Interview with Mary King
ASHOK PATNAIK, a journalist working mostly on the Indian sub-continent, questions Professor Mary King, peace activist, academic, authority on non-violence and author of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr: The Power of Nonviolent Action, which is about to be reissued in India and elsewhere. Professor Mary King is currently professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at UPEACE where, amongst other duties, she advises the Rector on the development of the Africa programme.
Genocide in Rwanda: Draft Case Study for Teaching Ethics and International Affairs
This case aims to use the genocide of 1994 in Rwanda to help students appreciate what may be the roots and common causes of genocides. It is written in the suspicion that there may be some sort of “recipe” that can be followed by political elites bent on the extermination of a group. This article was originally published on http://www.ciaonet.org/isa/wrs01/
Military Intervention and the Return of Absolute Monarchy: an Impediment to Political Security in Thailand
Thailand is encountering the problematic situation of military intervention and the return of absolute monarchy. Those incidents violate human security, particularly, political security.
The Plight of Iraqi Women
Years of war and insecurity in Iraq have had a devastating impact on society generally, and women in particular. Majid Ahmed Salih discusses the issues of gender inequality under Iraqi law, widowhood and orphanhood as results of war, and the exploitation of Iraqi women in the international sex industry.
Devolution and the new Constitutional Dispensation in Zimbabwe
Dr Jephias Mapuva and Loveness Muyengwa-Mapuva discuss the potential of Zimbabwe’s 2013 constitutional reform to decentralize governmental powers and bolster democratic participation in local governance while also recognizing the many challenges to its implementation.
Challenges and prospects of AU to implement the Ezulwini Consensus: The case of collective security and the use of force
The “Ezulwini Consensus” has endorsed the Responsibility to protect (R2P) that recognizes the “right to intervene when a State is unwilling or unable to protect its populations” from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. In such situations, the Ezulwini Consensus emphasizes that regional organizations in areas of proximity to conflicts should be empowered to take action. However, the conflict situation in the Eastern DRC has challenged the ICGLR to implement the Ezulwini Consensus. The ICGLR was unable to take appropriate action against Member States who were providing support to armed groups destabilizing other Member States. In order to protect the population under imminent threat and maintain the Great Lakes Region as a specific zone of reconstruction and development, Member States of the ICGLR could demonstrate their political will to respect the fundamental principles particularly of the territorial integrity, national sovereignty, non-interference and non-aggression against another Member State. Besides, the AU could have taken its own responsibility by sending African Experts in order to help the ICGLR to resolve the crisis as the mediator between the Government of the DRC and M23 was no longer neutral.
This paper was presented at the South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS) 2013 Regional Colloquium on “The African Union: Quo Vadis – the next 50 years” at the University of South Africa on 4 October 2013.
Japan weakens its commitment to constitutional pacifism
The Japanese government’s recent reinterpretation of the constitution without the full participation of the people, jeopardizes the peace that japan has enjoyed for the past 60 years and raises regional tensions. Historian and peace scholar Takuo Namisashi comments.
Grassroots Movements Shedding Light on Gun Violence in Colorado
This work is my personal journey of finding hope in grassroots movements working to address gun violence in Colorado. I present a review of academic literature and question how academic research connects to people on the ground. I advocate for the potential of utilizing human emotion in academic writing to link academics to the people experiencing what academics merely research. It is my aim to amplify a few glimmers of light, within people on the grassroots level, amongst the darkness that surrounds gun violence in the United States of America. I hope that ultimately, this will begin to open up the stalled conversation of gun control by escaping the dichotomy of pro-gun and anti-gun control politics and in turn creating a space for the many other paths forward to surface.
The Law and Practice of the Devolved System of Governance in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe’s new constitution provides a legal framework for a devolved system of governance. Harmonizing with this new system, Jephias Mapuva suggests, will be to the benefit of local authorities, and the nation as a whole.
The Campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to Japan for Article 9
Takuo Namisashi tells the story of Naomi Takasu’s effort to bring Japan’s peace constitution to the attention of the Nobel Prize committee, and explains how international recognition of Article 9, despite its flaws, could have a real impact on countering the rising militarism in Japan and the region.