Paula Duarte Lopes

Governing Iberian Rivers: from bilateral management to common basin governance?

Traditionally, international water resources have been managed by riparian states based essentially on a technical hydraulic approach, addressing navigation concerns, water flows at the border and shared hydraulic structures, besides the definition of political borders. During the 1990s, the possibility of a paradigm change emerged, where a “technical hydraulic management approach” seemed to be giving way to a more “political environmental governance approach”. Yet, in many cases, this change did not ensue. This article argues that several riparians are trapped in stalemate due to a too strong sovereign approach to their water relations. Adopting a critical perspective on hydro-hegemony, this article argues that this framework of analysis is too limited since it is embedded in a Westphalian concept of sovereignty. To support this argument, the article draws on the Iberian Peninsula water politics. These riparians are still embedded in notions of territorial sovereignty, not being able to take on a holistic water basin governance regime embedded on considerations of equity, human rights and social justice. The article concludes that it is vital to move beyond a static sovereignty-based analysis of riparian relations and engage in a dynamic discussion of different water governance models and their consequences concerning peace and development.

Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste: Finding a Way between External Intervention and Local Dynamics

This article highlights the importance of interaction between peace missions and local dynamics, drawing on Tsings work on frictions. It is centred on the United Nations (UN) peace intervention in Timor-Leste, discussing different examples of frictions, which have the potential to undermine or empower the peacebuilding efforts underway. The analysis stresses the unpredictable effects of applying the UN liberal peace model. It is argued that processes of friction, often consisting of an incremental build-up of intermediate results shape and form the (un)sustainability of any peacebuilding process initiated by an external intervention and, consequently, should be identified and analysed in order to enhance or minimize their positive/negative contribution towards building peace.

Sharing water: evolution, threats and challenges

Water is currently on the political agenda of most, if not all, countries in the world. The reasons lay with the current water situation, which has become more acute with recent reports on the impacts of climate change over water resources availability and the predictions of water wars in the near future. This situation clearly begs the question of what is humankind going to do or, more accurately, what can humankind do to survive this situation. And the immediate answer is, since there is so...

‘Responsibility to protect’ and the African Union: Assessing the AU’s capacity to respond to regional complex humanitarian and political emergencies

ABSTRACT Despite its many institutional and political weaknesses and limitations, the African Union (AU) has been developing a variety of tools and mechanisms to respond effectively to complex disasters and emergencies (both natural and manmade) by building up a comprehensive regional security architecture. Furthermore, it has become the first and only regional or international organisation to enshrine the principle of ‘responsibility to protect’ (R2P) in its Constitutive Act. This regional approach to and formal endorsement of the R2P principle allowed it to assume a particular place in the promotion of peace and security in its area. This article aims to critically assess the effectiveness of the AU on the African continent by exploring its real capacity in preventing and responding to emergencies and violent conflicts, and therefore in rendering the principle of R2P operational. The article argues that the formalisation of principles does not necessarily mean their effective implementation. The organisations use of the R2P principle is also greatly conditioned by internal and external factors.

The EU’s Role in Crisis Management: The Case of the EUMM

Since its establishment and throughout the formal and informal dimensions of its integration process, the European Union (EU) has always been confronted with issues of peace and violence, not only internally but also externally. However, the specific context of emergence of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP)/European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) was characterised by evolving security threats which included terrorism, failed states and violent intra-state conflicts, calling for a different approach in what concerns the EU’s response capacity to crisis and violence within and outside its borders. Besides, the EU has also the difficult task of seeking consensus among its member states with regard to why, where and how to deploy peace missions, responding both to internal political and economic dynamics, as well as to the overall institutional goal of promoting security within and beyond its borders. This chapter analyses, therefore, the deep interconnections between the process of decision-making and the external elements that influence it.

The Morality of Peacekeeping

The author provides a thought-provoking reflection on the moral dilemmas facing a peacekeeper, presenting a normative framework for peacekeeping. He identifies an essential aspect of peacekeeping which distinguishes it from war: peacekeepers do not have an enemy. Consequently, he argues, for a peacekeeper to do what s/he is expected to do, s/he needs to be attentive, restrained and creative and these features constitute the basis of his normative framework (chapter 1). This may sound too simplistic or unrealistic, but this book is neither simple nor unrealistic. The author provides a deep, complex and reality-based foundation for this normative framework through the analysis of the ‘holy trinity’ of peacekeeping: consent, impartiality and minimum use of force, from the first United Nations peacekeeping mission ever deployed to contemporary peacekeeping. Each principle is discussed providing a contextual evolution of its meaning, based not only on UN doctrine, but also on the author’s reflections on both peacekeeping in particular and each principle’s philosophical meaning in general. Moreover, although these are deep complex philosophical discussions, the author provides constant examples of peacekeeping missions through the voices of his interview partners, experienced and trained peacekeepers as well as some local actors. Chapters 3 to 6 offer an updated understanding of each principle, which contributes to the overall normative framework presented. In the last part of the book, the overall goal of protecting civilians is discussed in light of his normative framework and the updated version of the ‘holy trinity’, including its application in two specific cases (chapters 7 to 9): the MONUC Support to Kimia II and the civilian protection activities of the women’s peace movement in Liberia during the two civil wars (1990–2003). The author hopes this book becomes ‘part of a conversation’ (5) and there are plenty of concepts and ideas to engage anyone interested in peace missions in a meaningful and dense conversation. Nonetheless, it is imperative to highlight the most innovative aspect of this contribution to thinking about peacekeeping: the relational-transformative approach which runs through the whole book. This constitutes a crucial difference from other peacekeeping studies, especially when focusing on the military component of peacekeeping as the author does. This relational-transformative approach is based on the updated understandings of the ‘holy trinity’ principles of peacekeeping. Consent is understood as an ongoing and developing relationship to be built rather than secured between peacekeepers and the community in which they work (with). It is understood

The Nexus between Security, Development and Humanitarianism: A Critical Appraisal of Multi-dimensional Peace Missions

UN peace missions have evolved from contained and specific mandates to broad and encompassing ones, implying complex management of resources and goals. Additionally, the traditional ‘phasing’ of approaches to violence has given way to multi-level and inter-connected responses that imply the involvement of military and civilian actors, with differentiated but interrelated objectives and principles of action. This chapter calls for a critical look at the inter-linkages implied in the ‘multi’ nature and scope of multi-dimensional peace missions, including how these have evolved in order to include humanitarian and development aspects. The challenges associated with this inclusion are discussed, especially with regard to coordination and rendering mandates operational. Emphasis is placed on local and communitarian aspects of intervention when analysing how the scope of mandates can address these challenges, adopting an integrated approach to conflict management, humanitarian action and development aid in order to respond to the complex settings of violence where missions take place. The chapter starts with an overview of the evolution of peace missions from their traditional to multi-dimensional mandates, setting the basis for this analysis. It then draws on the securitization framework to analyse the concepts of development and humanitarianism, rendering visible the challenges mentioned above.