POLI 358 CONFLICT AND SOCIETY IN AFRICA

Transcription

1 POLI 358 CONFLICT AND SOCIETY IN AFRICA SESSION 3 : THE PROTRACTED SOCIAL CONFLICT THEORY Lecturer: Dr. Seidu Alidu Contact Information: smalidu@ug.edu.gh /seidualidu@gmail.com College of Education School of Continuing and Distance Education 2014/ /2017

2 Session Overview This session will focus on explaining one of the critical theories employed to understand why conflicts occur globally but quite relevant to the dynamics of the African society portrayed in session one. It is called the Protracted Social Conflict Theory. This theory is associated to the work of the Lebanese born but American based conflict resolution expert called Edward Azar and informed largely by repetitive conflicts that were on-going in his country of birth. The Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) theory holds the cause of majority of conflicts in the world is as a result of the denial of basic needs such as security, recognition and fair access to political and economic institutions and processes largely because of identity affiliations. This session is going to critically examine this explanation and its three stage process (i.e., Gensis, Process and Outcome) and relate it to the numerous conflicts fought in Africa. Lecturer: Dr. Seidu Alidu 10/24/2017 Slide 2

3 Session Outline The key topics to be covered in this session are: Topic 1: DEFINITION AND NATURE OF PSC Topic 2: THE GENESIS OF PSC Topic 3: THE PROCESS OF PSC Topic 4: THE OUTCOME OF PSC Lecturer Dr. Seidu Alidu 10/24/2017 Slide 3

4 Reading materials William, P. D., (2011) War and Conflict in Africa, Cambridge: Polity Press (PP ) Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T., Miall, H., Third Edition, (2011) Contemporary Conflict Resolution, Cambridge: Polity Press (PP ) Barash, D.P. and Webel, C.P. (eds.) (2009) Peace and Conflict Studies, 2 nd edition, Thousand Oaks, California, Sage publication Slide 4

5 Learning objectives At the end of the session, students should be able to: Understand the Protracted Social Conflict (PSC) theory Understand the reasons and context within which the theory was formulated Become familiar with the three stage analysis of the theory Articulate the various conditions necessary for each stage to occur Appreciate the limitations of the theory To apply the theory to conflicts in Africa Slide 5

6 Topic one DEFINITION AND NATURE OF PSC Slide 6

7 DEFINITION AND NATURE Protracted Social Conflicts (PSC) are those prolonged, intractable conflicts fought over the deprivation of basic needs as a result of communal identity (Azar, 1990). In PSC, the source of conflicts are attributable to issues within and across states rather than between them (Ramsbotham, et., al, 2011) By nature PSC conflicts are: Prolonged or intractable Faultlined along identity basis Human needs are central Mostly negative-sum Slide 7

8 PRE-CONDITIONS FOR PSC OCCURENCE Four preconditions are necessary for PSC to occur: Communal content (degree of ethnic heterogeneity) Needs (levels of human development) Governance (state capacity and scales of political repression) International linkages (cross-border fomentation and levels of arms imports) Lecturers: Dr. S Atindanbila /Mr. Muhammad Amin Jibril 10/24/2017 Slide 8

9 Topic Two THE GENESIS OF PSC Slide 9

10 THE GENESIS OF PSC PSC is divided into stages and escalates along those stages. The first stage is known as the Genesis and consist of preconditions responsible for the transformation of nonconflictual situations into a conflictual one (Azar, 1990;12). It has the following features: Communal content (i.e., multi-communal composition necessitated by colonial dividerule policies or through historical rivalries) Human needs (Groups ability to access developmental needs and participate in decision making process) Government and the role of the state (responsive to the needs of the people, low/no participation for minority groups, security and protection for minority groups) International linkages (the extent to which internal state policies are dictated or influenced by external factors). This can occur in two forms: economic dependency and client relationship (i.e., security arrangements) Slide 10

11 Topic Three THE PROCESS OF PSC Slide 11

12 THE PROCESS OF PSC The second stage of PSC is known as the process dynamics which are responsible for the activation of the preconditions given under the Genesis. It consists of three main factors: Communal Actions and Strategies (in response to the evolving preconditions in the Genesis) State Actions and Strategies (in response to communal actions and strategies ) Built-in Mechanisms of Conflict (long term conflicts or long held perceptions and its effects on belligerents) Slide 12

13 Topic Four THE OUTCOME OF PSC Lecturer Dr. Seidu Alidu 10/24/2017 Slide 13

14 OUTCOME OF PSC The final stage of PSC details the consequences of a long drawn out conflict that is often negative-sum. The following consequences are eminent: Deterioration of physical security Institutional deformity Increased dependency and cliency Slide 14

15 DIMESNION OF CONFLICT Another aspect of the dimension of conflict is how conflict parties stand in relation to conflict and why they take those stands. Three of such stands are important to this session: Position (a party s concrete demands in a conflict) Interest (a party s concern about a conflict issue) Lecturers: Dr. S Atindanbila /Mr. Muhammad Amin Jibril 10/24/2017 Slide 15

16 References William, P. D., (2011) War and Conflict in Africa, Cambridge: Polity Press (PP ) Ramsbotham, O., Woodhouse, T., Miall, H., Third Edition, (2011) Contemporary Conflict Resolution, Cambridge: Polity Press (PP ) Barash, D.P. and Webel, C.P. (eds.) (2009) Peace and Conflict Studies, 2 nd edition, Thousand Oaks, California, Sage publication Lecturers Dr. Seidu Alidu 10/24/2017 Slide 16