Introduction to conflict Studies

Introduction to Conflict
Name:
Course:
Instructor:
Date:
Q1. Strengths and weaknesses of the Security Council in international and intra national conflict resolution
The Security Council is mandated to solve both international and intra national conflicts under the UN Charter. Thus, one of the strengths of the group is that it is mandated to take aggressive action including sanctions, and use of force. Nonetheless, peacekeeping is the most visible action that the Security Council uses for conflict management. During the Cold War era, the Security Council was mostly mandated to using peacekeeping operations owing to the rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union. Many other conflicts have seen the organization result to peacekeeping together with humanitarian help.
Nonetheless, the use of peacekeeping mission presents a problem to the Security Council because of the veto power of the five permanent members. The veto power has over time become a tool to exert geo political interest among the world’s major powers. Thus, even mandating the use of peacekeeping missions does not always happen because of the suspicions of US, Russian and China, where by America seems to have different interests than the other two countries. Politics plays a major role in using veto power, and the five permanent members can bypass the UN to either mandate or deny the mandate to use peacekeeping missions. It appears as if the Security Council merely acts on those conflicts where all the permanent members agree that there is a need to intervene.
The Security Council has had a mixed record in international and intra national conflict resolution, where decision making of major world power allows the Council to use Collective security. Nonetheless, the Council still faces challenges in the face of mounting pressure to deploy more peacekeeping forces to war torn countries. However, most intra national conflicts have a political angle, but the Security Council is not mandated to interfere with the internal affairs of a country. Consequently, as an international body, the organization lacks the power to fully resolve conflicts. In any case, the use of sanctions to resolve conflicts has raised human rights concerns on the effects of these actions to the common person.
Q2. The Imam and the Pastor and elements of reconciliation
The Imam and The Pastor: Mimetic Structures of Blessing in the Face of Violence
The Imam and the Pastor captures the role of reconciliation in fostering togetherness in a community; the film revolves around an Imam and Pastor in Northern Nigeria who do not tolerate each other at the initial stages because of religious differences but later on work together. The choice of the film provides micros of conflict and religious tension, given that Nigeria has experienced religious conflicts, especially with the Muslim North majority and Christian South minorities feeling their identities threatened.
Mutual recognition and acceptance of each other’s community is a critical role for there to be reconciliation. Conflicts typically bring trauma to the victims, but conflicts are precipitated by the denial of the other group’s identity. Thus, accepting the other as worthy of an identity and humanization provides a moral basis fro acceptance (Redekop & Rioux, 2013).
Acknowledging the past, facilitates acceptance of a moral basis for peaceful coexistence. In essence, all the parties should share the moral basis for maintaining peace. All the parties must compromise in one way or the other for peace to prevail and reconciliation to be accepted. The moral basis chosen or agreed upon should adhere to the principles of fairness and justice, for reconciliation efforts to have a positive effect. Nonetheless, justice will have different interpretations depending on the conflict, and hence to have similar views on what justice entails.
Confronting history and acknowledging the past is also essential to make sure that there is reconciliation (Redekop & Rioux, 2013). This encompasses, setting up mechanisms to address justice, restoration and repatriation where possible. However, the parties also need to acknowledge their role in fuelling conflict and agreeing towards avoiding repetition of conflicts. Nonetheless, acknowledging truth does not equate to a single agreeable truth, but rather agreeing the truths in each of the rivals’ narratives. Related to this is acknowledgement of responsibility, as this facilitates acceptance among the warring groups or people.
Another element that is necessary for reconciliation is establishing mechanisms that facilitate cooperation. Cooperation ensures that that there is no exclusion of other people and there is political participation without dis...