How to Change the Face of Conflict - Research Paper Example

How to change the face of conflict Contents Contents 2 Introduction 3 Background Analysis 3 Discussion 3 Reasons behind Conflict 4 Intra Conflicts 6 The civil war in Democratic Republic of Congo 6 The Civil War in Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone 8 Failed State 9 Indicators of Failed State 11 Why States Fail 11 Changing face of Conflict 13 Peace Building 14 Conclusion 17 Reference List 19 Introduction Conflict is a branch of traditional economics where allocation of resources are done by the means of disruptive fighting; thus violating the equilibrium of economic models. However, the conflict economics shows a completely different aspect of appreciation which involves contradiction between two or more players. Such contradiction arises when agents have to choose one from the production of resources and production of guns (Garfinkel and Skaperdas, 2006). Similarly, political conflict arises when uneven distribution of power takes place to grasp control over relations, religion and cultures. The definition of political conflict becomes more critical when armed combats are involved in the forces of at least one state to gain control over other states and when at least 1000 people are killed in such political conflict, it is identified as Armed Conflict (Dani, 2009). Background Analysis Historically, many conflicts have arises in the form of civil wars for the possession of vital resources such as water, metals like gold, silver, copper, petroleum and many more since 17th and 18th centuries from the commencement of World War I. During the last decade, many of such conflicts took place in Liberia, Sierra, Somalia, Sudan, Chechnya, Chiapas, Congo and Indonesia driven by the struggle of parties involved to take control over critical resources. Such resource conflicts are becoming more prominent and frequencies are also increasing as the demand for such scarce resources are exceeding the supply of the same. Competition to surmount the valuable oil supplies and pipeline routs is the source of conflict in 21st century. With the growing demand of oil and declining capacity of supply from the United States, Mexico and China, the concentration is shifting towards Gulf countries, South America and Africa. According to the experts’ opinion, the rivalry for oil was initiated in 1991 with Persian Gulf Conflict which is still continuing with the invasion of Iraq in 2003. For further complications, incidents such as attacking the inhabitants who resides near the major oil producing fields and pipeline locations from guerrillas and terrorists have been experienced in recent economy (Connaughton, 2013). Discussion Conflict gives rise to the economic divergence in international landscape. From Sierra to Angola and Cambodia, conflicts to surmount control over scarce resources leads armies and militants to violate human rights by the means of murder, rape and other violent measures imposed on civilians. For instance, countries like Democratic Republic of Congo are fighting since last 10 years for securing the mineral rich eastern region of the country. Sudan is also struggling to protect their oil revenue share; Liberia is encountered frequently for capturing the source of timber and diamonds which have the potential to fuel the revenue for the country itself if internal corruptions can be controlled to offset the external attacks. Several in depth investigations have been conducted on international trade system and the policies of international, national and provincial levels for the purpose of identifying the root of such conflicts and determine possible ways to resolve this. A large number of underlying factors have been identified which are igniting the intensity and frequency of economic conflicts. Reasons behind Conflict Economic Globalization Growing internationalization and global expansion of finance and trade highly influence the global phenomenon. Globalization enhances the necessity of resources as a result of acceleration of industrialization. Energy sources are important for expansion of any kind of industries. Energy consumption is more than 3.7% higher in the newly industrialized countries. Source of raw material such as timber, rubbers are also significantly important for uninterrupted production process. Such incremental requirement of resources is making nations more aggressive (Hampshire College, 2001). Unsustainable consumption After sustaining the era of global shock, the rate of consumption has been increased at a rapid pace which leads to make resources scarce in the upcoming future. This holds true for oil and water as well. The conventional petroleum, one third amount of which has been consumed in the past 140 years, the rest is expected to be consumed within 2020 due to increasing global need for oil. Similar is the case of water, making the two chief resources most unsustainable. Huge practice of water intensive devices such as dishwashers and showers and irrational use of all these especially in cities largely contributes towards the dwindling availability of resources. Such factors further enhance the possibility of economic conflicts (Hampshire College, 2001). Population Growth As per the reports from Human Development Index, the global human population is expected to grow from 7.2 billion to 9.3 billion in 2050. Definitely, the additional population will require extra food, shelter, energy and other necessary resources. Practically, such enhancement in population have raised question on the sustainability of the vital resources. When more people are struggling for limited resources such as territory, jobs, income and household and such resources are not fairly distributed, it will give rise to conflicts for survival. Economic warfare Conflict over resources is mostly evident in poor and divided countries that own limited number of chief resources such as diamonds, oil, old growth timbers etc. Hence, powerful nations strive to exercise control over such nations for accumulating considerable amount of wealth through exploiting such resources, leaving the countrymen to live in poverty. In a well regulated province, governments control the exploitation and distribution of resources for the betterment of the population at large. However, in a dysfunctional state, several warlords engage into conflicts to gain control over critical resources. Such conflicts also involve religious animosities. The conflict of Angola and Sierra reveals the competition to acquire control over the diamond fields by moulding the ethnic beliefs of the inhabitants. Technological Innovation  Technological consideration is another reflection for influencing economic conflictions. With the innovation and development of systems for low cost conversion of sea water into consumable water, water desalination, hydrogen powered fuel etc influences nations to strive for detaining the natural resources which leads to conflict. Market Mechanism Incrementing price of oil spurs the necessity for conservation and the development of new sources of energy. International arbitration can aid in the settlement of disputes over offshore boundaries and the allocation of shared water supplies (Hampshire College, 2001). Intrastate Conflicts Incidents of Intrastate Conflicts are becoming more frequent, as a result of concentration of power among few states and unequal distribution of existing resources. Such conflicts explain the economic and political violence between armed groups from more than one state. Though these kind of violent conflicts are generally confined within the border of a specific state, international significance of such conflicts are huge as spilling over risks emerges into the adjacent nations as a result of conflict. The civil war in Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan and Liberia and Sierra Leone depicts some of the living incidents of such conflicts. The civil war in Democratic Republic of Congo Democratic Republic of Congo is a vast state with enormous economic resources that became the chief reason behind Africa’s World War, leading the country towards facing humanitarian crisis. In spite of formation of intermediary government in 2003, the civilians of DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) remained in fear of death, rape and disarticulations by the prowling militants and armies. The five year long conflict rooted the power of the government with the support of Angola and Zimbabwe against the revolt of Uganda and Rwanda. The war took more than six million lives through direct killing, disease and malnutrition and surfaced the worst emergency condition in Africa of this decade. Such political as well as economic conflict arises in DRC due to huge corruption and improper management of mineral wealth that is possessed by this province. In the past also, the country has faced several civil wars; in 1960, soon after the independence, the country was encountered army munity to cease the mineral rich province of Katanga. In 1965, Mobutu took control over the country, named it Zaire and continued to use it as a launch pad of operations against Soviet backed Angola, with the help of the United States. Since then, the country became synonymous to corruption. The neighbouring state Rwanda’s radical Hutu militants invaded DRC in 1997 and renamed the country is Democratic Republic of Congo (Princeton University Library, 2009). However, the quandary of DRC remained unsolved. The whole country turned into a combat zone when Laurent Kabila, the then President ignited insurgence supported by Namibia, Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe in 2008. In 2009, the government sought help from Rwanda to conduct joint operations against Hutu militants, hampering the peace especially in the eastern region of DRC. In early 2013, UN attempted to bring security and peace through a regional agreement but such effort was denied by Uganda and Rwanda and the region remained volatile (Taleb, 2013). The joint effort of the United Nations and 20,000 peacekeeping operators of MONUSCO (Mission de lOrganisation des Nations Unies en Republique Democratique du Congo) failed to bring uniformity in the institutional administrations, transportations and communications as well as to control the occurrence of mass rape and killing in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the reports of September 2010, the number of rape case reported, rose to more than 500. Incidents have shown that the civilians had to tolerate unacceptable degree of brutalization mainly in the village areas. Such incidents show massive failure of the United Nations, national army and police force where most of such raping and looting took place even at a distance of 20km from the UN and army base (World Bank, 2011). The number of victims doubled in the month of July and August where the assailants raped and murdered mass civilians of eastern Congo without even sparing a month old child to a 110 year old woman in the village named Luvungi. In another area called Uvria, sexual violence victimized 74 women including 21 minors and 2 boys. In order to control such incrementing incidents, MONUSCO included additional 750 groups of security forces for night patrols and random checks; however such number falls short in front of the magnitude of rebellions and the rape became ordinary weapon of war during 2008 and 2009. All these incidents proved the inefficiency of MONUSCO and UN for controlling the insurgency, mass rape, looting and murder prevailing in the DRC (The Guardian, 2010). (World Bank, 2011) The Civil War in Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone Sudan is experiencing a civil war since 1955 when the First Sudanese Civil War was initiated. Before the province reached in a stable state, the country experienced Second Sudanese Civil War which was continued till 2005. The South Civil War is the recent phenomenon (2013) where conflict between government forces and opponent parties became so violent that the civilians became victim of rapid killing, rape and other measures of violence. The war was initiated when opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar commanded liberation movement in December, 2013 in the meeting of National Liberation Council. The political scenario of Sudan was already unstable with the spill over effect of Heglig Crisis in 2012 where armed combat spread out between Sudan and South Sudan to seek control over oil rich region of the province. South Sudan attacked and occupied the small border town of Heglig before they were pushed back by the Sudanese army. In 2013, financial scandal became prominent as the President Kirr decided to dismiss Finance Minister and the entire cabinet to establish sole power over People’s Liberation Movement, thus erupted Civil War. As a result, several men and women were killed by army men and in police station, in their villages, mosque and hospitals, according to the reports of The Guardian and BBC (2014). On 17th April, 58 people were attacked and killed in the UN base itself. The UN Secretary General described the incident as a “War Crime” as the attackers outraged the peacekeepers as well. Soon after this statement, on 26th August, 2014, the invaders shot down a UN Mi8 cargo helicopter, killing several crew members and destroying food and medicines required for base camp (BBC News Africa, 2014). Situation was no different in Liberian and Sierra Leone Civil War. Military and militants started trafficking the women and children and officially made them sex slaves in the refugee camp. PHR reports showed that 94% of the households had to experience some or the other kind of violence and molestation during the period of conflict among which 76% became victim of Multiple Perpetrator Rape as well as gang rape. The rebel used sexual violence as their main weapon to terrorize and humiliate to take over ultimate control on the civilian population in Sierra. Libya also experienced severe consequences during First and Second Civil War. Probably, in no other conflicts of 21st century involved child soldiers in the civil war except for Liberian Civil War. Both involved parties such as Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and Charles Taylor, the then President of Libya extensively used children into the military forces. Libya being a multi ethnic country, religious beliefs became another source of conflict among the combatants. Several incidents of human sacrifice became significant by the means of sacrificing food, luxury and even life (including lives of children) as a motion of sacrificing to the evil for being granted for the immunity from bullets. Consumption of drugs and cocaine became a vital part of the Liberian wartime culture where all combatants including children consumed drugs as per the orders of the prevalent warlords to make the soldiers more effective in battlefield (Global Witness, 2014). Failed State In a conflict situation, provinces can be grouped under four categories according to the severity of its condition. A state is categorized under Crisis State when it experiences serious economic and political contestation and it becomes very difficult for the state to control the conflict without any third party intervention. When a state is on a verge of failing to control its authority and legitimacy, it is indicated as a Fragile State. A Post Conflict State is one which has become successful to control the conflict that prevailed in the economy and has been enabled to protect its critical resources for the future of civilians whereas a Failed State is one where the Central Government becomes so weak that it has a very little power to protect and control the territory and push the state to collapse. In a failed state, the territory looses the physical control and becomes unable to provide reasonable public services. As a result of defective institutional policies, paralyzed government, broken law and order as well as destroyed resources of the territory drive the state to collapse. For instance, according to the reports from Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Mexico has been able to control its economic situation after its severe Currency Crisis in late 1994 and emerged as a prosperous country in G20 summit. However, cities like Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez remained in the list of Failed State after the devastating incident of killing 27,000 people in armed conflict in 2006 (Roth, 2008). (World Bank, 2011) Indicators of Failed State Several socio-economic and political factors works as an indicator for a state to be considered for analyzing its present condition and to take corrective actions for preventing the economy and the government from becoming a Failed State. Massive demographic pressure, dispersion of civilians from their native place and emergence of refugees, rising grievances and group paranoia are the social indicators whereas uneven economic development and declining economic growth constitutes economic significance for failed states. Political considerations such as criminalization and deregulation of legitimacy, progressive deterioration of public services, and consecutive violation of human rights and intervention of other political forces appeared to be indications of a failed state (Mansfield and Pollins, 2003). Why States Fail States experience failure mainly because of two types of Conflicts. Identity based Conflict Identity based conflict, especially in the 21st century emerges as one of the main reasons behind Fail of States in sub national territory. According to the theory of “Clash of Civilization” suggested by the eminent political scientist Samuel Huntington, the maximum cultural grouping and the highest level of cultural identity differentiates human beings from other species on earth. Figure 1: The Huntington’s World (World Bank, 2011) Huntington divided the whole world into various major civilizations such as Western civilization, Latin America, Eastern Civilization etc and identified several possibilities of clashes depending on the interrelationship among the civilizations. According to him, fundamental differences in history, culture, tradition and religious factors may pose to be a primary reason for conflicts. Economic modernization and changes in social characteristics gives rise to identity and religion specific crisis among many states and enhances the necessity for establishing power on other provinces (IRIN News, 2015). For instance, Western has already reached the climax to power practices whereas non-western countries are continually striving to minimize confrontation from west and to protect their critical resources to the full extent. Economic regionalism also indicates clashes through uprooting common civilization. Therefore, hypothetically, the global politics is expected to be dominated by the clash of civilization in future (Slaughter, 2011). Colonial Legacies Colonial legacy is another source of conflict where nations and regions are affected by the governing of colonial rules. In many parts of the globe including Africa and Asia face societal, governmental and structural stipulations as a result of exercising colonial rules by the authorities. For instance, British Colonial rule has left a legacy in the governing system of Africa and India by controlling the supply of physical labor and resources. (World Bank, 2011) In general, extreme poverty and debt, incapability of exploiting existing resources, interdependence on other nations financially or in administrative way, inability to build transparent identity of the nation, deceleration of economic growth and above all, corruption, patronage and autocratic behavior of government smoothening the way of establishing colonialism for more powerful states which in turn gives rise to economic and political conflict (Slaughter, 2011). Changing face of Conflict However, with the international intervention and continuous efforts from institutions such as United Nations has changed the shape of conflict. Such changed face of conflict has given rise to two significant trends: one is the worldwide endeavor for peace building and another is incidents of low intensity forms of hostility, especially in rural areas. Researchers have identified that if the confidence and trust can be reestablished upon governance and social relations, basic need for food, shelter and income can be secured, and external pressures can be encountered well in advance, the face of conflict can definitely be diminished by any states in the world (Creveld, 2008). Peace Building Peace building aims at intervening into the conflict- affected nations to prevent and control resumptions of violence by establishing sustainable peace. While peace indicates abolition of war by establishing social justice and economic integrity, peace building signifies the process of building long term and sustainable socio political relationship, laying foundation of economic revitalization, building infrastructures for public services and enhancing capacity of development to overcome legacies and uproot the cause for conflicts. Peacemaking is an integral part of Peace building where volunteers from the United Nations, designated as “Blue Helmets”, strive to bring stability in the curfew driven areas (Kumar, 2013). (World Bank, 2011) As a result of political instability, weak institutions, economic disruption, poor governance and high level of insecurity, incidents of recurrence of conflict are very prominent in the countries that have previously experienced civil war. Presently, more than 1.5 billion people in this world subsist with violence and conflict; 42 million people are dispersed from their native places and the degree of poverty is 20% higher in conflict affected countries (Garfinkel and Skaperdas, 2012). (World Bank, 2011) In a typical post conflict country, existence of military dominance, irregular civil war, clashes for acquiring land and natural resources, corruption, unstructured legislations as well as vicious circle of redundant youth are frequently experienced. Moreover, The United Nations has established Millennium Development Goals (MDG) on the Millennium Summit organized by United Nations in 2000 which are hypothetically to be achieved by all member states by the end of 2015. These eight distinct goals can be accredited as, to eradicate poverty and hunger, to accomplish universal primary education, to promote women empowerment and gender inequality, to diminish child mortality, recover maternal health, to control HIV AIDS and Malaria, ensure environmental sustainability and to enhance global partnership for development. However, most of the countries in post conflict phase have not achieved any of these hypothetical goals. These factors necessitate the importance of Peace building activities (Hopkins and Gordon, 2014). (World Bank, 2011) Peace building: From SCHLEP Perspective The concept of peace building can be better described through the word SCHLEP. Under SCHLEP, S stands for Safety and Human Security which is inevitable for establishing peace in any territory. Safety and Human Security consists of security sector reform, demobilization, disarmament, reintegration etc which are primary aspect for bringing peace in a conflict driven area. C stands for Civil Society in which social mobilisation and education holds importance. H constitutes Healing that ensures proper supply of medicine, security measures, protection and required counselling to the victims of conflict. L ascertains proper provision for stable livelihood by providing opportunities for short term employment in the private and public sectors. E signifies commencement for economic reform and optimum allocation of land and critical natural resources. Finally, P stands for Public Administration and Accountability that determines re establishment of state authority, structured legislations, constitutional reform and proper management of public finance (Turner, Aginam and Igbokwe, 2011). (World Bank, 2011) UN’s 7 Point Action Plan (7 PAP) Where SCHLEP criteria for peace building helps United Nations to identify key areas of improvement for a conflict driven territory, the UN has adopted a consecutive action plan to establish solutions to the root cause analysis. Such arrangement is known as UN’s 7 Point Action Plan which can be attributed as Conflict Resolution, Post Conflict Planning and Financing, Understanding Civilian Capacity, Participation in Public Life, Establishing Rules for legislations and finally, recovery of the economy (Institute for Economics and Peace, 2014). Conclusion Economic and political conflict is one of the major issues that today’s world is experiencing. Such conflicts hinder the pathway for sustained economic growth and political stability to a great extent. People are tired of war, tired of running, tired of being raped and killed by the brutal combatants. Therefore, it has become utmost important to reinforce the value of peace into the world economy. However, it is really a challenging task to inculcate the increasing need for peace in this war starved world today. Hence, appointment of a change agent has been a preliminary requisite. As women are the massive victim of such political conflict, the UN has signified the requirement of establishing women as a change agent for the non violent struggle of peace building in the world. If efforts for peace building can be continued uniformly in order to eliminate or minimize the scope for economic and political conflict, the world will certainly emerge as a better place for living in the coming future. Reference List BBC News Africa, 2014. Democratic Republic of Congo profile. 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