I William Zartman: A Pioneer in Conflict Management and Area Studies


Book Description

The work draws on wide-ranging area analysis to develop inductively new concepts and approaches for further use in explanation and application. Divided into two parts, it begins with analysis of revolution and socio-political unrest, followed by models of ethnic conflict and elite circulation in developing societies. It presents the cultural dialectic present in Islam. It then lays out the patterns of mediation and negotiation in managing and resolving conflict, culminating with an analysis of intractables. Part two on governance lays out the nature of world order, cooperation, and conciliation. It then turns to the challenges of identity, ideology, and interest, with some specific attention to the nature of borders and borderlands, and focuses on governance as conflict management and as negotiation. - This book encompasses a new analysis of a neglected part of International Relation, the prevention and management of conflict. - The book confronts sources and patterns of contentious politics with systems and methods of governance. - The book lays out a comprehensive conceptualization of the process of conflict management and negotiation, including questions of when as well as how.




Rethinking Conflict Resolution and Management


Book Description

Rethinking and revising the established knowledge and practice of conflict resolution and management, this innovative book brings together complementary perspectives to consider what novel approaches to conflict need to be invented after the collapse of the World Order.




Adaptive Mediation and Conflict Resolution


Book Description

This open access book introduces adaptive mediation as an alternative approach that enables mediators to go beyond liberal peace mediation, or other determined-design models of mediation, in the context of contemporary conflict resolution and peace-making initiatives. Adaptive mediation is grounded in complexity theory, and is specifically designed to cope with highly dynamic conflict situations characterized by uncertainty and a lack of predictability. It is also a facilitated mediation process whereby the content of agreements emerges from the parties to the conflict themselves, informed by the context within which the conflict is situated. This book presents the core principles and practices of adaptive mediation in conjunction with empirical evidence from four diverse case studies – Colombia, Mozambique, The Philippines, and Syria – with a view to generate recommendations for how mediators can apply adaptive mediation approaches to resolve and transform contemporary and future armed conflicts.




Revisiting the “Ripeness” Debate


Book Description

This book takes stock of the accumulated body of literature on ripeness theory, inspired by the seminal work of I. William Zartman. The book posits the continued relevance of the ripeness theory, well into the 21st century, and sheds new light on the potential for further development. The timing of efforts for resolution, either negotiation or mediation, is always a central concern for policy makers and scholars alike in the field of international conflict resolution. The work of I. William Zartman on ripeness was a groundbreaker in the long-standing inquiry into this key question, and over more than three decades, the notion of a ripe moment and its adjuncts, such as a mutually hurting stalemate and a mutually enticing opportunity, has not only served as an essential policy guidance but also inspired wide-ranging research programs. The chapters in this edited volume feature studies intended to advance ripeness theory conceptually, test it empirically through case studies for possible implications to the theory itself, or examine relations with related concepts and theories. This volume is divided into two parts. The Foreword and the chapters included in Part I were originally published as a special issue of the journal Ethnopolitics. Part II features, first and foremost, Zartman’s own seminal article published in the inaugural issue of the same journal. It also includes other recently published articles in journals such as Security Studies, Civil Wars, and Studies in Conflict & Terrorism that are considered to have made important contributions to the debate on the subject.




Conflict and Post-Conflict Governance in the Middle East and Africa


Book Description

This book explores the challenges of the governance and public policy in the midst and after conflicts, revolutions, and civil wars in the Middle East and Africa. As anywhere else, the task of rebuilding peace and institutionalizing stability in countries experiencing a conflict or just emerging from it is daunting, uncertain and context specific. Yet, focusing on the Middle East and Africa is of particular relevance, as these two regions feature the highest numbers of inter- and intra-state conflicts on the one hand, and the central states are more often contested than in the rest of world regions. The first half of the book proposes different cases addressing the fundamental challenge of inclusion and cohesion as well as the recurring issue of exclusion in conflict-affected situations, with four different cultural and institutional settings. The second half of the book offers more theoretical insights and proposed pathways to develop more inclusive and peaceful governance settings in Africa, the Middle East and beyond. This edited book has been designed to be a helpful contribution to the analysis of conflict and post-conflict governance and peacebuilding. To do so, it deploys different lenses of social sciences, especially public policy and international relations, but also benefits from social psychology, political anthropology, and other disciplines that enable a more comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted, complex and dynamic issues at play.




World Politics in the Age of Uncertainty


Book Description

This is a comprehensive book series that comprises two distinct yet interconnected volumes. Volume I focuses on international relations and global politics, while Volume II delves into social sciences and humanities studies. Both volumes revolve around the central theme of the COVID-19 pandemic era, exploring its profound impact on various aspects of the world. In Volume I, scholars, and experts in the field of international relations delve into the intricate dynamics of global politics in the context of the pandemic. They analyse the shifting power dynamics, the role of international organisations, the challenges to global governance, and the geopolitical implications of the crisis. This book provides valuable insights into how the pandemic has shaped and transformed the international system, influencing state behaviour, diplomatic relations, and global cooperation. Volume II takes a multidisciplinary approach, examining the social, cultural, economic, and psychological dimensions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts from the fields of social sciences and humanities contribute their research and perspectives, offering critical analyses of the pandemic's effects on societies, communities, individuals, and various aspects of human life. Together, these two volumes provide a comprehensive exploration of the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on world politics, society, and human experiences. By bringing together scholars from different disciplines, the book series offers a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities presented by this unprecedented global crisis. It serves as a valuable resource for academics, policymakers, and anyone seeking to comprehend and navigate the complexities of the COVID-19 era.




Conflict Mediation in the Arab World


Book Description

The Middle East and North Africa region has been plagued with civil wars, international interventions, and increasing militarization, making it one of the most war-affected areas in the world today. Despite numerous mediation processes and initiatives for conflict resolution, most have failed to transform conflicts from war to peace. Seeking to learn from these past efforts and apply new research, Fraihat and Svensson present the first comprehensive approach to mediation in the Arab world, taking on cases from Yemen to Sudan, from Qatar to Palestine, Syria, and beyond. Conflict Mediation in the Arab World focuses on mediation at three different levels of analysis: between countries, between governments and armed actors inside single countries, and between different communities. In applying this holistic method, the editors identify similarities and differences in the conditions for conflict resolution and management. Drawing upon the work of experts in the field with a deep understanding of the increasing complexities and changing dynamics of the region, this volume offers a valuable resource for academics, policy makers, and practitioners interested in conflict resolution and management in the Middle East and North Africa.




The New Silk Road Grand Strategy and the Maghreb


Book Description

Examining Chinese-North African relations through the lens of President Xi Jinping’s Silk Road grand strategy, this book offers a comprehensive analysis of emerging strategic and economic partnerships in the Maghreb region. China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ (BRI) is one of the most ambitious infrastructure projects in modern history. This book argues that the BRI framework is vital in understanding the shifting balance of power within the Maghreb region and between the North African countries, the EU, the US, and China. It is argued that an increasing interdependence can be observed between China and the Maghreb in energy, construction, infrastructure building, political ties, trade and investments, financial integration, people-to-people bonds, and defence. The author reveals the complexities and challenges of Beijing's BRI, exploring how this synergy will shape the Maghreb in the future. Additionally, the book argues that the balance of global politics will be critically affected by these emerging partnerships. The book will be of particular interest to students and academics focused on interstate dynamics and foreign policy in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region, but in its global ramifications the book is also much-needed reading for those working in International Relations, Politics and Economics, and Public Policy.




Perspectives on the State Borders in Globalized Africa


Book Description

Assessing the different kinds of borders between African nations, the contributors present a borderland and trans-region approach to understanding the challenges and opportunities facing the peoples of the African continent. Africa faces rampant violence, terrorism, deterioration of water-energy-food provision, influxes of refugees and immigrants, and religious hatred under the trends of globalization. Solutions for these issues require new perspectives that are not attempted by conventional state-building approaches. Statehood is limited in many places on the African continent because many states are combined by loose political ties. African states’ borders tend to be regarded as porous and fragile. However, as the contributors to this volume argue, those porous borders can contribute to cultural and socio-economic network construction beyond states and the creation of active borderlands by increasing people’s mobility, contact, and trade. A must read for scholars of African studies that will also be of great value to academics and students with a broader interest in nationhood, globalization, and borders.




Revolution and Democracy in Tunisia


Book Description

This book offers a novel and interdisciplinary exploration of revolution as situated protest in Tunisia. Larbi Sadiki and Layla Saleh present extensive local evidence to demonstrate that popular resistance has been a mainstay of modern Tunisia before, during, and after colonialism. Protest makes peoplehood, and peoplehood makes protest: neither is self-contained. The book explores the rich history and diversity of insurrectionary politics in Tunisia from the onset of protests in the 1960s up to the 2011 Arab Spring revolution and beyond, exploring bottom-up activism (hirak) and revolution (thawrah). The six protestscapes presented in the volume (unions, student activists, the phosphate uprising, the 2010-11 revolution, Kamour, and football ultras) offer a novel way of examining partial 'moving snapshots' that are crucial to understanding revolution. They counter the prevailing narrative of revolution as leaderless, a spontaneous surprise with no historical pedigree or inherited learning, and depict instead an active citizenry whose collective memories are stamped by trials of anti-colonial and anti-dictatorial rebellion.