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Armed forces

Building a Police Force "for the good" in DR Congo : Questions that still haunt reformers and reform beneficiaries

Upphovsperson: Nlandu Mayamba Mbuya, Thierry
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation |
År: 2013
Ämnesord: Congo DR, Police, Armed forces, Security sector reform, Administrative reform, Organizational change, Civil rights
The police in DRC are indeed a permanent domestic risk. The lack of policy, service or management regime for the acquisition of equipment explains the deficient, dilapidated, obsolete and very often inappropriate equipment. Moreover, police units have very weak operational capacity and police officers lack self-confidence and pride in their profession. These shabbily dressed men and women in faded uniforms daily develop an indifferent attitude towards their profession and work in general. Inefficient and ineffective, the Congolese policeforce is wholly demoralised and unprofessional. This has negatively affected the relationship between police and population. It has led to the withdrawal of people’s cooperation, a must for successful police work and for meeting people’s expectations.

Why South Sudan conflict is proving intractable : Ugandan forces and lack of international commitment two reasons

Upphovsperson: Bereketeab, Redie
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala
År: 2015
Ämnesord: South Sudan, Uganda, Sudan, conflicts, Armed forces, politics, Inter-governmental Authority on Development
In December 2013 war broke out in South Sudan as a result of the power struggle between President Salva Kiir and the ex-vice president Riek Machar. Violence from both sides led to massacres and millions of displaced persons. Agreements to end hostilities have so far been violated. A sustainable peace calls for Ugandan forces to leave South Sudan. The political parties have to reform and be a part of national reconciliation instead of fighting one another.

When the State Fails : Studies on Intervention in the Sierra Leone Civil War

Medarbetare: Zack-Williams, Tunde
Utgivare: Pluto Press; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Sierra Leone, Civil war, Armed forces, Military activity, Foreign intervention, conflicts, Post-conflict reconstruction, Peacebuilding, Security sector reform, Regional security, Neoliberalism, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Compared with Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, the recent western intervention in Sierra Leone has been largely forgotten. This book provides a comprehensive and critical overview of what happened, and examines its ongoing consequences. Sierra Leone’s civil war began in 1991 and was officially declared over in 2002 after UK, UN and regional African military intervention. The contributors provide an informed analysis of the impact of the intervention on democracy, development and society in Sierra Leone. They take a particularly critical view of the imposition of neoliberalism after the conflict.

Beyond ”Gender and Stir” : Reflections on gender and SSR in the aftermath of African conflicts

Medarbetare: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Utas, Mats
Utgivare: Uppsala, Sweden
År: 2012
Ämnesord: Africa, conflicts, Police, Armed forces, Defence policy, gender roles, Peacekeeping, Women’s participation, Security sector reform, Post-conflict reconstruction, case studies, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
As a policy field largely characterised by handbooks and manuals, gender and Security Sector Reform (SSR) has been insufficiently studied and analysed. Analytical discussion of what gendering SSRmeans is quite rare, as is the study of the already gendered nature of the security institutions that are the subject of intervention. This policy dialogue unpacks aspects of the discourses and practices regarding gender and SSR. It highlights limitations and problems both in the conceptualisation of gender and its incorporation into practical SSR work. The publication also demonstrates how researchers and policymakers often have divergent views of what gendering SSR means. Finally, it calls for closer and more constructive dialogue between researchers and practitioners, a dialogue which acknowledges the conditions and constraints in these two spheres of work.

Understanding and addressing conflict-related sexual violence : Lessons learned from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Stern, Maria
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Congo DR, conflicts, Violence against women, sexual abuse, Rape, victims, Offenders, Military personnel, Armed forces, gender relations, Political science, Statsvetenskap
The Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) warscape has become infamous globally from the reports on the massive scale of sexual violence. While vast amounts of other forms of violence and abuse have also been committed, it is sexual violence that has attracted the lion’s share of attention, especially among “outside” observers. Countless reports, newspaper articles, news-clips, appeals and documentaries have been devoted to the issue. Numerous journalists, activists and representatives of diverse international organisations and governments have made pilgrimages to the DRC to meet and listen to survivors first-hand.

Comprendre et aborder les violences sexuelles liées aux conflits : Enseignements tirés de la République Démocratique du Congo

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Stern, Maria
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Congo DR, conflicts, Violence against women, sexual abuse, Rape, victims, Offenders, Military personnel, Armed forces, gender relations, Political science, Statsvetenskap
Le paysage de guerre de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC) a acquis une exécrable réputation dans le monde entier à cause des rapports sur l’échelle massive des violences sexuelles. Bien qu’un nombre énorme d’autres formes de violences et d’abus aient également été commises à grande échelle, ce sont les violences sexuelles qui ont reçu la plupart de l’attention mondiale, en particulier parmi les observateurs «de l’extérieur». D’innombrables rapports, articles de journaux, coupures de presse, appels et documentaires ont été consacrés à cette question. Un grand nombre de journalistes, d’activistes et de représentants de diverses organisations et de gouvernements internationaux ont effectué des pèlerinages en RDC pour rencontrer et écouter les survivants de vive voix.

The Complexity of Violence : A critical analysis of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)

Upphovspersoner: Eriksson Baaz, Maria | Stern, Maria
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Sida; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2010
Ämnesord: Congo DR, conflicts, Violence against women, Sexual abuse, Rape, victims, Offenders, Military personnel, Armed forces, gender relations, Political science, Statsvetenskap
This report, the first in Sida’s gender-based violence series, draws on an original case study, including extensive interviews with members of thearmed forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). By critically exploring and convincingly challenging existing stereotypes and narratives about sexual violence in conflict settings, the authors reveal the need for a nuanced understanding of SGBV, including its invisible victims. Their analysis transcends reductionist explanations that separate SGBV from other forms of violence that afflict war-torn societies, and haunt post-war contexts. They thus provide invaluable insights into the complex circumstances in which SGBV occurs.

Young female fighters in African wars : conflict and its consequences

Upphovspersoner: Utas, Mats | Persson, Mariam | Coulter, Chris
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Conflict, Displacement and Transformation | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2008
Ämnesord: Civil war, Armed forces, Guerrillas, Females, women's participation, gender roles, Government programmes, Disarmament, Social implications, Survival strategies, Demobilization, Post-conflict reconstruction, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
In the numerous armed conflicts that are tearing the African continent apart, young women are participants and carry guns alongside their male comrades-in-arms. Challenging the stereotype of women in African wars as victims only, this issue of the Nordic Africa Institute Policy Dialogues shows how in modern African wars women have often been as active as men. Female fighters are victimized, yet they are not mere victims. Girls and young women who volunteer to fight often possess quite considerable strength and independence. Programmes for disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating former fighters must be based on better understanding of the range of women's roles and experiences in war and post-war settings in order to act in a gender-sensitive way and to empower this group of women in the aftermath of war.

Ethnic militias and the threat to democracy in post-transition Nigeria

Upphovsperson: Agbu, Osita
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2004
Ämnesord: Armed forces, ethnic conflicts, democratization interethnic relations, militarism, violence, Nigeria, Peace and conflict research, Freds- och konfliktforskning
The democratic opening presented by Nigeria’s successful transition to civil rule (June 1998 to May 1999) unleashed a host of hitherto repressed or dormant political forces. Unfortunately, it has become increasingly difficult to differentiate between genuine demands by these forces on the state and outright criminality and mayhem. Post-transition Nigeria is experiencing the proliferation of ethnic militia movements purportedly representing, and seeking to protect, their ethnic interests in a country, which appears incapable of providing the basic welfare needs of its citizens. It is against the background of collective disenchantment with the Nigerian state, and the resurgence of ethnic identity politics that this research interrogates the growing challenge posed by ethnic militias to the Nigerian democracy project. The central thesis is that the over-centralization of power in Nigeria’s federal practice and the failure of post-transitional politics in genuinely addressing the “National Question, has resulted in the emergence of ethnic militias as a specific response to state incapacity. The short- and long-term threats posed by this development to Nigeria’s fragile democracy are real, and justify the call for a National Conference that will comprehensively address the demands of the ethnic nationalities.