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In his scholarly article, “Dealing with painful memories and violent pasts”, Brandon Hamber explains and reflects on “the relationship between how individual (largely victim) processes of coming to terms with mass atrocity (a micro perspective) relate to the collective or political process of finding ways of dealing with the past (a macro perspective)” (Hamber 2015, 2). In any discussion of war, mass atrocities, political repression and their impact, one is unavoidably forced to think about this relationship and deal with it – to confront the challenge of having to talk about both perspectives without being able to fully integrate them or grasp their linkage in all its complexity. Hamber does a masterful job in confronting this inherent problem but inevitably succumbs, at least in part, to the impossibility of the task. The reason for this might be what I call “the psychosocial gap”, and I believe this needs closer examination.

• Year2015
• Author(s)David Becker

As I cannot do justice in this short paper to every point Hamber makes in his engaging and thoughtful article I have chosen to discuss a few points, drawing on my personal experiences of war in my homeland Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). First, I will provide an overview of the war in BiH and its nexus with trauma. I will question the transition process, reflecting on the blurred line between “conflict” and so-called “postconflict”, and argue that war in BiH is not over yet; it is just being fought with other means. In the second part of the paper, I will discuss competing victimhood(s), ethnic identities and the parallel narratives that are a feature of the BiH transitional processes and that present obstacles to any attempts at reconciliation. Finally, I will suggest that in order to build a shared narrative of war it is important to intertwine the experiences of all victims and to draw on positive stories of courage and sacrifice in the midst of war, to restore the faith of Bosnian people in humanity and coexistence.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Olivera Simić

This paper highlights both the historical and the present condition of power contending forces, with a particular focus on marginalised societal groups and their mobilisation (or instrumentalisation) through the Maoist Insurgency. In addition, this paper seeks to portray the inclusive measures adopted since 2006 to make the State move representative of, and responsive to, the makeup of society. The study relies on secondary information as well as data collected through key informant interviews in three regions of Nepal.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Balkrishna Mabuhang

All instances of violence are to some extent caused by some form of political, cultural, economic or social exclusion. Consequently, demands for inclusivity lie at the heart of most peace negotiations between guerrilla groups and governments. Two cases in point are the peace talks engaged by the M-19 at the end of the 1980s and the ongoing negotiations between the FARC-EP and the government in Havana. How did these two processes address the need for inclusivity, both in the set up and in the content of the peace talks? What additional parallels can one draw between these two negotiation processes? Can lessons learned from the M-19 peace negotiations help to better understand the dynamics of the current peace talks? This report addresses these questions from the perspective of two ex-commanders of the M-19, Otty Patiño and Vera Grabe.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Otty Patiño Hormaza, Vera Grabe Loewenherz

One of the key features of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), signed in 2006 by the Maoists and seven other major political parties, was the integration and rehabilitation of the Maoist combatants. After years of discussion on the written agreements and their interpretations, which were designed to facilitate the decision-making process regarding the fate of Maoist combatants, the situation of having two armies in one country finally came to an end in 2013.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Subindra Bogati

This paper emphasises the contradiction that has emerged in Sudan and South Sudan since the two regions signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005, ending their two decade long civil war. The CPA was a compromise between the risk of violent state disintegration on the one hand –should the war continue any longer, and allowing for a peaceful split on the other, should the two sides fail to agree on equitable terms for continued unity. In either case, the hope was for an end to violence through a mediated political settlement. Unfortunately, the settlement neither saved the unity of the country nor produced peace. Instead, the country broke into two and violence continued both between the two Sudans and within them.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Jok Madut Jok

This paper is a review of the Addis Ababa-based, IGAD-led peace process. It focuses on highlighting risks which may stand in the way of an inclusive settlement, including the competition for power, the question of ethnic divides that have fueled violence, the multiplicity of armed non-state actors; how to include them in a settlement without creating a gargantuan military that could bankrupt the country and remilitarise the situation. The paper concludes that careful security arrangements, power-sharing in a government of national unity, a commitment to a national constitution, institutional reforms and a programme of national cohesion, reconciliation and justice for all, are the central pillars of a settlement, without which any peace agreement would be a mere postponement of conflict.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Jok Madut Jok

This strategic framework was developed during the 7th annual Meeting on Negotiations entitled Broadening and Deepening Participation in Peace Negotiations held in Berlin, September 2015. It provides an overview of some of the most frequent challenges Resistance and Liberation Movements (RLMs) face with regard to inclusivity in negotiation processes and ways to address such challenges. While in no way exhaustive, we hope that our readers find this overview useful both for reflecting on and enhancing their own negotiation strategies.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Katrin Planta, Luxshi Vimalarajah

Das SIPRI Yearbook 2015 ist eine Zusammenstellung von Originaldaten aus den Bereichen globale Militärausgaben, internationale Rüstungstransfers, Rüstungsproduktion, Atomstreitkräfte, bewaffnete Konflikte und multilaterale Friedenseinsätze sowie von neuesten Analysen wichtiger Aspekte der Rüstungskontrolle, des Friedens und der internationalen Sicherheit.

Diese Broschüre fasst die Inhalte des SIPRI Yearbook 2015 zusammen.

• Year2015
• Author(s)Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, Berghof Foundation

This annual report focuses on the topic of youth and features highlights of our work in 2014.

• Year2015