From Conflict to Peace. Rehabilitation Process in the Phase of Transforming Conflict - The Case of Northern Ireland

Cinar, Yusuf

From Conflict to Peace. Rehabilitation Process in the Phase of Transforming Conflict - The Case of Northern Ireland

by Yusuf Cinar (Author)

Politics - International Politics - Region: Western Europe

Summary

The problem of Northern Ireland is a struggle for sharing power between the Catholics and the Protestants. The structural and basic reasons of the problem have played a very important role in the evolution of it towards civil war. The most important basic reason underlying it is mutual "distrust" between parties in Northern Ireland. On this regard, some necessary steps are to be taken for the stability of the peaceful environment established after the conflict. The normalization of the society and the making of the relations between groups transparent, constitute the "rehabilitation" process itself. Rehabilitation process ensures the continuation of confidence building in schools, helps with the matter of winning future generations, and also plays an important role in ensuring confidence building in institutions.
In sum the subject of this study is addressing the contributions of the rehabilitation as the protection of peace, to the social reconciliation process as formed by the societies living in Northern Ireland; and its continuation by discussing the rehabilitation process with reference to the example of Northern Ireland in the phase of transforming conflict. One of the main research questions of this study is to present the contribution of the rehabilitation process on peace within the context of conflict administration. In the first part of this book, the stage of rehabilitation in the development process of conflict administration is discussed. In the second part of this book, the structural reasons of conflict will be approached and Belfast Agreement, which can be described as a reconciliation document of parties, will be analysed. The third part is focused on how the results of the application of rehabilitation activities that are foreseen in the in the process of transforming the problem of Northern Ireland are obtained.

Excerpt

INTRODUCTION

It is possible to encounter conflict as a situation in every way of life. While its lexical meaning

creates negative perceptions, conflict can also provide positive results if managed well. In

other words it is not conflict in itself as a negative phenomenon but rather its mismanagement

that produces negative results. As one of the common kinds of conflicts, the aforementioned

situation is valid for ethnic conflicts as well. This is because ethnic conflicts constitute one of

the biggest obstacles against ensuring societal reconciliation, being a conclusion of societal

segregation. Hence, removing ethnic conflicts by correctly managing them can also mean the

establishment of the previously unpractical societal peace and reconciliation. Herein

termination of ethnic conflicts and their transformation is only possible through removal of

structural and root causes which cause it.

Machiavelli and Clausewitz significantly contributed to the development of the Western

method for analysing conflicts. As counterpart, Sun Tzu contributed the Eastern method of

evaluating conflict to the literature. In addition, Karl Marx and Adam Smith, by emphasizing

class struggle, brought the subject matter of conflict into academic discussion. Similarly

Kenneth Waltz, in his work entitled Man, the State and War, written in 1959, puts an emphasis

on three levels analysis: i-) individual, ii-) state, iii-) system. In this regard, it can be derived

from Waltz's levels which examine the causes of war that the actors of conflict are the

individual, the people or the state, and the international system.

For each of these three levels of analyses there are three solution proposals. The individual-

based levels of analyses claim that conflict will be eased through the education of the

community. The state-based levels of analyses indicate that states can prevent conflicts by

democratisation.

The system-based conflict analyses claim that conflicts can be prevented through peaceful

international organizations. In the systematics of these three levels of analysis there is an

ascending interaction for the transformation process of conflict, from the system level to the

state level, and from the state level to the individual level.

Scott Burchill et.al., Uluslararasi likiler Teorileri, Ali Aslan, Trans. Muhammed Ali Acan, stanbul: Küre

Yayinlari, 2009, pg. 36.

Johan Galtung, "Peace by Peaceful Conflict Transformation the TRANSCEND Approach", Charles Webel

and Johan Galtung (ed.), Handbook of Peace and Conflict Studies, USA: Routledge, 2007, pg. 19. Also see: Ho-

Won Jeong, Understanding Conflict and Conflict Analysis, ABD: SAGE Publications, 2008, pg. 43.

The conflict appeasing phase is also known as the period of truce. Since the termination of

physical violence is the basic objective of this phase, the focus is on the sustainability of non-

violence in the short term, rather than on sustained peace strategies.

As for the conflict

resolution phase, it is an assessment process regarding the main reasons for conflict. Hence,

since during the period claims and demands of both sides materialize, it is described as a highly

complex phase.

For this reason, a sustained, real peace cannot be established both in the

conflict appeasing and the conflict resolution phases. The conflict transformation phase is the

name of the phase which targets the social, economic, political and cultural transformation of

conflict, and it aims to remove the structural and root causes of conflict to achieve these.

The

conflict transformation phase is known in the literature as the "never-ending process".

One of

the issues that is often stressed in the conflict transformation phase is the concept of peace

building. Peace building is a controversial concept. So much so that there isn't even a consensus

on how to correctly type it (peace building, peace-building, peacebuilding) and what it entails.

Hence, it can mean different things according to the perspective of the person using it. In this

regard, experts that interpret the concept of "peace building" as the actions happened through the

intervention of foreign powers as part of a military peace operation focus on the post-conflict

and define peace building as the process where violence is directly terminated.

Another

perspective further enlarges this concept to include all phases of conflict and aim for the

discovery of all root causes of conflict and eliminate structural injustice. This viewpoint is

more of a civilian one and makes an effort to eliminate deficiencies regarding education,

human rights and social justice in order to transform the conflict.

In societies that experience ethnic conflicts, rehabilitation is a process that needs a careful

approach as part of conflict transformation and ensuring sustainable peace. The rehabilitation

process aims to remove prejudices, stereotypes and discrimination among post-conflict

societies. Judgements, stereotypes and discrimination have become the concern of social

psychologists after the Hitler era. The focus of Allport's studies is the complicated relation

between political and historical situations.

As a matter of fact, priorities can differ in an

Nezir Akyeilmen, "Çatima Analizi: Hak-Temelli Stratejik Bir Bari Modeli Çerçevesi",

içinde Türkiye'nin Yakin Havzasindaki Devlet-çi Çatimalarin Analizleri, Ertan Efegil and Esra Pakin

Albayrakolu (Ed.), stanbul: Gündoan Yayincilik, 2015, pg. 53.

Akyeilmen, 2015, pg. 54.

Nezir Akyeilmen, "Çatima Yönetimi: Kavramsal ve Kuramsal Bir Analiz", Nezir Akyeilmen, (ed.), Barii

Konumak, Ankara: ODTÜ Yayinevi, 2013, pg. 19.

Peter Wallensteen, Understanding Coflict Resolution War, Peace and Global System, London: Sage, 2006, pg. 35.

Lisa Schirch, "Strategic Peacebuilding State of the Field Peace Prints'", South Asian Journal of

Peacebuilding, Vol. 1, No. 1, Spring 2008, pg. 3.

Schirch, 2008, pg. 4.

Joaquim Pires Valentim, "Sherif's Theoretical Concepts and Intergroup Relations Studies: Notes for a Positive

academic study in different disciplines. While a sociologist focuses on the relation between

societal groups

, a psychologist concentrates on the internal conflicts of the individual, and a

political scientist on the political conflicts. This study, with reference to the basic parameters of

international relations, approaches how state and society can transform as a result of their

mutual interaction in the post-conflict phase. As part of transforming conflict, it can be said that

most of the academics who study the context hail from the social psychology and educational

psychology fields. This study aims to analyse the post-conflict rehabilitation phase through the

example of Northern Ireland with an international relations originated perspective. In doing that,

works of the authors such as Daniel Bar-Tal,

who aim to conceptualize such studies, will also

be employed.

Two societies in Northern Ireland: Catholic and Protestant societies. Due to the long and deep

inter-societal political conflict, these societies refrained from mutual interaction for decades.

The rehabilitation process is one of the tools which helped these two groups to interact and

integrate in the period after the Good Friday Agreement, the greatest step in solving the issue.

Allport emphasizes that interaction phases of intergroup communication and interpersonal

interaction theories constitute the most effective way of destroying prejudices.

As for the

post-conflict transformation phase, whether for peace building or for post-conflict structuring,

in transforming society and the units with the power to determine relations, rehabilitation has

an important function. Rehabilitation as a concept has transformed historically and today

contains an extensive scope of definition and activity.

Rehabilitation is first used during the 19th century to correct and educate criminals in prisons.

The aim of rehabilitation in this era was to cleanse criminals of their bad habits, and

rehabilitation entailed education and vocational training, in conjunction with the quasi-military

system.

Interdependence", Psychologica, No.52, Vol. II, 2010, pg. 586.

Muzafer Sherif, et, al., "Intergroup Conflict and Cooperation: The Robbers Cave Experiment",

https://www.free-ebooks.net/ebook/Intergroup-Conflict-and-Cooperation-The-Robbers-Cave-

Experiment/pdf?dl&preview, Access date: 27.06.2015, pg. 5.

Daniel Bar-Tal, "From Intractable Conflict Through Conflict Resolution to Reconciliation: Psychological

Analysis", Political Psychology, Vol. 21, No. 2, 2000, pg. 363.

Sherif, et. al, Access date: 27.06.2015, pg. 3.

Donna Y. Ford, Multicultural Issues Gifted Underrepresentation and Prejudice--Learning From Allport and

Merton, Gifted Child Today, Vol. 36, No.1, pg. 65.

Rehabilitation Theory, pg. 831.

During the 20th century the term rehabilitation has started to be used for soldiers. In a way the

word has the meaning of normalisation and can be expressed as the period of integrating those

who cannot socialize into social life. In other words, rehabilitation also means that a better

comprehension of the

person, society and other units that needs to be rehabilitated.

Post-war rehabilitation was first

employed by the J. Freymond committee coordination in Switzerland with the aim of providing

a source for the rehabilitation of societies worn down by war. The most important part of this

project made in Switzerland is manifesting that reverence of human rights is actually important

in the long term for conflict transformation to establish stability.

The primary aim of post-conflict rehabilitation is to avert great conflicts by easing access to

needs, and transforming the mannerisms and behaviour of the parties.

Post-conflict

rehabilitation overlaps with many subjects; beside prevention of conflict, peace building and

peace keeping, nearly all phases of conflict are closely connected to post-conflict

rehabilitation.

The countries where conflicts take place generally have an authoritarian past or are societies

ruled over by dictators in the past, which may mean veteran perceptions can provide

information regarding the trajectory of the post-conflict development process. This is because

the post-conflict structuring phase is a critical phase for the establishment of institutions and

hence it should proceed through safeguarding balances.

As one of the post-conflict

structuring phases, rehabilitation in a way means public relations; a state that understands its

public does not abstain from making necessary reforms and provides a voluntary synergy for

the implementation of decisions. Another meaning of rehabilitation is the vitalisation of civil

society. The concept of civil society is built upon the space between state and individuality.

In a way, the growth and survival of this space between state and individuality is a basic

indicator of a healthy society. On this regard, Northern Ireland is a case example for the field

of post-conflict rehabilitation studies.

Historically, Great Britain plays an important role at the heart of the Northern Ireland (Ulster)

John L. Todd , "Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science", Vol. 80,

Rehabilitation of the Wounded. ,Nov., 1918, pg. 1.

Jean-Jacques de Dardel Gustav, Gustenau Plamen Pantev, Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Lessons from South

East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community, Viana, National Defence Academy

and Bureau for Security Policy at the Austrian Ministry of Defence in co-operation with PfP Consortium of

Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes, 2006, pg. 8.

Gustav and Pantev, 2006, pg. 14.

Gustav and Pantev, 2006, pg. 17.

Gustav and Pantev, 2006, pg. 57.

Gustav and Pantev, 2006, pg. 100.

issue. On this regard, with Henry II's declaration of himself as the Lord of Ireland with the

permission of The Pope in the 12th century, Britain's influence over Ireland increased;

subsequently, with the English settlement policy, English settlers emigrated to Ireland.

important reason why the issue became lasting is the Protestant-Catholic conflict that emerged

on top of Henry VII's assimilation policies to eradicate Catholicism.

The independence wish of the Catholics became evident during the First World War. With the

partition of the island into Belfast and Dublin governances the foundation of IRA (Irish

Republican Army) gathered speed.

Consists of Catholic volunteers, IRA became an

underground organization in the 1930s.

In addition, Sinn Féin became the political arm of

IRA. The exclusionary actions of the Belfast government towards Catholics caused Catholics

to fall behind on matters such as education and economy. The Protestant design of the political

system in ways that made themselves more active in Catholic majority areas caused Catholic

community to become under-represented. On the 30th of January 1972 the government

rigorously intervened to the protestors during a Catholic protest march and caused the death of

13 protestors, which caused IRA to increase its armed attacks.

As a result of the increasing

pressures, the conflict escalated as England tried to take more violent measures. On the year

1985 a very important agreement was reached between the governments of London and Dublin

to resolve the issue, and the belief that resolution will happen through dialogue was revealed.

While the peace talks that happened between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom

were disrupted with IRA attacks, on 1995 the "Common Framework for the Future" document

was released. This document in a way meant that Northern Ireland was left to those who live in

Northern Ireland. As a result of the dialogue process on 10 April 1998 the Good Friday

Agreement (Belfast Agreement) was signed. Both the Common Framework for the Future

document and the Good Friday agreement played critical roles in the phase of transforming

conflict and made it easier for the sides to take social, economic and political decisions that

would make it easier to remove the causes of conflict. At the helm of the foundational reasons

of the problem in Northern Ireland is the mutual "distrust" of both sides. Both the Common

Framework for the Future document and the Good Friday agreement were vital to build up

trust between both sides in Northern Ireland.

Some firm actions have to be taken in order to

I. William Zartman, Northern Ireland: Understanding Conflict 2008 Student Field Trip to Northern Ireland,

Wahington, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008, pg. 1.

Kismet Metkin, Murat Çemrek, "Kuzey rlanda: Bitmeyen Bir Bari Hikayesi", Nezir Akyeilmen, (ed.),

Barii Konumak, Ankara: ODTÜ Yayinevi, 2013, pg. 279.

Emin Gürses, Ayrilikçi Terörün Anatomisi IRA-ETA-PKK, stanbul, Balam Yayinlari, 2003, pg. 28.

Gürses, 2003, pg. 33.

Gürses, 2003, pg. 39.

Zartman, 2008, pg. 7.

establish a lasting peace environment. In this regard, mutual interaction between societies,

increase in communication and integration, and transitive relations between groups constitute

the phase of "rehabilitation" itself. At the start of rehabilitation activities in Northern Ireland is

the trust building process. Herein Northern Ireland police force, which played an important

role in causing conflict between the two sides in previous periods, plays an important role in

building trust and transforming conflict as of today.

As channels of communication and integration between Protestant and Catholic families were

closed down for long years, the possibility for the Catholics and Protestants to live together

was decreased and they were forced to live in different areas especially in terms of educational

institutions. In the post-conflict rehabilitation process in Northern Ireland it was intended for

Catholic and Protestant students to communicate more at school and in order to increase

integration projects were developed which enable for Protestants and Catholics to interact with

each other.

The rehabilitation process helps securing a generation of youth that internalizes the

idea of peace at school environments. Internationally supported projects which apply country-

wide and contain Belfast, which is described as the problematic area, help secure future

generations and play an important role in maintaining inter-institutional building of trust.

The Common Framework for the Future document and the Belfast Agreement create a

framework for the roadmap of the rehabilitation process. This framework indicates that the

government needs an inclusionary and inclusive identity policy in Northern Ireland and build

mechanisms that would ensure equity for the entire civil society. With the parliament

arrangement of 2007, a "power share" was established between the Protestants and Catholics in

Northern Ireland, thereby both sides of the conflict were judicially protected for the

rehabilitation process. It can be claimed that in its broadest sense the rehabilitation phase of the

Northern Ireland is the provision of a legal substructure that would enable Catholics and

Protestants to live together, therefore establish the predominance of a multi-cultural political

pluralism and support cultural diversity.

Our Common Future Project of 2005 is one of the biggest reforms made by the government

with the primary aim of co-existence of both sides. The years-long male-dominated concept of

armed conflict between the Catholic and Protestant sides essentially limited the role of women

in social life and caused them to remain in the background. With the Good Friday Agreement

Zartman, 2008, pg. 11.

Zartman, 2008, pg. 32.

equality for women and men was established; it cleared the way for further representation of

women. In this manner the process of rehabilitation also aims at integrating women to the social

life.

Another important matter in the process of rehabilitation is the phase of integrating militants to

the society. The Good Friday Agreement foresaw especially the controlled release of convicted

IRA militants, and consequently re-apprehension of those who get involved in crime was

determined. The rehabilitation process does not only mean the release of convicts; it also

consists of resolutions for their issues of employment, education and health insurance.

It can be said that in the rehabilitation process a supervision mechanism is aimed for societal

interaction and the state-society relations through the Commission of Human Rights, Truth

Commissions and Watch Commissions. It can also be expressed that the rehabilitation process

can signify the re-establishment of the "social contract" between the sides, and maintenance of

reciprocal trust.

In sum, the subject matter of this work is the contributions of the rehabilitation process in the

phase of transforming conflict to peace keeping and making it sustainable for the societies that

live in Northern Ireland.

Purpose

This study, by discussing the structural and root causes of the Catholic-Protestant conflict that

emerged in Northern Ireland, aims to reveal the contribution of the rehabilitation process to the

transformation of the Northern Ireland issue. One of the problematics of this study is to reveal

the contributions of the rehabilitation process to sustainable peace in the context of conflict

management.

Every ethnic conflict has specific peculiarities; however, the Northern Ireland "rehabilitation

process" can offer a general framework for scholars of conflict management. Another aim of

the study is to help conceptualize the "rehabilitation" process with reference to the Northern

Ireland example, where an ethnic conflict has happened and the observed findings of its

rehabilitation process, which can be used for other ethnic conflicts.

Zartman, 2008, pg. 46.

Zartman, 2008, pg. 86.

The field of International Relations has a unique structure with inter-disciplinary features; on

this regard, the analysis of the structural and root causes of

a conflict and its resolution process can be illuminated by making use of the disciplines of

sociology, psychology, business administration, public administration and political science.

Another aim of this study is to conceptualize the rehabilitation process with a constructivist

perspective by associating the field of international relations with other fields like sociology,

social psychology, economics and history.

Literature Review

There are a number of studies in the foreign literature regarding the Northern Ireland issue.

Alvin Jackson, in his work entitled Home Rule an Irish History 1800-2000 interprets Home

Rule as a historical mistake. But in the work the needs and demands of the peoples of Ireland

that were instrumental for the emergence of Home Rule were inadequately discussed. While

Jackson profoundly examines the political developments that brought Home Rule into question

with reference to the historical perspective, the role social developments had on the evolution

of the period were discussed superficially.

A Military History of Ireland, written by Thomas

Barlett and Keith Jeffery, discusses the historical development of the Irish military culture and

traditions. There are similar issues in the works that approach the Northern Ireland issue with a

historical perspective. At the start of these issues are the reflections of the religious identities

and prejudices of their authors in the works. Barlett and Jeffery's work characterises some of

the wars as victories if the results are coherent with their religious identities.

Also, the works

discuss historical myths that can deepen the historical hostility between the Catholic and

Protestant peoples. It can be stated that the historical myths recited to the people by such works

that discuss the historical dimension of the Northern Ireland issue deeply affected both sides of

the conflict. Indeed, historical heroes are often addressed in the wall writings of both Belfast

and Ulster. To exemplify, it is written in a wall in Ulster that the historical mythical character

Cuchulainn is saving Ulster from the Catholics for two thousand years.

Thereby it can be said that historical myths are instrumental in the passing down of the

Northern Ireland issue from generation to generation and turning it into an identity war.

Another work that discusses Irish history is A Short History of Ireland by John QBeirne

Ronelagh. Another similar characteristic in the causes of ethnic conflicts is the argument of

which people came first to the disputed lands. On this regard, in his work Ronelagh produced a

Alvin Jackson, Home Rule An Irish History 1800-2000, New York: Oxford Press, 2003, pg. 11-13.

Thomas Bartlett, Keith Jeffery, A Military History of Ireland, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1997, pg. 4.

Bartlett, Jeffery, 1997, pg. 5.

detailed account of when the Irish first came to the island.

It can be said that both sides' claim

on the historical heritage of Nothern Ireland hinders an analytical address of the issue. Hence,

most of the books that approach the historical perspective focus on the issues that happened

after the 19th century.

One of the works that connects the historical development of the Northern Ireland issue to the

20th century is the Armed Struggle the History of the IRA by Richard English. In this work

which discusses the IRA's development with its historical dimension, English did not focus on

the social, economic, religious elements of IRA's development. While English brings many

historical details regarding IRA to the academic literature, he approaches many social

developments from the perspective of his own identity, particularly with the civil rights march

in North Ireland.

The most important of the issues that come to light in historical works is

when the religious identities of writers substantially influence their approach. It can be said

that in his work English's religious identity affected his approach towards IRA.

Clive Walker, in his work entitled Terrorism and the Law, tackles the Northern Ireland issue on

the context of international law and withing the framework of terrorism. Walker, discusses IRA

is a terrorist organization. Because Walker only considers the issue along the lines of the

concept of terrorism, it causes him to rule out the structural and root causes of the issue.

It can

be stressed that the law perspective narrows down the Northern Ireland issue and limits it to the

contextual frameworks of "obedience" and "disobedience". In their work entitled Political

Terrorism, Alex P. Schmid and Albert J. Jongman analysed the Northern Ireland issue by

degrading it only to IRA and without bothering with other dimensions.

In the book entitled In Search of Ireland A Cultural Geography, edited by Brian Graham, the

structural and root causes of the Northern Ireland issue is discussed in detail. The work broadly

analyses the pluralistic structure of Northern Ireland and its differences in identity. However,

since the work is published before the Good Friday Agreement, it requires a reinterpretation in

the light of current affairs that established a peace environment.

Mike Morrissey and Marie Smyth have written about the transformation of the Northern Ireland

issue on the context of the phase of transforming conflict in their work entitled Northern Ireland

After the Good Friday Agreement. While this work describes with examples how the peace

John QBeirne Ronelagh, A Short History Of Ireland, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1999, pg. 40.

Richard English, Armed Struggle the History of the IRA, New York: Oxford Press, 2003, pg. 150.

Clive Walker, Terrorism and the Law, New York: Oxford Press, 2011, pg. 481.

Alex P. Schmid, Albert j. Jongmen, Political Terrorism, USA: Transaction Publishers, 1988, pg. 218.

Brian Graham, In Search of Ireland A Cultural Geography, London and New York: Routledge, 1997,

pg. 5.

process enabled societal consensus and transformed the Northern Ireland issue

, it can be said

that it was not highly successful in contextualizing the rehabilitation process in Northern

Ireland. One of the most up-to-date works on the subject of sustainable peace is an article

entitled "National Youth Service: An Institution for Building and Sustaining Peace" by Donald

J. Eberly. However, the military-rooted author of the study causes him to prioritize state

building over other subjects.

In this regard there is need for a civilian perspective regarding

sustainable peace.

The general issues with the foreign literature regarding the Northern Ireland issue continues on

with the Turkish literature. The book written by Levent Özçatay entitled Kuzey rlanda and

IRA, Silahli Mücadeleden Siyasal Çözüme [Northern Ireland and IRA, from Armed Conflict to

Political Resolution]

is a book that addresses the historical development of the Northern Ireland

issue.

However, as the work analyses the period before the Good Friday Agreement, it did not analyse

the transformation phase of the conflict and the rehabilitation process. Another work written in Turkish

regarding the Northern Ireland issue is the article entitled "Etno-Dinsel Milliyetçilik Balaminda

rlanda Sorunu" [The Ireland Issue in the Context of Ethno-Religious Nationalism] written by Mesut

öhret. This article considers the Northern Ireland issue as a "nationalist" issue and does not focus on

the psychological issues that augmented the development of the problem.

In sum, in both Turkish and

foreign literature, the lack of sufficient studies that approach the Northern Ireland issue with a conflict

management method stands out, and there is practically no work regarding its "rehabilitation" process.

Importance

The resolution of the Northern Ireland issue is ingrained in the literature as the Western

conflict solving method. On this regard, there have been a number of works regarding the

Northern Ireland issue. A large proportion of these works disregard the structural causes of the

conflict and only consider its historical causes.

Another part of the works on Northern Ireland

consider its legal aspects.

Within the Turkish literature a large proportion of the works on the

Northern Ireland issue either take on its historical dimension, or make a mere conflict analysis.

Mike Morrissey, Marie Smyth, Northern Ireland After the Good Friday Agreement Victims, Grievance and

Blame, London: Pluto Press, 2002, pg. 3-20.

Donald J. Eberly, "National Youth Service: An Institution for Building and Sustaining Peace", in Arned

Forces and Coflict Resolution: Sociological Perspectives, Giuseppe Caforio, Gerhard Kümmel, Bandana

Purkayastha, UK: Emerald, 2008, pg. 383.

Levent Özçaatay, Kuzey rlanda ve IRA Silahli Mücadeleden Siyasal Çözüme, stanbul: Papirüs Yayinevi,

1998, pg. 201.

Mesut öhret, "Etno-Dinsel Milliyetçilik Balaminda rlanda Sorunu", nsan ve Toplum Bilimleri

Aratirmalari Dergisi, Vol.2, Issue:4, 2013, pg. 43.

Bakiniz, Ronelagh, 1999, pg. 57, English, 2003, pg. 155.

Walker, 2011, pg. 482.

Both in world and Turkish literature, works that consider the rehabilitation process on the

phase of transforming conflict in the Northern Ireland issue are quite limited. Hence, this study

aims to contribute to the literature by filling this gap through discussing the rehabilitation

process on the phase of transforming conflict. Another factor of importance is that it is a study

which discusses the rehabilitation process with reference to conflict management and observes

to what degree the available theoretical knowledge apply in practice.

Assumptions

Conflict is a natural part of our daily life. On this regard the most important cause of conflict is

accepted to be prejudices. In the development of family members exposed to prejudice, the

behaviour and attitudes to marginalize, humiliate and antagonize the other tend to increase.

The most important part of transforming conflict is the hypothesis that it will be achieved by

the removal of violence. In this context, transformation of the conflict assumes that

rehabilitation phase may help both sides to break down their prejudices and reorient their

attitudes. In other words, it is claimed that "peace" can be attained with the reconciliation of

both sides on some basic topics.

In this work it is assumed that the Northern Ireland post-conflict rehabilitation process started

with the Common Framework for the Future document and the Good Friday agreement at its

basis. Herein it is claimed that the increase of common areas between Catholics and Protestants

will ensure mutual interaction, communication and integration, which will positively affect the

peace process. Another important matter is that in the rehabilitation process it is assumed that

the reintegration of IRA militants and the civilians that were negatively affected by the conflict

into social life will positively affect the sustainability of peace.

Limitations

One of the most extreme examples of separatist movements of Europe has happened in

Northern Ireland. Even though a denominational difference constitutes the basis of the

Northern Ireland issue, the basis of the issue remains to be the ethnic background and

denomination is a part of

the theoretical framework of this study takes shape around the

concept of rehabilitation with reference to international conflict analysis and conflict

management. Rather than focusing on historical periods, this study discusses how Catholic and

Protestant peoples that live in Northern Ireland can live together.

Kemal nat, Burhanettin Duran, Muhittin Ataman, (ed.) Dünya Çatima Bölgeleri ve Konulari, Ankara, Nobel

Yayinlari, Vol 1, 2010, pg. 655.

Research Question

What is role of the rehabilitation process of conflict management that is employed during the

conflict transformation phase in establishing real peace and its sustenance?

Correspondingly, is the rehabilitation phase a dynamic or a static process? Are rehabilitation

applications unique to the phase of transforming conflict, or does it have practical uses in other

phases as well? What are the contents of the Northern Ireland rehabilitation process and how

was it applied? To what extent those rehabilitation practices and tools applied in Northern

Ireland can set an example for other international conflict management processes? These will

be some of the questions that this study will answer.

Method

In order to establish an extensive literature review regarding the post-conflict rehabilitation

process, this study has employed local and foreign newspapers, works written by

academicians, state officials and assessments of internet sources.

In terms of its methodology, For the first chapter entitled "Rehabilitation Process and

Theoretical Framework" and the second chapter entitled "Analysis of the Northern Ireland

Issue in the Context of Conflict Management," the study is prepared with reference to the

conflict management methodology by researching library databases, using library resources

and reviewing internet sources. For the third chapter of the study, entitled "Rehabilitation

Process in Northern Ireland," interviews made with Catholic and Protestant members of

society, policemen, civil administration officials were employed. In the chapter completed

projects in Northern Ireland were examined. Besides, for the large part of the study, the

Uppsala University's Uppsala Conflict Data Project was employed.

Outline

The first chapter of this study discusses the theoretical basis of the rehabilitation process by

discussing ontological and epistemological issues of conflict management. The second chapter

discusses structural causes of conflict and

analyses the Good Friday Agreement, which can be labelled as the reconciliation text between

the sides of the conflict. And lastly the third part discusses projected rehabilitation activities in

transforming the Northern Ireland issue.

CHAPTER 1

CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETHICAL FRAMEWORK

Rehabilitation in the Phase of Transforming Conflict and Theoretical

Framework

Conflict in general is a negative concept and while it evokes violence this may not always be

the case. Some conflicts do not involve violence and can be the catalyst for societal change,

transformation and development. Such conflicts in general do not involve intense violence.

While Democratisation is a tool that can ensure the transformation of the state without

violence, most states have the tendency to not agree with the democratic transformation. When

the conflict trend of post-Cold War era is examined, internal conflicts (including civil wars)

show a tendency to increase. The causes for these conflicts can usually originate from the

power struggle of "states". Alongside this, conflicts can also arise from identity searches of

peoples and social injustices.

Vasquez claims that after great wars peace becomes

institutionalized and that it will nurture political systems as social constructions.

Conflicts

tend to arise due to the neglect of the social aspect of political systems.

As a kind of conflict, civil wars can harbour all imitated or modelled elements for

manufacturing conflict. In other words, causes such as official guardianship, open praise or

rewarding of murderers and such are among the influential elements for conflict

development.

While conflicts may look to be over, they may leave a legacy for the post-

conflict era.

Rehabilitation in the phase of transforming conflict is an important step for the

prevention of the structural and root causes of conflict to pass on to the next generations. If

conflict is able to pass on to the next generations, it may allow for violence to gain support.

For this reason rehabilitation as part of transforming conflict is an important phase within the

discipline of conflict management. In this regard the rehabilitation concept that is to be

discussed in this study is twofold regarding the dimensions of analysis. The first dimension of

rehabilitation focuses on transforming the society as result of changing the individual. The

second dimension of rehabilitation consists of transformation of the state and the

establishment of a fair mode of power management. It is stressed that rehabilitation phase is a

transformation phase through the mutual interaction of the individual and the state.

Özden Selcen Sari, "Manus I. Midlarsky", in Sava Kuramlari, Ed. Erhan Büyükakinci, Ankara: Adres

Yayinlari, 2015, pg. 829.

Erhan Büyükakinci, "John A. Vasquez", in Sava Kuramlari, Ed. Erhan Büyükakinci, Ankara: Adres

Yayinlari, 2015, pg. 620.

Dane, Archer, Rosemary Gartner, "Bari Dönemi Kayiplari: Savaa Katilmayanlarin iddet çeren

Davanilarinda Savain Etkisi", Cogito, Ki Bahar 1996, Issue: 6-7, pg. 241.

Archer and Gartner, 1996, pg. 241.

Freud, who believed that the individual is violent by birth, claimed that the desire to kill is

active in the individual and the state, which causes a perpetual state of war.

As for

Machiavelli, humans are to be conciliated with or to be crushed; humans try to revenge

small-scale damages, but when the damage increases they do not; which concludes that:

When a human being is damaged it must be done in a way that would prevent the possibility

of revenge.

Kenneth Waltz assumes man to be evil and the basis of wars due to its competitive nature. In

other words, according to Waltz it is possible to change socio-political institutions but not the

human nature.

On the contrary; this study claims that being violent is not genetic or

instinctual; that there are causes which push the individual towards violence. Hence, in this

study instead of the term "correction" the term "rehabilitation" is preferred. This is because as

violence or aggression is not a disease but rise out of causes,

the term rehabilitation is

stressed to have the semantic depth which would ensure the removal of such causes of

conflict and allow both sides of the conflict to live together.

As Hobbes states, to get out of what is natural is the primary aim of reaching the civilian state.

Peoples that can succeed in living together with other people have developed the sentiment of

living together because they ensured the distribution of justice.

Kant names the situation

with no laws or a distribution of justice as "status naturalis." The question of what exists on

the opposite side of status naturals can be described as the status civilis. Civil wars can be

defined as a "status naturalis" where an upper authority that can contain all of society does not

exist, while indicating a process where no societal reconciliation exists. In the conditions of

status naturalist, the justice of sides do not constitute everyone, as such it is not distributed.

Transformation of conflict means the building of the civil situation as much as the

establishment of a distributed justice within status civilis conditions by the high authority.

Rehabilitation in the phase of transforming conflict aims to change the manners and attitudes

of the conflict sides through facilitating the needs of both sides to prevent great conflicts with

a repetitive nature.

Rehabilitation in the phase of transforming conflict overlaps with many

Doan Cücelolu, nsan ve Davranii Psikolojinin Temel Kavramlari, stanbul: Remzi Kitabevi, 2014, pg. 32.

Nicolos Machiavelli, Prens, Çev. Derya Karagöz, Ankara: Doruk Yayinlari, 2009, pg. 32.

Kenneth Waltz, nsan, Devlet, Sava, Teorik Bir Analiz, Ankara: Asil Yayinlari, 2009, pg. 17.

Archer and Gartner, 1996, pg. 248.

Ali Akay,"iddetin Balamindan Çikmak Üzere", Cogito, Ki Bahar 1996, Issue: 6-7, pg. 435.

Akay, 1996, pg. 430.

Daniel Bar-Tal, Gemma H. Bennink, "The Nature of Reconciliation as an Outcome and as a Process", in From

Coclict Resolution to Reconcilitation, Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, 2004,

pg. 20-21.

phases of conflict management such as conflict prevention, peace building and peace keeping.

In short, every stage of conflict is closely associated with rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation in the phase of transforming conflict faces two problems. The first is the

inadequate transformation on the international system level. In other words, rehabilitation in

the phase of transforming conflict is inconstant and open to change. The second is that human

factor plays an important role for rehabilitation in the phase of transforming conflict.

Rehabilitation of peoples affected by conflict actually gives an answer to many issues such as

respect to human rights, conflict resolution, and protection of civilian rights.

P. Terrence Hopman first talked about rehabilitation in 1999 within the post-conflict security building

discussions as a doctrinal content. Hopman defines rehabilitation as the recovery of problems.

While the European Union's structuring in the post-Cold War Balkans is presented as a successful

implementation of conflict management

, in real terms the first two positive results of democracy

and economic integration developed in Ireland and Spain.

Moldova can be an example of rehabilitation in the phase of transforming conflict. The

Moldovan example shows us the importance of mutual agreement between conflict sides.

There was no agreement that would terminate the conflict between both sides in Moldova

however Northern Ireland was advantageous regarding the matter. Because the "Good Friday

Agreement" of 1998 played a very important role in transforming conflict.

This section of the study will discuss the emerging process of the field of conflict

management. Subsequently, the structural and root causes of conflict will be discussed. With

reference to the conflict management phases, an emphasis will be made on the tools and

effects of the rehabilitation process on the phase of transforming conflict.

Ferenc, Gazdag,"EU and OSCE Approaches to Post-Conflict Rehabilitation", in Post-Conflict Rehabilitation

Lessons from South East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community Jean-Jacques de

Dardel, Gustav Gustenau, Plamen Pantev (ed.), Vienna and Sofia: National Defence Academy and Bureau for

Security Policy at the Austrian Ministry of Defence in co-operation with PfP Consortium of Defence Academies

and Security Studies Institutes, April 2006, pg. 75.

Gazdag, 2006, pg. 75.

Nicu Popescu, "Post Conflict Rehabilitation in Moldova", in Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Lessons from South

East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community, Jean- Jacques de Dardel Gustav

Gustenau Plamen Pantev (ed.) Vienna and Sofia: National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security Policy at

the Austrian Ministry of Defence in co-operation with PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security

Studies Institutes, April 2006, pg. 206.

1.1 The Emergence of the Discipline of Conflict Management: Its Relation with

the Theory of International Relations

Societies move in an organisational structure. In this regard the word organisation is not an easy

one to define. Actually this point of view tries to visualise the means of existence of conflict in

an organisational structure.

Such that the domain of conflict, be it a family or a factory, is a body of relations between

individuals.

The basis of conflict from an integrative point of view starts with a feeling of

displeasure that an individual feels regarding the environment they live in. This point of view

actually reflects the needs and desires of those who cannot come to terms with their immediate

environment. Those who are content with their environment disregard the issue of embracing

similar thought criteria, which is to say 'power'. This is why conflicts have never ended

throughout the entire human history.

Apart from an abstract structure in which an individual

willingly hand over its own rights, power can also mean a power-sharing conflict between two

sides. However, trying to read the causes of conflict only along the lines of controlling the

power or economic interests may rule out conflicts that arose out of "value" or "identity"

crises.

Weissmann and Swanström, discuss the sole definition of conflict in terms of violence

(behavior) or hostility (manner).

For Mitchell, the structure of conflict is trilateral: manners,

behaviours and situations. This trilateral structure is often employed to analyse military and

political conflicts. According to Mitchell, this trilateral structure (body of relations that happen

in between manners-behaviours-situations) draws the line of conflict. For example, this trilateral

structure of Mitchell also contains all reasons for conflict. The structure is a loop and a

deficiency in any of them may trigger a conflict. Herein Mitchell's attempt to explain the

structure of conflict in basic terms and without taking into consideration the economic, social

and humanitarian consideration caused him to face with criticism.

In another definition, conflict is defined as the deliberate, planned actions and behaviour

perpetrated by a group or an individual to prevent another group or individual from reaching

their aims.

As can be seen here, conflict also contains conscious steps. According to

UNESCO, conflict starts at human memory and is also built on human memory.

Mustafa Atiker, Çatisma, 2006 35 / 35, Konya Ticaret Odasi Etüd Aratirma Servisi, pg. 1.

Ho Won Jeong, Understanding Coflict and Coflict Analysis, ABD: Sage, 2008, pg. 3.

Jeong, 2008, pg. 5.

Niklas, L.P. Swanström, Mikael S. Weissmann, Conflict, Conflict Prevention and Conflict Management and

Beyond: a Conceptual Exploration, Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program A Joint

Transatlantic Research and Policy Center Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, Summer 2005, pg. 7.

Swanström, Weissmann, 2005, pg. 8.

Atiker, 2006, pg. 2.

"Official Website of UNESCO", http://www.unesco.org/education/nfsunesco/pdf/UNESCO_E.PDF, Access

UNESCO states, conflict arises from individuals, and hence, it can or cannot be prevented.

1.1.1. Emergence of the Field: Practical Steps

According to Burton, conflict is rebelling against rules or in other worlds to the established

order. There have been steps to institutionalize the means to prevent states from conflicting

with each other. The most important of these steps is the League of Nations.

It can be stated

that after the First World War, the League of Nations (LN) was forced to deal with the ethnic

issues in Central and Eastern Europe as caused by its distribution of these lands. Despite the

efforts of the US President Wilson, a decree has not beenmade in the LN pact that would

ensure the protection of minorities devoted to the prevention of ethnic issues due to the Irish

issue of United Kingdom.

From time to time states have also acted regarding the prevention

of minorities. For instance, there have been agreements signed between states such as USA,

United Kingdom, Japan, France, Italy, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Serbian-Croat-Slovenian

states aimed at protection of minorities.

However, expansionist actions of states were not

prevented as LN never attained enough power to sanction states. It can be stated that the

unavoidability of ethnic issues is opening the doors for a new world war and negatively affect

international security.

After the Second World War UN has made adjustments regarding ethnic issues within the

scope of human rights, instead of approaching them under a different subject under minority

rights. In this way, provocation of ethnic issues by other states is avoided, and for the

resolution of conflicts an article entitled "Peaceful Settlement of Disputes"

was established

within the section IV of the UN treaty. The Security Council was actuated for the peaceful

settlement of disputes. The Security Council stated with its adopted course of action that the

issues of those party to a dispute which threats security can be resolved through contact,

investigation, mediation, reconciliation, arbitrage and judicial means of resolution, and also

with regional organizations, agreements or with means that states come up with themselves.

With the 37th article it is stressed that no dispute can be taken to the Security Council and the

General Assembly without taking previous steps to resolve it through peaceful means. The

24th article of the UN Treaty holds the Security Council to account for the preservation of

date: 29.01.2012.

Jeong, 2008, pg. 6.

Erol Kuruba, Asimilasyondan Taninmaya Uluslararasi Alanda Azinlik Sorunlari ve Avrupa Yaklaimi,

Ankara: Asil Yayinlari, 2006, pg. 49.

Kuruba, 2006, pg. 52.

"United Nations Treaty", https://www.tbmm.gov.tr/komisyon/insanhaklari/pdf01/3-30.pdf, Access date:

13.07.2016, pg. 5.

international peace and security.

The 1907 Hague Conventions are a good example of UN's

method of investigation. The most important example of the reconciliation method is when

the Security Council granted power to the Secretary General to appoint an intermediator with

its decision made on 4 March 1964.

Institutional steps to prevent conflicts and to establish

peace became the norm across international organisations as in the example of UN. Alongside

this, non-governmental organisations concerned with conflict management started to appear.

Peace Research Institute at Oslo was founded in 1959. The Institute is focused on subjects such

as conflict resolution, diplomatic dialogue and reconciliation.

The biggest steps in preventing

conflicts were taken before 1960. Problem solving workshops have been organized by John

Burton and Dennis Snadole. Though an important matter here is that before1960, the concept

of conflict was considered to resolve economical disputes.

After the 1960s, conflict analysis

and resolution has started to become institutionalized through universities and non-

governmental organisations. On this regard, nations uttering their dissatisfaction with their

governments actually caused people and governments to realize their power.

Journal of Conflict Resolution was founded in 1957, and the Journal of Peace Research was

founded in 1962 by Johan Galtung. Concordantly, as one of the pioneer institutions related to

conflict management analysis today, the International Peace Research Association (IPRA)

was founded in 1965. University of Bradford founded in 1973 to become the first university

focused on the field of peace.

Such institutionalisation efforts which contributed to the

development of conflict management also lead to discussions regarding conflict management

and the ontology of the discipline.

Quincy Wright describes war as a "violent contact between different but similar units."

For

the works he made in the 1960's it can be stated he started to drive forward the term conflict

beyond the term war. According to Wright, "war" should be considered as a type of conflict.

Accordingly, Wright stressed that conflict had physical, biological or philosophical and social

Kuruba, 2006, pg. 53.

Hasan Duran, "Birlemi Milletler ve Bariin Korunmasi",

http://www.aku.edu.tr/aku/dosyayonetimi/sosyalbilens/dergi/IV1/12HasanDURAN.pdf, Access date:

12.11.2015. See for detail: UN Treaty Text, http://www.ombudsman.gov.tr/contents/files/35501-Birlesmis-

Milletler-Antlasmasi.pdf, Access date: 12.11.2015.

"Peace Research Institute at Oslo", https://www.prio.org/About/, Access date: 11.11.2015.

Sean Byrne, Jessica Senehi, "Coflict Analysis and Resolution as a Multidicipline A Work in Pogress", in

Handbook Of Coflict Analysis and Resolutions, Dennis J. D. Sandole-Staroste and Jessica Senehi, USA:

Routledge Yayinevi, 2009, pg. 3

Byrne, Senehi, 2009, pg. 4.

Özgün Erler Bayir, Özden Selcen Sari, "Quinc Wright", in Sava Kuramlari, Ed. Erhan Büyükakinci, Ankara:

Adres Yayinlari, 2015, pg. 297.

aspects.

Correspondingly, the USA founded the Community Relations Service in 1964. An

observation can be made here: developments in international politics has made conflict

management a necessity and helped turn it into an academic field.

The Realist perspective, in terms of its development, is based on the proposition that conflict

will never cease to exist in human relations.

"Covenants, without the sword, are but words,

and of no strength to secure a man at all" writes Hobbes on the subject.

According to this

viewpoint, transformation of conflict is not possible. Those who win the armed conflict among

states have already confiscated the power to establish their world order. The most obvious

example of this is the "victor's peace" philosophy. Historically, it can be claimed that the

concept of victor's peace caused the idea of justice to be interpreted correlatively with events.

For example, as the citizens of the defeated countries in the Second World War were put on

trial in the Nürnberg and Tokio Courts, citizens from winning countries that committed the

same crimes were not. This situation is referred as the victor's justice.

1.1.2. International Relations Theory and the Development of the Field

Within the academic literature, there is no consensus on which of the theories of conflict

management

, conflict resolution

and peace studies should be employed. Their proximity to

the International Relations theories are criticized according to the manners these concepts are

employed. The term "Conflict Management" is argued to represent a conceptually neo-

realistic viewpoint.

According to Kevin Avruch, conflict management from a realistic

viewpoint deals directly with armed conflict between states and aims to terminate such

conflicts.

As for the idealistic viewpoint, it often employs the term conflict resolution.

Conflict resolution aims to focus on the development of ways and methods that would enable

societies that are unable to live together to coexist.

Many debates have been carried on regarding the concepts of conflict management and

conflict resolution, to the point that some claim conflict resolution and steps of conflict

Bayir and Sari, 2015, pg. 306.

Kevin Avruch, "Culture Theory, Culture Clash, and the Practice of Conflict Resolution", in Handbook Of

Coflict Analysis and Resolutions, Dennis J. D. Sandole-Staroste and Jessica Senehi, USA: Routledge Yayinevi,

2009, pg. 247-250.

Hannah Arendt, "iddet Üzerine", Cogito, Issue: 6-7, Bahar 1996, pg. 8.

Ahmet Hamdi Topal, `Uluslararasi Terörizm ve Uluslararasi Ceza Mahkemesi', Uluslararasi Hukuk and

Politika, Vol 1, No:3, 2005, pg. 85.

Akyeilmen, 2015, pg. 40-51.

Wallensteen, 2006, pg. 14.

Avruch, 2009, pg. 246.

Hamad, Ahmad, Azem, "The Reconceptualisation of Conflict Management", Peace, Conflict and

Development: An Interdisciplinary Journal, Vol. 7, July 2005, pg. 5.

transformation to be an entirely different process within conflict management.

When we

consider the foundations of conflict management as an academic field and its development, it

is revealed that the concept of conflict management takes from many different fields in

carrying on its existence. The concept of conflict management is used by those who carry on

studies in this field as an "umbrella term" and can be claimed to be a concept that contains

conflict resolution and conflict transformation within itself.

As Akyeilmen points out, while

A, Richard Posthuma, Nuno R. Garoupa

Jo~ao E. Gata uses "conflict management"

as an

umbrella term, Eilen Babbiet, Standford Siver consider "conflict resolution"

as an umbrella

term.

In Akyeilmen's words, "as it is thought to be more extensive and meaningful than

others, and in order not cause any conceptual confusion,"

in this study the concept of

conflict management will be employed as the umbrella term.

What makes conflict management topical is the lack of analysis of the works that deal with

conflict management and the deficiency of theoretical works that consider conflict management

itself, which caused the field of Conflict Management to be the considered the same as the

concepts of conflict resolution and conflict transformation.

While some theoretical analyses

have been made on conflict management, most of these have been studies that employed

quantitative methods, discarding normative issues. In this regard, according to Hamad Ahmad, the

first of the pioneer works that ensured the field of conflict management to stand on its own legs

was Ian Lustick's Unsettled States, Disputed Lands: Britain and Ireland, France and Algeria,

Israel and the West BankGaza. This work has brought theory and practice together. The sole

work made in Turkey on this regard which consider both theoretical and practical aspects of the

field, is entitled "Talking Peace," published in 2013 and edited by Nezir Akyeilmen. It can be

argued that the biggest contribution this work has made to the field of conflict management is its

research of the applicability of the theory to the practice by discussing various examples of

conflict on pioneering conceptual bases. This was ensured by including analyses that gather both

theoretical perspectives and their applications regarding conflicts.

Azem, 2005, pg. 6.

Richard, A. Posthuma,"Conflict Management and Emotions", International Journal of Conflict Management,

Vol. 23 , 2012, pg. 45, Nuno R. Garoupa, Jo~ao E. Gata, A Theory of International Conflict Management and

Sanctioning, www.econ.upf.edu/docs/papers/downloads/481.pdf, Access date: 12.11.2015.

Babbitt, Eileen, "Conflict Resolution as a Field of Inquiry: Practice Informing Theory",

International Studies Review, No. 13, 2001, pg. 46-57. Siver, Stanford, "A Process Oriented View of Conflict

Resolution", 2005, http://stanfordsiver.net/wp- content/themes/twentyten/pdf/ConflictResolution.pdf, Access

date: 12.11.2015, ss. 1-57.

Akyeilmen, 2013, pg. 31.

Azem, 2005, pg. 8.

Until today and including its process of establishment as an academic field, conflict

management have had an "interdisciplinary" quality to itself. For instance, the ontology of

conflict is based on the existence of mankind on earth. In addition, human beings interact with

the ecological, economic, political etc. fields.

Hence, if the house of mankind is earth, such

questions of "what is it that they cannot share?", "why they cannot share it?" and "how can

they share?" constitute the primary ontological issues of conflict management. In this regard,

conflicts become fights of existence and the disappearance of one of the sides turns into the

reason of existence of the other.

This perspective takes homo homini lupus as its starting

point and hence it has been claimed that the concept of conflict management has neo-realistic

elements. According to this criticism, conflict management means the management of the

relations between two states for the neo-realists. Hence, usage of the concept of conflict

resolution is suggested over the other. Rejecting the use of the concept of conflict management

due to the borders of the realistic/neo-realistic viewpoints can mean disregarding the

contributions it makes to the developments around the world and the development of the

concepts. Such that, instead of rejecting the contributions of the realist perspective to the

conflict management concept, usage of it as an umbrella term that consists of realist and other

theoretical viewpoints and the knowledge that they generate, may be more correct. For

instance, strained relations generated by the Cuban Crisis of the Cold War era in the context of

its actors, and their softening during the detente period which was ensured as both states made

a difference in their attitude toward the other, can be employed to claim conflict management

developed with a "state-centred" approach. The Cold War period, which we can mention as the

period that made the field of conflict management closer to realist and neo-realist theories and

even reinforced this relation, caused conflicts to be interpreted as situations that happen

between states.

While most conflicts did not emerge between states in the post-Cold War era, the possibility

for conflicts to emerge between different nations in a single country has strongly emerged. But

the basic issue that deserves criticism here is the Class of Civilisation thesis. When

Huntington suggested the idea that civilisations will clash with each other, it can be said that

he realized the reflection of an implicit form of neo-realism to the post-Cold War era.

Huntington considered civilisations as phenomena distinct from the individual. The most

basic indicator of this is his recount of conflict along two main actors, similar to what realists

Thomas E. Boudreau, "Human Agonistes Interdisciplinary Inquiry into Ontological Agency and Human

Coflict", in Handbook Of Coflict Analysis and Resolutions, Dennis J. D. Sandole-Staroste and Jessica Senehi,

USA: Routledge Yayinevi, 2009, pg. 139

Boudreau, 2009, pg. 136

do. Though we can criticize the realists here with a post-modern viewpoint, as it can be

claimed that the realist viewpoint discards the role played by the individual in the inception of

conflicts and that it disregards the individual in the post-Cold War era. Whereas in the post-

Cold War era the individual has become an actor so important in political crises that it could

pit states against each other. For instance, when the WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange, who

exposed secret documents, was granted asylum in the Ecuador Embassy in London, it caused

an international crisis between the UK, the USA and Ecuador.

A portion of the other part of the criticism raised against the concept of conflict management

stems from the concept of "management."

Management here means the act of managing by a

unit or an institution, also referred by the concept of gestion in French, suggesting that the

meaning generally associated with the field of Business Administration is attributed to the

concept. In Turkish, this incomprehensibility is relatively less severe and the concept of

conflict management (çatima yönetimi) hints that conflict has many stages and that each of

these can be managed.

Behaviouralists have contributed to the issue of conflict resolution, which we can consider as a

sub-branch to the field of conflict resolution. The biggest goal of the behaviouralist works is to

prevent previous conflicts to re-emerge. In the post-1945 era, the behaviouralist works have

continued to constitute the basic study topics of the field of conflict management.

Post-war peace and crisis studies have accelerated with Kantian themes but with a positivist

perspective.

Richardson and Wright have contributed greatly to the endurance of the field as

a sub-field of International Relations.

100

The most important issuew in such studies is that

while during the Cold War era these studies focused on preventing macro-sized wars, micro-

sized conflicts that could happen in the post-Cold War era were not envisioned. In this era

those who did empirical studies on the causes of wars have missed normative aspect of wars.

Hence, conflict management has reflected the effects of normative theories on the discipline

through its sub branch of conflict resolution. As it is seen, it can be claimed that the peace

studies concept which reflect a rather normative perspective is a sub-branch of conflict

management.

"Wikileaks Editörü Assange'i neler

http://www.bbc.co.uk/turkce/ozeldosyalar/2013/06/130617_assange_ekvador, Access date: 05.04.2015.

Azem, 2005, pg. 11.

Erdem Özlük, "Uluslararasi likiler Disiplininde Davranisalci Paradigmanin Anlami, Kökeni, Çatima

Çözümlemesi Örneinde Davranisalciliin Katkisi",

http://dergisosyalbil.selcuk.edu.tr/susbed/article/download/423/405, Access date: 08.04.2015, pg. 384.

100

Özlük, Access date: 08.04.2015, pg. 384.

Together with the influence of idealist theory, the concepts of norm and values are effective

on the emergence of the conflict management discipline. The effect of normative theory on

international relations took place largely during the post-Cold War era. It had been claimed

in the previous periods that normative theory was unable to provide an objective perspective

as it was not "scientific."

101

While the neo-realist perspective has put forward the role played

by the system on the subject of the cause of war, liberals on the other hand has made

scientific studies on regimes regarding the subject. Such that, it has been claimed that

democratic regimes are unable to conflict with each other. Realists on the other hand insist

that conflicts emerge due to the threats against states, but this fail to explain why civil wars

take place. It can be stressed that unavoidability of conflicts cause extreme cases of human

rights violations. Massacres that have took place in countries such as Iraq, Somalia, Bosnia-

Herzegovina, Haiti and Rwanda has helped normative theories to re-emerge once again.

While it has been it suggested that the normative theory asserts what should be instead of what

is, it does also stress such concepts as international justice and international human rights

these concepts are far from the ideal and are cold facts of our lives.

102

Conflicts require the definition of the issue, it is not possible to diagnose an illness if the

illness does not become visible.

103

The field of conflict management, along with specifying

the general characteristics of all conflicts around the world, should also stress that every

conflict has its own unique properties.

104

Conflict management shows a similarity in many

ways with the field of medicine. For instance, the general causes of the emergence of an

illness are valid for many of the patients. In this regard, many of the countries where conflicts

emerge have similar causes. Actually, conflict management is similar to the negative/positive

definitions of medicine. While negative medicine, as its name suggest, develops a treatment

with reference to the negative condition resulted by the appearance of a sickness; alternative

medicine, or what we can call positive medicine, can help people without the emergence of

negative conditions.

105

Herein, conflict management has methods of treatment which people

can use without becoming sick. Conflict management typically employs normative theory in

using such methods of treatment. It can be claimed that normative theory has immensely

101

Nezir Akyeilmen, "Normatif Teori", Uluslararasi likilere Giri, aban Karda, Ali Balci (Ed.), stanbul:

Küre Yayinlari, 2014, pg. 189.

102

Akyeilmen, 2014, pg. 189.

103

Petar Atanasov,"The Progress of the `Ohrid Process' in Macedonia", in Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Lessons

from South East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community, Jean-Jacques de Dardel

Gustav Gustenau Plamen Pantev (ed.) Vienna and Sofia: National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security

Policy at the Austrian Ministry of Defence in cooperation with PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and

Security Studies Institutes, April 2006, pg. 182.

104

Atanasov, 2006, pg. 192.

105

Galtung, 2009, pg. 515.

contributed to the field in terms of detection and transformation of conflict, if development of

conflict management is of concern.

The biggest issue of post-war societies is the applicability of human rights within the social

order.

106

On this regard, normative theory provides important contributions to the field of

conflict management in the extents of human rights and justice. For all the unsuccessful

examples, one of the most positive examples for the international society in terms of

prevention of ethnic cleaning is Kosovo.

107

In this regard, the perspective of those who

represent the Neo-realist/Neo-liberal or the positivist method, is a "less socialised view," in the

words of Alexander Wendt. Constructivists on the other hand claim that developments in

world politics are constructed through social means.

108

The constructivist perspective on this

regard is more susceptible to contribute to conflict management. For example, human nature

and its relations with social forms are at the start of the most basic assumptions of social

theory. This exact point shows similarity with the ontological problematic of conflict

management.

In discussing social theory, Wendt's starting point and criticism is focused on Waltz's structural

analysis. On this regard, Wendt points out that the relation between Waltz's perspective and an

anarchist order is extremely stressed in international politics and he criticizes this.

109

With

reference to this, it can be harder to explain peace with Waltz's anarchist order assumption for

the field of conflict management. According to Waltz states act with a "self-help" assumption.

However states can also co-operate. For instance, in preventing the Northern Ireland issue, the

USA, United Kingdom, and Republic of Ireland have all contributed to establish peace among

the peoples of Northern Ireland.

110

It can be said that Wendt have opened an important research area for the field of conflict

management by continuing to criticize Waltz and with his general criticism. Actions of states

cannot be explained solely by the distribution of economic power and interests, the characteristic

of the international social life should also be considered.

111

As a result of the power sharing

106

Jean-Jacques de Dardel, "Human Rights as a Fundamental Standard of Post-Conflict Rehabilitation, in Post-

Conflict Rehabilitation Lessons from South East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic

Community, Jean-Jacques de Dardel Gustav Gustenau Plamen Pantev (ed.) Vienna and Sofia: National Defence

Academy and Bureau for Security Policy at the Austrian Ministry of Defence in co-operation with PfP

Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes, April 2006, pg. 58.

107

Plamen Pantev, "Lessons on Post-War Rehabilitation in South East Europe and by South East Europeans", in

Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Lessons from South East Europe and Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic

Community, Jean-Jacques de Dardel Gustav Gustenau Plamen Pantev (ed.) Vienna and Sofia: National Defence

Academy and Bureau for Security Policy at the Austrian Ministry of Defence in co-operation with PfP Consortium

of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes, April 2006, pg. 113.

108

Alexander Wendt, Uluslararasi Siyasetin Sosyal Teorisi, stanbul: Küre Yayinlari, 2012, pg. 18.

109

Wendt, 2012, pg. 21.

110

Hayirli Cuma Anlamasi, UK: Demokratik Geliim Enstitüsü, 2013, pg. 26-28.

111

Wendt, 2012, pg. 38.

caused by the international system, competition among states to increase their power is in

question. But states in their international structure have, in economics terms, a trust structure.

One can observe that there is injustice in states that do not have a democratic tradition when it

comes to power distribution in their internal structure. Especially from this sentence, it can be

derived that social identities and expectations of states may cause civil war. In other words it

can be claimed of the thought that trust-based structuring for states is not related to the

human-element stems for the positivist perspective. Based on this, one can state that

theoretical studies of the conflict management discipline should not be separated from social

realities. This is because it is not possible to explain the conflicts that occur within a state

separately from the individual and different social sides.

112

Another subject Wendt criticizes is the rational choice theory. According to rational choice

theory, the components that come together within a nation state have chosen this as a rational

choice. Accordingly, it is assumed that ethnic groups that live in a nation state together chose

this as the best option. At the bottom, explaining why ethnic groups that live under the same

roof to have armed conflicts with each other, i.e., civil wars with rational choice theory does

not seem quite possible. This is because rational choice theory overlooks social interaction.

Rationalist discourse theorizations in conflict management are done via game theories. As

stated earlier, game theories have made vital contributions to conflict management on the

subject of development of its. However, actors of game theory only utilized the concept of

profit when making a decision.

113

In fact, `the states acting as humans' proposition was

reversed, and humans were directed to act as states. At this point, the fact that decision

making actors took these decisions through having social interaction should not be

disregarded in the theoretical studies of the field of conflict management. These problems

make it necessary to discuss another research question. In this part of this study, it is claimed

that the most crucial contribution to the development of conflict management as an

independent field of study can be made possible with the increase of theoretical discussions.

In other words, the main research question in this chapter is how can we contribute to the

theoretical background of conflict management. This is why the ontology of the field of conflict

management has to be society-centred instead of being state-centred.

114

112

Wendt, 2012, pg. 94.

113

Wendt, 2012, pg. 189.

114

In the words of Johan Galtung, it is not possible to establish new worlds, new concepts and new theories for

the peace studies fied by only maintaining a state-centred approach. See: Johan Galtung, "Toward a Coflictology

the Quest for Transdiciplinarity" , in Handbook of Coflict Anaysis and Resolution, Dennis J. D. Sandole, Sean

Byrne, Ngrid Sandole Staroste Jessica Senehi, New York, London: Routledge, 2009, pg. 514.

According to Wendt, on the subject of making contributions to the field of conflict

management, there should be not only idealism, but also a holistic perspective that includes

social structuralism. While on the one hand theoretical studies of the field of conflict

management should explain the reasons of conflict, on the other hand, it should present a

holistic perspective that includes an idealist perspective to transform conflict.

115

In that regard, the concept of conflict and the ones who interpret conflict have developed. For

example, traditional approaches assume that conflict is negative.

116

In the traditional approach,

conflicts are seen as negative, and in order to reinforce the negative meaning, conflicts are tried

to be kept as having the same meaning with concepts such as violence, destruction,

irrationality.

117

Behavioural approach towards conflict accepts that conflict is natural and

inevitable in every group and organization. According to this understanding, conflict is not

negative, but its process should be managed. A conflict that is managed can ensure positive

results. Actually, behavioural approach states that the core of conflict is differences. In other

words, the abolishing of conflict based on authority will mean the disappearance of

differences. However, an effective study method will ensure differences to live together.

118

Likewise, conflicts are neither negative or positive, they are natural actions.

119

The way of management of conflict among sides may help the consolidation of conflict with

the perceptions of good and evil.

120

Conflict shows the insufficiency of the system and may

help paving the way for structural changes. In this regard, conflict can become the driving

power of individual, societal, cultural and political change.

121

Consequently, conflict is

neither entirely negative; if it was, there would not be wars of independence; the absence of

conflict is not entirely good, since even though nations that are under pressure live in a

relative peace environment, they may not have the chance to live independently.

122

Labelling

conflict as destructive or constructive may bring with the consequence of not carefully

considering the reasons that reveal conflict in the first place. The important thing here is

whether sides of conflict gave up their demands voluntarily or by necessity. A non-voluntary

renunciation may cause the recurrence of the conflict in the coming years.

123

To give an

example, if the reason of conflict between the sides is related to economic or social status, for

the conflict to result in reconciliation is more possible; if the reason that causes conflict is

115

Wendt, 2012, pg. 179.

116

Atiker, 2006, pg. 2.

117

Atiker, 2006, pg. 2.

118

Atiker, 2006, pg. 2.

119

Akyeilmen, 2014, pg. 19.

120

Akyeilmen, 2014, pg. 19.

121

Akyeilmen, 2014, pg. 19.

122

Alexander Mitscherlich, "Zulüm Üstüne Savlar", Cogito, Bahar 1996, pg. 255.

123

Jeong, 2008, pg. 12.

cause-weighted, the possibility for conflict to be over decreases. At this point, the following is

to be remembered: conflicts that are value- weighted cause an increase of the polarization of

conflict sides, and as a result, the sovereign power, i.e. the side that governs the state, may

take economic and social steps towards the nonexistence of the other side within the

established system. In that note, while the weight of Protestants increased in state ranks until

the reconciliation was ensured in Northern Ireland, the weight of Catholics in state ranks

decreased. As can be understood from this, conflict does not only result from problems of

economic and social status, besides this, the concerns of "value" and "identity" are also

effective in the occurrence of a conflict. Consequently, a holistic perspective may help

conflict to be understood more.

Another development that helped conflict management to shine out is its relation to the

enlargement of the contents of security concept. Security concept has been changed; political,

economic, social meanings were added into the content of the concept. This shows that

security after Cold War does not only mean the end of armed conflict. For this reason, the idea

that a structure in which political, economic, social rights of sides will be guaranteed within

the concept of security has been proposed.

124

One of the criticisms that have been made

towards conflict management discipline in that regard is that "democracy deficit" occurs in

phases of conflict management. In other words, the fact that external interventions are high in

number can preclude security reforms to be made in a healthy way, and even deepen conflicts

further.

125

In the following part of the study, the reasons for conflict will be tried to be

approached systematically by making a distinction between structural and basic reasons of

conflict.

1.1.3.

Structural and Basic Reasons of Conflict

It has been possible most of the time to use state as a tool for social controlling and convincing

society by taking shelter in the argument that the guarantee of peace is arms. This situation is

an indicator that violence bears an element of arbitrariness.

126

124

Plamen Pantev and Vesselin Petkov, "Security Sector Governance Issues in Post-Conflict Societies: Concept,

Tasks, Experience in South East Europe", in Post-Conflict Rehabilitation Lessons from South East Europe and

Strategic Consequences for the Euro-Atlantic Community, Jean- Jacques de Dardel Gustav Gustenau Plamen

Pantev (ed.) Vienna and Sofia: National Defence Academy and Bureau for Security Policy at the Austrian

Ministry of Defence in co-operation with PfP Consortium of Defence Academies and Security Studies Institutes,

April 2006, pg. 133.

125

Pantev and Petkov, 2006, pg. 148.

126

Arendt, Bahar 1996, pg. 15.

Thus, the West defines terror as violence beyond measure.

127

However, even though they

consider terrorism as sickness, they do not propose a treatment method: they generally accept

members of terrorist organizations such as IRA, ETA as sick.

128

Even though terrorism is

diagnosed as a disease, there have been claims on whether it is a purpose or a means or

whether its aim is economic gains. However, at this point, while the diagnosing that violence

can be conscious is made, the subject of national sensitivities has been disregarded. The

subject of national sensitivities can be used both by the power and by the governed as a tool to

legitimize violence

129

130

By saying that "there is a right way and a wrong way even in the act

of destruction and everything has a limit," Albert Camus emphasizes that actually the act of

violence is not the right way unless it is based on a right reason. In a way, Camus states that

violence should have morality, too.

131

It is stated that he transformation towards the use of violence is in close relation to the power,

i.e. the states, to convert into army system. To give an example, the American Revolution and

the French Revolution developed armies. This, in a way, generates a contradiction. Fighting

states that have better trained armies have dominated other states that have more population

but not good armed units. However, the interesting matter here is that nations that are more

populous did revolt against the sovereign power that is less populous.

132

Actually, these

uprisings caused the concept of civil war to become part of the academic literature. In the

American civil war, which we can define as the first civil war, the South revolted against the

North who had more power with regards to its quality.

133

Galtung states three types of violence that are connected to each other: structural, cultural and

direct violence. Direct violence can occur among people in the shape of killing and keeping

under pressure. Structural and cultural violence may not be directly seen. Cultural violence can

be used directly to legitimize structural violence and includes all kinds of symbolic

dimensions. All kinds of non-egalitarian behaviour committed within the institutions of society

and discrimination are defined as structural violence.

134

In that regard, violence can exist in

127

Semra Somersan, "iddetin ki Yüzü", Cogito Issue: 6-7, Bahar 1996, pg. 43.

128

Somersan, 1996, pg. 47.

129

The controversial issue regarding the concept of violence is regarding the meaning it attains. Actually, it is the

etymological root of the word violence that creates this ambiguity. While the word is the same for both French

and English, it does express meanings of different profundity. While the word expresses direct physical violence

and illegal inequity in the English language, in French it could mean pressuring someone for the purpose of

gaining consent. For further information, see: Somersan, 1996, pg. 48.

130

Kondrad Lorenz, "Saldirganliin Spontanlii", Cogito, Issue: 6-7, Bahar 1996, pg. 170.

131

C.A.J. Coady, "Terörün Ahlaki", Cogito, Issue: 6-7, Bahar 1996, pg. 272.

132

Friedrich Engels, "Tarihte idetin Rolü", Cogito, Issue 6-7, Bahar 1996, pg. 175.

133

Aladdin enel, Irk ve Irkçilik Düüncesi, Ankara: Bilim and Sanat yayinlari, 1993, pg. 146.

134

Sandy Ascenso, Et Al., Bari Eitimini Yayginlatirma Metodolojiler, Yaklaimlar ve Vizyonlar Uygulama

Kilavuzu, Life Learning Programme, Mart 2014, pg. 32.-35.

apparent and invisible forms.

135

Heidelberg Institute For International Conflict Research

(HIIC) divides conflicts that do not include violence into two as latent conflict and manifest

conflict.

136

Latent conflict corresponds to moral violence as mentioned by Copet-Rougier.

137

Every conflict possesses the reasons and accumulation that would make conflict visible before

it actually becomes visible. We can define the start of the process in which sides are

uncomfortable with each other as latent conflict. As for visible conflict, it can be defined as the

process when the discomfort of sides reflect on their actions and discourse in a visible way.

138

As HIIC defined, the name of the period when conflict starts to include violence is called

crisis. Staven Fink explains crisis as a period that lacks stability, while Umberto Eco defines it

as a transformation that leads to destruction.

139

Crisis can mostly be defined as the social

reflection of the blockage that occurred in the political system. In other words, limited public

participation in administration or the experience of a representation problem

140

and the will to

put effort in order to punish the authority by the use of pressure and violence deepens

conflicts,

141

in fact, it may even cause crises. In this regard, crisis according to HIIC is the

name of the intense situation that occurs as a result of at least one side's resort to violence.

142

It can be stated that violence has an indicative power in this process, as well as the fact that

the period of violent crisis means the acceptance of violence by the sides to the conflict.

Rapid militarisation can occur in the society while actors that use violence in the period of

violent crisis try to make the society accept them.

143

135

Somersan, 1996, pg. 48.

136

"Methodological Approach", http://hiik.de/en/methodik/index.html, Access date: 06.04.2015. Detayli bilgi

için bakiniz: Nezir Akyeilmen, "Çatima Yönetimi: Kavramsal bir Analiz", in Barii Konumak, Nezir

Akyeilmen (ed.), Ankara: ODTÜ yayincilik, 2013, pg. 25. For different classifications, see: According to

Wilmot and Hocker's definition, three main factors are looked for in conflicts: i) a kind of open struggle is to

happen between at least two sides, ii) there is a matter of mutual dependency for the sides of the conflict, iii)

sides must percept a threat from the other side. The presence of the conditions that would cause a conflict is

stated as the first phase in the academic literature. Perceived conflict arises after conflict sides realize a

difference of opinion between the groups and in this phase both sides create a scenario as to why conflict

emerged. These scenarios change the attitudes of both sides as a result of misperceptions. For more information

see Akyeilmen, 2013, pg. 21.

137

Somersan, 1996, pg. 48.

138

"Methodological Approach", http://hiik.de/en/methodik/index.html, Access date: 06.04.2015. For more

information see: Akyeilmen, 2013, pg. 26.

139

Levent Yilmaz, Siyasal Kültür-Kriz Etkileimi Çerçevesinde Türk Siyasal Kültürünün Kriz Alanlari,

Unpublished Master's Thesis, zmir: Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, 2003, pg. 1-3.

140

Yilmaz, 2003, pg. 15.

141

Iik Ergüden, "Örnek Bir iddet Mekani: Hapishane", Cogito, Issue: 6-7, Bahar 1996, pg. 109.

142

"Methodological Approach", http://hiik.de/en/methodik/index.html, Access date: 06.04.2015. For more

information see: Akyeilmen, 2013, pg. 28.

143

Akyeilmen,2013, pg. 28, pg. 28.

War is subsequent to violent crisis, in other words, it is the name of the period in which

violence is institutionalized. Within the 5600 years of recorded history of humanity, over

14.600 wars have taken place, the average of each year is 2.6 wars.

144

The farthest point of

master-slave classification in the history of humanity is wars. War gives the winner the

possibility to become the master by giving the winner the opportunity to take over the

resources of the loser. Conflict management aims to prevent a new master-slave classification

in an occurring ethnic.

145

Thus, preventing the throughout exploitation of the resources of the

loser as a consequence of the master winning the war is aimed.

Conflict management firstly aims the termination of violence and then the transformation of

conflict in ethnic studies. This is because political power gained via violence may trigger the

reoccurrence of violence by weakening or loss of power. By ensuring social reconciliation,

conflict management aims to prevent the use of violence as a means once again.

146

One of the most important reasons of conflict is the non-equal distribution of resources. In

other words, inequality in resource distribution is among the reasons of conflict.

147

The

choices made as a side of conflict by a section of the society may negatively affect the other

side. To give an example, the attempt of Sinhaleses, who are in the majority, to make their

language dominant via the "Sinhalese Only Bill" created the perception on the Tamil society

that their language is forbidden, and the Tamil society was affected negatively by the process.

The most important matter that should receive attention at this point is that an action made by

a side can cause conflicts to arise.

In that regard, psychological reasons should also be

considered for the emergence of conflicts.

148

We can divide the reasons of conflict into two main categories in general, as structural and

basic reasons. Historic legacy, ethnic, religious and language differences, the existence of an

ethnic group that has the upper identity in a dominant position, and the fact that the militarist

mind-set is very high in societies constitute the structural reasons of conflict. As for basic

reasons of conflict, we can list them as political instability and weakness of government,

economic factors, social reasons, environment factor, and cultural and perception

differences.

149

144

Archer and Gartner, 1996, pg. 247.

145

Yavuz Erten, Cahit Ardali, "Saldirganlik, iddet ve Terörün Psikososyal Yapilari", Cogito, Issue: 6-7, Ki-

Bahar 1996, pg. 157.

146

Erten, Ardali, 1996, pg. 158.

147

Atiker, 2006, pg. 3.

148

Jeong, 2008, pg. 11.

149

Hüseyin Baci, "Önsöz Yerine Çatima Analiz", Barii Konumak, Ankara: ODTÜ Yayimcilik, 2013, pg. 9.

It is easier for states to wage war against each other that have hostility in between them within

their histories. Likewise, an existing hostility between different ethnic groups being inherited

from generation to generation may be the structural reason of conflict.

150

The Northern Ireland

problem has a historical background of more than 600 years.

One of the structural reasons of conflict may result from the effects of neighbouring countries

on conflict. Neighbouring countries may have kept the other state under its sovereignty for a

period of time in conflicts. In that regard, Ireland has been under the sovereignty of Britain for

many years. The state of Britain dominated Northern Ireland by presenting this historic legacy

as a reason. While religious ties brought Northern Ireland and Britain closer, it resulted with

Catholics in Northern Ireland to have closer relations with the Republic of Ireland. As a result,

the Northern Ireland problem has turned into a multi-dimensional one.

151

Another example is

the role of France in the emergence of the Basque problem. While Spain was under French

sovereignty in 1813, it supported England and rebelled against France. This rebellion had lead

the way towards the independence war of Spain.

152

During civil war, France supported the rebels located by its border against Spain. In reality,

the Basque problem became clear as a result of the Spanish civil war. During the period,

France was the gathering place of resistance leaders, so to speak. Rebels made international

connections over France during the civil war and got weapon and money aids over France.

153

As it is in the Indian example, neighbouring countries may support ethnic discriminatory

groups in order to increase their influence in regions. In order to increase its regional power,

India supported Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka.

154

It can help in the matter of eliminating

structural reasons of conflict for neighbouring countries to change their attitudes on ethnic

discriminatory conflicts.

Another structural reason for ethnic conflicts is regarding the sharpness of the ethnic and

linguistic differences between ethnic groups and as a result, the abolishment of social

transitivity. The existence of a dominant ethnic group in state may cause the result of

exclusion of other ethnic groups from the system. In Northern Ireland, the fact that

unemployment is higher among Catholics when compared to Protestants and their ethnic and

linguistic differences triggers the emergence of conflict.

155

For this reason, it is possible to

150

Karen Rasler, William R. Thompson, "Explaining Rivalry Escalation to War: Space, Position and Contiguity

in the Major Power Subsystem", International Studies Quarterly, 2000, No. 44, pg. 505.

151

Good Friday Agreement, 2013, pg. 26-28.

152

Irwing Werstein, "The Cruel Years", Indiana: Messner Certified Editions, 1969, pg. 25.

153

Werstein, 1969, pg. 148.

154

Yusuf Çinar, Tamil Sorunu, Tarihsel Geliim, Çatima Süreci ve Çözüm, stanbul: Hükümdar Yayinlari,

2014, pg. 96.

155

James Honaker, "Unemployment and Violence in Northern Ireland: A Missing Data Model for Ecological

overcome structural problems when the groups that have ethnic and linguistic differences

within the state have the equality of opportunity.

Ethnic and linguistic problems are not only the problem of underdeveloped countries. To give

an example, according to a report by Amnesty International, the number of blacks who had

been sentenced to death by 1978 is known to be eight times that of the number of whites. The

issue blacks objected to in the 1980's was especially the fact that decisions juries have made

against blacks during the judgement processes were mostly against them. For example, 6 of

12 black prisoners were executed in 1983. All white people in the jury that made the decision

of execution voted for the execution of black prisoners.

156

Among 1838 members of juries

that made a decision for execution in 1998, only 22 of them were black, and another 22 of

them were of Latin America origin.

157

In 1961, a committee was formed by President

Kennedy under the name of equal employment opportunity so that all American citizens can

find jobs without being exposed to racist discrimination. Structural problems between whites

and blacks in the USA were lowered to a minimum level at the end of a long period as the

result of structural reforms.

Another structural reason of conflict is the fact that militarist culture is vested among

societies. Imprinted military mentality can be a determining factor for the conflict to achieve

highly dangerous dimensions. The facts that strategic cultures of Balkan countries are prone

to conflicts and have militarist tendencies make it easy for them to use violence to solve the

problems between each other. The war of Bosnia-Herzegovina is a historical example which

shows that the side of societies in which a militarist mentality

158

is stronger can develop more

hostile policies towards the other. Serbians within the Yugoslavian Federation who held the

military in their hands, exhibited military precautions towards destructing other ethnic groups

during the fragmentation of Yugoslavia and turned the conflict between societies into

massacres.

159

Political instability and weakness of administration may cause an inability to provide

sufficient services. The inconveniences that may happen in a political authority may damage

the superiority of law. A damaged superiority of law may result in discriminatory national

Inference", http://tercer.bol.ucla.edu/papers/ni.pdf, Access date: 04.05.2015, pg. 4.

156

BLTES, World Report Racism 1998, Intermedia, September 1998, pg. 235.

157

BLTES, 1998, pg. 237.

158

When the Bosnian War started, the Serbian military had 100.000 soldiers, the Croation military had 15.000

strong and the Muslim military had 3.500. Emel Osman çavuolu, The Wars of Yugoslav Dissolution and

Britain's Role in Shaping Western Policy, Ankara: SAM Yayinlari, Temmuz 2000, pg. 25.

159

Margaret Mikyung Lee, Raphael Perl, Steven Woehrel, CRS Report for Congress, Bosnia War

Crimes: The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and U.S. Policy,

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/row/96-404.pdf, Access date: 27.06.2016, pg. 8.

ideologies to find themselves a legal basis. A continuous legal injustice can create

discriminatory political institutions in countries that experience ethnic conflicts. As a result,

discrimination in participation in the administration may result in the unequal representation

of members of society from different ethnic backgrounds. In other words, it can turn into an

attempt to hold military and police forces by an ethnic group that has the control of

administration. As a result, the perception of discrimination established within societies may

increase.

Economic and social reasons

160

are another basic reason that triggers social disintegration and

conflict. Being unable to answer the calls by members of an ethnic group of economic needs

and demands may have an increasing effect on ethnic conflicts. Certain people part of a

definite ethnic group having better social status and the active discrimination of other ethnic

groups from the system constitute the economic dimension of conflicts. In addition, the

percentage of unemployment being very high in the country may cause an increase of

conflicts. Also, discriminatory policies in attaining capital cause unrest within the country.

The increase of economic instability within societies and the increase of unemployment may

force societies to see one another within themselves as the core reason of the problem. As a

result, conflict may have a spreading effect in the base of the society.

161

The topic that we can count as another basic reason of conflict is the environmental factors.

The usage of environmental factors, the income that is gained through natural resources in a

way that leads to injustice may affect internal stability negatively. Especially if the usage of

resources does not to reflect on the income of the part of the society that has the resources, it

may cause the emergence of conflict. To give an example, the regions that hold precious

minerals, sources of energy or capital may not make an effort to share these incomes with the

other regions of the country. These reasons may trigger a conflict. For instance, the separation

will of the Catalonia area in Spain results from the wish that Catalonia does not want to share

its regional capital with other areas.

162

Cultural and perceptual reasons may cause conflicts. Especially the ethnic group that

approaches the capacity to govern the state through an upper identity can take steps to prevent

the continuation of the cultural elements of other ethnic groups. In that regard the fulfilling

the cultural needs of Catholics were not prioritized as much as those of Protestants. It can be

160

Galtung excessively employed Muzaffer erif's work regarding the physichological causes of the issue of

conflict. Betül Onursal, Bari Kültürü ve Eitimi Çalitayi, stanbul: 21.Yüzyil Eitim ve Kültür Vakfi, 2013,

pg. 46.

161

Johan Galtung, Transcend Transform an Introduction to Conflict Work, London: Pluto Press, 2004, pg. 53.

162

Natural Resources, Conflict, and Conflict Resolution, A Study Guide Series on Peace and Conflict For

Independent Learners and Classroom Instructors, United States Institute of Peace Washington, DC: 2007, pg. 3-

6. Ayrica bakiniz: Kuruba, , 2006, pg. 253.

stated that this situation is the transformation process of seeing the other not as an equal. This

process can show itself in different ways. To give an example, the side in power takes steps

towards limiting the freedom of religion and conscience of other sides, or implements cultural

discrimination in education towards different cultural groups, which may cause conflicts

between ethnic groups.

There are two approaches on elimination of structural and root reasons of conflict: Needs

Approach and Rational Approach. The Needs Approach claims that most of the conflicts

develop within the framework of mutual needs.

163

Needs is not just a material approach, on

the contrary it includes abstract things as well. Concepts such as identity, security, justice are

abstract needs that provide society to mentally calm down. Structural and root reasons that

trigger conflicts are not only in relation to material needs, on the contrary they are in close

relation to both material and abstract needs. Such that the emergence of an area called

conflictology that emerged as per needs after the 1970's made the concept of needs further

important for the conflict management discipline.

164

Human needs theorists claim that the main

reason for all kinds of conflicts, whether they are violent or not, is needs.

165

Needs may cause people to come together around a certain cause. Even though most of the

causes that we can regard as the structural or basic reasons of conflicts do not have primary

importance according to Maslow's pyramid of needs, they are among the main reasons why

conflict arises. Precisely at this point, the need of nutrition and shelter, which used to have

primary importance in Maslow's hierarchy of needs in before and during Cold War era are no

longer the main reason for conflicts in Europe after Cold War. Concepts of belonging and

self-respect, which have a lesser importance in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, started to

become more prominent after the Cold War, the importance issue of needs in the hierarchy of

needs have undergone a change.

Rational approach is based on the idea that when sides of conflict reach to the stage of wiping

out each other, both sides can change their behaviour by accepting that what they did was not

right.

166

The concept of interest reflects the way rational approach perceives conflicts. There

are two basic criticisms that we can bring to rational approach. The first one is that it does not

seem quite possible to explain a big part of basic reasons of conflicts via the rational

163

Herbert C. Kelman, "A Social-Psychological Approach to Coflict Analysis and Resolution", içinde

Hand Book of Coflict Anaysis and Resolution, Dennis J. D. Sandole, Sean Byrne, Ngrid Sandole Staroste

Jessica Senehi, New York, London: Routledge, 2009, pg. 171.

164

Galtung, 2009, pg. 524. Ayrica bakiniz: Louis Kriesberg, "Comparing Reconciliation Actions within and

between Countries", in From Coclict Resolution to Reconcilitation, Yaacov Bar-Siman-Tov (ed.), New York:

Oxford University Press, 2004, pg. 88.

165

Havva Kök Arslan, Firat Çapan, "Çatima Çözümüne Temel Yaklaimlar", Barii Konumak, Nezir

Akyeilmen (Ed.), Ankara: ODTÜ yayinlari, 2013, pg. 51.

166

Arslan ve Çapan, 2013, pg. 54.

approach.

167

Another criticism that can be made towards rational approach is that it cannot

make an adequate explanation on prevention of conflict or regarding the ability to transform

the reasons that cause conflict.

Even though the applicability of the theory of needs carries a strong characteristic in

preventing basic reasons of why conflicts occur, it does not have the strength to resolve

conflicts on its own. Accordingly, it can be said that theory of needs is more useful than

rational theory when it comes to resolving conflicts. This study assumes that in transforming

conflicts, and removing the structural and root causes of conflict, the needs approach is more

applicable to the Northern Ireland example.

1.1.4.

Phases of Conflict Management

After a conflict comes to sight in organisations, there are certain approaches for its sides to

manage it: competition, collaboration adaptation, reconciliation, evasion.

168

Evasion strategy

is the leading among the most frequent steps for preventing conflict in organizations. Evasion

strategy stems from the belief that problem will be resolved by itself when the units and the

people that have the power to resolve the conflict ignore it. However, it cannot be stated that

evasion strategy has positive results when it comes to the resolution of the problem. During

civil wars, this strategy arises when state administrators act according to the idea that such a

conflict is not actually being experienced. Evasion strategy means the rejection of demands of

the society that is uncomfortable with the conditions even if in a latent manner by the ruling

power. This process may enroot social conflicts further and it may have the effect of increasing

discomfort. England has believed for years that they could solve the Northern Ireland problem

with an evasion strategy, in fact, it was this perception shaped legal reforms and novelties.

England defined terror in the Ireland Emergency Provisions Act as "using violence with the

aim of spreading fear in public and in a certain part of the public" in 1973.

169

England's

furthering of the negotiation process in order to transform the Northern Ireland problem and

to make a certain progress brought together the renewal of the definition of terror. The

definition of terror that England made in 2001 added religious and political aims instead of

putting ideological activities on its focus: "it is the threatening of people and property with

serious use or uses of violence with the aim of forcing the government, the society or any part

of the society to someplace to obtain religious, political and ideological results".

170

167

Arslan ve Çapan, 2013, pg. 55.

168

Atiker, 2006, pg. 6.

169

Türkiye ve Terörizm. Ankara: Türkiye Barolar Birlii, 2006, pg. 12.

170

Türkiye ve Terörizm, 2006, pg. 12.

England's renewal of the concept of terror in legal terms actualized when England realized

that the Northern Ireland problem is not only a problem of violence. Accepting evasion

strategy as a strategy that can be used to manage civil wars may not contribute positively to

the development of discipline. Competition, collaboration adaptation, reconciliation strategies

are considered as phases of conflict appeasing, conflict resolving and conflict transforming

among solving strategies and within conflict management.

Conflict management method that is used as an umbrella term in this study consists of three

phases, namely appeasing conflict, resolving conflict and transforming conflict. The conflict

appeasing phase is the name of the process that aims for the abolition of violence. In this

context, the appeasing conflict phase aims for the resolution of conflict as early as possible.

Appeasing conflict phase is more in relation to the concept of negative peace. The distinction

of Negative Peace and Positive Peace has been made by Johan Galtung. Negative Peace:

despite a lack of violence, this process has a pessimistic meaning. In the process of negative

peace, there is a concern that the element of violence may reoccur at any moment. Positive

Peace: It has the meaning of structural integrity. It carries a positive meaning, and emphasizes

that peace can be established via peaceful ways: positive peace is possible when real peace is

reached.

171

Actors that are influential in the appeasing conflict phase consist of leaders that

direct politics or soldiers. To give an example, Tony Blair has played an important role in the

appeasing conflict phase of the Northern Ireland problem. Blair helped the sides come together

by assuming a negotiator role.

172

The appeasing conflict phase can be considered as the

detailed process of gathering information in order to reveal and learn the reasons of conflict.

Appeasing conflict phase can also be defined as the period of convincing conflicting sides that

the problem cannot be resolved with violence. Immediately after, the definition of what the

problem results from can also be approached in the appeasing conflict phase.

The conflict resolution phase specifies the transition from a negative peace process to a

positive peace process. Here, peace is also negative peace. This phase expresses the

adaptation of both sides to a lack of peace and their needs being fulfilled at a reasonable

degree. Thus, channels of communication between societies can be opened by establishing

dialogue channels between the sides. In that regard, as the process proceeds successfully,

sides get prepared for the conflict transformation phase, which is the following phase in

conflict management. Conflict resolution phase means the acceptance of the discourse of

171

Baljit Singh Grewal, "Johan Galtung: Positive and Negative Peace", School of Social Science, Auckland

University of Technology, New Zelland, 2003, pg. 4.

172

"Out of Trouble: How Diplomacy Brought Peace to Northern Ireland",

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/03/12/northern.ireland/index.html?iref=newssearch, Access date:

08.04.2015.

political and military leaders, who we can call the elite actors. As a matter of fact, it can be

said that the conflict resolution phase means the socialization of the problem. In this process,

secondary level actors such as civil society, academics and experts may actively take charge.

To give an example, as a civil society organization, Irish Peace Center produces crucial

studies for the construction of sustainable peace in Northern Ireland.

173

Both structural and basic reasons play an important role for conflicts to arise. Every so often,

the interaction of both structural reasons and basic reasons may cause a conflict. Conflict

transformation does not only mean the abolition of the basic reasons. On the contrary, the

conflict transformation phase is focused on structural changes, and consequently aims for the

construction of a long term peace. In this regard, starting for the transformation of structural

causes is inclusive of all categories of society. Base-oriented actors shine out more during the

conflict transformation phase, and society-centred civil society organizations play an active

part. Conflict transformation phase helps ensure joint activities that different parts of society

have not been able to do for a long while. While the common living space of Catholics and

Protestants was non-existent in Northern Ireland until the conflict transformation phase, the

establishment of common living spaces in neighbourhoods and schools started with the Good

Friday Agreement. The result that should not be forgotten here is that phases of conflict

appeasing, conflict resolution and conflict transformation are not separate processes that are

disconnected from each other. On the contrary, conflict transformation phase is the name of

the holistic process that includes conflict appeasing and conflict resolution.

Conflict transformation phase is directly society-oriented and the main aim is to integrate

parts of society. With this aim, activities that include sides to the conflict are organized. These

activities play an important role as part of strengthening the perception of all parts of society

on living together in the future. The first of the causes for structural problems are

discriminatory rules and regulations caused by legal and constitutional inequality. It can be

said that the conflict transformation phase means the complete abolishment of these rules and

regulations.

173

Ariel Heifetz Knobel, "A Paradoxial Peace in Northern Ireland", Praxis the Fletcher Journal of Human

Security, Vol. 26, 2011, pg. 89.

1.2 Conflict Transformation Phase in Conflict Management

Conflict transformation phase constitutes social developments that are in motion within

themselves, including putting forward "reforms" that will change the legal arrangements

which prevent equality of opportunity between peoples, "education" tools that can ensure

peoples to empathize with each other, and the "rehabilitation" phase that will abolish the

prejudices and discriminatory thoughts groups have towards each other, all of whom sides to

the conflict.

174

The conflict transformation phase has three basic means which can help with

conflict transformation: Structural and Constitutional Reforms, Education, Rehabilitation.

1.2.1.

Reforms

Most of the studies on social changes are consider underdevelopment or nature control. However,

one of the aspects of social change that should be carefully analysed is the recovery of the conflict

conditions of societies that experienced civil war or big ethnic conflicts through reforms.

175

While

Weber and Durkheim's theory of change underlines the concept of rationalization on the

development of West, Parsons claims that this is also social as well as being cultural.

176

Parsons emphasizes, the differentiation of the functions of the social system can be possible with

the help of the cultural system.

177

Parsons attributes social change to both infrastructure and to

superstructure as a subsidiary mechanism.

178

In this context, in countries that experience civil war,

reforms do not start at the infrastructure as Parsons stated, mostly they are implemented with the

superstructure taking initiative. Reforms become successful with the society's acceptance or they

leave a mark in history as unsuccessful reform trials.

Legal tools may cause an illegality which they gather around themselves while power is being

excercised.

179

Because of this, highly important roles can be attributed to the concept of reform

in the conflict transformation stage. The opposite concept of reform is the word deform.

Reform means making changes in the form of an institution in order to achieve the best results,

while deform means transfiguring an institution by changing it.

180

Reform aims the

174

Marshall B. Rosenberg, Çatimanin Ortaminda Bari Dili, Trans. Vivet Alevi, Can Baldan, stanbul: Maya

Kitap, 2014, pg. 136.

175

Emre Kongar, "Türkiye'de Aile Yapisi, Evrimi ve Bürokratik Örgütlerle likileri", Amme daresi Dergisi,

Volume: 3, Issue: 2, 1977, pg. 63.

176

Jeffreyc Alexande, "Revolution, Reaction, and Reform: the Change Theory of Parsons's Middle Period",

http://ccs.research.yale.edu/alexander/articles/1981/RevolutionReactionReform.pdf, Access

date: 06.04. 2015,s. 269.

177

Kongar, 1977, pg. 77.

178

Kongar, 1977, pg. 77.

179

Mcihael Foucault, Hapishanenin Douu, Trans. Mehmet Ali Kiliçbay, Ankara: mge, 2013, pg. 405.

180

Turgut Candan, "Reform mu? Deform mu? Ya da nedir?",

http://www.yargitay.gov.tr/abproje/belge/sunum/conf1/Candan_ReformDeform.pdf, Access date: 06.04.2015,

pg. 1.

implementation of changes without the disruption of integrity of the existing institution in

order to resolve some problems that result from the old form of the institution. The aim of a

reform should depend on more inclusive and objective criteria.

181

Social needs are continuous dependently on the individual. In that regard, social needs can be

legal, social, military and economic. The concept that we can define as reforms, i.e.

improvements, should aim for the fulfilment of needs as its meaning suggests, and should be

result-oriented. As Petit Robert states, if a reform is implemented in order to accomplish good

results, the result may be positive.

182

Constitutional obstacles may get in the way of implementation of reforms that would include

the whole public administration. Instead, a holistic draft law that includes every part of

society and reflects to social reconciliation may resonate more with the social base. The

inability of reforms to find a place in the social base may render the reforms meaningless.

183

In most of the countries that have separatist problems, the definition of state is considered in a

"narrowing" manner and consequently, local governments are excluded. Actually, the first of

the most important reforms is the expansion of this "state concept". The new definition that

will be made has to include local governments as well. Within greater interpretations,

emphases are made on the autonomy of local governments, the strengthening of the

administration of local governments come into question. As can be seen, an expansionary

approach can be more reformist.

184

It is not very possible to speak of reforms by continuously

making laws. Instead, the continuous destruction of a constitution that abolishes the structural

reasons for conflict and reflects social reconciliation is much harder.

The reforms that are made can only be successful if they are adopted by both the society

and the bureaucracy. It may not always be possible for the legal reforms to be accepted by

all parts of the society in societies with ethnic conflict. For this reason, the acceptance of

reforms made for the public by the bureaucracy may help reforms to be permanent.

185

UN is closely interested in the security sector reforms with regards to the context of

construction of peace. Security sector reforms refer to transparency in state administration,

accountability of decision makers and the existence of democratic administration. In this regard,

the important components of reforms of the security sector are the following:

181

Candan, Access date: 06.04.2015, pg. 2.

182

Turgut Candan, Access date: 06.04.2015, pg. 2.

183

Ekonomi Politikalari Aratirma Enstitüsü Yönetiim Etütleri Programi, Kamu Yönetimi Reformunda Mevcut

Durum, EN-GS-2006-02, Türkiye Ekonomi Politikalari Aratirma Vakfi Deerlendirme Notu, stanbul: Tesev

Yayinlari, 2006, pg. 1.

184

Ekonomi Politikalari Aratirma Enstitüsü Yönetiim Etütleri Programi, 2006, pg. 1.

185

Ekonomi Politikalari Aratirma Enstitüsü Yönetiim Etütleri Programi, 2006, pg. 3.

i-) Main Actors of Security: armed forces, the police, paramilitary forces, intelligence

services, local security units, ii-) Administration and Surveillance Forces: national security

units, ministry of defence, executive and judicial organs, domestic and international affairs,

ministries of economy, iii-) The Superiority of Justice and Law: ministry of justice, criminal

investigation, investigation units, human rights committees iv-) Illegal Security Forces:

rebellious groups, guerrilla fighters.

186

There are two important aims of security sector reforms. i-) Security sector reforms are made

in order to make the sector more effective and more efficient. In this regard, reforms of

humane construction and construction of material capacity are among the important tools in

establishing reforms. ii-) Facilitative reforms of democratic and civil security sector may play

an important role in establishing civil administration.

187

Security sector reforms may make

vital contributions to conflict transformation. In that regard, such reforms can help with

economic, social and institutional transformation of conflict. Security sector reforms should

be human-centred and they should be adopted by local powers. Security sector reforms should

be within the framework of human rights principles and the superiority of law.

188

Making Security sector reforms human-centred and the increase of freedoms may prevent the

existence of elements of violence in the society. In the conflict transformation phase,

authoritarianism may reappear if security policies are not civilian-centred. Security reforms may

ensure their legitimacy in the society as long as they meet the need of justice of the people and the

state. Security reforms should develop within the principles of good governance, i.e., criteria such

as openness and accountability so that a participatory administration can be provided.

189

Rule of law has to be in line with international norms and standards. If a good administration

does not progress on a legal base, it may cause a violation of human rights and exclusionist

acts towards minorities. What makes reforms possibly much highly important is the inability

of the sides to come to an agreement on power-sharing before the conflict. Therefore, the

reconciliation of the sides on sharing of power is highly important for conflict

transformation.

190

Security sector reforms may safeguard a sustainable peace if they

materialize as the result of the reconciliation of sides to the conflict.

186

Albrecht Schnabel, Hans Born, Security Sector Reform Narrowing the Gap between Theory and Practice,

Geneva: The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces, 2011, pg. 10-11.

187

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 11-12.

188

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 11-12.

189

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 14-15.

190

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 14-15.

International actors that support the peace process and security reforms should monitor the

process. The sustainability of reforms in security sector is also closely related with the

existence of a good administration. The identification of the real enemy, the opposition and the

terrorist in the society gets harder after conflict.

191

Consequently, new organizations within the

government should be implemented with transparency.

The success and failure of security reforms is closely related to the environment the reforms

are made in. The biggest obstacle to reforms is usually created during the conflict phase by the

elite that play an active part in the state. The elite may react to the reforms with discontent. If

security reforms are made in an accountable, transparent environment, this may ensure them to

be persistent. If the reforms are made via mechanisms that reflect the democratic tradition such

as parliaments, that may make them successful. In this regard, the fact that Northern Ireland

has a democratic tradition has been a positive step in terms of ensuring the transformation of

Northern Ireland problem. The justice system is highly important for guaranteeing the security

of reforms. The disappearance of the injustice that caused civil wars can be possible with the

reliable implementation of security reforms.

192

Civil society organizations may be effective in the formation of security organizations. A weak

civil society may mean that the surveillance mechanisms are also weak. Therefore, it can

prevent security reforms to reach their target. One of the most important negativities that are

experienced in the configuration process after a conflict is the inability to effectuate the criterion

of transparency and the increase of corruption as a result of the inability to develop a legal

infrastructure. It is seen important to create the legal ground for international organizations and

civil society organizations to assume a supervisory role in order to prevent corruption. It can be

stated that giving financial and technical support to civil society organizations for their

development would pave the way for all civil society organizations to come together under an

umbrella organization. In that regard, another tool that can help the society develop and

enlighten is media. Ensuring media to work independently and paving the way for its

broadcasting ability are among the steps that can affect the dialogue process positively.

193

The

support of other states is vital in the restructuring period after a civil war. However,

foregrounding their own interest by contributor states may cause an increase of intervention in

domestic affairs and the disappearance of the common voice among contributor states.

194

191

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 25.

192

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 33.

193

Post-Conflict Reconstruction, A joint project of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and

the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), USA: CSIS, 2002,s. 16-20.

194

Schnabel and Born, 2011, pg. 39.

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Type of Edition: Erstausgabe
Year: 2018
ISBN (PDF): 9783960677185
ISBN (Softcover): 9783960672180
File size: 2.8 MB
Language: English
Publication date: 2018 (July)
Keywords: Conflict Management Transformation Rehabilitation Theory Social Interaction Transforming Conflict

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Yusuf Cinar (Author)

From Conflict to Peace. Rehabilitation Process in the Phase of Transforming Conflict - The Case of Northern Ireland

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Yusuf Cinar (Author)