Conflict research is generally focused on explaining those people that engage in violence. This thesis suggests that we also study ordinary civilians and their opinions and support for violence. Such a civilian-centered research focus is necessary because implicit in much of conflict research there are some underlying assumptions, moral judgments, and geographic ideas about violence-supporters. These ...

This study examines the role of civil society organizations in post-election peacebuilding in Ghana. The main objective of the study is to demonstrate how musicians in Ghana contribute to peacebuilding through their music. It highlights the specific activities that were organized by MUSIGA to help promote peace before, during and after the 2012 elections in Ghana. Moreover, it ascertains the motivations ...

While nepotism has been a pervasive social phenomenon in every culture, prevailing in family businesses - the topic has majorly been a taboo for academic research. It has been labeled as a discriminative practice in modern bureaucratic organizations. The development and international aid worldwide represent a large framework of bureaucracies and planning. Local cultures often represent a challenge ...

State-region relations involve negotiations over the power to (re)-constitute local spaces. While in federal states, power-sharing ostensibly gives regions a role over many space-making decisions, power asymmetries affect this role. Where centralization trends may erode regional agency, law can provide an important tool by which regions can assert influence. We examine a case where, in response to ...

Theory on international society is often criticized for disregarding the agency and influence of non-state actors. This paper analyzes the ways in which non-governmental organizations seek political influence in the United Nations, based on a case study of the Control Arms campaign in the period 2008-2010. The method is a qualitative, iterative approach, where propositions from recent theory on ...

This study examines gender equality in Sámi politics after 2005, the year the Sámi Parliament achieved balanced gender representation. The project seeks to answer the question: Within the context of Sámi politics, how is gender equality represented and addressed? To answer this question, the study is based on official documents by the Sámi Parliament and the women’s organization Sámi NissonForum, ...

This study focuses on the efforts of an NGO known as West African Network for Peace building (WANEP), towards enhancing women participation in peace and security issues in Nigeria, through one of its programs known as Women in Peace building Network (WIPNET). It specifically, examines the capacity building training scheme carried out through WIPNET among the Ogoni women group in Niger-Delta region ...

Contrary to most debates about state formation, this article outlines an alternative perspective on the shaping of political community – and the international peace architecture – based on the agency of actors engaged in peaceful forms of politics after war. Drawing on long-standing critical debates, it investigates the positive potential of ‘peace formation’, outlining the theoretical development ...

Using the perspective of the role of fear in security and identity-based conflicts, I was motivated to investigate in this thesis how peace actors strive to be actively involved in peacemaking in Israel. The main objective of this thesis is to gain insight in the activities of Peace Now in light of the second Intifadah 2000-2004, and disorientation of peace camp. If successful, the results of this ...