Centre for Peace and Conflict Studieshttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/2402024-03-29T14:09:41Z2024-03-29T14:09:41ZThe political economy of resistance in post-conflict South SudanYoung, Graemehttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/66082019-04-01T08:19:10Z2014-03-01T00:00:00ZDespite recent scholarly attention, the phenomenon of resistance in post-conflict
environments remains largely under-conceptualized. This represents a major shortcoming in the theory and praxis of post-conflict peacebuilding and development. Seeking to address this problem, this study explores how, why and by whom the economic dimensions of contemporary peacebuilding and development projects are contested in their local applications, using South Sudan as a case study. A theoretical framework for analysing resistance is proposed and subsequently employed to provide insights into activities that are cast as informal, illicit or illegitimate by dominant neoliberal orthodoxy. This is done in
three distinct yet overlapping ways. First, the role that informal economic activity plays in the political economy of post-conflict South Sudan is examined. Informal economic activity is conceptualized as a form of resistance to the failings of the formal sphere, but also as a form of power where agency is absent and that is encouraged as a type of local neoliberalism. Second, the legitimate/illegitimate and licit/illicit dichotomies that define
economic activity in post-conflict South Sudan are problematized through an exploration of current debates surrounding corruption and land tenure. These debates demonstrate how neoliberal economic orthodoxy breaks down and becomes redefined in its local contacts. Finally, the centre/periphery dynamics that define the political economy of South Sudan’s
borderlands are conceptualized in terms of power and resistance, and resistance is shown to be fundamentally tied to power in ways that are characterized by subjectivity and hybridity. Resistance plays an important role in post-conflict environments. Addressing its economic dimensions must be a central task of contemporary peacebuilding and development projects.
2014-03-01T00:00:00ZYoung, GraemeDespite recent scholarly attention, the phenomenon of resistance in post-conflict
environments remains largely under-conceptualized. This represents a major shortcoming in the theory and praxis of post-conflict peacebuilding and development. Seeking to address this problem, this study explores how, why and by whom the economic dimensions of contemporary peacebuilding and development projects are contested in their local applications, using South Sudan as a case study. A theoretical framework for analysing resistance is proposed and subsequently employed to provide insights into activities that are cast as informal, illicit or illegitimate by dominant neoliberal orthodoxy. This is done in
three distinct yet overlapping ways. First, the role that informal economic activity plays in the political economy of post-conflict South Sudan is examined. Informal economic activity is conceptualized as a form of resistance to the failings of the formal sphere, but also as a form of power where agency is absent and that is encouraged as a type of local neoliberalism. Second, the legitimate/illegitimate and licit/illicit dichotomies that define
economic activity in post-conflict South Sudan are problematized through an exploration of current debates surrounding corruption and land tenure. These debates demonstrate how neoliberal economic orthodoxy breaks down and becomes redefined in its local contacts. Finally, the centre/periphery dynamics that define the political economy of South Sudan’s
borderlands are conceptualized in terms of power and resistance, and resistance is shown to be fundamentally tied to power in ways that are characterized by subjectivity and hybridity. Resistance plays an important role in post-conflict environments. Addressing its economic dimensions must be a central task of contemporary peacebuilding and development projects.Practicing peacebuilding differently : a legal empowerment project, a randomised control trial and practical hybridity in LiberiaGraef, J. Julianhttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/63842023-03-20T13:45:59Z2014-05-30T00:00:00ZHybridity, as it is currently understood in the Peace and Conflict Studies (PCS) and International Relations (IR) literature, is defined by the complex interactions between ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’. However, under this theoretical liberal-local rubric, the ways in which power is practiced has already been determined; how resistance is expressed and the forms it assumes have already been established. While it has yielded numerous important insights into how power circulates and resistance manifests in peacebuilding operations, the theoretical approach conceals other significant dynamics which escape detection by ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’. However, these undetected dimensions of hybridity comprise the very processes that emerge in ways which destabilise the boundaries between ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’ and reshape the contours of the emerging post-liberal peace.
Instead of accepting the liberal-local distinction which defines this theoretical hybridity, this thesis advances an alternative methodological approach to exploring the tensions at play in peacebuilding projects. Rather than deploying theoretical distinctions in order to explain or understand complex hybrid processes, this thesis develops a methodological strategy for exploring the tensions between how actors design a peacebuilding project and how that project changes as actors work to translate that project into complex, everyday living sites (Callon, 1986; Law, 1997; Akrich, 1992). This tension is expressed as practical hybridity. The process of practical hybridity unfolds as the concrete material changes, modifications, and adaptations that emerge as actors appropriate and contingently translate organised practices in new ways and for different purposes. Through an ongoing process of practical hybridity, the boundaries and distinction which define the distinction between ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’ become increasingly unstable. Amidst this instability, the practices which characterised ‘the liberal peace’ are becoming stretched into a post-liberal peace.
Drawing on the work of Richmond (2011a; Richmond & Mitchell, 2012), Latour (1987b; 1988; 2004), and Schatzki (2002), and based on over five months of field research, this this thesis traces the process of practical hybridity at play during the implementation and evaluation of a peacebuilding project in Liberia. I participated as a research assistant on a Randomised Control Trial (RCT), implemented by a small research team under the auspices of the Oxford University’s Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). The team was assessing the impact of a legal empowerment programme managed by The Carter Center: the Community Justice Advisor (CJA) programme. As the CSAE’s evaluation of the CJA programme unfolded, many dynamics associated with theoretical liberal-local hybridity surfaced; however, it also became apparent that this theoretical formulation obscured important dimensions which were reshaping what peacebuilding practice is in the process of becoming in the emerging post-liberal world.
2014-05-30T00:00:00ZGraef, J. JulianHybridity, as it is currently understood in the Peace and Conflict Studies (PCS) and International Relations (IR) literature, is defined by the complex interactions between ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’. However, under this theoretical liberal-local rubric, the ways in which power is practiced has already been determined; how resistance is expressed and the forms it assumes have already been established. While it has yielded numerous important insights into how power circulates and resistance manifests in peacebuilding operations, the theoretical approach conceals other significant dynamics which escape detection by ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’. However, these undetected dimensions of hybridity comprise the very processes that emerge in ways which destabilise the boundaries between ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’ and reshape the contours of the emerging post-liberal peace.
Instead of accepting the liberal-local distinction which defines this theoretical hybridity, this thesis advances an alternative methodological approach to exploring the tensions at play in peacebuilding projects. Rather than deploying theoretical distinctions in order to explain or understand complex hybrid processes, this thesis develops a methodological strategy for exploring the tensions between how actors design a peacebuilding project and how that project changes as actors work to translate that project into complex, everyday living sites (Callon, 1986; Law, 1997; Akrich, 1992). This tension is expressed as practical hybridity. The process of practical hybridity unfolds as the concrete material changes, modifications, and adaptations that emerge as actors appropriate and contingently translate organised practices in new ways and for different purposes. Through an ongoing process of practical hybridity, the boundaries and distinction which define the distinction between ‘the liberal peace’ and ‘the local’ become increasingly unstable. Amidst this instability, the practices which characterised ‘the liberal peace’ are becoming stretched into a post-liberal peace.
Drawing on the work of Richmond (2011a; Richmond & Mitchell, 2012), Latour (1987b; 1988; 2004), and Schatzki (2002), and based on over five months of field research, this this thesis traces the process of practical hybridity at play during the implementation and evaluation of a peacebuilding project in Liberia. I participated as a research assistant on a Randomised Control Trial (RCT), implemented by a small research team under the auspices of the Oxford University’s Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE). The team was assessing the impact of a legal empowerment programme managed by The Carter Center: the Community Justice Advisor (CJA) programme. As the CSAE’s evaluation of the CJA programme unfolded, many dynamics associated with theoretical liberal-local hybridity surfaced; however, it also became apparent that this theoretical formulation obscured important dimensions which were reshaping what peacebuilding practice is in the process of becoming in the emerging post-liberal world.Enter the dragon : the emerging Chinese approach to peacebuilding in LiberiaKuo, Steven Chiun-Yihttps://hdl.handle.net/10023/38162020-04-01T02:02:41Z2013-01-01T00:00:00ZCritics of the liberal peace point out that the imposition of liberal democratic structures of governance through United Nations Peacekeeping Operations has not led to a sustainable peace being built. In reply, supporters of the liberal peace argue that even though the liberal peace is imperfect, there are no better alternatives. The objective of this thesis is to examine the Chinese approach to peacebuilding and explore the possibility that it may be a potential alternative to the liberal peace. The thesis examines the Chinese understanding of the causes of insecurity in Africa, what the Chinese position is with regards to United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions in Africa; and what role China see itself playing vis-à-vis United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Africa.
The Chinese approach to peacebuilding recognises poverty alleviation as the foundation upon which sustainable peace can be built in post-conflict countries. Beijing does not believe the external imposition of a political ruling superstructure can succeed, and sees the liberal peace as neo-colonialism and liberal hubris. However, there is no set Chinese model of peacebuilding which can replace the liberal peace, or which African countries might follow. This is because the Chinese developmental model respects the local context, is based on pragmatism, and relies on trial and error to find the way forward.
The Chinese have been keeping a low profile in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and have focused on providing transportation and logistical support to UNMIL. The Chinese focus on infrastructure rehabilitation is appreciated by Liberians and is making a positive contribution to the life of ordinary people. On the deep societal divide that lies at the heart of the Liberian civil war and continues to cause instability, both the Chinese approach to peacebuilding and the liberal peace remain silent.
2013-01-01T00:00:00ZKuo, Steven Chiun-YiCritics of the liberal peace point out that the imposition of liberal democratic structures of governance through United Nations Peacekeeping Operations has not led to a sustainable peace being built. In reply, supporters of the liberal peace argue that even though the liberal peace is imperfect, there are no better alternatives. The objective of this thesis is to examine the Chinese approach to peacebuilding and explore the possibility that it may be a potential alternative to the liberal peace. The thesis examines the Chinese understanding of the causes of insecurity in Africa, what the Chinese position is with regards to United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding missions in Africa; and what role China see itself playing vis-à-vis United Nations Peacekeeping Operations in Africa.
The Chinese approach to peacebuilding recognises poverty alleviation as the foundation upon which sustainable peace can be built in post-conflict countries. Beijing does not believe the external imposition of a political ruling superstructure can succeed, and sees the liberal peace as neo-colonialism and liberal hubris. However, there is no set Chinese model of peacebuilding which can replace the liberal peace, or which African countries might follow. This is because the Chinese developmental model respects the local context, is based on pragmatism, and relies on trial and error to find the way forward.
The Chinese have been keeping a low profile in the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and have focused on providing transportation and logistical support to UNMIL. The Chinese focus on infrastructure rehabilitation is appreciated by Liberians and is making a positive contribution to the life of ordinary people. On the deep societal divide that lies at the heart of the Liberian civil war and continues to cause instability, both the Chinese approach to peacebuilding and the liberal peace remain silent.