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Abstract: This is a transcript of an event held on 5 October at Chatham House. The panellists, drawn from the Middle East and North Africa Programme's regional experts, examined the latest round of negotiations aimed at resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict.
As the latest round of negotiations aimed at resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict was embarked on in September 2010, the regional ramifications of the much-interrupted peace process have never appeared more important. State actors close to the conflict such as Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and non-state actors such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza, all have a stake in the outcome of the peace talks. Together with the wider Arab League membership and Iran, not all of them wish the process to succeed, or succeed on the terms envisaged by the US and its allies in the European Union.
This panel drawn from the Middle East and North Africa Programme's regional experts will examine what is at stake for the regional neighbours of Israel and the Palestinians. What influence have they had over the initial progress of the negotiations? Are their actions critical in helping or hindering the outcome of the bilateral talks? What alternatives or reactions might they envisage should this latest attempt at peace fail?
Abstract: How do societies emerging from war come to terms with their recent violent past? How can people and communities, which are deeply divided and traumatized by war and gross human rights violations, regain trust in their fellow citizens and state institutions? How can they achieve a sense of security and economic stability, rebuild a system of shared values, participatory political structures and an inclusive identity? How can a past that is marked by violence be overcome, and a common future shaped? The peaceful transformation of post-conflict societies is undoubtedly a long and complex process, which ultimately has to involve all layers and structures of a society. However, experience gained over past decades has shown that restoring justice and the rule of law, truth-seeking mechanisms and the development of new social relationships are central to this process.
This FriEnt Briefing Paper explains terminology and concepts of relevance to transitional justice, identifies key challenges and issues arising for development and peace organisations, highlights the most significant problems, and outlines strategies for action.
Abstract: The popular protests in Egypt have signalled major political change but also uncertainty. What lies on the road ahead?
Amongst other issues, Shadi Hamid explored the wider implications of unrest in this region, Ginny Hill examined the knock-on effect in Yemen and Dr Maha Azzam addressed the role of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Abstract: In Africa – as in other regions of the world – political, economic and social upheavals often fracture society along cultural and/or religious lines. Whether such scenarios escalate into violent conflict or can be managed peacefully depends on many internal and external factors.
The existence of a democratic and well-functioning state is undoubtedly a key prerequisite for non-violent change. Peaceful transformation has good chances, too, when recognised legal mechanisms for conflict management are available. A further factor is the presence of values, traditions, experiences and actors that facilitate a constructive debate between different groups, interests and opinions about ways of shaping society's future. Development policy and civilian conflict transformation are therefore increasingly focussing their attention on the role and significance of religion(s) in this context.
Religious beliefs and faith communities can help individuals and groups understand the changes occurring in their social environment and encourage them to examine and redefine ethical and social norms. They can also provide guidance for social relations. But in some cases, this guidance may be over-simplistic, denying the individual the opportunity to deal with change, reinforcing the status quo and perhaps even heightening tensions. In most societies and conflict scenarios, both these tendencies exist in a variety of forms.
Religion can thus be both an opportunity for and an impediment to the constructive management of development blockades and peaceful conflict transformation. This raises various questions about the relationship between religion(s), development, violence and peace, and between faith communities and development organisations.
In the context of Africa, development cooperation organisations are currently considering whether, and in which situations, religious (especially Islamic) actors offer untapped potential for promoting development cooperation. They are also exploring the role of religious differences and identities in inciting or resolving political crises. Four interrelated aspects are discussed in this briefing paper in order to facilitate discussions on religion and international cooperation.
Abstract: This paper examines the challenges facing the protracted crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo as they relate to the international response in eastern DRC, with a particular focus on the relationship between humanitarian assistance, early recovery and stabilisation.
It argues that supporting recovery in DRC requires flexible, risk-tolerant programming. All actors involved need to carefully consider the relationship between assistance, security and recovery, and move beyond simplistic assumptions about how peace and stability can be fostered and encouraged. For humanitarians, there is no time like the present to discuss how to pursue principled humanitarian action and advocate for the protection of civilians, amidst the complex interaction of aid, politics and security.
Abstract: Conducted in the framework of the European Commission program to "Support to peace and stabilization in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo", this study aims to better understand the role of civil society in peace-building. Based on the results of field research, the study identifies more than 150 organisations. The report describes the peacebuilding sector and the challenges the actors are facing, and provides a detailed and documented analysis of some local peace initiatives, focusing on key methodologies: Mediation, action-research and advocacy. Finally, the study offers recommendations for improving the peacebuilding practices of civil society actors as well as their financial and technical partners.
Abstract: This primer on subnational government in Afghanistan is meant to inform efforts to strengthen local government in recently cleared areas. Among the problems afflicting the Afghan state are the lack of effective service provision and representation, which together should constitute the base of the state's legitimacy. This paper identifies the various entities of local government and identifies opportunities for improvement. It is based on a review of the available academic and nongovernmental studies of subnational government in Afghanistan and interviews with civilian experts, including consultants attached to U.S. and allied government agencies. Opportunities to make the system more participatory and representative should be sought at lower levels to compensate for weak central institutions, and the court system must be strengthened where possible. Good intelligence about local politics must precede engagement. Governance metrics should gauge subjective perceptions of the legitimacy of the Afghan state, rather than objective outputs.
Abstract: Written by Patrice Sartre, a retired French Marine General, this report recounts the achievements and weaknesses of United Nations peacekeeping operations while considering ways to increase robustness.
In the executive summary, Mr. Sartre writes: “The debate about robust peacekeeping pits the enthusiasm of ‘diplomats,’ who believe in peacekeeping but worry that it might not succeed in violent situations, against the scepticism of the ‘military,’ who see its failures as proof that the proper role of military forces is war fighting."
Mr. Sartre served in peace operations in Africa and the former-Yugoslavia. He currently lectures on African Security, UN and EU peacekeeping, and counter-piracy.
Abstract: Ten years after signature of the Ohrid Framework Agreement - OFA - that ended fighting between the country’s ethnic Albanians and Macedonians, much of the agreement has been implemented, and a resumption of armed conflict is unlikely. Macedonia is justified in celebrating its success in integrating minorities into political life, but inter-party and inter-ethnic tensions have been growing for five years. While this part of the Balkans looks to eventual EU membership to secure stability, it remains fragile, and worrying trends – rising ethnic Macedonian nationalism, state capture by the prime minister and his party, decline in media and judicial independence, increased segregation in schools and slow decentralisation – risk undermining the multi-ethnic civil state Macedonia can become. Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, who has just formed a new government, should work closely with his Albanian coalition partners and opposition parties to pass and implement the measures needed for more democratisation, inter-ethnic reconciliation and a solution to the name dispute with Greece.
Abstract: Multiple threats to Libya's stability and public order could emerge if the Qaddafi regime falls. Scenarios range from Qaddafi loyalist forces launching a violent resistance to internecine warfare breaking out among the rebel factions. This instability in Libya could lead to a humanitarian disaster, the emergence of a new authoritarian ruler, or even the country’s dissolution. Given these potential consequences, Daniel Serwer recommends in this Center for Preventive Action Contingency Planning Memorandum that the European Union lead a post-Qaddafi stabilization force in Libya. The force preferably should fall under the United Nations umbrella with modest participation from the African Union and Arab League. The United States should support the stabilization effort with the aim of helping to establish a united and sovereign Libya with inclusive democratic institutions.
Abstract: Three years after their August 2008 war over the South Ossetia region, tension is growing again between Russia and Georgia, and talks are needed to restore stability and create positive momentum in a situation that is fragile and potentially explosive. Diplomatic relations are suspended, and the two have only started limited negotiations, with Swiss mediation, on Russia’s World Trade Organisation membership. Yet, they share interests in improving regional security, trade and transport and should start discussions on these rather than continuing to exchange hostile rhetoric that only makes renewed dialogue more difficult.
Lack of contact has increased distrust since the fighting ended. For Georgia, Russia is an occupier who is undermining its sovereignty and security. While almost the entire international community regards South Ossetia and Abkhazia as parts of sovereign Georgia, Russia recognised both as independent shortly after the war. Moscow maintains an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 combat, security, and border forces in those two territories and is building and refurbishing permanent military bases there, in violation of the ceasefire brokered by the EU presidency in 2008. Some 20,000 persons displaced that year have been prevented from returning home, and casualties still occur along the administrative border lines.
Abstract: State-building is currently considered to be an indispensable process in overcoming state fragility: a condition characterized by frequent armed conflicts as well as chronic poverty. In this process, both the capacity and the legitimacy of the state are supposed to be enhanced; such balanced development of capacity and legitimacy has also been demanded in security sector reform , which is regarded as being a crucial part of post-conflict state-building. To enhance legitimacy, the importance of democratic governance is stressed in both state-building and SSR post-conflict countries. In reality, however, the balanced enhancement of capacity and legitimacy has rarely been realized. In particular, legitimacy enhancement tends to stagnate in countries in which one of multiple warring parties takes a strong grip on state power. This paper tries to understand why such unbalanced development of state-building and SSR has been observed in post-conflict countries, through a case study of Rwanda. Analyses of two policy initiatives in the security sector – Gacaca transitional justice and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration – indicate that although these programs achieved goals set by the government, their contribution to the normative objectives promoted by the international community was quite debatable. It can be understood that this is because the country has subordinated SSR to its state-building process. After the military victory of the former rebels, the Rwandan Patriotic Front, the ruling elite prioritized the establishment of political stability over the introduction of international norms such as democratic governance and the rule of law. SSR was implemented only to the extent that it contributed to, and did not threaten, Rwanda’s RPF-led state-building.
Abstract: The main focus of this paper, part of the series of Barbara Faye Waxman Fiduccia papers on women and girls with disabilities, is to makes the argument for better inclusion of women with disabilities in peace building and reconciliation processes.
The author provides an overview of the situation of disabled women internationally and in conflict environments, discussing the double or intersectional discrimination that these women face. She highlights the dearth of data on women with disabilities, and argues for more the collection and analysis detailed disaggregated data on this area. The paper goes on to argue that disabled women are far more likely to experience domestic and conflict related gender based violence, and are more vulnerable to HIV infection. They also are often unable to access justice post-conflict. However, the author argues that disabled women are not only to be seen as victims, and they must actively be involved in peace building and reconciliation.
Abstract: This paper examines three possible impacts of the death of Osama bin Laden on the war on terror from the perspective of countries surrounding Afghanistan. A first scenario sees America abandoning the global war on terror on the territory of Afghanistan and moving its attention to new fronts, such as containing the uprisings in the Middle East or countering the economic rise of China, which will not suit the countries surrounding Afghanistan where terrorism remains a problem.
The second trajectory may see a deeper entrenchment of the American presence in the region through the enactment of a strategic agreement between America and Afghanistan.
The third possible implication of the Bin Laden killing is the possibility of a political settlement through reconciliation with the Taliban and their integration into the Afghan political process.
The paper suggests that any alternative to regional diplomacy for regional reconciliation would be the fragmentation and partition of Afghanistan along ethnic fault lines, which is undesirable for the region and for Afghanistan itself. Security guarantees need to come from within the region through a resumption of political dialogue and the intensification of economic relations among the region’s countries, a process that can be facilitated by regional and international organisations.
Abstract: L’arrivée au pouvoir du président élu Ouattara ne doit pas masquer la réalité. La Côte d’Ivoire reste un pays fragile et instable. Les atrocités commises après le second tour de l’élection présidentielle du 28 novembre 2010 et la tentative de confiscation par tous les moyens du pouvoir perdu dans les urnes par Laurent Gbagbo ont renforcé les tensions communautaires déjà très vives. Les prochains mois seront cruciaux. Il appartient au nouveau gouvernement de ne pas sous-estimer les menaces qui pèseront pendant longtemps sur la paix et de rompre avec la légèreté et l’ivresse du pouvoir qui ont conduit le pays à des choix désastreux au cours des deux dernières décennies. La communauté internationale doit maintenir un regard attentif sur la période actuelle de transition et jouer sa partition dans les domaines de la sécurité, de l’économie et de la coordination de la réponse humanitaire. Le président doit prendre des décisions courageuses dans les registres de la sécurité, de la justice, du dialogue politique, du redémarrage économique et intégrer un élément de réconciliation dans chacun de ces domaines.
Abstract: Scores were killed in Syria as security forces backed by tanks launched an assault on the restive central city of Hama and other towns and cities, at the end of a month which saw hundreds of thousands take to the streets as daily anti-regime protests continued to spread. Syrian rights groups reported that more than 1,600 people have been killed and at least 12,000 arrested since the unrest began in March.
In Yemen violence escalated in Arhab, a mountainous area northeast of the capital Sanaa, where at least 40 were killed at the end of the month in clashes between government forces and armed tribesmen loyal to the opposition.
The UN declared a state of famine in Somalia's Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, both controlled by Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab, following the worst drought in half a century and protracted instability.
There were hopes for political reconciliation in Burundi, as opposition parties welcomed President Pierre Nkurunziza's 30 June Independence Day speech inviting opposition leaders to return from exile and resume talks with the government.
In Malawi security forces used live ammunition to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters from 20-21 July, leaving at least eighteen people dead.
At least one presidential guard was killed on 19 July during two separate attacks on the home of Guinea's President Alpha Condé. Security forces arrested 38 people in connection with the attacks, including 25 military personnel. Most of those arrested have links with former junta leader Sekouba Konaté.
Ethnic violence flared in Pakistan's second city and commercial hub Karachi, leaving more than 200 people dead. July was the deadliest month in decades for clashes between supporters of the mainly Pashtun Awami National Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, representing the Urdu-speaking majority.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban stepped up their assassination campaign against government officials and key allies of President Hamid Karzai. Ahmed Wali Karzai, the president's half-brother and influential governor of volatile Kandahar province, was killed by his own bodyguard on 12 July, while the mayor of Kandahar city and a top adviser to the president died in separate suicide attacks later in the month.
Tensions soared in Kosovo late month after Kosovo special police attempted to take control of two customs posts in the north to enforce a new ban on imports from Serbia, triggering a violent response from Kosovo Serbs.
Abstract: Cash for guns or buy-back programmes in post-conflict states have fallen out of favour as a method of ridding a society of weapons, and have been replaced by often elaborate schemes designed to remove money from the equation, but the debate continues as to the best way forward.
The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) community has grappled for years with buy-back practices and acknowledges they can have a profound effect on the nature of peace and even encourage a return to conflict. However, sometimes they can be termed “good practice”.
Nelson Alusala, author of a monograph published recently by the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies - entitled Reintegrating ex-Combatants in the Great Lakes Region, and charting the largest DDR programme ever undertaken to support about 400,000 ex-combatants in nine countries - outlines the dangers of buy-back.
Abstract: The war in Iraq remains a critical aspect of US national security, and involves more vital US strategic interests than the conflict in Afghanistan. Estimates by the Energy Information Agency of the Department of Energy indicate that the US and global economy will not reduces their strategic dependence on the Gulf petroleum exports through 2035, and Iraq’s future alignments with the US will be critical to determining our ability to contain Iran and ensure the security of our Arab allies and Israel.
It is also clear that Iraq still has an uncertain capability to deal with its extremist and terrorist threats, deter any foreign threats and pressure, and limit the risk of new outbreaks of ethnic and sectarian violence without US aid. The fact that Iraq’s leadership has agreed to ask some US forces to stay is only one indication of the issues involved, and the problems that have been highlighted by other research centers like RAND and the ICG. Iraq still has broad needs for US aid and assistance, and it will be years before rises in its petroleum revenues will allow it to fully fund its internal security and development, and create military forces strong enough to ensure its security against neighbors like Iran.
The Burke Chair has developed a new series of summary briefings on on Iraq that highlight recent developments in the war, as well as trends in Iraq’s security, its politics and governance, its economy, and its security forces.
The three briefings in this series also provide an overview of developments in the Iraqi energy sector and the current capabilities and size of Iraqi security forces (ISF), and their dependence on aid. They summarize the cost of the war to date to the US, the patterns in the withdrawal of US forces, and current plans for the US military withdrawal from Iraq. They also provide a summary of plans for a US State Department-led effort to create a strategic partnership with Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement.
The briefs include the following documents:
Iraq in Transition: Security, Iraqi Forces, and US Security Aid Plans . This brief highlights the timelines and history that have shaped Iraq since the US invasion in 2003. It also highlights the fact that violence in Iraq remains a major problem, and that there are still serious limits to the capabilities of Iraq’s security forces and there is a need for continued US security assistance.
Iraq in Transition: Governance, Politics, Economics, and PetroleumIraq in Transition: Governance, Politics, Economics, and Petroleum. This brief warns that Iraq still lacks effective governance, its politics remain highly unstable and threaten the success of a truly democratic government, and that its economy will need years of development to rescue the bulk of its people from poverty and fund a stable path towards development.
Iraq in Transition: US Transition Plans and Aid. This brief summarizes current US transition plans, the history of international and US aid flows, and the problems and successes in the US aid effort. It warns of the future difficulties the US will face in making aid effective, particularly as it shifts to a much lower profile of aid in governance and economics with minimal funding.
Abstract: The war in Iraq remains a critical aspect of US national security, and involves more vital US strategic interests than the conflict in Afghanistan. Estimates by the Energy Information Agency of the Department of Energy indicate that the US and global economy will not reduces their strategic dependence on the Gulf petroleum exports through 2035, and Iraq’s future alignments with the US will be critical to determining our ability to contain Iran and ensure the security of our Arab allies and Israel.
It is also clear that Iraq still has an uncertain capability to deal with its extremist and terrorist threats, deter any foreign threats and pressure, and limit the risk of new outbreaks of ethnic and sectarian violence without US aid. The fact that Iraq’s leadership has agreed to ask some US forces to stay is only one indication of the issues involved, and the problems that have been highlighted by other research centers like RAND and the ICG. Iraq still has broad needs for US aid and assistance, and it will be years before rises in its petroleum revenues will allow it to fully fund its internal security and development, and create military forces strong enough to ensure its security against neighbors like Iran. The Burke Chair has developed a new series of summary briefings on on Iraq that highlight recent developments in the war, as well as trends in Iraq’s security, its politics and governance, its economy, and its security forces.
The three briefings in this series also provide an overview of developments in the Iraqi energy sector and the current capabilities and size of Iraqi security forces (ISF), and their dependence on aid. They summarize the cost of the war to date to the US, the patterns in the withdrawal of US forces, and current plans for the US military withdrawal from Iraq. They also provide a summary of plans for a US State Department-led effort to create a strategic partnership with Iraq under the Strategic Framework Agreement.
The briefs include the following documents:
Iraq in Transition: Security, Iraqi Forces, and US Security Aid Plans. This brief highlights the timelines and history that have shaped Iraq since the US invasion in 2003. It also highlights the fact that violence in Iraq remains a major problem, and that there are still serious limits to the capabilities of Iraq’s security forces and there is a need for continued US security assistance.
Iraq in Transition: Governance, Politics, Economics, and Petroleum. This brief warns that Iraq still lacks effective governance, its politics remain highly unstable and threaten the success of a truly democratic government, and that its economy will need years of development to rescue the bulk of its people from poverty and fund a stable path towards development.
Iraq in Transition: US Transition Plans and Aid. This brief summarizes current US transition plans, the history of international and US aid flows, and the problems and successes in the US aid effort. It warns of the future difficulties the US will face in making aid effective, particularly as it shifts to a much lower profile of aid in governance and economics with minimal funding.
Abstract: The Asia Foundation commissioned a study in August 2010 to examine the dynamics of gender and conflict
in Mindanao. Leslie Dwyer and Rufa Guiam conducted field-based research and a literature review
to identify challenges and opportunities for women and men in community and national peacebuilding.
Their report argues that programming is more effective when comprehensive gender analysis is utilized,
and that such an approach can be transformative in societies trying to emerge from conflict.
Abstract: Since its inception the United Nations has
had a relationship with Africa which has vacillated
between paternalism and partnership. In
1945 only four African countries were independent
members of the UN and in these early
decades African countries were effectively
preached to rather than consulted as equals.
Paternalism can best be characterized as a topdown
unidirectional relationship where one
party establishes the framework and issues strictures
for the development of a second party.
Partnership on the other hand involves a mutually
enriching relationship based on respect and
collaboration established through dialogue.
Given the asymmetrical relationship that the UN
had with Africa, particularly in the early years, a
culture of paternalism developed between the
organisation and the continent. Since then Africa
has been trying to challenge and dispense
with paternalistic attitudes from, and within, the
UN system.
Today, Africa is attempting to forge
an identity as a collective entity capable of
functioning as an equal partner in the
international sphere. Five years after the launch
of the African Union it is appropriate to
interrogate the relationship between Africa and
the UN. One view is that we are witnessing the
emergence of a UN-AU partnership particularly
in peace operations. The AU’s role in stabilising
the situation in Burundi prior to the
establishment of a UN peace operation remains
a key model of collaboration. Efforts are
currently underway to forge a hybrid
partnership with Africa particularly on the
Darfur issue. This involves the establishment of a
hybrid UN-AU force to stabilize the situation in
the region. This paper analyses the extent to
which such a hybrid partnership exists.
Abstract: This briefing note outlines practical and achievable steps that the
UN Security Council can take to ensure stronger protection for children
affected by armed conflict. The recommendations detailed in this note
are based on 32 interviews with child protection stakeholders, including
members of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed
Conflict (Working Group), UN agencies, field- and headquarters-based
nongovernmental organization (NGO) staff, members of the Group of
Friends, and subject experts. The note is timed to coincide with the
Security Council’s annual Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict
(CAC), scheduled for July 2011, and seeks to inform any discussions
regarding a new Security Council resolution.
Abstract: Nearly three generations of Angolans have been at war for 41 years. Together with the destruction of most of the country’s infrastructure, the social capital of Angola’s communities was damaged during one of the longest wars in Africa, a war that was preceded by 500 years of slavery and colonialisation. The war resulted in 500,000 to 1 million war-related deaths; hundreds of thousands of people were directly affected by the armed conflict; there were major internal population displacements of approximately 4.5 million people throughout the country, and approximately 400,000 thousand people fled to neighbouring countries as refugees. Throughout this process, people suffered enormous physical and emotional damage, families were separated; communities were repeatedly fragmented and dispersed. The institutional capacity to design and implement projects of collective interest was crippled. The infrastructure to deliver social services such as health and education was largely destroyed. There are an estimated 2-7 million landmines scattered across Angola; the road network is in tatters, and food production remains below minimum levels of food security.
The level of vulnerability among the general population in Angola is one of the highest in the world. A greater percentage of Angolan people are at risk of disease and destitution than in virtually any other African country. In January 2004, more than 20 percent of the entire population (4 million) was still displaced and at least 10 percent dependent on external assistance to survive. Of the displaced peoples, 65 percent were under the age of 15, with women and children making up more than 80 percent of the total. Displaced and refugee/returnee women and girls are particularly vulnerable to the effects of violence and poverty. Amongst the most vulnerable in this group, are the girls who were separated from their families during the armed conflict. In this group, the formerly abducted girl soldiers are the most excluded and most vulnerable.
Abstract: Over 300,000 children are estimated to be conscripted participants in conflicts
throughout the world. Depending on the particular armed group that
employs child soldiers, girls represent 6 to 50% of child soldiers. Despite this
prevalence of involvement, the experience of girls as soldiers in war and political
conflict has rarely been investigated. In order to build a foundation for more
focused study on girl soldier experiences, this literature review aims to provide
a comprehensive report of girl soldiers throughout the world. The analysis focused
on three aspects of conflict experience: (1) how girls become affiliated
with armed groups; (2) their experiences while associated with armed groups;
and (3) the effects of participation in war. Particular attention was given to
whether girls’ experiences vary across geographic area. Generally, in African
conflicts (e.g., Sierra Leone and northern Uganda) girls become affiliated with
armed groups through abduction. Often, they experience sexual abuse and,
as a result, are stigmatized by their families and communities when they return
home. In contrast, in the Americas (e.g., Colombia and El Salvador) and
in Indonesia/South Pacific (e.g., Philippines and Sri Lanka) girls become involved
as an escape from unpleasant home lives. These girls are less likely to
experience sexual abuse, and do not experience the same stigmatization from
families and communities. Often these girls are taught a skill, such as nursing,
while with an armed group but are unable to find job opportunities post-war
using their newly acquired skill. The apparent variations in girls’ experiences in
armed conflict have implications for both research and application in helping
focus attention on the conflict-specific aspects of girls’ experiences. In some
regions both research and applied efforts need to focus on the effects and treatment
of sexual abuse, whereas in other conflicts, time and resources would be
better spent at understanding and promoting female integration into the postconflict
occupational sphere.
Abstract: Although women routinely display remarkable resilience and fortitude by adopting
new roles and taking on new responsibilities when confronted by the ravages of war,
they continue to be depicted by many humanitarian actors as being intrinsically weak
and vulnerable – a depiction that results in the perceptible absence of women from
decision-making bodies both during and in the wake of conflict. This article argues for
the need to consider the plurality of women’s experiences in war, including as female
heads of households, as victims (and survivors) of sexual violence, as community
leaders, and as armed combatants.
