Ideologies and conflict in the post‐Cold War

Abstract

If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information. About Emerald www.emeraldinsight.comEmerald is a global publisher linking research and practice to the benefit of society. The company manages a portfolio of more than 290 journals and over 2,350 books and book series volumes, as well as providing an extensive range of online products and additional customer resources and services.Emerald is both COUNTER 4 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. AbstractPurpose -The aim of this article is to apply a re-worked definition of ideology in order to account for cultural and political dimensions of contemporary armed conflicts. Design/methodology/approach -The paper analyzes communiqués, press releases, magazines, pamphlets, speeches, interviews and other communicational media produced by insurgent organizations in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Colombia, particularly in the post-Cold War, in order to assess the characteristics of their ideological platforms. The extensive use of these primary sources aims at revealing the way the organizations see themselves, and how important ideological warfare is in their overall strategy. Findings -In the post-Cold War, and even in the early twenty-first century, armed guerrillas persisted in linking their armed struggle to ideological platforms, though in more flexible versions. Nationalism, fundamentalism and socialism are functional to their tactics and strategies, and have tangible effects at strategic and tactical levels.Research limitations/implications -Three sample cases have been revised exhaustively, but that methodology impedes the examination of a wider spectrum of post-Cold War insurgent organizations, which may balance the results here presented. However, the high relevance of the ideological component in contemporary armed conflicts, as shown in the Afghan, Congolese and Colombian cases, demonstrates the need for further academic works on this topic. Practical implications -Re-defining ideology, as the paper proposes, turns it into a powerful conceptual tool to be used in academic research, given that precisely the absence of comprehensive categories of analysis has prevented scholars from providing a full picture of the political and cultural dimensions of contemporary armed conflicts. Originality/value -As economic-focused researches on armed conflicts have dominated the field since the 1990s, the paper underlines the need for scholars to approach a broader scope in peace studies.

The Effect of Perspective‐Giving on Postconflict Reconciliation. An Experimental Approach

“…Once in the field, we applied a stratified, random system for assigning participants to the discussion groups, in order to ensure that we obtained balanced groups: using attendance lists drawn up and reviewed on-site by the field contractors, we were able to randomly assign a balanced number of excombatants and community members to the experiment groups. 8 The field contractors noted on the 4 Ex-combatants also remain divided along leftist-rightist ideological lines long after demobilization (Ugarriza 2009;Ugarriza & Craig 2013), in spite of sharing a common identity when confronted with other social segments. 5 This was a constant theme in interviews conducted by the authors with Colombian ex-combatants between 2007 and 2014.…”

“… Ex‐combatants also remain divided along leftist‐rightist ideological lines long after demobilization (Ugarriza ; Ugarriza & Craig ), in spite of sharing a common identity when confronted with other social segments.…”

Analysis of political parties ideologies influencing public policy formulation in Ugandas Nascent Hydrocarbon Industry

“…According to Turner (2007), political ideologies evolved in the eighteenth century in France but were highly frustrated in the 1950s and the 1960s. But Ugarriza (2009) explained that political ideologies remained as symbols of the cold war defining which bloc to belong to until the 1980s and the 1990s when political ideologies could no longer guide political direction of the majority of political parties. The fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic became a turning point in the influence of socialism as an ideology (Swain, 2010).…”

When War Adversaries Talk: The Experimental Effect of Engagement Rules on Postconflict Deliberation

“…Both pre-and post-test surveys confirmed the ideological animosity between the factions in terms of attitudes, a trait that persists long after demobilization. See Nussio 2012;Ugarriza 2009;Ugarriza and Craig 2013. 10. While these sessions are mandatory for all ex-combatants, discussion of political issues is tacitly forbidden.…”