Kristine Höglund

Precarious peacebuilding: friction in global–local encounters

How can we understand the processes and outcomes that arise from frictional encounters in peacebuilding? This special issue contributes to ongoing debates on the precariousness of peacebuilding, by introducing the term friction as a way to capture and analyse the conflictual dimensions of global–local encounters. We envisage six responses – compliance, adoption, adaptation, co-option, resistance and rejection – which arise as a result of meetings between actors, ideas and practice in global–local relationships. These responses create new realities as they alter power relations, transform agency and mediate practices related to peacebuilding. Thus, the conceptual framework and insights drawn from the articles in the special issue contribute to a discussion about transforming the boundaries between the international and local, and cast new light on agency in peacebuilding processes while challenging aspects of the hybridisation of peace.

Electoral Violence in Conflict-Ridden Societies: Concepts, Causes, and Consequences

What are the causes of electoral violence? And how does electoral violence influence conflict resolution and democracy? This article argues for a conceptualization of electoral violence as a specific sub-category of political violence, determined mainly by its timing and target. The enabling conditions and triggering factors can be identified in three main areas: 1) the nature of politics in conflict societies, 2) the nature of competitive elections, and 3) the incentives created by the electoral institutions. These clusters of factors are important for understanding electoral violence both between different societies and across elections in a specific country.

Reconciliation through sports? The case of South Africa.

Abstract Can sports—and if so how—serve as a vehicle for reconciliation and increased social cohesion in countries wrecked by civil conflict? This article analyses the case of South Africa and its experiences in the sports sector since the fall of apartheid, in an effort to explore the processes necessary to understand the potential sports may hold for peace building. By identifying initiatives in South Africa employed at the national, community and individual level of analysis, the article outlines the possible effects of sports on reconciliation in divided states. Through linking experiences from state policies, ngo activities and donor projects with social identity and reconciliation theory, the article outlines the possible positive and negative aspects of sports. Finally, important avenues for further research to uncover how to turn sports into effective political tools for post-conflict peace building are suggested.

The Predicament of Elections in War-Torn Societies

Why do elections held in the shadow of civil wars sometimes generate more violence in already war-torn societies, while in other circumstances they do not? This article develops a conceptual framework based on three clusters of factors to analyse the conflict-generating aspects of elections in war-torn societies: the key actors in the electoral processes; the institutions of elections; and the stakes of the elections. Two types of war-related elections are distinguished: elections held during an ongoing civil war, and elections held in the post-war period when peace is to be implemented. While different in many respects, the two contexts share critical characteristics through their association with the legacy of warfare. Several important implications emerge from the analysis. First, relating to militant and violent actors, incentive structures need to be altered by addressing both the opportunities and means of violence. Second, to prevent inducements for violent behaviour, institutional arrangements – including electoral commissions – have to be crafted with consideration given to local conflict dynamics and the history of violent conflict. Finally, the stakes of elections in war-shattered societies can be reduced through, for instance, constitutional pact-making and the oversight of external actors in electoral processes.

Violence and the Peace Process in Sri Lanka

This article analyses the multiple forms of violence displayed in the Sri Lankan peace process 2002–2005. It starts from the premise that as peace processes begin violence does not immediately or automatically stop. Instead, violence continues – both along the same lines and in new forms. Three types of violence have been prominent in Sri Lankas peace process: 1) violence between the LTTE and the government; 2) violence within the LTTE; and 3) violence between the LTTE and other Tamil groups. The case demonstrates that violence in peace processes is a complex phenomenon that requires analysis of both the actors and their motives. In order to gauge the influence of violence on the peace process, it is also important to understand how other actors in the negotiation process perceive acts of violence. The main conclusion is that violence has seriously questioned the legitimacy of the peace process and the intentions of – in particular – the LTTE in pursuing the peace effort.

Electoral Institutions and Electoral Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa

Political violence remains a pervasive feature of electoral dynamics in many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, even where multiparty elections have become the dominant mode of regulating access to political power. With cross-national data on electoral violence in Sub-Saharan African elections between 1990 and 2010, this article develops and tests a theory that links the use of violent electoral tactics to the high stakes put in place by majoritarian electoral institutions. It is found that electoral violence is more likely in countries that employ majoritarian voting rules and elect fewer legislators from each district. Majoritarian institutions are, as predicted by theory, particularly likely to provoke violence where large ethno-political groups are excluded from power and significant economic inequalities exist.

Beyond the absence of war: the diversity of peace in post-settlement societies

This article introduces a novel way of conceptualising variations of peace in post-war societies. The most common way of defining peace in the academic literature on war termination is to differentiate between those cases where there is a continuation or resumption of large-scale violence and those cases where violence has been terminated and peace, defined by the absence of war, has been established. Yet, a closer look at a number of countries where a peace agreement has been signed and peace is considered to prevail reveals a much more diverse picture. Beyond the absence of war, there are striking differences in terms of the character of peace that has followed. This article revisits the classical debates on peace and the notion of the Conflict Triangle as a useful theoretical construction for the study of armed conflicts. We develop a classification captured in a Peace Triangle, where post-settlement societies are categorised on the basis of three key dimensions: issues, behaviour, and attitudes. On the basis of such a differentiation, we illustrate the great diversity of peace beyond the absence of war in a number of post-settlement societies. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the different elements of the Peace Triangle, and the challenges they pose for establishing a sustainable peace, as well as the implications of this study for policy makers concerned with peacebuilding efforts.

Winning the peace: conflict prevention after a victor's peace in Sri Lanka

How can a relapse into violent conflict be prevented in Sri Lanka? This article examines how the case of Sri Lanka effectively exposes the limitations of the international discourse and practice of conflict prevention. Conflict prevention in Sri Lanka has to take place within a global and domestic context which is largely unaccounted for in the conflict-prevention literature and policy discourse. Changes in the international power balance over the last decade have decreased the room of manoeuvre for actors such as the United States and European Union while giving Asian powers such as China—with a different approach to conflict prevention—more influence over domestic policies in countries like Sri Lanka. Moreover, the conflict prevention discourse and ‘tools’ tend to assume a negotiated peace agreement where the conflict parties have an interest in preventing conflicts rather than merely suppressing them. The significant power asymmetry between the winning and the losing sides in the Sri Lankan conflict, coupled with the lack of power or interest of international actors to influence Sri Lankas domestic affairs—have rendered ‘conflict prevention’ a tool for continued domination and containment of conflicts. The article further highlights the risks that conflict-prevention measures may exacerbate conflict or undermine other conflict-prevention measures. A number of challenges for conflict prevention—in the areas of (1) demilitarisation/militarisation, (2) political power sharing, (3) justice and reconciliation, and (4) post-war reconstruction and economic development—are addressed.

Mediating between tigers and lions: Norwegian peace diplomacy in Sri Lanka's civil war

Sri Lanka has suffered from one of Asias most intractable civil wars, and is remarkably resistant to resolution. The peace process was initiated with a ceasefire between the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan Government in 2002. This article explores the implications of the Norwegian mediation on this process. We argue that Norways aspiration to promote an image of being a global peacemaker and the consent from regional and global powers are important in explaining why Norway became involved. Moreover, the Norwegian mediation approach – based on impartiality, ownership by the two main parties, and internationalization – has had consequences for how the process has unfolded. For instance, it influenced the potential leverage of Norway and conceptions about bias. This article contributes to an understanding of how regional and global processes, as well as mediator characteristics and approaches, influence the dynamics of civil war termination.

The peace process in Sri Lanka

This article sets out to analyse the current peace process in Sri Lanka. It is argued that the prospects for peace are better than at any other time since the inception of the armed conflict in 1983, because the parties’ concerns about the consequences of continued conflict, as well as the consequences of settlement, have changed. In the first section of the article we demonstrate how the costs — militarily, financially and politically ‐for continuing the war have drastically increased for the parties. Furthermore, with the involvement of the international community and the special approach to the peace process by the Wickremasinghe government, the perceived risks involved in a peaceful settlement have decreased. These parallel developments in the incentives structures of war and peace, explain the readiness of both primary parties to engage in serious efforts to solve the protracted conflict. From this perspective, the roles of Norway as a mediator, and the Nordic countries as ceasefire monitors, are analysed. The second section analyses the prospects for a solution, by looking at the reconciliation of positions that have taken place between the parties. The major obstacles, such as the LTTEs intentions, the Muslim minority and divisions within the Singhalese community, are also discussed. We end the analysis with the observation that even though the prospects for a stable, negotiated settlement between the adversaries appear promising, several problems related to post‐conflict reconstruction and democratic development, are likely to remain obstacles in the future.