September 2016 Review

TransConflict is pleased to present a selection of articles published during September, plus updates from the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation.

1) The seventeenth GCCT newsletter

TransConflict is pleased to present the seventeenth Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation (GCCT) newsletter, showcasing the work of the GCCT and its members. Read on…

2) ‘Hell is truth seen too late’

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – After seventy years of continuing violent conflict, the time has come to end the hellish conditions that the Israelis and Palestinians have created for themselves before they are ultimately consumed by it. As Thomas Hobbes is purported to have said, “hell is truth seen too late.” Read on…

3) Refugees in Belgrade and the rise of ‘prickly spaces’

Bridget Storrie – The official response to the refugee crisis across Europe and beyond has been a failure to engage in the hard work of imagining how newcomers, particularly vulnerable ones, can be folded into communities in a way that ensures both they, and the communities they enter, flourish. Until that happens ‘refugees welcome’ and ‘the park is for everyone’ will remain like some of the rest of the graffiti on Belgrade’s streets; an expression of life as we’d like it to be, not life as it actually is. Read on…

4) The settlements – self-entrapment of existential proportions

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – Israel’s continued settlement activity – whether retroactively approving ‘unauthorized’ outposts or advancing plans for new units as was recently announced – represents yet another nail in the coffin of the peace process. Read on…

5) David Cameron and the three ‘whiches’

Peter Emerson – To what extent were the outcomes of the recent plebiscites held in the UK determined by the formulation of the question and the method of counting votes? If these are significant factors, this points to some puzzling quirks in the country’s voting system, as well as some far-reaching flaws in its democracy. Read on…

6) From Pristina to Damascus – understanding Kosovo’s fighters in Syria

Brenna Gautam – A more holistic policy that examines the stagnation of EU integration efforts and addresses Kosovar identity as it relates to empathy with Syrians is necessary to approach the issue of foreign fighters in full. Read on…

7) U 5/98-III: why it is doomed from an interpretive point of view (Part 1)

Dražen Pehar – The Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Constitutional Court decision of 1 July 2000 (U 5/98-III) attempted to demonstrate that the Dayton BiH Constitution implies a thesis on the constitutionality of all three BiH peoples throughout BiH territory, without qualification. This essay aims to demonstrate that the decision is implausible and that it rests on a flawed interpretation of the constitution. Read on…

8) Turkey and the PKK – mutual violence is not the answer

Dr. Alon Ben-Meir – It is time for Erdogan to accept the reality that the solution to the Kurdish problem rests solely on peace negotiations. Anything short of that will only lead to ever more death and destruction on both sides, with no end in sight. Read on…

9) Oil Jihad – a strategic weapon against low prices?

Ashay Abbhi – For terrorist outfits like Al Qaeda and ISIS, low oil prices are counter-productive. These organizations, much like Venezuela, depend mostly on oil for their revenues that ultimately fund their weapons. There is, therefore, a need for them to attack oil infrastructure to freeze production and engineer a price rise. Read on…

The Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation

1) Three new members of the GCCT

TransConflict is pleased to announce three new members of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, from Georgia, Ukraine and Somalia, respectively. Read on…

2) Act Change Transform from Kenya

TransConflict is pleased to showcase the work of Act Change Transform (ACT!) from Kenya, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation. Read on…

3) An open letter from The Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice to Ban Ki-moon

TransConflict is pleased to present an open letter from the Sri Lanka Campaign for Peace and Justice, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, to outgoing UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, regarding the current situation in Sri Lanka. Read on…

4) Strengthening approaches to combating violent extremism in Afghanistan

Cooperation for Peace and Unity, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, is implementing a comprehensive approach to combating violent extremism in Afghanistan. Read on…

5) “People far from the fire don’t feel the heat” – an update from Iraqi Kurdistan

TransConflict is pleased to present a letter written by Cathy Breen who is currently part of a peacemaking team in Iraqi Kurdistan with Muslim Peacemaker Teams, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation from Iraq. Read on…

6) Suicides and murder statistics in the Armenian army

Over a period of six years, from 2010 to 2015, the Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh armed forces suffered a total of 206 fatal casualties, of which 48 were due to suicide and 43 the results of murders. Read on…

7) Moving forward the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2250

With the announcement by UN Secretary-general, Ban Ki-Moon, of Graeme Simpson as Lead Author for the Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security, as well as an advisory group of experts to support the study process, the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2250 takes a step forward. Read on…

8) Danish Demining Group releases mine risk education films

Danish Demining Group (DDG) in Afghanistan has released three short films to be used as part of mine risk education (MRE) programming for children, youth, and their parents. Read on…

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