Rafael Grasa

Conflict Prevention and Decentralized Governance: Some Remarks About the State of the Art in Theory and Practice

CAt) Existeix alguna relacio entre governabilitat descentralitzada i prevencio de conflictes? El present article intenta respondre a aquesta pregunta presentant la situacio actual de la interseccio entre ambdos conceptes. Partint del fet que el conflicte social es inevitable, aixi com de l’existencia de noves amenaces i conflictes i de noves demandes de seguretat basades en les persones (seguretat humana), les nostres societats han d’intentar que els canvis siguin pacifics. A traves d’un exhaustiu analisis de la bibliografia existent i de l’estudi de diversos casos, aquest article soste que la governabilitat descentralitzada pot contribuir a aquests esforcos transformant conflictes, fomentant el repartiment de poder i augmentant els incentius d’inclusio de grups minoritaris. Tot i la dificultat de mesurar el seu impacte sobre la prevencio de conflictes, s’ argumenta que la governabilitat descentralitzada pot tenir un impacte molt positiu en la reduccio de les causes que produeixen conflictes gracies a la seva habilitat per crear war/violence preventors. Mes concretament, en aquest article se suggereix que la governabilitat descentralitzada pot influir positivament sobre les causes a curt i mitja termini. Paraules clau: prevencio de conflictes violents; causes de les guerres; governanca descentralitzada; descentralitzacio; preventors de la violencia; construccio de pau

Where Has the Old Debate Gone? Realism, Institutionalism and IR Theory

This paper resorts to the contribution of the science philosopher Gerald Holton to map some of the IR arguments and debates in an unconventional and more insightful way. From this starting point, it is sustained that the formerly all-pervading neorealism-neoinstitutionalism debate has lost its appeal and is attracting less and less interest among scholars. It does not structure the approach of the theoretically-oriented authors any more; at least, not with the habitual intensity. More specifically, we defend that the neo-neo rapprochement, even if it could have demonstrated that international cooperation is possible and relevant in a Realist world, it has also impoverished theoretical debate by hiding some of the most significant issues that preoccupied classical transnationalists. Hence, some authors appear to be trying to rescue some of these arguments in an analytical and systematic fashion, opening up a theoretical querelle that may be the next one to pay attention to.