The Concept of “State Failure” and Contemporary Security and Development Challenges
Though ‘failed states’ continue to pose significant transnational security problems, the emergence of informal actors challenges the assumption of a complete absence of governance.
Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War
Though barbaric, heinous, and atrocious, sexual violence is employed when its use makes strategic sense, i.e. is capable of inflicting maximum damage at a low cost and a high pay-off.
Violent Peacekeeping: An Evaluation of the Performance of ECOWAS in the First Liberian Civil War (1989-1996)
The first Liberian civil war is a vital prerequisite in understanding just how fallacious the Economic Community of West African States was in its activities before, during, and after the conflict.
Shame and Violence Nexus in the Sierra Leone Civil War
Combined with other factors, such as emotional repression and social alienation, shame may manifest itself in the form of extreme violence, as in the case of the Sierra Leone Civil War.
Has Genocide Jurisprudence Ended Impunity? Transitional Justice and the Case of Rwanda
International courts add a substantial dimension to global governance. However, global justice is still far from being realised.
Evaluating the Integration of the South African Women’s Movement
Neither the increased number of female participants in politics nor the establishment of the National Gender Machinery has improved women’s material conditions in South Africa.
Legitimising Force: The Moral and Legal Ramifications of Humanitarian Intervention
Balancing theory with practice: the success or failure to protect human lives is contingent on the need to solidify a unanimous consensus on intervention among members of the UN.
Has Guaranteed Electoral Success Left the ANC Complacent?
Electoral dominance has allowed the ANC to grow complacent. Although the public remains largely supportive, it is increasingly disillusioned by the lack of tangible progress.
Conscription of Child Soldiers: Their Own Volition?
Because children play an important role in armed conflict, the question remains whether children conscript by their free will, by an overpowering adult, or by social conditions.
Women’s Water Woes: Privatization and Reinforcement of Gender Inequality
The privatization and commoditization of water involves complex distributional choices that disproportionately impact women and girls living in slums and informal settlements.
