Browsing by Subject "conflict resolution"
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(2019)This study set out to examine and analyse Finnish military chaplains’ and commanders’ conceptions and experiences concerning the utilisation of Finnish military chaplains as religious experts – i.e. advising personnel on religion and culture and engaging local religious leaders and communities – in international military operations, with the focus on deployments to Lebanon and Afghanistan from 2010 to 2018. Simultaneously the study intended to contribute to the broader discussion on religious approaches and actors in conflict resolution, especially in the framework of comprehensive crisis management (CCM). This was done by conducting a qualitative content analysis on ten semi-structured interviews. The interviews were studied through a framework of religious approaches to conflict resolution, particularly the concepts of Religious Area Analysis (RAA) and Religious Leader Engagement (RLE) by Dr. Steve K. Moore and Religious Advicement (RA) and Religious Leader Engagement/Religious Leader Liaison (RLL) by Dr. Eric Patterson. It was found that Finnish military chaplains’ RAA/RA and RLE/RLL endeavours in the two countries have been similar to their international counterparts’ contributions in various operational environments, with the exception of no known successes of mediation, facilitation, or reconciliation between estranged local religious actors or communities – only some attempts in Lebanon. Although in the interviewees’ cases RAA/RA and RLE/RLL efforts seem to have been limited mainly by external factors such as the level of willingness of locals, the security situation at hand, and the mandate and nature of each operation, the effect of individual and organisational issues was evident: to some extent, lack of full awareness and vision, insufficient policy and doctrine, limited training and instructions, inadequate planning and preparations, non-existent organisational frameworks, short rotations, and biased attitudes of personnel all have influenced Finnish chaplains’ chances to serve their contingents in terms of local religious conditions and actors. In other words, these activities have not been conducted in a fully organised manner. The irregular state of RAA/RA and RLE/RLL in the Finnish Defence Forces has implications to the comprehensiveness of the organisation’s conflict resolution efforts: if relevant expertise is not systematically used, opportunities will likely be missed and unnecessary mistakes made. Moreover, in light of theoretical understanding it may be stated that without a broader vision, longer-term planning, and increased commitment with respect to the approaches it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to connect the Finnish Defence Forces’ international operations to any peacebuilding initiatives through local religious and traditional leaders – a strategy which has proven to be highly useful for Finnish peace mediation efforts.
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(2018)The thesis seeks to analyse The Moro conflict in the Philippines that is characterised by a propagated and multi-layered nature. The Philippines has been torn by internal conflicts since 1969, by two main religious communities: Muslims represented by the Moro people, and Christians who represent the majority of population. In my research, I focus on the conflict prerequisites that stem from the results of colonialism. I view colonialism as the period that significantly contributed to the formation of ethnic stereotyping, socio-economic neglect, and the split in Filipino society. Hence, it can be stated that reinforced stereotypes against the others that is Moro people serve as the indicator of the societal split and tendencies to demonization. For my work it was crucial to tackle the following theoretical topics: the history of colonialism as prerequisites for ethnic tensions; the formation of stereotypes and processes of reinforcement; the notion of indigenous rights and territorial claims. Filipino nation is closely connected with the post-colonial history and the indigenous roots. plan In regards to the peace studies, I was looking at the terrorist dynamics in the Philippines to see the interdependence between failed peace agreements and the radicalization, as well as, the differences between positive and negative notions of peace, and external influence. The method of the research is the comparative contextual analysis with the elements of the linguistic ambiguity analysis. The analysis looks, firstly, at the correlation between the final draft of the Bangasamoro Basic Law (the law, if passed, will enact the peace agreement and establish the structure of government for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region) and UN Declaration of on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Secondly, the analysis observes the process of law making by comparing the BBL drafts from the years 2014, 2015, and 2017. In conclusion, the link between reinforced stereotyping and colonialism has been established. Comparative analysis has served as the basis for observing some major changes in the way the BBL committee was tackling the document drafting. It has shown that the new approach has striven to secure the long-lasting peace by addressing different levels of marginalization, following the rules of equality, inclusion, and the international law standards. It can be stated that the Philippines is taking a path for establishing positive peace and resorts to one of the methods to solve the conflict based on territorial claims by granting autonomy to Moros.
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