Research Results (GSJ) / Résultats de recherches (GSJ)
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Item Right to housing for residents of informal settlements(2020-07-16) The ShiftThis policy brief provides details of the United Nations Special Rapporteur recommendations regarding how governments can upgrade informal settlements within a human rights-based framework. A human rights-based approach will require that residents are ensured security of tenure over the land on which they live. States are legally required to set in motion policies and plans which have as their end goal the fulfilment of the right to adequate housing. Upgrading can reduce poverty, promote economic development and prosperity, and improve the health and well-being of residents. Whilst upgrading might pose significant challenges, improving the housing of informal settlement dwellers is not a choice.Item Towards transformative climate justice : key challenges and future directions for research(2020-07) Newell, Peter; Srivastava, Shilpi; Naess, Lars Otto; Contreras, Gerardo A. Torres; Price, RozThe study identifies and addresses gaps and future entry points for Southern-led research on climate justice. The paper argues that addressing structural root causes (historical injustices, land rights, political participation and governance) is key to achieving climate justice goals in the long term. Transformative climate justice is proposed as a way of moving beyond the ‘silos’ of mitigation and adaptation, towards bridging the gap between justice concerns in climate change funding and actual interventions on the ground. Climate justice reflects the facts of climate change, as well as efforts to tackle it, and to raise ethical, equity and rights issues.Item Annex 1-6 : SAIC mid-term evaluation(2016-09) Wheeler, JoannaThis annex summarises methods used in the mid-term evaluation process. Methods were diverse in order to develop a multi-dimensional understanding of the Safe and Inclusive Cities (SAIC) program. The analysis process triangulated between different perspectives and data sources to support recommendations. Based on gaps and inconsistencies identified in the document review process, interview schedules were designed specific to each respondent, based on their role and engagement with the program. Policy relevant outputs are provided along with survey results.Item Large scale land acquisitions for investment in Kenya : is the participation, and benefits of affected local communities meaningful, and equitable? - a case study of the situation in Lamu, Isiolo and Siaya counties(Land Development and Governance Institute, 2016) Kibugi, Robert; Mwathane, Ibrahim; Makathimo, MwendaThe paper examines the pace of land acquisitions in terms of creating legislative and policy options to safeguard local communities that are directly affected, including compensation for land that is taken, and protecting community interests in the socio-economic and environmental continuum of investment projects, from design to implementation. The absence or weakness of formal landholding and land registration systems was evident in most research sites in Isiolo and Lamu. Putting in place a programme for regularization of tenure rights for those without title is important for enhancing the security of tenure of people affected by compulsory acquisition and land grabbing.Item Safeguards for communities during acquisition of land for investment purposes(Land Development and Governance Institute, 2016-10)High levels of poverty and a predominantly rural population raise questions of vulnerability to manipulation during large scale land acquisitions in Kenya. Exposure to negative impacts are inherent where social and environmental safeguards are not deployed to protect the people impacted by involuntary displacement. This brief looks into social, economic and environmental safeguards for communities as the state undertakes compulsory land acquisition for investment purposes, part of the country's main development policy, Vision 2030. Access to information requires that information is made available to the public. As such the report recommends creating a manual for communities faced with possible exploitation.Item Trajectories of state building and peace building in Ethiopia : the role of political settlement - a baseline study(2014) Tadesse, Medhane; Ababu, AlagawWhile the Ethiopian state has been strong in its capacity for control, it has so far been weak in its capacity to command popular legitimacy. The conflicts in 20th century Ethiopia were caused by the exclusionary nature of the state: ethnic domination, political centralization and economic marginalization. Political settlement was not only exclusionary at the outset but continues to be so in present times. This baseline study introduces a research agenda to assess the effect of political settlement on the subsequent trajectories of peace building and state reconstitution in Ethiopia.Item Trajectories of state building and peace building in Ethiopia : the role of peace settlements(2017-04) Tadesse, Medhane; Desta, Dade; Ababu, AlagawIn a region that is characterized by minuscule and diminutive span of statehood, Ethiopia nonetheless stands out. For many in Africa and much of the developing world, foreigners appropriated the period of entry into modernity, and the course of history had to be restored. But the Ethiopian case is just the opposite. The sole African state to defeat European colonialists and retain its independence through the 19th century scramble for Africa, its people have an understandable pride in their history, which informed their peace and state building trajectory in a distinct way.Item Reframing narratives of peacebuilding and statebuilding in Rwanda : a baseline study(2017-04) Mwambari, David; Muteru, Alfred; Walsh, Barney; Bugingo, Irenee; Olonisakin, FunmiSocial and political identity in pre-colonial Rwanda was organized through family, lineages, clans and other complex factors that indicated social and political belonging. It was a well-organized society with features that resembled those of the modern state. In order to understand the origin of the racist project that resulted in a divided Rwanda in the twentieth century, the authors examine historical roots that enabled subsequent ‘divide and conquer’ tactics intrinsic to politicized identity. This paper examines Rwanda’s civil war and genocide, tracing root causes to horrific race theories and state building “conversations,” and discusses the settlement process in terms of root cause factorsItem Trajectories of state building and peace building in Rwanda(2017-04) Mwambari, David; Muteru, Alfred; Walsh, Barney; Bugingo, Irenee; Munyaneza, Thomas; Olonisakin, FunmiThe study examines Rwanda’s civil war (1990-1994) and the genocide of 1994 from a historical perspective, tracing root causes surrounding the creation of the post-colonial state of Rwanda. Re-born from the carnage of genocide, Rwanda seeks to move past issues of ethnic identity which dominate the last hundred years. This paper discusses settlement processes and the extent to which they deal with root cause factors. It examines the trajectory of Rwanda’s state building experience; the factors that underlined the conflict that led to civil war and genocide; and the extent to which the resulting peace settlement addresses these factors.Item Building the state without peace or making peace without the state : a baseline study on the paradox of state-building and peace-building in Sierra Leone(2017-04) Nyokabi, Jacob Kamau; Ikpe, Ekaette; Alao, AbiodunThis study takes a detailed look at the process of Peace-building and State-building in Sierra Leone after its bitter civil war. The paper focuses on four issues: identity politics; an effective national political culture; politics (and intrigues) involved in management of natural resource endowments; and the re-engagement of societies and communities at the margins of the state. It examines the outcomes of the settlement processes including the extent of the transformation of identity markers, and extracts lessons learnt from the peace process. Identity conversations in Sierra Leone’s state building process involve control and domination by political elites with manipulation of ethnic groups.Item Building the state without peace or making peace without the state : the paradox of state-building and peace-building in Sierra Leone(2017-04) Ikpe, Ekaette; Nyokabi, Jacob Kamau; Alao, AbiodunSierra Leone’s civil war resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 people. Key issues around international assistance in the search for peace serve as crucial barometers in assessing how the past might predict the future of the country. This study posits that efforts to address four issues underline the state-building conversation and that lasting peace will depend on the extent to which these issues are addressed: identity politics; the search for a legitimate national political culture; the politics involved in management of natural resources; and the re-engagement of societies and communities at the margins of the state.Item Nature of the state in Somalia and Somaliland : the conversations of the statebuilding and peacebuilding processes(2017-04) Ingiriis, Mohamed Haji AbdulahiSomalia and Somaliland have taken contrasting routes in the process of state building. While Somalia followed peacebuilding and state building projects from the top down, largely externally-imposed from the international community, Somaliland pursued state building and peacebuilding processes from below through community level accords. Different state structures contribute to political stability in Somaliland, but instability in Somalia, exacerbated by struggles for power through clan politics. This paper addresses these different trajectories: the structural state modes and means, how present and past politics influence patterns of peacebuilding, and resultant models of state building.Item Reframing narratives of state building in Africa : lessons from South Sudan(2017-04) Tadesse, MedhaneThe Sudan peace process and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement/CPA/ of 2005 did not realize viable state and sustainable peace in south Sudan. South Sudan is a deeply divided state under a divided and politically immature ruling party and instead of reducing conflict, independence served to intensify the internal divisions as the SPLM elite competed over control of the state. Four years after becoming an independent state, South Sudan is experiencing a multifaceted crisis that has its epicentre in the SPLM led government, but finds reflection in all spheres of governance and the SPLA.Item Reframing state-building and peacebuilding narratives in Africa : final technical report(African Leadership Centre, Nairobi, Kenya, 2016-10) Olonisakin, Funmi; Muteru, Alfred; Dipeolu, Adeoti; Nyokabi, Jacob KamauThis report covers all aspects of the project from its inception, including progress realised on the proposal objectives, outputs produced, challenges and obstacles faced during the research process, and reflections and recommendations going forward. The notion of “conversation” is the thread that binds case studies and research, arguing that much conflict in Africa results from “conversations” around state-building, occurring in varied national contexts. Initial findings indicate the majority of African states are a product of many complex conversations – initially between colonial elites and African peoples and societies; and in the post-independence period, between governing elites and their people.Item Crises of war-to-peace transition and civil war recurrences : a focus on leadership building and the postcolonial state in Africa(2017-04) Olonisakin, FunmiThis paper focuses on process-based leadership as an entry point for discussion of war-to-peace transitions. Process-based approaches to leadership reside in the interactions between leaders and followers. Too great an expectation is often placed on individual leaders to effect transformation: armed conflict is likely to re-ignite in more than 40 per cent of conflict situations where peace was previously negotiated. In dealing with conflict relapse, few alternatives exist in academic and policy literature to dominant approaches to peacebuilding. The starting point for war-to-peace transition is a return to the state building conversations that preceded armed conflict in the affected society.Item Making a case for reframing narratives of peacebuilding in Africa(2017-04) Olonisakin, FunmiThis paper examines two main types of violent and armed conflict settings. The first consists of situations of armed conflict where violence ended on the battlefield, such as in Ethiopia and Rwanda. The second includes situations where the end of violence and the post-conflict agenda were negotiated and facilitated either internally or by external interveners such as the United Nations or regional organisations, such as in the case of South Sudan. The study focuses on forms of peace settlement that are able to return to the nation and state building conversations that lie at the root of the conflicts.Item ALC course narrative : reframing theories of peace and state-building in Africa(2017)In terms of the course aims, three central issues relating to the narrative of peace building are essential: 1) the connection between peacebuilding and state-building 2) the possibility of contradictions and trade-offs between the short term goal of stabilisation and the long term goal of social transformation 3) the underpinning assumptions of liberal notions of peace. The course will acquaint trainees with the peace building and state-building landscape of Africa and reframe it in light of the African Leadership Centre (ALC) research. Hence, it engages the meanings behind state-building and peacebuilding in Africa and problematizes existing understandings, analysis and practices.Item ALC module outline : reframing narratives of peacebuilding and state-building in Africa(2017)The module aims to provide a fresh approach to the debate on peacebuilding and state-building in Africa by situating it in pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict contexts. It demonstrates how peacebuilding is anchored in and inextricably linked to state-building. This paper provides an outline of the ten week course contents as well as assessment processes.Item Thinking about peace and the role of state building and political settlement in the pursuit of sustainable peace in Africa(2017) Olonisakin, Funmi; Ababu, Alagaw; Muteru, AlfredThe nature of liberal peace used for reconstitution of states after conflict is essentially a one-size-fits-all paradigm. The central idea in this study is that it is the nature of internal conversations between leaders and peoples that determine the path to a viable, peaceful state. This research aims to reframe the state-building–peacebuilding problematic by re-centring the notion of conversation in the processes of peacebuilding and state building. Charting conversation among contending actors in non-violent ways is not simply a method for post-conflict restoration; it can also result in transformation of institutions.Item Peacebuilding as statebuilding in Kenya : remembering the role of historical injustices(2014-06) Sefa-Nyarko, Clement; Sittoni, Rachel; Bartenge, Catherine; Murunga, GodwinWhen peacebuilding and state building are understood and implemented as post-conflict mechanisms alone, they leave out important elements of socio-historical engineering, and historical breaches of trust which, if acknowledged could enhance national cohesion and peace. The paper focuses on three markers of injustice and inequality in Kenya which have generated grievances: the culture of authoritarianism; land ownership and allocation (grabbing); marginalisation and exclusion along ethnic lines, and of minorities/marginalized communities from participation in national affairs. The frustrations of people found their most devastating outlet in the post-election violence of 2007, which claimed 1,133 lives and displaced over 600,000 others.