Understanding Conflict Environments: Theoretical Challenges and Practical Implications

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Understanding Conflict Environments Theoretical
Challenges and Practical Implications

• Alexander Pound
• Marianna Duce
• 2008

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Purpose

• Many of the current conflict analysis frameworks
  are conceptually flawed, and suffer from a
  reduced utility in developing a comprehensive
  understanding of specific conflict environments
  on which to base peacekeeping and peacemaking
  strategies
• Implications wrought by weak theoretical
  underpinnings are examined by observing how a
  misunderstanding, and thus, misdiagnosis of child
  soldiers participation in the conflict
  environment, provides a substantial obstacle to
  peace in the case of Sierra Leone.

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Theoretical Ideas

• 1990s big debates - lots of conflicts
• Niche-based analysis

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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New Wars

• Globalisation
• Conflict changed how?
• Goals
• Mode
• Support
• Resulted in a complete change in the Nature of war

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Traditional Distinctions

• What are they?
• Conventional
• Asymmetric
• Irregular /small wars/ terrorism/ complex
  emergencies
• ALL approaches de-contextualise

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Practical Issues

• Evaluating a range of actors
• Military Actors
• Civilian actors

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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AID Approaches
DFID and USAID Two Key conflict assessment
frameworks
How is conflict analysed? - Strategic Conflict
Assessment
Structures
Inform dynamics
Actors
Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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US Military Doctrine
How does military doctrine develop an
appreciation of mission variables? What is
ME-TTC?
Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Challenges for Sustainable Peace
Military concerns
Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
Aid concerns
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Practical Implications of conceptual weaknesses

• Theoretical challenges do matter
• Issues for sustainable peace
• Build up the rationale
• Child Soldiers
• Theoretical problems of conceptualising Child
  Soldiers
• Sierra Leonean Child Soldiers

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Child Soldiers

• 300 000 child soldiers globally
• Present in 75 of conflicts
• Between 10-50 of all direct participants in
  armed groups.

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Theoretical Assumptions

• New Wars Theory
• Problematic because
• Assumes conflict dynamics are the solitary cause
• Neglects pre-war social and political factors
  that impact of childrens participation
• Also neglects different modes of recruitment

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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Child Soldiers in Sierra Leone

• Sierra Leone as a New War
• Why were children Involved?
• Coercion and volunteerism
• Declining recruitment
• Specific dynamics

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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What Sierra Leone Tells us?

• The application of generalised assumptions such
  as those in CS literature is problematic
• Why?
• Sierra Leone problems misdiagnosed
• Lack of appropriate interventions to meet the
  needs of this group
• Difficult for peace and stability
• We need to understand the contexts that lead to
  the
• use of child soldiering.

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008
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The need to recognise the limits of current
practice

• From theory to practice there are issues with the
  analysis of conflict
• - Theoretical challenges
• - Practical concerns
• - Issue based problems
• - Context specific problems
• Challenges persist despite progress in diagnosing
  conflict environments

Alexander Pound Marianna Duce 2008