and Malone 2000;Duffield 2001Duffield , 2007Duffield , 2018Ballentine and Sherman 2003;Bøås 2014). ...
... The 'new' humanitarianism debate in the 1990s was the starting point for concerns that led to a political rearticulation of the so-called development-security nexus (Duffield 2001(Duffield , 2007(Duffield , 2010Jackson and Beswick 2013). Since then, the interconnectivity of development and security has been continuously interrogated by a critical vein of research on state collapse, warlord politics and the political economy of conflict (for example, de Waal 1997de Waal , 2015Cerny 1998;Reno 1999Reno , 2011Berdal and Malone 2000;Duffield 2001Duffield , 2007Duffield , 2018Ballentine and Sherman 2003;Bøås 2014). This has nevertheless remained marginal and runs counter to the mainstream of development studies and economics that has trumpeted the achievements of new economies and growth in Africa, especially those of the World Bank's 'success stories' (in Tanzania, Uganda, Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique and to some extent Rwanda) (de Waal 1997;Harrison 2004Harrison , 2010Bush 2007, 4). ...
This article analyses the political economy of conflict in South Sudan as it has developed over the past 40 years and introduces the concept of humanitarian permanence to characterise a strategy whereby international aid has become an integral component to the economy. This local–international relationship is traced to the early and mid 1980s during the Second Civil War, while it also builds on earlier colonial patterns. The political economy of war in South Sudan involves a different specialisation and dynamic than those described in many of the ‘war economies’ around specific resources elsewhere in Africa. The concept of plural society characterises the social and economic framework that has been developed in the capital Juba as a central aid hub to this economy. The article thereby suggests a need for reconsidering international, including humanitarian, aid and its role. Moreover, it requires a reconsideration of how state building is conceptualised, since it here primarily functions as a façade.
... The post-Cold War era also saw the rise of globalization, which brought about new types of conflicts related to economic inequality, environmental degradation, and transnational issues such as terrorism and human trafficking. These developments further expanded the scope of Peace and Conflict Studies, necessitating a more interdisciplinary approach that integrated insights from fields such as economics, environmental science, and international law (Duffield, 2014). As the field continues to evolve, it remains focused on developing effective strategies for preventing and resolving conflicts in an increasingly complex and interconnected world. ...
... These actors play a critical role in both fomenting and resolving conflicts, as they operate across borders and influence international relations in ways that traditional state actors do not. For instance, multinational corporations can exacerbate conflicts through resource extraction practices, but they can also contribute to peace by promoting corporate social responsibility and supporting development initiatives in conflict-affected areas (Duffield, 2014). The involvement of non-state actors has thus expanded the scope of Peace and Conflict Studies, requiring scholars to adopt more nuanced approaches that account for these diverse influences. ...
... The Rwandan government's emphasis on improving agricultural productivity, expanding access to education, and fostering economic growth has been instrumental in stabilizing the country and reducing the likelihood of renewed conflict. This approach underscores the importance of integrating development strategies into peacebuilding efforts, as economic stability and growth can create conditions conducive to long-term peace (Duffield, 2014). By focusing on sustainable development, Peace and Conflict Studies advocates for a holistic approach to conflict resolution that addresses both the symptoms and root causes of violence. ...
Human society is inherently linked to conflict, which
inevitably affects both people and their environment. To
prevent the negative outcomes of conflict, there is an urgent
need for peace that creates a stable environment, one that not
only enables development but ensures its sustained progress in
alignment with the principles of Sustainable Development.
Peace and Conflict Studies provides a framework for
understanding this unavoidable aspect of human nature. As an
interdisciplinary field, it integrates insights from various
disciplines that examine human interactions.
No meaningful development can occur in an environment
plagued by conflict, instability, and the resulting losses in
human lives and material resources. This makes the study of
Peace and Conflict Management essential as an independent
discipline with connections to other fields of study. The
destructive impact of the First and Second World Wars further
justified the need for specialized skills to reduce the frequency
and intensity of conflicts, as it is impossible to eliminate
conflict entirely. Human nature and societal structures
inevitably lead to conflicts, often due to competing goals.
When goals are incompatible, conflict arises, highlighting the
need for specialized skills in conflict analysis.
Conflict analysis involves a detailed evaluation of various
elements, such as the historical background, context,
antecedents, external factors, triggers, causes, drivers, and the
parties involved. Understanding these dynamics is the first step
in resolving conflicts. Therefore, professionals trained in
conflict resolution with the necessary skills play a critical role
in managing conflicts, ensuring that they do not escalate and
that the de-escalation process is handled effectively. This
underlines the importance of Peace and Conflict Studies as a
discipline that should be taught in universities and practiced in
society.
Conflicts arise in families, groups, larger societies, among
nations—both bilaterally and multilaterally—and even within
and between international organizations. This requires a
collective approach to not only develop but also promote this
discipline to a level where conflicts can be managed and
reduced through proactive efforts. Addressing potential and
actual conflict flashpoints with prudence is key to preventing
escalation.
The motivation for writing this book is to contribute to the
collective efforts of peace and conflict resolution practitioners
in addressing the global challenges of peacebuilding and
conflict de-escalation. A key issue addressed in this book is
structural conflict, which impacts individuals‘ psychology and
emotions through political, economic, social, and cultural
marginalization, denial, and injustice. These issues leave deep
scars on humanity. This book aims to bring some relief to
marginalized individuals and groups by focusing on these
challenges.
... The distinctive nature and role of war economies and the use of famine as a weapon of war have also been emphasised (Duffield, 1994;Keen, 1994;de Waal, 1997;Anderson, 1999). Duffield, for example, argues that the economic, political and cultural systems of the 'non-conventional wars of the present period' represent a realisation of modernity's hidden potentialities and capacities for adaptation and survival, rather than its failure (Duffield, 2001a). ...
... conflict situations in the 1990s, humanitarian intervention and the institutions involved were also brought under analysis (Cf Kent, 1987;Macrae and Zwi, 1994;African Rights, 1997). Many of the assumptions that shape the principles of humanitarian intervention were questioned, and the implications of the expansion of the mandate of international humanitarian intervention were highlighted (African Rights, 1994;Duffield, 2001a). The presumption of neutrality in the provision of humanitarian aid in CPEs was considered undesirable or unrealistic (Anderson, 1999;African Rights, 1994Duffield, 1994). ...
... The presumption of neutrality in the provision of humanitarian aid in CPEs was considered undesirable or unrealistic (Anderson, 1999;African Rights, 1994Duffield, 1994). Prevailing forms of humanitarianism were criticised for exacerbating crises rather than relieving them (Duffield, 1994(Duffield, , 2001aAnderson, 1999;de Waal, 1997;African Rights, 1997). A critical assessment of the role of humanitarian intervention revealed that humanitarianism is increasingly becoming part of wider agendas of foreign, security and military strategies (Macrae and Zwi, 1994;Karim et al., 1996;Duffield, 2001a;Edkins, 2003). ...
This paper assesses the major themes dominating the debate on 'humanitarian crises' in Africa. It explores the shortcomings of modern discourse's explanations of internal displacement and argues that the misconceptions of internal displacement as a 'transient event' and a 'humanitarian crises' reflect a specific view of the world and a modern form of politics. This view and form of politics, which dominate humanitarian discourses, depoliticise internal displacement and disassociate the displacement process and the internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the systems, structures and strategies that generate them. The paper critically examines the de-politicisation of internal displacement in these discourses and emphasises some recent attempts to re-politicise displacement. It suggests that an alternative perspective for understanding internal displacement can be drawn from these pioneering attempts.
... This framing echoes core problematizations of the security-development apparatus, which feed into justifications of external intervention (Buur et al. 2007, Duffield 2007, Stern and Öjendal 2010. As shown by Duffield (2007Duffield ( , 2014, these problematizations and corresponding forms of problem-solving are built into a vast apparatus created by Northern countries and international institutions with the aim of stabilizing poor and conflict-affected regions in the South. We suggest that environmental peacebuilding further integrates sites in the Global South into this apparatus, deepening its governance of natural resources and the environment, in addition to territory and populations. ...
... These effects include conjuring up "dangerous environments," which, following a global environmental color line, are uniquely located in the Global South. The imaginary of dangerous environments, in turn, justifies integrating peacebuilding intervention sites more firmly into the global security-development apparatus that remains dominated by the Global North (Duffield 2007(Duffield , 2014. We do not suggest, however, that these broader effects of environmental peacebuilding are intentional. ...
In this article we critically analyze the emerging academic field and practice of environmental peacebuilding. We claim that both are saturated by a particular “technomoral imaginary” or a set of beliefs, normative assumptions, and views on desirable futures that betray unwavering faith in the power of science and technology to bring peace and development to the Global South by transforming environmental governance. This imaginary informs particular rules of knowledge production that work to establish environmental peacebuilding as a conceptually narrow and self-referential field. Zooming in on an environmental peacebuilding project in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, we demonstrate how the self-referentiality of knowledge production within the field leads to inadequate analyses of key drivers of conflict and violence. Moreover, it blinds scholars and practitioners to the broader power-knowledge effects of environmental peacebuilding, including its complicity in conjuring up “dangerous environments.” By the latter, we refer to the portrayal of environments in the Global South as potential security threats due to various lacks and deficiencies ascribed to these regions, which contributes to the reproduction of a “global environmental color line.” The conjuring up of dangerous environments embeds environmental peacebuilding within a Global-North dominated, colonially influenced apparatus of security and development whose interventions integrate places more firmly into circuits of global capitalism and global governance. To reckon with these power-knowledge effects, environmental peacebuilding must display more self-reflexivity regarding the politics of knowledge production on the Global South.
... ). Ao se comprometerem com a supervisão e controle sobre essas populações, os diversos atores que conformam as operações de peacebuilding colocam em prática um arranjo de saberes e procedimentos voltados ao gerenciamento da vida dos indivíduos que compõem essas sociedades(MACIEL, 2018). Dito de outra forma, as operações voltadas à (re)construção de Estados objetivam modificar e governar as sociedades que as recebem, o que também pressupõe a transformação do comportamento e das ações das populações envolvidas(DUFFIELD, 2001). Não por acaso, as ações de intervenção não envolvem somente o uso da força militar, sendo imprescindível, para o processo de "resgate" desses países, uma série de ações de ajuda financeira externa e de cooperação associadas a reformas políticas e econômicas, colocadas em prática por múltiplos atores da comunidade internacional. ...
RESUMO: Partindo da percepção de que as propostas de (re)construção de Estados falidos ou frágeis buscam atualizar as correntes clássicas das Relações Internacionais (RI), voltando-se a um ideal "pacificador" da política estatal, recupera-se nesse artigo alguns autores e princípios basilares das teorias (neo)realista e (neo)liberal, para demonstrar como essas perspectivas operam e legitimam a separação das esferas da política doméstica e internacional. Inicia-se com uma breve reflexão sobre o contexto geral da ascensão e aplicação do termo Estado falido. Posteriormente, é discutido como a percepção do Estado enquanto garantidor da "paz civil" é um importante fundamento das teorias tradicionais de RI e encontra-se atualizada nas argumentações em prol da intervenção em Estados falidos/frágeis. A partir desta reflexão, sugere-se que as missões de (re)construção desses entes falidos não instalam a paz civil, mas reinscrevem, em outros termos, as "guerras cotidianas" que atravessam essas sociedades, inserindo tais conflitos em níveis aceitáveis à ordem internacional almejada. Nesse sentido, entende-se que a perspectiva de falência estatal clama por intervenções internacionais, como se as vulnerabilidades dessas sociedades estivessem atreladas somente a determinantes domésticos, o que fornece um olhar restrito sobre os fluxos e dinâmicas transterritoriais que borram as fronteiras entre o interno e o externo.
Palavras-chave: Estado falido; (neo)realismo; (neo)liberalismo.
ABSTRACT: Observing the perception that the proposals for (re)construction of failed or fragile states seek to update the classic currents of International Relations (IR), which reify a "peacemaking" ideal of state policy, this article recovers some authors and fundamental principles of (neo)realist and (neo)liberal theories, to demonstrate how these perspectives operate and legitimize the separation of the spheres of domestic and international politics.
... Peacebuilding has developed from technical assistance after conflict (as envisaged by the 1992 Agenda for Peace document) to become a much more holistic endeavor with multiple thematic interests (Boutros-Ghali, 1992;Firchow, 2020). The key point is that the scale of the endeavor, and indeed the scale of some peacebuilding organizations, awards more opportunities for the deployment of data (Duffield, 2014;Sörensen and Söderbaum, 2012;Howe, 2019;Uvin, 2002;Chandler, 2007;Stern and Öjendal, 2010). ...
This article interrogates three claims made in relation to the use of data in relation to peace. That more data, faster data, and impartial data will lead to better policy and practice outcomes. Taken together, this data myth relies on a lack of curiosity about the provenance of data and the infrastructure that produces it and asserts its legitimacy. Our discussion is concerned with issues of power, inclusion, and exclusion, and particularly how knowledge hierarchies attend to the collection and use of data in relation to conflict-affected contexts. We therefore question the axiomatic nature of these data myth claims and argue that the structure and dynamics of peacebuilding actors perpetuate the myth. We advocate a fuller reflection of the data wave that has overtaken us and echo calls for an ethics of numbers. In other words, this article is concerned with the evidence base for evidence-based peacebuilding. Mindful of the policy implications of our concerns, the article puts forward five tenets of good practice in relation to data and the peacebuilding sector. The concluding discussion further considers the policy implications of the data myth in relation to peace, and particularly, the consequences of casting peace and conflict as technical issues that can be “solved” without recourse to human and political factors.
... In 2017, for instance, the UN Secretariat spent around US $1 billion on prevention, mediation and peacebuilding (Boutellis, 2017). Despite the large amounts of funding, most such efforts have proved unsuccessful in resolving underlying factors that led to conflict (Campbell, Chandler, & Sabaratnam, 2011;Chandler, 2014b;Duffield, 2014). The quest for "liberal peace" has seen local culture contexts marginalized in pursuit of the often Westernoriented "universal ideal," thereby downplaying or ignoring the complexities of the context in which post-conflict peacebuilding takes place ; T Call & de Coning, 2017;Werner, 2010). ...
In recent decades, there has been increased policy attention and research interest in post-conflict environments across the humanities, arts, and social science disciplines. Our article aims to provide a methodological procedure that offers a nuanced understanding of recent peacebuilding scholarships and methodological challenges from a transdisciplinary perspective. The findings of our literature review indicate that the relationship between post-conflict peacebuilding interventions and the resulting liberal/hybrid peace is complex and intricate. This review highlights the significance of locally-engrained indigenous peace in this context of the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh, which is the focus of the study. We conclude that in depth research and analysis are necessary to explore the underlying causes of local indigenous hostility and the potential for locally-engrained endogenous peace, which involves a reasoned approach to governing specific communities. We propose in this paper a justified and practical systematic review procedure, with necessary adaptations, along with multiple research implications. This procedure will be valuable to future researchers in humanities, social sciences, and behavioural sciences, as it encourages them to ensure a more focused and rigorous approach to the choice of literature selection for their research, providing a solid foundation for researchers to follow.
... According to Fonge (2011: 84), [...] in spite of modern training and technical know-how, African manpower is often operated so lopsidedly that the fruits of modernization are either obliterated by corruption, favoritism, wasteful spending and inefficiency or, at best, have remained negligible for the majority of the population. Duffield (2001) and Sorenson (2007) have discussed how development is affected by the constant competition for power and control between civil regimes and military forces. Harris, Hunter & Davies (1995) have talked about the impotence of state institutions of governance, such as parliament and ministerial offices, in the effective implementation of development strategies and distribution of the benefits of growth equally to all sections of the population. ...
This paper critically discusses that ‘ethnicity’ is too elusive a concept to be unproblematically pronounced as a major source of conflict that significantly impediments the process of development in African countries in particular. It argues that there are many other factors to be considered in this regard, by: problematizing the drive for modernization and development in postcolonial Africa; identifying some of the perspectives according to which the inter-relationship between ethnicity, conflict and development has been theorized and discussed; assessing and problematizing the validity of these perspectives in reference to specific African countries. And this paper also contextualizes ‘development’, in terms of its starting-point, pace and trajectory, as well as critiques ‘development’ from a ‘post-development’ perspective.
... Thus, the Commission introduced political and strategic concerns into development policy, evidencing a horizontal transfer of politicisation from the migration policy domain to the development domain (Hackenesch, Bergmann, and Orbie 2021). Although politicising and securitising development aid is nothing new (Brown and Grävingholt 2016;Duffield 2001;Gazzotti 2019), such an overt and explicit recognition of the role of political and strategic considerations in the design and implementation of EUTF projects is particularly striking: the traditional objectives of EU development policy (poverty alleviation, job creation and sustainable development) are no longer end goals in themselves but rather means to a broader objective: reducing migration flows towards Europe. ...
The EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa was created in 2015 to alleviate migratory pressures resulting from crisis situations in Africa. However, the crisis in Africa was largely a construct of the EU, which in 2015 faced pressure from Member States to react to increased migration flows to Europe. Drawing on the (de)politicisation literature and 23 original expert interviews, we show that the creation of the EUTF enabled the Commission to depoliticise the 'refugee crisis' by reframing migration as a technocratic problem requiring the use of development aid to address its root causes in Africa. This approach, however, reintroduced strategic considerations at the heart of development aid, evidencing a horizontal transfer of politicisation from the migration policy domain to the development policy area. Our findings extend recent debates on the internal-external nexus in EU policymaking by revealing how political constraints and blockages in the internal dimension motivate EU external engagement. We also contribute to the strategic politicisation management literature by highlighting the role of three facilitating (or inhibiting) factors behind the success (or failure) of (de)politicisation strategies, namely, the type of actors involved, the locale where the policy is implemented, and the salience and polarisation of the policy-domains involved.
... The predominant number of armed conflicts after the Cold War has occurred within the borders of existing states. Inter-state and conventional wars have seen a decrease, while intra-state armed conflicts and civil wars have experienced upward trends (Ignatieff 1993;Kaldor 2001;Stedman, Rothchild and Cousens 2002;Kalyvas 2006;Duffield 2014). This coincided with the dawn of the post-bipolar world and the reawakening of nationalist movements across the world (Ignatieff 1993;Danforth 1995;Dyrstad 2012). ...
... They argue that its Western-centric approach does not, and often cannot, promote local ownership or agency and does little to encourage the valuing of diverse perspectives and voices, especially at the local level (Donais 2009;Hancock 2017;Mac Ginty and Richmond 2013;Väyrynen 2013). Moreover, with its heavy reliance on predetermined liberal principles often alien to the receiving countries, revolutionaries argue that international peacebuilding upholds global hegemonic/imperialistic structures and fails to confront the injustices that occur in global power politics (Duffield 2001(Duffield , 2010Jabri 2013). To improve the current practice of peacebuilding, this group therefore suggests the creation of an alternative emancipatory approach that builds peace from below, through local initiatives and everyday interactions that are legitimate and have a concrete impact on the life of citizens and communities (Eriksen 2009;Hancock 2018Hancock , 2020Piccolino 2019;Richmond 2012). ...
... These four have been selected for their public prominence (the Fragile States Index; hereafter FSI), their direct implication in policy making and aid or assistance allocations (World Bank and OECD), and their coconstituted nature involving the participation of so-called 'fragile states' (the G7+ ) in both the practical definition of 'fragility' and the measures taken to address it. While not all are directly security-related (in the narrow sense), they all partake in the securitization of development assistance (in the broad sense) by orienting global policies and programmes around a constructed and sometimes shared understanding of the threat that state fragility may pose to local, regional and global security (Duffield, 2001;Chandler, 2007). Perhaps more importantly, any measurement of fragility is also a theory of, and argument about, what a state should look like and the form its state-society relations should take, and thus the concept of fragility is a window onto the politics of 21st-century state building. ...
... These four have been selected for their public prominence (the Fragile States Index; hereafter FSI), their direct implication in policy making and aid or assistance allocations (World Bank and OECD), and their coconstituted nature involving the participation of so-called 'fragile states' (the G7+ ) in both the practical definition of 'fragility' and the measures taken to address it. While not all are directly security-related (in the narrow sense), they all partake in the securitization of development assistance (in the broad sense) by orienting global policies and programmes around a constructed and sometimes shared understanding of the threat that state fragility may pose to local, regional and global security (Duffield, 2001;Chandler, 2007). Perhaps more importantly, any measurement of fragility is also a theory of, and argument about, what a state should look like and the form its state-society relations should take, and thus the concept of fragility is a window onto the politics of 21st-century state building. ...
... de-Waal (1997) who's work on famine, conflict, and humanitarian response in Africa has been influential in shaping the understanding of CHEs. Similarly, Duffield (2001)'s research on the political economy of war and humanitarianism has provided critical insights into the complexities of CHEs, especially in the context of global governance and development. Additionally, the UN Agencies and NGOs like the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) have played pivotal roles in defining and operationalizing responses to CHEs, contributing to the theoretical and practical understanding of these emergencies. ...
In recent times, the globe has witnessed unimaginable humanitarian crisis. People have been forced to flee their homes in the most unusual circumstances, massive displacements and food insecurity have taken centre stage and all these have affected humanity adversely. The African continent is not left out in all of this as it has also been plagued by several humanitarian crisis-from the horn of Africa, down to Sub-Saharan Africa. In all, Northeast Nigeria has been devastated by the activities of Boko Haram insurgents since 2009, leading to a seemingly intractable humanitarian catastrophe in the region. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees stepped in 2014 to render humanitarian assistance and services to communities in this troubled zone. The study employed the Complex Humanitarian Emergencies (CHEs) theory as an analytical framework. Methodologically, the descriptive research design was used and data was gotten through primary and secondary sources. The primary sources of data were sourced using Key Informant Interviews, where structured questions were purposively administered to key officials of the UNHCR and International Committee of the Red Cross. Secondary data were gotten from documentary sources as journal articles, books, internet blogs, etc., and analysed using content analysis. The study uncovered the fact that UNHCR's humanitarian response in Nigeria's northeast has not yielded the desired results as the agency is currently bedeviled with so much challenges, ranging from insecurity of UNHCR staff, lack of access by the agency to remote areas, to funding shortfall and a host of others. It recommends, among others, the need for inter-agency collaboration, adequate protection of the agency's staff and proper funding of the agency's activities in the area.
... The failed states thesis correlates violence and conflict to the absence of a functioning state (Rotberg 2003). This theory has been widely critiqued, however, for its stereotypical depiction of the non-Western world, exemplified in the seminal work that fueled the failed states narrative, Robert Kaplan's The Coming Anarchy, and for legitimising interventionism (Demmers 2012: 67-79;Duffield 2001;Kaplan 1994). It has also been challenged for being blind to the ISSN 1013-1108 role of historical and colonial histories in state fragility (Ikpe 2007: 88). ...
This article explores the state of strategic theory in relation to the African context. It argues that the dichotomy between war in the Global South and the Global North, combined with the shift towards critical security studies, has hobbled the development of robust strategic thinking relevant to war on the African continent. It combines a literature review of theories of war, that have sought to either explain the occurrence of war or how to fight and end it, with a scoping review of African strategic thinking to highlight this gap. It concludes with a call for greater African strategic thinking and propositions for what African strategy should entail.
... Moreover, countries in protracted crisis can fall over 20 percentage points behind in overcoming poverty, and neighbouring states to a conflict affected state experience a 0.7% decline in their GDP per year. In a context of pervasive institutional and state failure, non-state actors (e.g., rebel groups, radical extremists, terrorists, etc.) emerge as conflict partakers, transnationalising conflicts through, for example, their illegal activities and organised crime (Kaldor, 1999;O'Rourke, 2016;Juergensmeyer, 2007;Duffield, 2001;Münkler, 2002;Makarenko, 2008), such as smuggling, drugs, weapon trades, illegal migration and harbouring terrorism (Herbst, 2004;Hagman & Hoehne, 2009;Stewart, 2007). 49 These are transnational activities that undoubtedly weaken neighbouring states as well (Nay, 2013;Ghani & Lockhart, 2008), and threaten international peace and security writ large (Chandler, 2007;Bliesemann De Guevara, 2010). ...
On the 24th of November 2021, weeks after arriving in the Gulf of Guinea, the Danish frigate HDMS Esbern Snare responded to suspected piracy activity. The ensuing firefight between special operation forces from the Danish Frogmen’s Corps and suspected pirates left four suspects dead, three suspects detained, one wounded, and one lost at sea. Even though this chapter was written well before the deployment of Esbern Snare and the firefight, the event itself and the ensuing political and legal questions illustrated some of the issues – political and legal – raised in this chapter, which must be addressed if non-regional naval deployment is to effectively contribute to maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea
... However, experts who work in development are typically sensitive to the dangers of linking development and security under the framework of SDG-16, which focuses on accountable, inclusive and transparent institutions (Möller-Loswick 2017; Dursun-Özkanca 2021). Critics frequently argue that it leads to the securitization of development (Duffield 2010;Duffield 2014;Wulf 2011;Short 2014;Möller-Loswick 2017;Lazarus 2020), and "militarization" or "misuse" of development aid (Schnabel and Farr 2012;Wulf 2011, 342). ...
Many interlinkages already exist between security and development, despite the fact they traditionally maintained separate bodies of literature and compartmentalized presence in policymaking. This introductory article to the special issue seeks to provide guidance on how to bridge the gap between Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Sustainable Development Goals. It focuses on the nexus between the two concepts particularly SDG-16 devoted to effective, accountable and inclusive institutions. It argues that the human security paradigm provides the most rewarding approach for bridging the gap between these two, as it centres the focus on the human element of these two endeavours. It first provides an overview of the security-development nexus, followed by a discussion of the commonalities and differences between SSR and SDG-16 specifically, outlining how human security provides a better connection between the two. It concludes that the bottom-up and multistakeholder approaches of the human security paradigm and its context-specific perspective ensure that the SSR missions and attainment of the SDG-16 targets will be more effective and efficient.
... Efforts to tackle economic inequalities and development challenges, environmental destruction and resource scarcity, 'new wars' and other strategic threats have driven governments, NGOs, and supranational agencies to develop partnership arrangements. These changes have become so widespread that they amount to what political scientist Mark Duffield characterizes as 'global governance' (DUFFIELD 2014). Distinctions between governmental and non-governmental activities, national interests and transnational working practices have become harder to make. ...
Professor Catedrático de História na Universidade de Exeter (Reino Unido), Martin Thomas é um dos mais importantes historiadores da sua geração, figura de destaque e amplamente reconhecida nos estudos históricos da descolonização. A sua investigação alicerça-se num quadro analítico comparativo e global, em diálogo frutuoso e informado com as ciências sociais. Tem publicado com regularidade e notória qualidade sobre muitos tópicos associados aos estudos das formações imperiais e coloniais, ao seu funcionamento, à contestação que geraram e à sua desintegração. Entre estes contam-se aspectos como as dimensões económicas, militares ou policiais, as políticas de segurança e as várias modalidades de violência colonial registadas na história dos impérios, bem como as formas variadas de extracção económica que caracterizaram o colonialismo europeu. Eis alguns exemplos de obras marcantes no campo historiográfico da sua autoria: em 2007, publicou Empires of Intelligence. Security Services and Colonial Disorder after 1914 (University of California Press); em 2012, publicou Violence and Colonial Order: Police, Workers, and Protest in the European Colonial Empires, 1918-40 (Cambridge University Press); em 2017, organizou, com Gareth Curless, Decolonization and Conflict: Colonial Comparisons and Legacies (Bloomsbury Academic) e, em 2019, com Andrew Thompson, The Oxford Handbook of the Ends of Empire (Oxford University Press). Mais recentemente, em 2023, organizou, com Gareth Curless, The Oxford Handbook of Late Colonial Insurgencies and Counter-Insurgencies (Oxford University Press). É ainda autor de uma série de artigos de reconhecida importância (para mais, veja-se: https://arch-history.exeter.ac.uk/history/profile/index.php?web_id=thomas). No dia 22 de Novembro de 2023, a Universidade de Coimbra e o Centro de História da Sociedade e da Cultura acolheram o Professor Martin Thomas para uma concorrida sessão de apresentação da sua última obra, The End of Empires and a World Remade: A Global History of Decolonization (Princeton University Press, 2024). Inserida no seminário internacional Histórias do Presente. A formação do mundo contemporâneo, a comunicação do Professor Martin Thomas procurou sublinhar a importância de interrogar as dinâmicas da descolonização de um modo multidimensional, resistindo a vários fechamentos metodológicos e analíticos e, ainda, a formas de excepcionalismo, nacional ou não, que continuam a marcar algumas das narrativas sobre este processo histórico. Nesta entrevista procurámos desenvolver alguns dos principais argumentos elaborados pelo Professor Martin Thomas ao longo dos anos, com especial incidência na sua última obra de referência, que certamente marcará este camp de estudos de forma consequente e duradoura.
... On the other hand, the breaking up of Yugoslavia was a manifestation of competitive globalization 1 and the resultant inequalities fomenting insecurities related to ethnicity and nationalism. The decade of 90s witnessed prolific literature on the "new security environment" with many scholars advocating the "new war thesis" (Kaldor 1999, Duffield 2001 and Robert Kaplan (1994) forecasting "the coming anarchy". ...
Globalization was considered as a panacea to end geopolitical rivalries by integrating economies and societies into vast networks of interdependence. The web of complex interdependence woven through global supply chains and cross-border connections, although to a large extent, has led to disappearance of geography. Nonetheless, promotion of embedded liberalism has reconstituted political and social boundaries that can be weaponized to gain asymmetric advantages. The liberal order consolidated during the post-Cold War unipolar moment and scripted the story of global governance. Post 2010, the waning United States (US) hegemony and rise of China marked a discrediting of liberal internationalism, supplanting it with the rules-based order which although reflects Western values and interests, but is under constant improvisation by other actors challenging the status quo. With several competing visions in the fray, the future global order would certainly reflect new power constellations, norms and rules. The paper thus argues that both liberal order and its successor the rules-based order largely cater to preserve the geopolitical and geoeconomic interests of dominant powers who advocate for a free and open order. Rules, however, remain an empty rhetoric as the world is in a strategic disarray characterised by growing economic inequality and socio-cultural upheavals.
... This process is successful, if the audience-the public, the electorate, the voter or any other community-targeted with a message "tolerate[s] violations of rules that would otherwise have to be obeyed" (Buzan et al., 1998, 25). Both the nexus of security and development studies and that of humanitarian and security studies illustrate how aid allocation, projects and organizations are instrumentalized for security purposes and how aid work itself has become increasingly securitized due to its potential to mitigate risks (Duffield, 2001(Duffield, , 2007Jackson, 2015a). If bioborders emerged "as a result of heterogeneous attempts to organize data border-crossing" to provide a sense of security to a diverse audience (Amelung et al., 2021), northern democracies-simultaneously also OECD DAC donors-not only regulate and control immigration in name of human rights and humanitarianism (Perkowiski, 2021) but have also been providing meaningful support to governments in the Global South with the aim of surveilling populations and preventing their movement towards the North (Bossong & Carrapico, 2016). ...
This chapter provides a contextualization of screening by briefly summarizing the historical background of securitization characterizing the contemporary aid sector and recalling the main legal instruments and mechanisms used for this purpose. The mechanisms by means of which aid organizations are (in)advertently dragged into the counterterrorism game cover international and domestic laws regulating sanctions and terrorist listing, ‘reasonable efforts’ expected, conditional clauses in grant agreements and internal compliance procedures. Yet, it must be remembered that the donor side of the aid market is strongly concentrated: most of the contracts facilitating the implementation of aid projects with (conditional) funding in the Global South are signed with only five to ten OECD DAC donor countries. Furthermore, aid organizations also finance their activities from private funds that reveal other organizational interests in the domain of risk management.
This research explores the discursive strategies of resistance employed by civil society actors in the preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) policy landscape. Using critical discourse analysis and ethnographic methods, this study examines how civil society constructs counter-hegemonic discourses and P/CVE practices. Whilst civil society plays a crucial role in peacebuilding, research has also shown that they are entangled in a complex web of power relations. As intermediaries between the global, national, and local levels they engage in discursive practices that could both reinforce and contest dominant discourses and practices. This paper conceptualises these practices as occurring through multiple sites of power, where civil society acts as producers, consumers, targets, and beneficiaries of knowledge and practices. Within these subject positions, they negotiate with dominant (often eurocentric) discourses through strategies of vernacularisation , appropriation , and counterarguments . While these tactics may not entirely result in discursive shifts, they however open space for critical negotiation with dominant discourses which is a crucial step to resisting power structures.
The non-traditional security challenges in North Africa have experienced significant changes in recent years. In addition to conventional military issues, the region has experienced many problems, such as drug trafficking, illegal immigration movements, smuggling, the Arab Spring, and the consequences of the global 'War on Terror' launched after the events of 9/11. Most research on North African security concentrates on threats within the traditional paradigms of military matters and terrorism. Nevertheless, this paper considers the overall parameters of an expanded North African regional non-traditional security. It focuses on four specific issues: illegal immigration movement, water scarcity, drug trafficking, and smuggling. The study indicates that if coordinated action is not taken, the interaction of these non-conventional risks can erode the future stability and growth of North Africa.
Explicit representations of race have played a major role in shaping world order since the era of colonialism. Although overt/explicit racisms have retreated in the wake of anti-racism advancements globally, the legacies of historical racial signification continue. Racialised representations have shifted from explicit notions of biological difference to notions of essentialised and primordialised social difference (wherein biological determinism remains implicit), employing seemingly more neutral and acceptable proxies for race, including culture’, ‘ethnicity’ and ‘religion’. Drawing insights from an eclectic body of works loosely termed ‘critical race studies’, we show how ‘racialisation’ as a representational process organises, structures and produces assumptions about race in mainstream Global North (GN) scholarly, policy and influential media representations of the Global South (GS). ‘Racialisation matters’ not because observers in the GN are necessarily racists, but because the legacies of historical racial significations are so deeply embedded structurally and institutionally. ‘Representations matter’ because they continue to inform the lived experiences of people in the GS, producing real physical effects on them as racialised subjects and on the material conditions of their existence. Revelation of the racialised dimensions of representations of the GS is necessary to reclaim the dignity, identity and agency of the racialised.
Over the last three decades, statebuilding, or the process of building political institutions in conflict-affected states (CAS), as a part of a negotiated peace settlement, has been associated with peacebuilding interventions supported by Western states. Non-western rising powers, in turn, are seen to disengage from statebuilding given their ambivalence towards the liberal peacebuilding agenda, and support for the norm of sovereignty. Challenging this dominant narrative, this article examines how India and China have shaped political institutions central to the peace process, such as federalism and inclusion, in two CAS in their regional neighborhood, Nepal and Myanmar, despite not pledging to the international statebuilding agendas. It firstly argues that India and China have influenced the institutional design of political institutions in three ways: directly through coercive diplomacy and economic incentives, indirectly as CAS borrow from the domestic experience of India and China to design their political institutions, and unintendedly as a by-product of their large-scale infrastructures and investments, which alters the distributional consequences of the postwar institutions. Secondly, the article asserts that such institution-building experiences of non-Western states challenge three established scholarly canons in peace studies: role of coercion in peacebuilding by highlighting how illiberal and coercive modes of institution-building can foster liberal outcomes, the Eurocentricity or the “West” as the source of influence for institutional design by outlining how CAS increasingly look to the domestic institutional experiences of non-Western states to emulate, and need to broaden the scope of what constitutes institution-building to include physical infrastructures that significantly shape political institutions.
This chapter introduces conflict analysis and intervention as a shared space where instability in the developing world post 9/11 means that the inner workings of developing states and localised conflict are of interest to Western States (McConnan, 2019) and starts the discussion on whether the intention of the intervention is to provide security for the recipient country, or the donor? Personal or institutional interests or bias, influences and informs the interveners positioning, and what their goals are. These interests shape the interveners ontological goals for the intervention, and what activities they desire to happen in the situation (whether stated or implicit). Maintaining a sense of self in these scenarios and balancing it with equality of outcome is extremely difficult and requires an intricate understanding of the layers of relationships in order to categorise actions to initiate a participatory and dynamic process of intervention.
To advance the debates around temporary migration in the Pacific, a governmentality framework contributes to understanding social and historical relations produced by migration management at regional, country, and individual scales. The Recognised Seasonal Employer's (RSE) scheme, the Pacific epitome of regulated migration, temporarily recruits participants from labour-rich countries to work in New Zealand's horticulture and viticulture sectors. Driven by agricultural labour shortfalls, it was conceived and promoted as a development intervention for Pacific countries, and is regularly claimed to provide a 'triple win' for employers and industry, Pacific countries via remittances, and participants' communities. Missing from these claims is an understanding of how seasonal migration fits into new migration management regimes, and the instruments deployed to enable this omission. To appreciate how workers' subjectivities are transformed to favour labour mobility, the spotlight is on the scheme's articulation as a development instrument, its operationalisation, and the mundane day-to-day situations it entails.
This study investigates the factors behind the increasing prevalence of intrastate conflicts since World War II, contrasting with the global decline in interstate wars, particularly in the developing world. While advancements in technology, society, and economy have facilitated a reduction in interstate conflict, intrastate wars have remained prevalent due to a decline in their terminations rather than an increase in their onsets. The study attributes this prolongation a combination of systemic, organizational, and individual-level factors. At the systemic level, processes such as decolonization, Cold War interventions, and the post-Cold War multipolar order have established conditions that foster civil wars, often exacerbated by external interventions driven by power dynamics and competitive interests. Additionally, neoliberal economic policies have fragmented the global economy and marginalized the Global South, allowing for the emergence of "regional conflict complexes" dependent on illicit economies. Organizationally, factors such as state capacity, geographical features, and resource availability enhance the resilience of rebel groups, particularly in rugged, resource-rich territories near international borders that facilitate contraband access and evade state control. Furthermore, the quality of leadership and the cohesion within insurgent groups significantly affect conflict duration, as elite manipulation and factionalism can obstruct peace efforts. Lastly, at the individual level, motivations, shaped by grievances associated with ethnic, political, or economic marginalization, alongside economic incentives for private gain, largely perpetuate involvement in armed conflict. The study argues that a comprehensive understanding of these complex factors is crucial for developing effective policy strategies to reduce conflict duration, thereby advancing both theoretical and practical approaches to civil war resolution.
This open access book explains why southern European countries with significant Muslim communities have experienced few religiously inspired violent attacks – or have avoided the kind of securitised response to such attacks seen in many other Western states. The authors provide a unique contribution to the literature on violent extremism – which has traditionally focused on countries such as France, the US and the UK – by studying the causes of relatively low rates of radicalisation in Greece, Italy and Spain.
The book explores many of the dynamics between (non) radicalisation and issues such as socioeconomic inequality, experiences of conflict, and systemic racism and other forms of discrimination. It establishes a new analytical framework for the development of, and resilience against, violent radicalisation in the region and beyond.
Spain was the first European country to suffer a large-scale jihadist attack on its territory—the 2004 train bombings in Madrid claimed by Al-Qaeda. Yet Spanish society’s response at that time, as well as in 2017 following the terrorist attacks in Barcelona, did not embrace a traditional securitised ‘War on Terror’ approach, but rather invested significant resources in engaging civil society in its P/CVE programmes. This chapter investigates why this is so and how we can understand the relatively low polarisation levels in Spain between the institutions, majority society, and Muslim minorities.
This chapter reviews literature relevant to our examination of UK development policy and practice, in six interrelated sections. The first section, on donor interests and aid, highlights the varied ways in which these concepts are understood and measured. The second section probes theoretical approaches to the securitisation of development, tracing its evolution and encompassing contemporary perspectives. A review of empirical studies during the 2010s, examining the securitisation of development across donors, enriches this second section. The third section examines the literature exploring the influence of domestic politics on UK aid and development policy, while the fourth scrutinises scholarship on the soft-power dynamics of aid. The fifth section contextualises UK development within a neoliberal framework and the sixth one briefly reflects on the integration of the concept of sustainable development within development policy and practice.
Euro-American psychology’s strong focus on the individual mind and behavior has become a fundamental part of global development agendas. Concepts like self-regulation, self-actualization, self-efficacy, and behavior change decorate the development discourse. Scholars term this phenomenon the “psychologization of development.” The main driver of this focus is likely rooted in the hegemonic belief that Western psychological theories are universally applicable. Yet, the discipline’s embeddedness in Euro-American imperialism, globalization, and neoliberalism makes its theories particularly un-universal and unfit in many contexts. Nevertheless, people in non-Western societies are increasingly subjected to development interventions targeting their individual behavior. Using examples from research in sub-Saharan Africa of how articulations of harmful witchcraft may increase because of development interventions that promote individualized ways of being and thinking, this article prompts a cultural and decolonial perspective to reimagine other ways of doing development.
The relevance of this study lies in the crucial role of tourism in today’s globalised society, where effective global tourism management is essential for the balanced development and sustainability of the industry amidst dynamic changes. The aim of this study was to analyse research on global tourism management in China and other countries to develop effective management strategies to address contemporary challenges and changes. A systematic approach was employed to investigate this issue, utilising methods such as analysis, comparison, synthesis, deduction, and classification. The study analysed 83 papers, including 36 Chinese and 47 English-language studies, covering various aspects such as concepts, models, power structures, assessment systems, and global management in tourism. These studies were systematised and classified into five categories: the concept of tourism management, the structure of tourism management rights, the tourism management model, the assessment system of tourism management, and global tourism management studies. A review of these aspects was conducted, revealing that research on the concept of tourism management constitutes the largest share. The findings underscored the importance of clearly defining the concept of global tourism management and demonstrated the inefficiency of current global tourism management practices, which lack the necessary operational assessment tools. In terms of the structure of tourism management rights, it was found that different countries employ varying models and bodies of tourism management at the global level. This highlights the need for an integrated and coordinated approach, including the creation of international structures capable of coordinating efforts on the world stage. The study also identified global tourism management as an integral trend, necessitating a deeper examination of its mechanisms to enrich existing research in this field. The study’s materials can serve as a foundation for developing strategies and policies in global tourism management.
How do great-power leaders instrumentalise humanitarianism in sustain-ing the institutional and public mandate demanded by their war agendas?We examine the ‘humanitarian securitisation’ approach adopted bypowerful state leaders as the domestic credibility and popularity of theirwar efforts become increasingly more difficult to guarantee over time. Wedefine humanitarian securitisation as a discursive-hermeneutic processthrough which powerful initiator states frame the humanitarian crisesarising from the terrorism and internal conflicts confronting less powerfultarget states as existential threats to the former’s own survival to bolsterand justify their agendas further. Using Bush’s ‘war on terror’ and Putin’sUkraine invasion as empirical cases, we argue that the humanitariansecuritisation resulting from the artificial insertion of humanitarianisminto the securitisation process becomes a double-edged sword that rein-forces the legitimising and mobilising powers required by great-powerleaders to pursue their narrow self-interests, but at the risk of beingentangled into long drawn-out wars that damage genuine humanitarianefforts. In framing these ‘extraterritorial’ humanitarian crises as collectiveborderless existential threats that all parties affected must decisivelydefeat, this ad hoc and predatory process of humanitarian securitisationalters the form and substance of contemporary humanitarianism in a waythat ultimately exacerbates existing power hierarchies.
Inter-group relations are a popular form of relations between traditional African people and their neighbours. In Nigeria, the Achara Unuhu and Nwogharu Ezza people shared the same ancestral origin. This study used oral history and other qualitative methods to trace the nature of the conflict that manifested between the Achara Unuhu and Nwogharu Ezza people of Ebonyi State Nigeria. Data was collected through focus group discussions and interviews of randomly selected respondents. It found that the conflict led to the loss of lives and properties. This loss of lives and properties in turn led to the reactive peacebuilding action of the people using multi-track strategies to bring back peace. The study maintains that there is therefore need to sustain the peacebuilding and inter-group relation efforts of the Achara Unuhu Izzih community and Nwogharu-Ezza forefathers thereby terminating the factors that drive conflict in the two communities. This study will advance the body of knowledge in traditional peacebuilding processes in Africa. Keywords: Armed conflict, peace, inter-group relations, Achara Unuhu and Nwogharu
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