International Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies

Warfare Practices and Experiments and their Effects on the Environment

Chokri Zehri — 2024-10-15

War and armed conflict have devastating impacts not only on human populations but also on the environment. This paper explores various warfare practices, violations of international humanitarian law, and their immediate and long-term environmental consequences. Using an ARDL model, we analyze data from 1990 to 2023 across 19 wars and military conflicts to assess their ecological impact. Our study examines deforestation, soil degradation, water contamination, air pollution, and biodiversity loss. We find that conflict intensity and duration have the most significant influence on ecological damage, while displacement and refugee numbers play a relatively minor role. The analysis shows that economic factors do not contribute to environmental harm. Additionally, the long-term effects of war and conflict are more pronounced than short-term impacts. Based on these findings, we recommend that policymakers prioritize the integration of comprehensive environmental protection measures in conflict resolution strategies. This includes implementing strict regulations against environmentally harmful practices during warfare, promoting sustainable development initiatives in post-conflict reconstruction, and fostering international cooperation to address the ecological impacts of conflicts.

Assessment of the Reasons for Chieftaincy Conflicts in Muyuka Sub-Division of the South-West Region of Cameroon

Tambe Thomas Tabot — 2024-10-31

Chieftaincy disputes in the Muyuka Sub-Division of Fako Division, Cameroon, are deeply rooted in the historical, socio-cultural, legal, and political landscape of the region. These disputes, often revolving around succession rights, land tenure, and external political interference, are exacerbated by colonial legacies and ambiguities within modern legal frameworks. This study investigates the causes of chieftaincy disputes in Muyuka, focusing on the tensions between traditional leadership structures and statutory governance. Using a qualitative research approach, including semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders, the study examines how colonial interventions, land tenure conflicts, and political manipulation contribute to the complexity of these disputes. The findings highlight the need for comprehensive reforms to address legal ambiguities, protect traditional practices, and limit external interference. This study contributes to the understanding of chieftaincy conflicts and offers recommendations for conflict resolution through a balance of traditional customs and modern governance frameworks.

Understanding the Role of the Public Independent Conciliators in Dispute Resolution Under the Decentralisation Laws of Cameroon

Rodrick Ndi — 2024-11-06

One of the fruits of Law No. 2019/024 of 24 December 2019 Instituting the General Code of Regional and Local Authorities is the introduction of the Offices of the Public Independent Conciliators for the North-West and South-West Regions. These Offices came to light because of one of the resolutions of the Grand National Dialogue caused by the Anglophone crisis that broke up in 2016. This led to the granting of a “Special Status” to the two English speaking Regions in line with Article 62(2) of the Constitution. These Offices have as their prime role to examine and amicably settle disputes between users and regional and council administrations. This paper aims to understand the role of the Public Independent Conciliators in dispute resolution and provide literature on this area of the law since legal literature in this domain is still at its infancy. To attain these objectives, we adopted a doctrinal research methodology. The paper makes use of both primary and secondary data. Primary data was obtained from legal instruments related to the field of study. We also interviewed some key stakeholders concerned with the Offices. Secondary data included the exploitation of the annual reports and academic publications on the Offices of the Public Independent Conciliators. Our findings reveal that, the 2019 Code and 2020 Decree regulating the Offices of the Public Independent Conciliators has given them enormous powers to settle disputes between users and regional and council administrations. However, the Offices are beset with some challenges in executing the missions ascribed to them. Some of these challenges are based on the persistence of the Anglophone crisis in these two regions and the difficulties surrounding the execution of mediation agreements (memorandum of understanding). We therefore recommend that, legal reforms should be proposed by the Public Independent Conciliators and adopted by the legislature to ease enforcement of mediation agreements.

Emerging Issues Relating to Peace and Conflict Prevention in the Post COVID- 19 Era in the Global South

Pisirai Ndarukwa — 2024-12-11

Worldwide, COVID-19 has ravaged the once blooming economics and social fabrics of the world. This has led to a very fragile post COVID-19 era which is fraught with conflicts amongst states, particularly in the Global South. As a result, the dynamics related to peace and conflict prevention has had a number of emerging issues which are examined in this article. This article used the qualitative approach utilizing the desk review method to examine the emerging issues relating to peace and conflict prevention in the Global South in the post COVID-19 era. The researchers used the search engines such as PUBMED, EMBASE, EBSCOHOST and Web of Science as well as Open Grey, Open Access Theses and Dissertations (OATD), Google scholar, the websites of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other organisations to search for emerging issues related to peace and conflict prevention in the Global South in the post COVID-19 era. The researchers used a comprehensive search strategy that utilized search terms that related to the key concepts of the study and combined search terms within a concept with the Boolean terms ‘OR,’ combined search terms between concepts with the Boolean term ‘AND,’ and was adapted to the syntax used by each database. The human security model was used to examine the emerging issues relating to peace and conflict prevention in the Global South. It was identified that the peace in the Global South was very fragile post COVID-19 era with a number of violent conflicts being reported. The issues reported included fragility of the economic, social, health, personal, community, food, environmental and political security. These all have detrimental effects on sustainable peace and security in the Global South. More robust approaches are thus needed to ensure human security needs are addressed in order to prevent conflicts and ensure sustainable peace is enjoyed in the Global South.