Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict – serie

The Kurds, one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Middle East, are reasserting their identity-politically and through violence. Divided mainly among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the Kurds have posed increasingly sharp challenges to all of these states in their quest for greater autonomy if not outright independence. Turkey''s essentially democratic structure and civil society_ideal tools for coping with and incorporating minority challenge_have so far been suspended on this issue, which the government is treating almost exclusively as a security problem to be dealt with by force. For the West the situation in Turkey is particularly significant because of the country''s importance in the region and because of the economic, political, and diplomatic damage that the conflict has caused. If Turkey fails to find a peaceful solution within its current borders, then the outlook is grim for ethnic and separatist challenges elsewhere in the region. This study explores the roots, dimensions, character, and evolution of the problem, offers a range of approaches to a resolution of the conflict, and draws broader parallels between the Kurdish question and other separatist movements worldwide.

David A. Hamburg—doctor, teacher, hostage negotiator, presidential advisor, and more—has seen a lot in his 77 years and has a message for the 21st century: An ounce of prevention is worth many pounds of cure when it comes to deadly international conflict. To explore how the model of preventive medicine may be practically applied to political violence, Hamburg created the Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict. This book is the capstone of the Commission's extensive efforts and covers situations as widely ranging as World War II's Holocaust, recent terrorist attacks in the U.S., and the War in Iraq.As Hamburg details, the prevention of war is built on key pillars including democratic governance, economic development, and nonviolent problem solving in dangerous situations. International cooperation and strong leadership at every level are essential. Perhaps most important, a civil society that embraces differences rather than exploiting them is an evolving need. In No More Killing Fields, David A. Hamburg combines the best of long personal experience, multifaceted scholarship, and acute prognosis to point the way toward peace in the 21st century.

A path-breaking collaboration between an Israeli arms control expert and a Jordanian policy advisor, this concise book offers a frank assessment of Arab and Israeli perceptions of their security problems. Building on the bilateral and multilateral peace process, the authors propose a set of measures to increase trust between the two sides and break out of the security dilemma in which a move by one side to strengthen itself provokes the other side to do the same.

The Kurds, one of the oldest ethnic groups in the Middle East, are reasserting their identity—politically and through violence. Divided mainly among Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria, the Kurds have posed increasingly sharp challenges to all of these states in their quest for greater autonomy if not outright independence. Turkey's essentially democratic structure and civil society_ideal tools for coping with and incorporating minority challenge_have so far been suspended on this issue, which the government is treating almost exclusively as a security problem to be dealt with by force. For the West the situation in Turkey is particularly significant because of the country's importance in the region and because of the economic, political, and diplomatic damage that the conflict has caused. If Turkey fails to find a peaceful solution within its current borders, then the outlook is grim for ethnic and separatist challenges elsewhere in the region. This study explores the roots, dimensions, character, and evolution of the problem, offers a range of approaches to a resolution of the conflict, and draws broader parallels between the Kurdish question and other separatist movements worldwide.

Terrorists and peacemakers may grow up in the same community and adhere to the same religious tradition. The killing carried out by one and the reconciliation fostered by the other indicate the range of dramatic and contradictory responses to human suffering by religious actors. Yet religion's ability to inspire violence is intimately related to its equally impressive power as a force for peace, especially in the growing number of conflicts around the world that involve religious claims and religiously inspired combatants. This book explains what religious terrorists and religious peacemakers share in common, what causes them to take different paths in fighting injustice, and how a deeper understanding of religious extremism can and must be integrated more effectively into our thinking about tribal, regional, and international conflict.

Terrorists and peacemakers may grow up in the same community and adhere to the same religious tradition. The killing carried out by one and the reconciliation fostered by the other indicate the range of dramatic and contradictory responses to human suffering by religious actors. Yet religion's ability to inspire violence is intimately related to its equally impressive power as a force for peace, especially in the growing number of conflicts around the world that involve religious claims and religiously inspired combatants. This book explains what religious terrorists and religious peacemakers share in common, what causes them to take different paths in fighting injustice, and how a deeper understanding of religious extremism can and must be integrated more effectively into our thinking about tribal, regional, and international conflict.

Carrots and sticks have always been used in combination in diplomatic affairs, but scholars and policymakers have focused more on the sticks than the carrots. In this provocative study, policy-savvy scholars examine a wide range of cases—from North Korea to South Africa to El Salvador and Bosnia—to demonstrate the power of incentives to deter nuclear proliferation, prevent armed conflict, defend civil and human rights, and rebuild war-torn societies. The book addresses the 'moral hazard' of incentives, the danger that they can be construed as bribes, concessions, or appeasement. Incentives can take many forms—economic and political, as palpable as fuel oil and as intangible, yet powerful, as diplomatic recognition and 'constructive engagement.' The cases demonstrate that incentives can sometimes succeed when traditional methods—threats, sanctions, or force—fail or are too dangerous to apply.

The end of the twentieth century saw the easing of East-West tension but not the end of violent conflict_especially within states. There has been growing consensus that the international community needs to find more effective ways of preventing such internal conflicts. This book argues that the most sustainable means of promoting peace within states is the development of good governance, which can address the root causes of conflict and meet basic human security needs. Good governance offers groups a 'voice' in resolving grievances at an early stage before they grow into major problems, safeguards human rights, and promotes a fairer distribution of resources. The author suggests that the focus of good international and regional governance should be the promotion of more effective national and local governance, and she outlines the efforts of the United Nations, regional organizations_such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of African Unity, and the Organization of American States_and NGOs, such as the Carter Center. The most successful approaches of these organizations could be applied through proposed Regional Centers for Sustainable Peace.

When it comes to conflict resolution, is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Leading scholars lay out an analytical and methodological framework for evaluating this question, and case studies on global hotspots from Bosnia to Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and El Salvador (among others) put it to the test.

When it comes to conflict resolution, is an ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure? Leading scholars lay out an analytical and methodological framework for evaluating this question, and case studies on global hotspots from Bosnia to Somalia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and El Salvador (among others) put it to the test.

The international community can creatively and aggressively address deadly conflict through mediation, arbitration, and the development of international institutions to promote reconciliation. The editors of this book designed a systematic framework with which contributors compare third party intervention in twelve conflicts of the postDCold War period. They examine the role of international organizations_the United Nations, international development banks, and international law institutions_and they analyze the tools and forms of leverage in successful and unsuccessful mediations. Based on the case studies, the editors identify the most effective institutions, make recommendations for improving interventions, and elucidate several important insights into the mediation process and the role of the international community in dispute resolution.