Volume 18 Number 2

Features

Peacebuilding: Imperialism’s new disguises
Constanze Schellhaas and Annette Seegers

Peacebuilding has been promoted as a new international paradigm guided by humanitarian values and with the objective of bringing peace and justice to war-torn countries. Critics say, however, that peacebuilding is a form of imperialism designed to serve the interests of the powerful in the Bretton Woods system by pacifying and even re-colonising the countries of the South. We assess these perspectives to better understand the main issues and implications of this unfolding debate. Despite the appearance of something new, peacebuilding has the same assumptions as modernisation theory, the Bretton Woods path of development. Most peacebuilding literature, by being non-reflexive, helps legitimise this dominant ideology.

Towards a sustainable peace and reconciliation in Côte d’Ivoire
Bernard N Owusu-Sekyere

The article begins with a profile of the Ivorian civil war which remains at management stage pending the result of a successful democratic election to seal the various agreements signed between the government and the rebel parties. Taking examples from West Africa, a case is presented for constituting and pursuing a reconciliatory process that deals with the hurts and harms arising from human right abuse and extra-judicial killings by both the state army and rebel forces. Reconciliation processes in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa are examined and a truth and reconciliation commission is proposed for Côte d’Ivoire.

Niger Delta militancy and the challenge of criminalising terrorism in Nigeria
Isaac Terwase Sampson

This article examines the dilemma of the Nigerian Legislature in enacting legislation on terrorism with regard to the Niger Delta militancy. It argues that although Nigeria requires legislation on terrorism, such efforts should take cognisance of its peculiar sociopolitical and legal development. It warns that a Western approach to terrorism legislation may exacerbate violence in the Niger Delta in view of the people’s persistent opposition to anti-terrorism legislation as a government ploy to criminalise their campaigns for justice. It further contends that in spite of its criminal manifestation, the Niger Delta crisis stems from genuine grievances about amongst others sustained state neglect, protracted desecration of the local environment and destruction of sources of livelihood. The article concludes by offering political and legal strategies for combating terrorism in Nigeria without exacerbating the Niger Delta situation.

People-to-people peacemaking and peacebuilding: A review of the work of the New Sudan Council of Churches
Titus Agwanda and Geoff Harris

This article examines the peacemaking work of the New Sudan Council of Churches in southern Sudan, particularly since 1997, which focuses on reaching peace agreements between conflicting parties. This peacemaking work has had impressive successes but its effectiveness is under threat from a number of factors following the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement which have resulted in high levels of intra- and inter-community violence. In traditional communities, conflict-resolving procedures are often limited when faced with contemporary conflicts. To protect these peace agreements and to help build sustainable peace, this article recommends a greater emphasis on peacebuilding, in both its conflict prevention and recovery aspects. A four-stage model of peacebuilding is proposed and seven important components of a peacebuilding strategy are presented.

Essays

The potential impact of HIV/AIDS on the South African armed forces: Some evidence from outside and with
Lindy Heinecken

HIV/AIDS has wide ramifications for the armed forces, especially in those regions where the epidemic is most prevalent. Understanding how this disease affects armed forces and more specifically the SANDF as regional military power is not only of national but also of regional and international concern. In this article an attempt is made to uncover how HIV/AIDS affects force procurement, namely the ability to recruit suitable candidates for military service in South Africa. The discussion then moves to within the SANDF and an effort is made to indentify possible problem areas in terms of personnel shortages by looking at current rates of attrition in certain age and occupational categories. In light of this, the impact on force employment and deployment is assessed. In the final section the influence HIV/AIDS has on force sustainment is discussed, as well as the health, financial and diplomatic and human rights implications this disease poses for armed forces.

Arms restraint and regional international law making: The case of the Economic Community of West African States
Denise Garcia

This article analyses the political evolution and legal structure of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Related Material, adopted in 2006, within the broader context of the small arms debate at the regional (initiatives by Mali) and international levels, principally at the United Nations. The ECOWAS Convention breaks new ground as it is based on human security, international humanitarian law, sustainable development and human rights principles. The ECOWAS Convention is groundbreaking in many respects. It is innovative especially vis-à-vis basing its text on international humanitarian law, international human rights law and development needs. In comparison with all other instruments of law on small arms, it is one of the most evolved.

Enhancing counterterrorism cooperation in eastern Africa
Eric Rosand, Alistair Millar and Jason Ipe

In this article an overview is provided of the terrorist threat and vulnerabilities in eastern Africa, where all countries have been victimised by terrorism in one form or another, and of the capacity of governments to respond.    

The article highlights both the lack of sub-regional counterterrorism cooperation and the emphasis that has so far been placed on the need for military, law enforcement, and other security-related responses to the threat. It calls for a broader-based, long-term strategy in eastern Africa not only to thwart and respond to terrorist attacks, but to prevent the violent radicalisation of local populations which might resort to terrorism in the future.

The article looks at the response at the sub-regional level and what has developed into the primary mechanism for fostering deeper sub-regional cooperation, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development’s Capacity Building Programme against Terrorism, and how these may be improved. It also examines how the United Nations can help strengthen that cooperation and the opportunity offered by the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. It argues that ICPAT, with its technical focus and relative success to date, offers a solid foundation to improve counterterrorism cooperation in eastern Africa and between the sub-region and the United Nations, and has a key role to play in carrying forward implementation of the UN Strategy, serving as an interlocutor between the sub-region and the international community. 

It concludes that counterterrorism efforts in eastern Africa need to be grounded in the needs and priorities of countries in the sub-region and that more must be done by key counterterrorism donors, UN agencies, and others not only to enhance the security-related capacities of countries in sub-region but to address the underlying conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism there as well.

Commentaries

The scramble for mineral resources in Cameroon: How can the government learn from previous conflicts and social responsibility failures?
Rexon T Nting

All across Africa there are conflicts of different levels of intensity that are linked to mineral resource capture and post-investment failures regarding social responsibility. Owing to an increase in commodity prices, the Republic of Cameroon has recently experienced an influx of transnational companies wishing to exploit its mineral deposits.

This article argues that as a result of high levels of government corruption, conflicts linked to social responsibility failures are bound to occur unless appropriate measures are taken. It suggests that the best way to avoid conflict is to institute a system of checks and balances and engage the local community in the management of revenues generated by mineral exploitation.

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