Fred, krise og konflikt

Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Thinking about Women’s Violence in Global Politics

Det er ofte fokus på offerrollen når det snakkes om kvinner i krig og konflikt. Det er en viktig del av den kjønna erfaringen av konflikt, og var lenge neglisjert i både akademia og politikken. Samtidig overser mange fremdeles kvinners aktive deltagelse i politisk vold. Det analytiske utgangspunktet i «Beyond Mothers, Monsters, Whores: Thinking about Women’s Violence in Global Politics» er at feminisme ikke handler om å argumentere for at kvinner er mindre voldelige enn menn, eller at verden automatisk ville vært et bedre sted om kvinner styrte den. Det handler om å analysere manifestasjoner av kjønn i global politikk. Kvinner som voldelige politiske aktører går imot de dominerende bildene av kvinner som fredelige, moderlige, emosjonelle, rene, uskyldige, fredselskende. I konfliktsituasjoner er de dermed gjerne fremstilt som enten årsaken (det som skal beskyttes) eller ofrene. Hvis det er først er fokus på kvinner som voldsutøverer, blir det gjerne individualisert og knyttet til dem som kvinner. De er ikke bare voldsutøverer, de er kvinnelige voldsutøverer – både voldelige, og dårlige som kvinner, sjelden fremstilt som «bare» terrorister eller soldater. Tilsvarende blir de sjelden fremstilt som «rasjonelle» aktører, og deres valg tolkes gjerne som noe personlig, ikke politisk.

Rethinking the Humanitarian-Development Nexus

In this policy brief, the author outlines the first steps taken in the rethinking of the humanitarian-development nexus. The next Secretary-General would be advised to continue on the same path in order to make sure that the recent commitments made by member states and expressed in various documents are realised. The author sums up five areas the next Secretary-General should prioritize. This policy brief is to a large extent based on the seminar titled Rethinking the humanitarian-development nexus, which was held at NUPI on 15 March 2016. The seminar was co-organised by NUPI, the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as part of the UN 70: A new Agenda project.

Conclusion

Implications of Complexity for Peacebuilding Policies and Practices

Lebanon on the brink

Gravely affected by the Syrian crisis, Lebanon has managed to remain relatively stable against all odds – despite the influx of some 1.5 million Syrian refugees and internal political crisis involving actors who support opposing Syrian factions. Lebanon’s resilience can be explained by the high opportunity cost of state breakdown for domestic, regional and international political actors. Moreover, international economic assistance, diaspora remittances and informal networks established by refugees help to prevent outright economic breakdown. Yet, stability remains extremely precarious. Important tipping points include (1) the IS strategy of spreading the conflict to Lebanon, and the consequent disintegration of the army along sectarian lines, (2) democratic decline and popular dissatisfaction, (3) Hizbullah’s domestic ambitions and Israeli fears over the group’s growing military power and (4) the potential for frustration between refugees and host communities turning into recurrent violence. However, (5) the slow economic decline and the worsening sanitary conditions stand out as the greatest challenges.

The Norwegian Approach to Afghanistan: Civilian-Military Segregation

Gender-Based Violence and Access to Justice: Grand Bassa County, Liberia

Liberia has a dual justice system: there is a formal court hierarchy under the judiciary (i.e. a statutory justice system), as well asa system of customary courts. In this project, this report examines the issue of gender-based violence (GBV) in relation o these two systems. This report is based on fieldwork in Grand Bassa County, and builds on qualitative data (interviews and focus groups) and quantitative data (survey). The survey showed that the majority of respondents (96%) have access to forms of local justice, i.e. a justice system that is affordable and nearby. This also corresponds well with our qualitative data. We have identified various challenges as well as potentials with both the customary and the statutory justice systems as regards GBV. First, the statutory system remains largely unavailable to the majority of the Liberian population, for reasons that include costs, travel distance, language and cultural barriers. That being said, the statutory system offers a more standardized procedure, with the potential of ensuring a more gender-equal form of justice compared to many of the customary systems. On the other hand, the customary systems are far more readily available, and are also efficient in handling various kinds of cases. However, there are also limitations, includingthe perceived low legitimacy of traditional authorities among youth as well as among influential organizations and institutions that support international human rights approaches, as women are often subordinate to men in the traditional institutions. Both system have many potentials. The authorities in charge of customary law acknowledge their limitations in handling GBV cases, and many are also motivated to include perspectives from youth and women in today’s Liberia. As the customary systems are available and affordable to most of the populace, there is much to be said for empowering and strengthening their roles and also improving communication with the statutory system. The statutory system is overburdened and could benefit from stronger working relations with the customary system.