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Oliver P. Richmond
Gëzim Visoka
Editors

The Palgrave
Encyclopedia
of Peace and
Conflict Studies
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and
Conflict Studies
Oliver P. Richmond • Gëzim Visoka
Editors

The Palgrave
Encyclopedia of Peace
and Conflict Studies

With 58 Figures and 28 Tables

Editors
Oliver P. Richmond Gëzim Visoka
University of Manchester Dublin City University
Department of Politics School of Law and Government
Manchester, UK Dublin, Ireland

ISBN 978-3-030-77953-5 ISBN 978-3-030-77954-2 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or
part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of
illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way,
and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or
by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt
from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
For Eira and Erik, and Leander
Preface

The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies contains a compre-

hensive overview of major concepts, cases, and approaches to the study of
peace and conflict across different humanities and social sciences disciplines.
Peace and conflict studies (PCS) is one of the major sub-disciplines of inter-
national studies (including political sciences and international relations) and
has emerged from a need to understand war and its related systems and
concepts and how to respond to it afterward. Over time, peace and conflict
studies has become an important site for inter-disciplinary studies, spanning
war, peace, and conflict studies; security and development; state formation and
state building; law and human rights; civil society and political authority;
philosophy and religion; the anthropology and history of political order;
environmental dimensions; as well as the arts and literature, psychology, and
material conditions of peace, peacemaking, peace agreements, the peaceful
state, the nature of regional and international cooperation and organization,
among others. This interdisciplinary area of studies has also attracted scholars
interested in ethics, alternative methodologies, and critical theory.
While there is extensive written scholarly work on various aspects of peace
and conflict, there is no up-to-date academic encyclopedia which encompasses
this fast-growing and highly significant area of research. Thus, we are
delighted to present to you the first edition of the Palgrave Encyclopedia of
Peace and Conflict Studies which has brought together leading and emerging
scholars from different disciplines to provide the most comprehensive and up-
to-date resource on peace and conflict concepts, theories, methods,
approaches, case studies, institutions, policies, and practices. Matters
concerning peace, conflict, security, and development – which are at the
heart of this discipline – are a concern not only for a niche academic commu-
nity but also the wider public (as the history of twentieth-century disarmament,
pacifist, and human rights campaigns illustrate). Hence, we have aimed at
making the Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies an easy-to-
access, updatable, and expandable online platform to cover various relevant
themes widely, which is important for both the scholarly community and the
general public, hopefully also making an impact on policy makers. It is a living
reference work, easily discoverable and searchable, spanning the foundational,
historical, and contemporary themes. It combines breadth and depth, flexibil-
ity, global reach, and academic rigor in the age of digital learning, in order to
support the interdisciplinary development of critical theories and methods
necessary for the continuing study of peace. The entries in this first edition

vii
viii Preface

examine a broad range of topics from disciplinary perspectives, key concepts,

types and histories of conflicts, and actors to institutions, networks, and
practices, as well as peacemaking, peacekeeping, peacebuilding operations,
and “peacegraphy” and arts.
This encyclopedic project has been in the making since 2017, and it would
not have been possible without the immense dedication of a number of people.
First and foremost, we are grateful to all the contributors for their creative and
original work for this project, which has been essential in making it a cutting-
edge reference work. We are grateful to the section editors, Sandra Pogodda,
Kai Michael Kenkel, Johanna Mannergren Selimovic, Maria-Adriana Deiana,
and Liridona Veliu, for their outstanding work in commissioning and
reviewing entries. Finally, at Palgrave/Springer, we are grateful to Sarah
Roughley for encouraging us to undertake this project, Ruth Lefevre for
exceptional editorial guidance and support, and Sunali Mull and Salmanul
Faris Nedum Palli for excellent and tireless editorial assistance. We are also
grateful to other colleagues, such as John Doyle at Dublin City University, for
supporting the project in various ways over the years.

Manchester, UK Oliver P. Richmond

Dublin, Ireland Gëzim Visoka
May 2022
 List of Topics

Actors, Institutions and Networks War and Peace in Somalia

Violent Conflicts in South America
Section Editor: Maria-Adriana Deiana
United Nations Interim Administration Mission in
Census Politics in Deeply Divided Societies Kosovo (UNMIK)
Consociationalism and Peace After Conflict Troubles, The: The Northern Ireland Conflict
Diasporas in Peace and Conflict Stalled Peacebuilding: Dealing with the Violence
EU Conditionality in the Western Balkans of Colonization and Its Legacy
Female Combatants and Peacebuilding Sources of Peace in a Developing Island State
Gender and Mediation Sierra Leone
Gender Justice and Peacebuilding Russia and Frozen Conflicts in the Post-Soviet
Grassroots Organizations and Peacebuilding Space
Independent Commissions and Peace Settlements Revolution, Violence, and the Pursuit of Peace
Land Politics and Conflict Reconciliation in Northern Ireland
LGBTQ Perspectives in Peacebuilding Post-Conflict Timor-Leste
Masculinity and Conflict Popular Protest in Palestine
Role of State and Non-state Terrorism in Peace Peacemaking and Peace Agreements on Kosovo
Processes, The Peacebuilding and Korean Civil Society
Roles of Victims in Peacebuilding Peace Formation in Bougainville
Socioeconomic Justice and Peacebuilding Peace and Conflict in Brazil
Transitional Justice in Croatia Ohrid Framework Agreement, The
Women and Peace Negotiations in Cyprus Mozambique
Women, Peace and Security Agenda Moldova-Transnistria Conflict
Women’s Organizations in Post-Conflict Contexts Maoist Conflict in India
Youth and Peacebuilding Liberal and Illiberal Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka
Kenya’s War on Terror
Kashmir Conflict, The
Conflict Societies and Cases In Search of Justice, Peace, and Reconciliation in
Northern Uganda
Section Editor: Liridona Veliu
Georgian-Abkhaz Conflict
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Ethnic Conflict in North Macedonia
Conflict Resolution DR Congo: Local and International
Yemen Conflict Peacebuilders’ Interaction
Women’s Community Peacebuilding in the Different Layers of the Afghan Conflict
Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) Democratization in Postconflict Western Balkans

ix
x List of Topics

Cultural Mobilization for Peace in Indonesia Identifying Stable Solutions to Conflicts

Colombian Peace Agreement 2016 Identity and Political Violence
Civil Wars in Sudan and South Sudan Indigenous Approaches to Peace
Civil Society and State Violence in South Insights from Complexity Theory for Peace and
America Conflict Studies
Cameroon and the Anglophone Crisis International Organizations and Statehood
Bosnian Genocide Conflicts
International Peace Architecture, Blockages, and
Counter-Peace
Disciplines/Concepts Intersectionality and Peace
Islam and Peace
Section Editor: Sandra Pogodda
Just War Theory Across Time and Culture
Alternative Dispute Resolution Liberal Peace and Its Critiques
Asian Approaches to Peace Local Peacebuilding
Asymmetrical Warfare Measuring Peace
Balkan as a Concept Mediation
Balkanization Negotiation
Civil Resistance for Peace and Conflict Nonviolence and Civil Resistance
Management, Role of Offline and Online (De)radicalization: An
Civil Society and Peacebuilding: Critical Review Overview of the Case of Kosovo
Civil Society Inclusion in Peace Mediation Organized Brutality
Conflict and Hunger Pacifism and Peace
Conflict Fieldwork Participatory Constitution-Making and
Conflict, Memory, and Memory Activism: Peacebuilding
Dealing with Difficult Pasts Peace Agreements
Conflict, Peace, and Ontological Security Peace and Political Unsettlement
Conflicts and Natural Disasters Peace Formation
Culture and Conflict Resolution Peace in International Relations Theory
Culture, Anthropology, and Ethnography in Peace Peace Infrastructures
Research Peace Measuring Approaches
Cyber Conflict Peace Through Tourism
Decentralization and Conflict Prevention Peacebuilding and Spatial Transformation
Deconstruction in International Interventions Peacebuilding Consequences
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Peacebuilding–Development Nexus
(DDR) Phenomenological Peace
Emancipatory Peace Police Reform and Peacebuilding
Ethnographic Peace Research Politics of Passportization and Territorial
Everyday Peace Conflicts
Fair Division Post-Conflict Elections
Grounded Nationalism Post-Conflict Nation-Building
Human Geography and Peacebuilding Prisoners’ Dilemma
Human Security Private Peacemaking and Dialogic Approach to
Humanitarian Disarmament and the Era of Mediation
Disarmament Without Disarmament Protection of Civilians
Humanitarian Disarmament II: Case Studies Reflexivity in the Study of Security and Conflict
Hybrid Courts and Transitional Justice Resilience and Peace
Hybrid Political Orders and Hybrid Peace Search for Peace, the
List of Topics xi

Secession and Self-Determination Statebuilding in Afghanistan: Inertia and

Social Capital and Peace Ambiguity
Statehood Conflicts UN Missions in Ex-Yugoslavia
Technology and Peace UN Missions in Sudan and South Sudan
Transitional Justice and Peacebuilding UN Peacebuilding in Timor-Leste
Urban Violence and Crime UN Security Council and International
Voting Systems Interventions
Youth Bulge and Conflict Unarmed Civilian Protection/Peacekeeping
Youth Gang Violence in Honduras Unintended Consequences of Peace Operations/
Zones of Peace Sexual Abuse and Exploitation by
Peacekeepers
United Nations Missions in Haiti
Peace Operations and Missions Use of Force in Peace Operations
Section Editor: Kai Michael Kenkel
Artpeace: Validating Political Power or Imagining Peaceography and Arts
Emancipation
Section Editor: Johanna Mannergren
Assessment of Peace Operations
Selimovic
Collective Security and Collective Responsibility
in International Interventions Art and Reconciliation
Conceptual Evolution of Peace Operations Auto-photography
European Union’s Peace Missions and Divided Cities
Operations, The Feminist Peace Research
Evolution of Practice in United Nations Geocoding as a Method for Mapping
Peacekeeping Operations Conflict-Related Violence
Future Peace: Digital Innovations and the How Apologies After War and Atrocities Matter
International Peace Architecture in International Politics
Great Power Involvement in Peace Operations Human Dignity and Transitional Justice
Liberal Peace in Peace Operations Measuring the Implementation of the Women,
Liberal Peacebuilding in a Transitional Peace, and Security Agenda
International Order Memorials and Transitional Justice
NATO’s Approach to Peace Operations and Peace and Feminist Foreign Policy
Peacebuilding Peace Journalism
Peace Operations, Principles, and Doctrine Perpetrator Research
Peacebuilding and Postcolonial Subject Photography and Peace
Peacebuilding in Africa: The African Union’s Reflexivity and Fieldwork in Feminist Peace
Evolving Approach Research
Peacebuilding: Utopia and Reality Silence and Peacebuilding
R2P and Prevention Street Art and Peace
Rule of Law as a Component of Peace Textile-Making as Research Method
Operations Textiles Making Peace
Security Sector Reform After Armed Conflict Theatre and Peacebuilding
Security-Development Nexus in Peacebuilding Urban Peacebuilding
Stabilization Operations and Their Relationship to Women’s International League for Peace and
Liberal Peacebuilding Missions Freedom (WILPF)
About the Editors

Oliver P. Richmond is Professor of IR, Peace

and Conflict Studies in the Department of Politics,
University of Manchester, UK. He is also interna-
tional professor at Dublin City University and at
the University of Tubingen. His publications
include The Grand Design (Oxford University
Press, 2021). He is co-editor of the Palgrave
book series Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies
and co-editor of the journal Peacebuilding.

Dr. Gëzim Visoka is Associate Professor of

Peace and Conflict Studies at Dublin City Univer-
sity, Ireland. His research expertise is on state
recognition, peacebuilding, and international crit-
ical theory. Dr. Visoka is author or editor of
numerous books, journal articles, and book chap-
ters. Some of his recent books include: The Oxford
Handbook of Peacebuilding, Statebuilding, and
Peace Formation (with Oliver P. Richmond,
Oxford University Press, 2021); Normalization
in World Politics (with Nicolas Lemay-Hébert,
The University of Michigan Press, 2022); and
Routledge Handbook of State Recognition (with
John Doyle and Edward Newman, Routledge,
2020), among others. He is deputy editor of
Peacebuilding journal (Taylor and Francis), editor
of Routledge Studies in Statehood (Taylor and
Francis), and co-editor of Rethinking Peace and
Conflict Studies series (Palgrave Macmillan).

xiii
About the Section Editors

Sandra Pogodda
Politics Department
University of Manchester
Manchester, UK

Liridona Veliu
School of Law and Government
Dublin City University
Dublin, Ireland

Maria-Adriana Deiana
School of History, Anthropology
Philosophy and Politics
Queen’s University Belfast
Belfast, UK

Kai Michael Kenkel

Institute of International Relations
Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

xv
xvi About the Section Editors

Johanna Mannergren Selimovic

Södertörn University
Stockholm, Sweden
Contributors

Maxwell Adjei Department of Political Science, Kent State University, Kent,

OH, USA
Karin Aggestam Department of Political Science, Lund University, Lund,
Sweden
Billy Agwanda Istanbul Commerce University, Istanbul, Turkey
Mohamed Salah Ahmed Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara,
Turkey
Luqman B. Ajala Department of History and International Studies,
Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria
Yaser Alashqar International Peace Studies, Trinity College Dublin, the
University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Teresa Almeida Cravo Faculty of Economics and Centre for Social Studies,
University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Christine Andrä Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth Univer-
sity, Aberystwyth, UK
Runa Annasdotter Neely Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA
Nadine Ansorg GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Ham-
burg, Germany
University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Beatriz E. Arias López Faculty of Nursing, University of Antioquia,
Medellín, Colombia
Catherine Arthur Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University
of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Ugur Yasin Asal Istanbul Commerce University, Istanbul, Turkey
Iain Atack Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Teuta Avdimetaj PAVE Project, Prishtina, Kosovo
Kevin Avruch School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason
University, Fairfax, VA, USA
xvii
xviii Contributors

Mikael Baaz Department of Law, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg,

Sweden
Jessie Barton-Hronešová Oxford Department of International Develop-
ment, St Antony’s College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Donnacha Ó Beacháin School of Law and Government, Dublin City Uni-
versity, Dublin, Ireland
Michael Beary Delgany, County Wicklow, Ireland
Hartmut Behr Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
Roberto Belloni Department of Sociology and Social Research, University
of Trento, Trento, Italy
Helen Berents School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of
Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Annika Bergman-Rosamond Department of Political Science, Lund Uni-
versity, Lund, Sweden
Florian Bieber Center for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz,
Graz, Austria
Annika Björkdahl Department of Political Science, Lund University, Lund,
Sweden
Berit Bliesemann de Guevara Department of International Politics,
Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, UK
Ingvild Bode University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
Volker Boege The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Birgit Bräuchler Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Morgan Brigg The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
M. Anne Brown The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Brendan Ciarán Browne Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland
Dafina Buçaj Loyola Law School, LMU, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Susanne Buckley-Zistel Center for Conflict Studies, Philipps University
Marburg, Marburg, Germany
Richard Caplan University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Fabio Carbone International Institute for Peace through Tourism, New York,
NY, USA
Coventry University, Coventry, UK
David Chandler University of Westminster, London, UK
Alejandro Chehtman Universidad Torcuato Di Tella, Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Contributors xix

Yasmin Chilmeran Middle East and North Africa Programme, Swedish

Institute of International Affairs, Stockholm, Sweden
David Churchman California State University Dominguez Hills, California
State University, Carson, CA, USA
Catia Cecilia Confortini Peace and Justice Studies Program, Wellesley
College, Wellesley, MA, USA
Laurence Cooley School of Government, University of Birmingham, Bir-
mingham, UK
Neil Cooper School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University,
Kent, OH, USA
Laura A. Coral Velásquez Facultad de Artes ASAB, Universidad Distrital
Francisco José de Caldas, Bogotá, Colombia
Adriana Cuppuleri School of International Studies, University of Trento,
Trento, Italy
Evellin C. da Silva Graduate Program – Public Management and Interna-
tional Cooperation (PGPCI), Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), João
Pessoa, Brazil
Marwan Darweish Center for Trust Peace and Social Relations, Coventry
University, Coventry, UK
Sophia Dawkins Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Cedric de Coning Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Oslo,
Norway
Maria-Adriana Deiana Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Olga Demetriou School of Government and International Affairs, Durham
University, Durham, UK
Liam Devereux Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
Paul F. Diehl University of Texas-Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA
Elise Ditta Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Keough School of
Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Amanda E. Donahoe History and Political Science, Centenary College of
Louisiana, Shreveport, LA, USA
Caitriona Dowd School of Law and Government, Dublin City University,
Dublin, Ireland
Nita Dragusha University of Prishtina, Prishtina, Kosovo
Daniel Druckman George Mason University, Arlington, VA, USA
Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
University of Queensland, Brisbane, OLD, Australia
xx Contributors

Marita Eastmond School of Global studies, University of Gothenburg,

Gothenburg, Sweden
Josefina Echavarría Alvarez Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies,
Peace Accords Matrix Program, Colombian Implementation Barometer Initia-
tive, Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, Notre
Dame, IN, USA
Filip Ejdus Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, Belgrade,
Serbia
Emma Elfversson Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala
University, Uppsala, Sweden
Juanita Esguerra-Rezk Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies,
Keough School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame,
IN, USA
Peace and Development Research, School of Global Studies, Gothenburg
University, Gothenburg, Sweden
Ibrahim Galal Fakirah Yemen and Gulf Program, Middle East Institute
(MEI), Washington, DC, USA
Marta Fernández Institute of International Relations (IRI), Pontifical Cath-
olic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Marcos Alan Ferreira Department of International Relations, Federal Uni-
versity of Paraiba (UFPB), Joao Pessoa, Brazil
James Fitzgerald School of Law and Government, Dublin City University,
Dublin, Ireland
Conor Foley Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Susan Forde University of York, York, UK
Orli Fridman Faculty of Media and Communications (FMK), Singidunum
University, Belgrade, Serbia
School for International Training (SIT), Belgrade, Serbia
Ellen Furnari Pleasant Hill, CA, USA
Yoshiaki Furuzawa Hiroshima City University, Hiroshima, Japan
Mohd Tahir Ganie Institute for International Conflict Resolution and
Reconstruction, School of Law and Government, Dublin City University,
Dublin, Ireland
Ramesh Ganohariti School of Law and Government, Dublin City Univer-
sity, Dublin, Ireland
Alexander Gilder Department of Law and Criminology and Centre for
International Security, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK
Niall Gilmartin School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences, Ulster Uni-
versity, Newtownabbey, UK
Contributors xxi

Mary Graham The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Paul Gready Centre for Applied Human Rights, University of York, York,
UK
Lucas Guerra Institute of International Relations (IRI), Pontifical Catholic
University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Ivan Gusic Lund University, Lund, Sweden
Department of Global Political Studies, Malmö University, Malmö, Sweden
Karl Gustafsson Department of Economic History and International Rela-
tions, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
Thao-Nguyen Ha Department of Political Science, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville, TN, USA
Maria Hadjipavlou Department of Social and Political Sciences, University
of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus
Jamie J. Hagen Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Landon E. Hancock School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State
University, Kent, OH, USA
Jenny Hedström Swedish Defence University, Stockholm, Sweden
Sara Hellmüller Centre on Conflict, Development and Peacebuilding, Grad-
uate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland
Marina E. Henke Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
Hertie School, Berlin, Germany
Eric Hoddy Department of Urban Studies and Planning, The University of
Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
Ramadan Ilazi PAVE Project, Prishtina, Kosovo
Dublin City University (DCU), Dublin, Ireland
Richard Jackson University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
Sarah Jankowitz Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Rachel Julian Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK
Stefanie Kappler Durham University, Durham, UK
Dženeta Karabegović Department of Political Science and Sociology, Uni-
versity of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
Vidushi Kaushik Ireland India Institute, School of Law and Government,
Dublin City University (DCU), Dublin, Ireland
Gráinne Kelly International Conflict Research Institute (INCORE), Ulster
University, Belfast, Ireland
Rachel Kerr Department of War Studies, King’s College London, London,
UK
xxii Contributors

Walt Kilroy Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Reconstruc-

tion (IICRR), Dublin City University (DCU), Dublin, Ireland
Dong Jin Kim Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin,
Ireland
Michael Otieno Kisaka Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
Athena R. Kolbe School of Social Work, College of Health and Human
Services, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Wilmington, NC, USA
Balázs Áron Kovács forumZFD – Forum Civil Peace Service, Davao City,
Philippines
Florian P. Kühn School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Goth-
enburg, Sweden
Katarina Kušić The Center for Advanced Studies of Southeastern Europe,
University of Rijeka, Rijeka, Croatia
Luka Biong D. Kuol Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), National
Defense University, WA, USA
Peace Research Institute Oslo, Oslo, Norway
University of Juba, Juba, South Sudan
Sabine Kurtenbach GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies,
Hamburg, Germany
George Kyris University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
Daniela Lai London South Bank University, London, UK
Marion Laurence Centre for International Policy Studies, University of
Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Department of Political Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Marko Lehti Tampere Peace Research Institute, Tampere University, Tam-
pere, Finland
Fujian Li China Foreign Affairs University, Beijing, China
Mona Lilja School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Gothen-
burg, Sweden
Walter Lotze Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Boston, MA, USA
Marije Luitjens School of Law and Government, Dublin City University,
Dublin, Ireland
Roger Mac Ginty Durham University, Durham, UK
Norrie MacQueen University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK
Siniša Malešević School of Sociology, University College, Dublin, Ireland
Johanna Mannergren Selimovic Södertörn University, Stockholm, Sweden
Contributors xxiii

Roberta Holanda Maschietto Centre for Social Studies, University of

Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
Erin McCandless School of Governance, University of Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, South Africa
Laura McLeod University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Patrick McQuestion Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, Keough
School of Global Affairs, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Marie-Therese Meye Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of
Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
Gearoid Millar Department of Sociology, Institute for Conflict, Transition,
and Peace Research (ICTPR), University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
Farid Mirbagheri University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus
Miraji H. Mohamed School of Law and Government, Dublin City Univer-
sity, Dublin, Ireland
Frank Möller Tampere Peace Research Institute, Tampere University, Tam-
pere, Finland
Caitlin Mollica School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of
Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Robert Muharremi Public Policy and Governance, Rochester Institute of
Technology – Kosovo Campus, Prishtina, Kosovo
Jasmin Mujanović Brea, CA, USA
Itziar Mujika Chao Department of International Public Law, International
Relations and History of Law and Hegoa Institute for International Coopera-
tion and Development Studies, University of the Basque Country (UPV/
EHU), Bilbao, Spain
Cera Murtagh Villanova University, Villanova, PA, USA
Vjosa Musliu Department of Political Science, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
(VUB), Brussels, Belgium
Conflict and Development Research Group, Ghent University, Ghent,
Belgium
Heela Najibullah University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Ibrahim Natil Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland
Edward Newman University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
Holger Niemann Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the
University of Hamburg (IFSH), Hamburg, Germany
Manuela Nilsson Department of Peace and Development Studies, Linnaeus
University, Växjö, Sweden
xxiv Contributors

Israel Nyaburi Nyadera University of Macau, Macau, China

Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Ankara, Turkey
Maria O’Reilly Leeds Beckett University, Leeds, UK
Camilla Orjuela School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Goth-
enburg, Sweden
Antonio de Aguiar Patriota Embassy of Brazil, Cairo, Egypt
Savita Pawnday Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect, New York,
NY, USA
Andrea Peinhopf School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University
College London, London, UK
Skënder Perteshi PAVE Project, Prishtina, Kosovo
Sandra Pogodda University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
Lura Pollozhani Centre for Southeast European Studies, University of Graz,
Graz, Austria
Jan Pospisil ASPR – Austrian Study Centre for Peace and Conflict Resolu-
tion, Vienna, Austria
Nilanjana Premaratna Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
Florian Qehaja Kosovar Centre for Security Studies (KCSS), Prishtina,
Kosovo
Jason Quinn Peace Accords Matrix Program and Colombian Implementa-
tion Barometer Initiative, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
Natalia Rayol Fontoura University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
Benjamin Reilly School of Social Sciences, University of Western Australia,
Crawley, WA, Australia
Emily Paddon Rhoads Department of Political Science, Swarthmore Col-
lege, Swarthmore, PA, USA
Oliver P. Richmond University of Manchester, Department of Politics,
Manchester, UK
Andrew Rigby Center for Trust Peace and Social Relations, Coventry Uni-
versity, Coventry, UK
Heidi Riley School of Politics and International Relations, University Col-
lege Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Sandra Milena Rios Oyola Institut de sciences politiques Louvain-Europe
(ISPOLE), Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Denise Ripamonti Institute for International Conflict Resolution and Recon-
struction (IICRR), School of Law and Government, Dublin City University
(DCU), Dublin, Ireland
Contributors xxv

Francine Rossone de Paula School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy

and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, UK
Michael Schulz School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, Goth-
enburg, Sweden
Mary Hope Schwoebel Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL,
USA
Rashmi Singh The Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais, PUC
Minas, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Sarah Smith Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School of
Economics and Political Science, London, UK
Ivor Sokolić European Institute, London School of Economics and Political
Science, London, UK
Elena B. Stavrevska Centre for Women, Peace and Security, London School
of Economics and Political Science, London, UK
Jaclyn D. Streitfeld-Hall Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect,
New York, NY, USA
Renata Summa Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
Evrim Tan KU Leuven Public Governance Institute, Leuven, Belgium
Thierry Tardy NATO Defense College, Rome, Italy
Ioannis Tellidis College of International Studies, Kyung Hee University,
Yongin-si, South Korea
Waradas Thiyagaraja University of Colombo, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Maria Todorova University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL, USA
Patrick Tom Independent Researcher, St Andrews, UK
Catherine Turner Durham University, Durham, UK
Yuji Uesugi Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan
Leena Vastapuu Tampere Peace Research Institute, Tampere, Finland
European Union Advisory Mission in the Central African Republic, Bangui,
Central African Republic
Liridona Veliu School of Law and Government, Dublin City University,
Dublin, Ireland
Stellan Vinthagen Department of Sociology, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, MA, USA
Gëzim Visoka Dublin City University, School of Law and Government,
Dublin, Ireland
xxvi Contributors

Polly O. Walker Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, Juniata
College, Huntingdon, PA, USA
Joanne Wallis Department of Politics and International Relations, Univer-
sity of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
Dawn Walsh University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Oliver Walton University of Bath, Bath, UK
Annick T. R. Wibben War Studies, Swedish Defence University, Stockholm,
Sweden
Timothy Williams Department of Political Science, Bundeswehr University
Munich, Munich, Germany
Florian Zollmann Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
A

Aboriginal Conflict Actor-Centered Peacebuilding

Management
▶ Resilience and Peace
▶ Indigenous Approaches to Peace

Adaptation
Abuse
▶ Insights from Complexity Theory for Peace and
▶ Unintended Consequences of Peace Opera-
Conflict Studies
tions/Sexual Abuse and Exploitation by
Peacekeepers

Adaptive Capacity
Accompaniment
▶ Resilience and Peace
▶ Unarmed Civilian Protection/Peacekeeping

Adivasi/Indigenous Politics
Accord
▶ Maoist Conflict in India
▶ Art and Reconciliation

Acknowledgement Adjudication
▶ Silence and Peacebuilding ▶ Alternative Dispute Resolution

© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022

O. P. Richmond, G. Visoka (eds.), The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2
2 Aesthetics

Aesthetics Alternative Commemorations

▶ Artpeace: Validating Political Power or Imag- ▶ Conflict, Memory, and Memory Activism:
ining Emancipation Dealing with Difficult Pasts
▶ Street Art and Peace

Alternative Dispute
Resolution
Afghanistan
David Churchman
▶ Different Layers of the Afghan Conflict
California State University Dominguez Hills,
California State University, Carson, CA, USA

Africa Synonyms

▶ Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Con- Adjudication; Arbitration; Conciliation; Contract
flict Resolution embellishment; Dispute resolution; Facilitation;
Fact-finding; Local civil dialogue; Med-arb;
Mediation; Mediation-arbitration; Mini-trials;
Mock Trials; Ombudsmen; Pareto optimal
agreement; Private Tribunals; Rent-a-judges;
Agency
Summary jury trials
▶ Human Dignity and Transitional Justice
Description

When parties in conflict cannot negotiate or man-

Agreements age their own conflicts, they sometimes resort to
one of several forms of “alternative dispute reso-
▶ Different Layers of the Afghan Conflict lution.” Some are informal variations of adjudica-
tory processes such as torts with a judge and jury,
others originate with more consensual methods,
and still others mingle the two. Beyond the
methods described below, those more suitable to
Aid
national and international disputes are discussed
separately under Search for Peace. (Haltorn and
▶ Unintended Consequences of Peace Opera-
McCann 2004, McQuillan et al. 2007).
tions/Sexual Abuse and Exploitation by
Arbitration is a quasi-judicial process in which
Peacekeepers
a neutral, the arbitrator, decides how to resolve a
dispute based on the competitive presentation of

al-Shabaab Non-violent alternatives to the courts for resolving disputes

with distinct strengths and weaknesses are described in this
▶ Kenya’s War on Terror article.
Alternative Dispute Resolution 3

information by the disputants. Arbitrators usually problems within an agreed set of rules that (with
are selected based on substantive expertise group pressure) usually ensure civility. It aims to
concerning the type of dispute. Either or both bring together people “hungry for community” A
the process, the decision can be advisory or and provides them with a like-minded audience
compulsory and usually is not appealable except representing a wide range of opinions. Usually,
for causes such as bias. It is particularly appropri- there is a substantial initial turnout that dwindles
ate when speed is desirable or confidential or with successive meetings as it becomes clear that
proprietary information is involved. In some the group lacks the political or institutional appa-
forms, the arbitrator must choose one of the ratus to do more than talk.
disputants’ proposals without modification, an Mediation is a process in which an impartial
approach that fosters moderation as arbitrators third-party neutral facilitates two or more dispu-
tend to choose the less extreme position (Ameri- tants who retain the power of decision to reach an
can Arbitration Association 1992; Goodman accord. It can be voluntary or mandatory, and any
2016; Kellor 1999). decision may or may not be enforceable by law.
Conciliation typically consists of private, Mediation frequently has resulted in innovative
often back-and-forth, third-party consultations to resolutions with higher satisfaction and compli-
reduce tensions sufficiently for some other ance than compulsory methods. It works best
methods such as negotiation (discussed in a in relatively small-scale conflicts where there
separate article) or one of the other methods have been close relationships between two more-
mentioned in this article to have a chance of or-less equal disputants. It is potentially more
success (Ladd 2005). confidential than arbitration (although in some
Contract embellishment seeks to reach a cases mediators can be compelled to testify if
Pareto optimal agreement. After the parties the dispute ends in court). Most mediators are
reach a tentative agreement, the embellisher impartial, avoiding any case in which they have
interviews each party confidentially to determine an interest or in which even the appearance of
the relative importance they attach to each possi- favoritism might cost them the confidence of one
ble resolutions of each issue, usually by requiring party. However, some mediators believe they
them to distribute 100 points to each possibility should help the weaker party, particularly when
for each issue. Totaling the ratings for each the disparity is great. Still other mediators
possible combination followed by inspection or employ “transformative mediation” in which
the sort function for a spreadsheet enables the they try to improve relationships in addition to
embellisher to identify the optimum resolution helping reach agreement (Beer and Steif 1997;
for each party and for the combined parties. The Bens 2016; Bush and Folger 2004; Folberg and
embellisher can then write an optimum proposal Taylor 1984; Kaner 2014; Kolb and Associates
to discuss privately with each party. If all think it 1994; Ladd 2005; Moore 2003; Mosten 2001).
an improvement, it replaces the tentative one Mediation-arbitration or med-arb begins as
without change (Raiffa 1982). mediation and shifts to arbitration (see above) if
Fact-finding by an agreed-upon neutral the disputants fail to reach agreement, either the
identifies relevant laws, witnesses, and any other mediator changing roles or bringing in a different
information that is likely to assist in reaching individual as the arbitrator if needed.
a resolution through some other dispute resolution Mini-trials also known as or similar to adjudi-
process. It is particularly common in labor-man- cation, mock trials, private tribunals, rent-a-
agement disputes. By prior agreement, the find- judge, or summary jury trials, each with minor
ings may be kept confidential, admissible or not in variations. They usually include competitive
subsequent procedures, or made public. presentations of evidence following formal
Facilitation. See Mediation. procedural rules before a judge or jury often of
Local civil dialogue is conducted in “safe appropriate experts who are able to ask questions
spaces” such as libraries and churches to discuss and have either advisory or decision-making
4 Analysis of Multiparty Multi-issue Disputes

authority. The judge or the jury, often joined by a Deutsch, M., et al. (2006). Handbook of conflict resolution.
facilitator, retire to reach a settlement that San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Folberg, J., & Taylor, A. (1984). Mediation. San Francisco:
results in an order, judgment, or decree, usually Jossey-Bass.
appealable to some higher authority. Goodman, A. (2016). Basic skills for the new arbitrator.
Ombudsmen are selected by and paid for by Portland: Solomon.
an organization to prevent, minimize, or mitigate Haltorn, W., & McCann, M. (2004). Distorting the law:
Politics, Media and the Litigation Crisis. Chicago:
complaints, conflicts, or problems with or among University of Chicago
employees and customers. In some cases, the Kaner, S. (2014). Facilitator’s guide to participatory deci-
institutional affiliation may compromise their sup- sion-making. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
posed impartiality and neutrality. Kellor, F. (1999). American arbitration: Its history,
functions and achievements. Washington D.C.: Beard
Books.
Kolb, D., & Associates. (1994). When talk works: Profiles
Summary of mediators. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Ladd, P. (2005). Mediation, conciliation, and emotions: A
practitioner’s guide for understanding emotions in dis-
These methods and the variations on them pute resolution. Lanham: University Press of America.
in name and method, each with its own McQuillan, L., et al. (2007). Jackpot justice: The cost of
strengths and weaknesses and thus appropriate- America’s tort system. San Francisco: Pacific Research
ness to different situations, are a few among Institute.
Moore, C. (2003). The mediation process: Practical
the proliferating non-violent methods that can be strategies for resolving conflict. San Franciso: Jossey-
used to manage or resolve a widening range of Bass.
conflicts (Deutsch 1973, 2006; Purkey 2010). Moore, C. (2014). The mediation process. San Francisco:
Jossey Bass.
Mosten, F. (2001). The Mosten guide to building a
mediation career. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Purkey, W., et al. (2010). From conflict to conciliation:
Cross-References How to defuse difficult situations. Thousand Oaks:
Corwin.
▶ Culture and Conflict Resolution Raiffa, H. (1982). The Art & Science of Negotiation. Bos-
▶ Human Dignity and Transitional Justice ton: Harvard.
▶ Independent Commissions and Peace
Settlements
▶ Negotiation
▶ Search for Peace, the
Analysis of Multiparty
▶ Urban Peacebuilding
Multi-issue Disputes
▶ Use of Force in Peace Operations
▶ Identifying Stable Solutions to Conflicts
References

American Arbitration Association. (1992). Arbitration

and the law. New York: Author. Anti-colonial Struggles
Beer, J., & Steif, E. (1997). Mediator’s handbook. Gabriola
Island: New Society.
Bennett, S. (2002). Arbitration: Essential concepts. New ▶ Popular Protest in Palestine
York: American Lawyer Media.
Bens, I. (2016). Facilitation at a glance. Methuen: Goal
QPC.
Bush, R., & Folger, J. (2004). The promise of mediation.
Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons.
Deutsch, M. (1973). The resolution of conflict:
Arbitration
Constructive and destructive processes. New Haven:
Yale. ▶ Alternative Dispute Resolution
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution 5

sustainable peace. In the adjudication of dispute

Argentina in traditional African societies, the guilty ones are
integrated back into the society for social har- A
▶ Civil Society and State Violence in South mony. The entry is an important contribution to
America the body of knowledge in peace studies and con-
flict resolution. It is believed that the extant meth-
odologies used in traditional African societies
could be adapted into the policy framework of
Aristotle the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Coun-
cil along with the Western model. This entry also
▶ Just War Theory Across Time and Culture has wider implications for African cultural revival
and indigenous conflict resolution.

Armed conflict Introduction

▶ Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Con- As armed conflicts have ravaged most communi-
flict Resolution ties in Africa, the search for peace in the continent
has dominated discussions at the international
level. In the search for durable peace in Africa,
conflict resolution processes and peace initiatives
Armed Conflicts in Africa and have often been executed by various institutions
Indigenous Conflict that include the UN, regional organizations such
Resolution as the AU, international and local NGO’s and
governments (Mpangala, 2004). Some of the
Luqman B. Ajala peace efforts have been through peace negotiation
Department of History and International Studies, and mediation, peacekeeping, and peace enforce-
Al-Hikmah University, Ilorin, Nigeria ment. It is common knowledge that conventional
mechanisms for conflict resolution in Africa have
in some cases proved ineffective to address the
Synonyms problems, although there have been little success
in some areas. The failure to integrate the cultural
Africa; Armed conflict; Indigenous conflict reso- value of the people into the peace policy and
lution; Peacebuilding; South Africa; Ubuntu identifying the structural causes of conflict is one
system of the reasons why Western models of
peacebuilding have failed in Africa (Kirby,
2006). For instance, the 1993–1994 UN Security
Definition Council peacekeeping force to Rwanda UNAMIR
failed to broker peace between the government
Most peace interventions in the conflicts in Africa and RPF rebels, leading to the genocide of 1994
have proved ineffective due to the lack of knowl- in Rwanda (Khan, 1998). In another example, the
edge in understanding the crisis environment UN taskforce in Somalia in 1992 UNITAF failed
coupled with the inability to appreciate the cul- to deliver, but later was withdrawn due to casual-
tural value of the people in the resolution of the ties it suffered in 1993 while in confrontation with
crises. Indigenous conflict resolution in Africa has one of the rebel groups in Somalia (Mosha, 1998).
its unique prescriptions in contrast with the West- Given the armed conflict scenario which has
ern models. It is aimed at restoring social equilib- reduced Africa into theatre of war and genocide in
rium by reconciling parties to a dispute for the world, indigenous approaches to conflict
6 Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution

resolution and its relevance for sustainable peace Theoretical Framework

is discussed in this entry taking into consideration
the South Africa’s ubuntu peacebuilding strategy. Theories have been formulated in peace studies
The ububtu system of conflict resolution epito- to explicate the concept of peacebuilding
mizes African value system as conflict is resolved relative to the conflict resolution in the affected
at the communal level claims Murithi (2006). societies. However, the arguments for indige-
Indigenous approaches to conflict resolution nous approaches to peacebuilding and conflict
could be adapted into the policy framework of resolution in Africa have also developed. As an
the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Coun- intervention strategy, peacebuilding is comple-
cil along with the Western model. Even though mentary to peacekeeping and peacemaking in an
Africa has been transformed through colonialism environment of crisis. With the objective of cre-
which introduced new values into the society, ating the conditions for a self-sustaining peace in
there remain certain African cultural practices order to prevent a return to armed conflict,
such as local conflict resolution mechanisms and peacebuilding is directed toward the eradication
traditional peacebuilding methods that have sur- of the root causes of violence (Cravo, 2018). The
vived the colonial onslaught (Zartman, 2000). The theory of peacebuilding is an assumption that
methods of conflict resolution in traditional soci- developed from the liberal peace model, as a
ety in Africa were deeply rooted in the customs transition from armed violence to lasting peace.
and traditions of the African people. Bennett Johan (1976) developed the concept of
(1993, p. 32), posits by saying that in traditional peacebuilding in his writing Three Approaches
African societies “the essence and processes of to Peace: Peacekeeping, Peacemaking and
conflict resolution was to reconcile the parties to Peacebuilding. The theoretical assumptions for
a dispute in the communities.” Indigenous peace studies are found in the conception of
approaches to peacebuilding in Africa include triangle of violence and the triangle of peace.
mediation, accommodation, reconciliation and The understanding behind cultural violence
negotiation which are rooted in the knowledge, calls for the practice of international intervention
customs and history of Africans. As espoused by with the concepts of peacekeeping, peacemak-
Mbiti (2010), African’s peacebuilding processes, ing, and peacebuilding by Galtung. From peace-
including reconciliation are not foreign notions keeping and peacemaking conceptions, Galtung
and their intensity has accelerated wound healing develops the concept of peacebuilding.
and consensus building. Peacebuilding is an associative approach to con-
After a brief discussion on the crises in Africa flict aimed at direct, structural, and cultural
and indigenous methods of conflict resolution, causes of violence in the longer term for positive
this entry outlines five key issues relevant to peace (Cravo, 2018). Coming from the back-
armed conflicts in Africa and indigenous conflict ground of Galtung’s theoretical assumptions,
resolution. First, it provides the theoretical back- peacebuilding began as a key focus of interna-
ground and the critique of the Western models of tional intervention in international crisis in the
peacebuilding (liberal peacebuilding). It then early 1990s, in particular by the UN.
analyzes armed conflicts in Africa, highlighting Boutros-Ghali (1992, p. 27) defines
the causes, dynamics, and consequences of the peacebuilding as “the process by which an
conflicts in some African countries. The entry achieved peace is placed on durable foundations
shifts attention to Western model of conflict and which prevents violent conflict from recurring
resolution in Africa, while the fourth part ana- by dealing with the underlying economic, social,
lyzes indigenous conflict resolution in Africa. cultural and humanitarian problems responsible
The ubuntu system and peacebuilding in for the conflict.” He emphasized further by declar-
South Africa explicates how ubuntu is ing that “peacebuilding is the actions undertaken
implemented during peacemaking process. It by national or international actors to identify and
ends with a summary. support structures which intend to strengthen and
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution 7

solidify peace in order to avoid a relapse into In the case of Angola, political liberalization
conflict.” In the implementation of peacebuilding contributed to the resurgence of the violence in the
agenda, scholars have viewed with skepticism the country. Similar experience was witnessed in A
execution of Western liberalism agenda. How- Mozambique as economic liberalization threat-
ever, liberal peacebuilding was thus adopted by ened to reignite the fragile peace in the country.
the UN as an agenda for international commit- After the peace agreement in Mozambique in
ment to transform post-war nation-states. The ele- October 1992 following 17 years of intermittent
ments of democratic elections, market liberalism, warfare, a democratic election supervised by UN
humanitarian assistance and the rule of law that was held. However, the World Bank and IMF
underpin liberal peacebuilding gained this imposed Structural Adjustment Programme
approach, massive international support to be (SAP) limited government’s efforts to deliver,
used by the UN as well as other donor countries with high rate of poverty in the country. As a
for transforming war affected nations (Hoffmann, result, the worsened living conditions led to
1995) including Angola, Namibia, and armed banditry in the rural community that
El-Salvador. heightened tension and a possible uprising.
Without a doubt, the liberal peacekeeping Against this background, scholars have renewed
model is widely acknowledged and supported, the call for indigenous approaches to
yet the critics like Roland Paris and Timothy peacebuilding and conflict resolution in Africa
Sisk, Oliver Richmond, and Kristoffer Liden against the current Western models (Bukari,
have pointed out the flaws contained in the 2013; Zartman, 2000). The state of insecurity
approach toward achieving durable peace through caused by armed conflicts in African countries
the Western liberalism. They backed up their would be the major discussion in the next section
argument with the failure recorded in countries in this entry.
like Angola, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somalia,
and Bosnia and Herzegovina where peacebuilding
efforts have failed to secure peace and they rather Armed Conflicts in Africa
renewed violence. The Western approach of the
liberal peace was, however, integrated into collec- At one time or another, African countries have
tive security instruments for the maintenance of witnessed relative peace and experienced crises
peace (Michael, 2005). The adoption of maximal- since their independence. When put side by side,
ist approach, according to Roland Paris (Paris there have been more periods of conflicts than the
1997, p. 55), “is an experiment in social engineer- period of peace on the continent, as the largest
ing that involves transplanting Western models of number of armed conflicts in the world happened
social, political, and economic organisation into inside Africa (Straus, 2012). It is obvious that
war-shattered states in order to control civil con- many African states have experienced civil wars,
flict - pacification through political and economic mass killings, and other forms of direct political
liberalization.” In another view, Paris (1997) is violence right from the period of independence
critical of liberal peacebuilding model for its inef- (Straus, 2012). It used to be inter-state wars at the
fectiveness and failure to establishing sustainable initial stage however, the theatre of war changed
peace, most especially in Africa. It is rather from the kind of battle fought outside the state
viewed with shocking revelations that its adoption borders since most conflicts today occur within
has caused political and economic destabilizations the states. These are intra-state conflicts such as
in some war-torn countries with renewed violence civil-wars/guerrilla warfare, ethnic/religious con-
by parties in conflict. flicts, political violence, armed banditry and ter-
About 50 of those countries affected by wars rorism. Straus (2012, p. 179) corroborates this
that signed peace agreements in the 5 years of much in Wars do Change! Changing Patterns of
hostilities for instance, relapsed into violent con- Political Violence in Sub-Saharan Africa where
flicts (Collier et al., 2003). he observes that the character of warfare in the
8 Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution

region has changed. In his estimation, today’s About thirty countries in Africa or around 65%of
wars are typically fought on the peripheries of all states in the region have experienced an armed
states, and insurgents tend to be militarily weak conflict since independence (UCDP/PRIO Armed
and somewhat factionalized. Conflict data, 2012). Some of these wars lasted for
The civil wars that have occurred in African a long period of time having devastating conse-
countries, particularly in the 1990s include: war in quences on both social and economy of affected
Somalia between 1990 and 1993, ethnic violence states (Straus, 2012). For example, the wars that
between Tutsis and Hutus in Burundi 1991, ethnic burst out in Angola and Sudan lasted more than
war in Rwanda 1991–1992, ethnic war in Liberia 20 years. On the other hand, the recent PRIO
between 1989 and 2003, warfare in Sierra Leone Paper (2020) Conflict Trends in Africa,
from 1991–2002, etc. Meanwhile, low intensive 1989–2019, reveals that Africa excels in various
conflicts (LIC) emerged in some African countries conflict resolution attempts despite being one of
in the late 2000s and early 2010s. This type of the most violent regions in the world.
conflict include: 2006 Casamance rebellion in The latest episode of violence in Africa con-
Senegal, the 2004–2007 Ogaden fighting for cerns the act of trans-border terrorism in which
self-determination in Ethiopia, the Caprivi strip insurgent groups move around and terrorize the
secession bid, Namibia, the 2003 Lord’s Resis- people across national borders. The examples of
tance Army offensive in Northern Uganda, the this form of violence traverse many areas in the
2004 and later 2007 Cabinda separatist armed region. A typical example represents the terrorist
struggle in Angola, the 2014–2015 Boko Haram activities of the Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb (AQIM)
insurgency in Nigeria, Communal conflicts in across the Sahel, in Mali, Niger, and Mauritania.
Chad from 2006–2007, the 1996–2006 insur- Another terrorist organization, Al-Shabab, whose
gency in the Central African Republic, the operational base is in Somalia, has been known to
2003–2010 violence in the western region of have launched sporadic armed attacks in Uganda
Dafur, Sudan, the 2009 communal violence in and Kenya. The group was responsible for the
South Sudan, as well as 2007–2008 attacks by multiple suicide bombings that occurred in Kam-
the Tuaregs in Northern Mali. pala in 2010. Williams Reno says that between
Apart from warfare and mass killings that char- 1990 and 2009, about 25 deaths were recorded
acterized post-colonial experience in Africa, two through the “non-state armed conflicts” in the
forms of violence have come to feature in the DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan,
conflict dynamics in the region: political violence and Uganda (Reno, 2011). In the recent time, the
and livelihood clashes. Political violence is asso- IS acts of terrorism have become widespread in
ciated with election-related violence, while liveli- Africa. According to the PRIO Paper (2020, p.
hood clashes present themselves as farmer-herder 35), “in 2019, nine countries in Africa
conflict, over access to land, water, and other local (Cameroon, Niger, Chad, Nigeria, Libya, Burkina
resources. Political violence became raged in the Faso, Mali, Somalia, and Mozambique) witnessed
1990s, when one party system gave way to multi- attacks by IS terrorist group within their terri-
party democracy. Electoral violence, that is, vio- tories.” It is also reported in the PRIO Paper
lence directly associated with an electoral contest, (2020) that from 2018–2019, the number of both
either before, during, or after a poll has continued state-based conflicts and battle-related deaths
to feature in Africa with such examples in Zimba- increased in Africa. Further, the number of state-
bwe, Cote d’Ivore and Kenya (Mueller, 2008). based conflicts increased from 21 in 2018 to 25 in
Violence had been witnessed in both Mali and 2019 as a result of internationalized civil conflicts
Cote d’Ivore in particular, over land and water, that occurred in Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Soma-
on resource conflicts (Bassett, 1988). lia, and Burundi (PRIO Paper 2020, p. 35). As in
The UPCD/PRIO Armed Conflict data show foregoing, armed conflicts and associated vio-
that war, in particular civil war, has been a central lence is still on a high scale in Africa with the
feature of most Africa’s post-colonial history. latest acts of terrorism by IS which shifted base
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution 9

from the Middle East to Africa. Having analyzed supplied by governments to aid civil wars in Libe-
the armed conflict scenario and state of insecurity ria, Sierra Leone, and Cote d’Ivore (Keili, 2008).
in African countries in this section, this entry To clarify this further, Charles Taylor’s National A
would also look into the factors behind armed Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) was accused of
conflicts in Africa in the following section. supplying and distributing Foday Sankoh’s Rev-
olutionary United Front (RUF) with arms to fuel
the civil war in Sierra Leone. The conflict resulted
Causes of Conflicts in Africa in the death of over 50,000 people; 30,000 ampu-
tations; and over 257,000 women were reportedly
The factors behind violent conflicts which have raped in the crisis (Ploughshares, 2014). In
hampered development and made Africa to be another example, the Liberians United for Recon-
unstable elicit a discussion in this section. This is ciliation and Democracy (LURD) rebel group
done by investigating the root causes of armed- received weapons from Guinean governments
conflicts in Africa. What are the triggers for the which they used in killing civilians in Monrovia
conflicts and the reasons for the continued crises during the conflict in Liberia (Keili, 2008).
in the region? Studies on armed conflicts Warfare It is therefore to be noted that wide circulation
in Independent Africa (Reno, 2011) and The of illicit arms across African states has reinforced
Causes of Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa – conflicts within the region. The ready availability
Framework Document (DFID, 2001) show that of these weapons has been able to fuel and sustain
the root of violent conflicts and civil strife in most ethnic and religious conflicts witnessed in
Africa is linked to a multiplicity of factors which some countries in Africa.
include: availability of arms; unemployment; the Tackling insecurity by reducing armed vio-
abuse of ethnicity; exclusion (socio-political); lence, the states in Africa have taken some initia-
weak states and state collapse; historical factors; tives against illegal arms trafficking and
natural resource wealth. proliferation. These include: the ECOWAS Mor-
atorium on Light Weapons, and the East African
Availability of Arms Action Programme on Illicit Arms Trafficking and
It has been confirmed in the literature on violence SADC Arms Protocol. However, there are chal-
(which is dominated by studies of war and mass lenges toward the realization of the objective
killing) such as Small Arms and Light Weapons above due to the porous nature of most borders,
Transfer in West Africa: A Stocktaking (Keili, weak enforcement, and large arms deposit on the
2008); State-Making, State-Breaking and State continent, as well as well-established illegal sup-
Failure: Explaining the Roots of “Third World” ply chains.
Insecurity (Mohammad, 1996), that the major fac-
tor causing the instability in some countries in Ethnicity
Africa is the issue of small arms and light weapons Ethnic violence is common in most states in
(SALW), which are readily available in most Africa and has served as a potent source of con-
countries in the region. It is believed that easy flicts in the region. The reason has to do with the
accessibility to small arms is fueling and sustain- inability by leaders to effectively manage the
ing the conflicts in some African countries. For diversity there, as the region is configured by
example, the DFID (2001, p. 15), in The Causes of many states that comprise various ethnic group-
Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa – Framework ings. Having said this, ethnicity by itself is not
Document observes that “between 1972 and violent. However, violent conflict erupts when
1990, Ethiopia and Somalia imported $8 billion people resort to the use of ethnicity as primordial
worth of small arms and light weapons.” “In 1992, and make claims in its names as a means of
the Angola government distributed an estimated advancing group interests (Turton, 1997). Again,
700,000 rifles to the population for their defence what generates ethnic conflict is rather observed
against UNITA” (Keili, 2008). Also, arms were by Annan and Danso (2013) as the situation when
10 Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution

identified groups in a fractured society or nation South African government was notorious for the
use ethnicity as instrument, most especially when practice of the policy of exclusion targeted against
they experience or feel being marginalized. Many the majority blacks in the country. As a result, the
studies identified ethnic fragmentation as one of blacks in South Africa were up in arms and took
the root causes of armed conflicts and civil war offence against the apartheid regime over the dis-
that broke out in Liberia such as that of Vinck et al. criminatory policies which advanced socio-
(2011) which say that 49%of the population economic and political inequality between the
reportedly identified ethnicity and ethnic divi- white and black population in the country.
sions as the root cause of the Liberian civil wars. The Nigerian civil war (1967–1970) resulted
Specifically, in the 10-year rule of Samuel Doe, from politics of exclusion by the political elites
the Krahn and Mandingo ethnic groups were more (ethnic group) who controlled power at the center.
favored than the others. This resulted in various In Nigeria, the July 29, 1966 coup d’état brought
ethnic tensions that involved the rebellion by with it dynamics in power relations that resulted in
Charles Taylor, an Americo-Liberian in 1996. the politics of exclusion by political leaders in the
The local militia led by the latter, stirred a civil country. Meanwhile, the competition for power by
war in the country. The Nigeria’s civil war major ethnic groups in Nigeria ignited local sen-
(1967–1970) resulted from unhealthy competition timents and subsequent attacks, forcing the Igbos
for power and ethnic rivalries among the major to migrate to their region and declared the Inde-
ethnic groups in the country. Similarly, ethnic pendent Republic of Biafra in 1967 (Naffziger,
tensions brew up in Nigeria (1993–1999) over 1973). As a corollary, Nigeria underwent war of
the annulment of presidential election by the mil- attrition in the fate to keep the nation together and
itary in 1993. united, with attendant blood and destruction, until
Indeed, ethnic rivalry has been the major cause 1970 when the war was terminated. Political
of internal conflicts in Nigeria. The examples of exclusion by the government helped to serve as a
this are also found in other African countries such major instigator of the conflict in Cote d’Ivore in
as Liberia, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Somalia, 2002. Deeply rooted in ethnic-religious divisions
Sudan, Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d’Ivore, and identity, the situation in the country was
Zimbabwe, and Kenya. aggravated by politics of exclusion. As a result,
Cote d’Ivore broke into civil war in September
Exclusion and Inequality 2002 (Ogwang 2011, p. 1).
Social exclusion occurs when the institutions that
allocate resources and assign value operate in Natural Resource Wealth
ways that systematically deny some groups the Resource control or access to natural resources has
resources and recognition that would allow them in many instances reinforced the conflicts in Afri-
to participate fully in social life (Zeitlyn, 2004). can states. The African states accommodate two
Social exclusion in conflicts is related to those types of resource-based conflict, one being wars of
who feel marginalized socially/economically and resource scarcity and wars of abundance. The most
who tend to have recourse to violence or rebellion common conflicts of scarcity relate to the control of
(Stewart, 2017). In African countries, some crises land and water rights (DFID, 2001). DFID (2001,
that have occurred had their roots in the politics of p. 15), in “The Causes of Conflict in Sub-Saharan
exclusion and social inequality. Stewart (2017) Africa,” asserts that countries whose economies are
asserts that large numbers of people in developing dependent on natural resources such as oil and
countries (Africa) are socially excluded. minerals face a high risk of conflict. The work of
According to him, these people are excluded by three expert UN panels on the relationship between
mainstream society from participating fully in the illegal exploration of natural resources and conflict
economic, social, and political life of the society in Sierra Leone, Angola, and the DR, in 2011
where they live in – often because of their cultural, conclude that “apart from diamond, trade in coltan,
religious, or racial characteristics. The apartheid cobalt, gold, timber, and oil may play a more
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution 11

important role in fuelling conflict” (World Devel- material losses. The continued warfare has
opment Report, 2011). However, this position claimed the lives of many, including children.
holds firmly with the Nigerian situation where For example, the civil war in Burundi, A
poor management of oil resources provoked mili- 1993–2005, claimed over 300,000 lives
tancy by the youths in the oil rich Niger Delta (Jackson, 2006), while over 250,000 people lost
region. The situation in the region created state of their lives in the 14 years civil war in Liberia
insecurity in which many oil expatriates were kid- (BBC, 2018). The same situation was witnessed
napped by the militant groups, notably the Move- in the 10 year Sierra Leone crisis where about
ment for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta 50,000 people were reportedly killed, and half
(MEND). As a matter of fact, the armed groups in the population displaced (Gberie 2002, p. 2). In
the Delta region engaged in oil theft and arms an article by diplomatic editor Patrick Wintour,
trafficking in the area. The studies conducted by for example, the recent clashes in Libya have left
Ashforth (2009) and the International Crisis Group more than 1000 people dead and more than
(2008) estimated that 250,000–300,000 barrels, 300,000 people displaced (The Guardian, 2019).
valued at more than US$3.8 billion, were stolen Before the civil war in Angola got terminated in
each year through “oil bunkering” from pipeline or 2002, more than 15,000 deaths were recorded in
storage facilities. This development, however, the battle between government army and the rebel
enamored the militants and prolonged the crisis in (UNITA) forces led by late Jonas Savimbi. In the
the oil rich region. war that started in Burundi in 1998 and lasted until
The civil wars in both Liberia and Sierra 2008, over one hundred thousand people died as a
Leone, though not resource based at inception, result. The ethnic warfare involved Tutsis and
the presence of minerals like diamond and timber Hutus for control of central government held by
in the region reinforced the conflicts. The above is the minority Tutsi since the country independence
corroborated by the outcome of research by in 1962. In the war in the Democratic Republic of
UNODC (2015) and Harwell (2013) that the con- Congo (DRC) between 1996 and 2003, an esti-
ventional political conflict in Liberia that spread to mated 5.4 million people were reportedly killed
Sierra Leone and Cote d’Ivore, later gave way to a (Zenko, 2016). Between 2010 and 2011, some
more organized crime across the region as warring three thousand (3000) people were reportedly
factions pillaged natural resources. Further studies killed in the post-election conflict in Cote d’Ivore
confirm that at the height of the conflict in Sierra which involved Laurent Gbagbo and Alhassan
Leone, illegal exports accounted for more than Quattara (France 24, 2011).
90% of its diamond trade Gberie (2002), or more Appraising development and security issues in
than US$200 million in 2002 (Even-Zohar, 2003). the risk environment, and the links between them,
In Liberia in 2001, timber valued between DFID (2001) research, Tackling Poverty by
USD$168–180 million was illicitly traded off Reducing Armed Violence, observes that violent
(UNODC, 2015). It is clear from above that conflict is a major cause of poverty and a key
armed conflicts in African countries resulted barrier to development in many poor countries.
from many factors laying background for the It estimated that war leads to a large-scale popu-
state of insecurity in the region. In the next sec- lation displacement, reduces access to basic ser-
tion, the consequences of armed conflicts in Afri- vices and human rights abuses. In a situation of
can countries would be analyzed. war, DFID avers that people are denied access to
land or employment; markets are disrupted; and
public and private assets destroyed; and the entire
The Consequences of Armed Conflicts in community livelihoods are destroyed. As noted in
Africa conflict research, violence compromises human
security and dignity. It is on this basis that more
The armed conflicts in Africa have wreck havoc in than 90 countries endorsed the 2008 Geneva Dec-
the affected areas with attendant deaths and laration on “Armed Violence and Development”.
12 Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution

The 2008 Declaration argues that living free from as a result became militarized by the local militia
the threat of an armed conflict is a basic human who engaged in kidnapping of foreign oil workers
need. To achieve stability by reducing violence in and massive oil theft in the area. In recent time,
the region, therefore, African countries in 2000 terrorism and armed banditry spread from
signed the Lome Declaration which established the Sahel and Lake Chad area in West Africa.
standards and a regional response mechanism to The Low Intensity Conflict (LIC) developed in
unconstitutional changes in government. the North East of Nigeria when a local Islamic
This has been associated with a reduction in group morphed into insurgency and launched
coups d’état from 15 in the 1990s to 5 from 2000 attack against civilians. The Boko Haram insur-
to mid-2010 (World Development Report, 2011). gency spread from Nigeria to other neighboring
Despite this fact, human sufferings and material states of Chad, Niger, and Cameroun. In the Sahel
losses are still experienced in Africa due to vio- region, terrorism and armed banditry were
lence associated with armed conflicts across the launched by the Tuaregs in the Northern Mali.
region. In Sudan, for example, more than two Countries like Senegal, Guinea, and Burkina
million people died in the long running civil war. Faso have been affected by the attacks from the
In Rwanda, over 800,000 people lost their lives in terrorist groups in the area. In Kenya, the
the genocide that occurred in the civil war in 1994 Al-Shabab terrorist group has established an oper-
(DFID, 2001). On the human sufferings in the ational base in the country, with frequent armed
Rwanda’s war, about 250,000 rapes reportedly attack on civilians, both in the country and some
took place in 1994. For decades, countries such other states in the region. Equally, North Africa
as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire, and had experienced a series of dramatic social pro-
Guinea-Bissau were crippled by conflicts and tests and political turbulence (the Arab Spring),
civil strife in which violence and incessant kill- escalating into outright conflict in these countries,
ings were prevalent (Afolabi 2009, p. 24). In the first in Tunisia, Egypt, and later in Libya. Armed
2007 election aftermath in Kenya, gangs and conflicts in Africa are intense and have continued
politically motivated groups engaged in ethnically to wreck havoc on the continent. The armed con-
aligned violence (Ashforth, 2009; ICG, 2008). flicts in Africa have had consequential effects on
Quoting DFID (2001, p. 9) in UNCHR, 2000, the economy of most states in Africa. However,
“in 2000, almost eleven million people in Africa the interventions in the conflicts in Africa have
were internally displaced.” The effects of violence been through external supports or local initiatives
are profound for countries that have gone through by regional African organizations. Most often,
civil wars in Africa. Thus, poverty in most coun- these interventions come in form of cease fires,
tries in the region today is linked to the environ- peace agreements, and peacekeeping missions
ment of crisis created by armed conflicts, leading which constitute the basis of discussion in the
to displacement of people and destruction of com- next section.
munities’ livelihood.
In violence-prone and war-ravaged countries
in Africa, school children are affected as school Western Model of Conflict Resolution in
infrastructures get destroyed, leading to displace- Africa
ment of teachers and abrupt suspension of school
program. Similarly, violence and armed conflicts In the 1990s, the increase in the number of violent
in these countries destroyed the household assets conflicts in the world and Africa in particular,
of poor people; pervading fear of violent attacks was given visibility and prominence on the
prevented the locals from farming or travelling to international agenda for peace (Sollenberg &
schools, clinics, workplaces, and markets. As Wallensteen, 2000). Again, the nature of armed
witnessed in Nigeria, economic neglect and alien- conflicts, particularly devastating civil wars call
ation from political power triggered violence in for interventionism (Mohammad, 1996). In the
the Niger Delta oil- rich region. The environment UN Agenda for Peace (1992), Boutros-Ghali
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution 13

called on the international organizations to The peacebuilding approach as spelt out by the
address the threats to international peace and secu- African Union (AU) in 2002 is an all-embracing
rity. The Western model of peace was thus insti- strategy that aimed at restoring security, managing A
tutionalized in the UN peace agenda. These are political transition, anchoring socio-economic
4 interrelated strategies: preventive diplomacy: development, promoting human rights and jus-
peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. tice, and resource mobilization (NEPAD, 2005).
Preventive diplomacy refers to actions to prevent In order to strengthen continental peace architec-
the occurrence of conflict or to prevent escalation ture, the African Union (AU) established an insti-
of existing conflict and the effort to limit the tutional framework to implement the concept of
conflict. On the other hand, peacemaking is con- comprehensive policy that encompasses conflict
flict transformation which is aimed at preventing prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, post-
future conflict. Peacekeeping refers to activities conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. It is
undertaken to stabilize peace in a conflict envi- undeniable the fact that the Western interventions
ronment, while peacebuilding is an activity that in the conflicts in Africa have been successful in
aims to resolve conflict by dealing with the roots some areas, yet, its failure in achieving sustainable
of the conflict through peaceful methods. peace has been attributed to the inability to con-
Peace negotiations and mediations have come sider the crisis environment and the cultural
as intervention strategy in the conflicts in Africa. values of the people. The resolution of conflicts
For instance, a religious NGO in Rome, Italy, in traditional African society is embedded in the
called Saint Egidio served as a mediator in the cultural values of the people. As a related topic in
peace negotiations between the FRELIMO gov- this entry, the indigenous approach to conflict
ernment and the RENAMO rebel group in the resolution in Africa is analyzed in the following
civil war 1975–1990 in Mozambique (Romano, section under.
1998). In the Burundi crisis, Julius Nyerere and
later Nelson Mandela served as independent
mediators through Nyerere Foundation. The Indigenous Conflict Resolution in Africa
peace interventions in African crises have also
been internal or external based negotiations. The The nature and processes of resolving dispute in
peace negotiations in Sudan between 1996 and traditional African society is in contrast with that
1997 reflect an example of internal based peace of the Western society. Indeed, the object,
negotiations. This involved a peace deal between methods and focus of conflict resolution in tradi-
the government of Sudan and five rebel groups tional African society is in contrast with the West-
(The Sudan Peace Agreement, 1997, 4). In most ern model. The methods of conflict resolution in
cases, peace negotiations in Africa have often traditional society in Africa are deeply rooted in
witnessed signing of peace agreements, ceasefire the customs and traditions of the African people.
agreements and implementations of the One of the most important features distinguishing
agreements. between Western and African processes of dispute
The deployment of troops by the UN, and other settlement is the manner in which the social rela-
regional organizations has been a feature of peace- tionships between the parties involved in the
keeping in crisis area in Africa. This has involved respective processes are treated. The relationship
the African Union (AU), ECOWAS, and the determines the procedural form of the attempt at
SACD. Peacekeeping by troops is a preventive settlement and thus determines the outcome of the
strategy as a process that involves signing of the dispute (Nader & Todd, 1978). The important
peace agreement for its implementation to avoid feature of the conflict resolution processes in tra-
the conflict escalation. Trough ECOMOG, the ditional African society is the restoration of the
ECOWAS countries deployed peacekeeping social relationships between the parties involved
troops in the Liberia and later Sierra Leone civil in a dispute. It is important to note that in the
wars in the 1990s. processes of dispute resolution in traditional
14 Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution

society in Africa, the parties are interested in Western Nigeria is usually administered by Sango
mending rather than terminating relationships or Ogun priest and by the Ogboni fraternity in
(Cappelletti, 1992). very serious matters (Olaoba, 2002). Similarly,
Among the Ashanti of Ghana, oath is used as a the Poro and Sande associations of the Mende of
means of seeking redress in times of infractions of Sierra Leone oversee dispute adjudication
the social norms (Agisi, 1979). Among the through ordeal (Opoku, 1978). Conflict resolution
Kamba of Kenya, the Kithtu oath and Ndundu promotes consensus-building, social bridge
oaths are used to determine guilt or innocence of reconstructions, and the re-enactment of order in
disputants (Elias, 1956). The Asande of Sudan society. Conflicts hardly break up societies (Otite,
employed oath to adjudicate over disputes, espe- 2000). As an indigenous method of conflict reso-
cially those involving witchcraft and adultery lution in South Africa, the ubuntu system adopted
(Evans-Pritchard, 1937). Among the Gurage of by the South African Truth and Reconciliation
Ethiopia, ritual oath-taking is a prominent feature Commission (SATRC) in the post-apartheid
of the adjudicating process to determine the guilt South Africa is examined and discussed in the
or innocence of disputants. Ordeal and oath- following section in this entry.
taking as methods of settling dispute are referred
to as that of “proof” as against trial (Sanni, 1999).
Importantly, however, the methods are not based Ubuntu System and Peacebuilding in
on any objective standard or norm; rather, they are South Africa
pivoted on certain unscientific hypotheses.
According to Allot (1960, p. 121), adjudication The indigenous ubuntu peacebuilding mecha-
of dispute in traditional African society involves nism is an African value-system for social har-
integration i.e., the losing party or even a criminal mony commonly found among the Bantu people
is integrated back into the society in order to in East, Central and Southern Africa. Peacemak-
achieve social equilibrium. For instance, among ing through the concept of ubuntu emphasizes
the Bunyoro of Uganda such a party is ordered to the principles of reciprocity, inclusiveness, and a
bring beer and meat, to be eaten by the disputants sense of shared destiny between peoples. In the
and adjudicators. This is to mark the reintegration ubuntu system, conflict or dispute or disagree-
of the guilty into the society (ibid). The duty of ment is resolved at the level of the family, at the
adjudicators, therefore, is to settle dispute, village level, between members of an ethnic
assuage injured feelings, restore peace and reach group, or even between different ethnic nations
a compromise acceptable to disputants (Adewoye, in the same region depending on the situation at
1977). Because of the importance attached to the hand (Murithi, 2006). In the context of the
settlement of disputes, adjudicators are deter- ubuntu societies found in South Africa, disputes
mined to get to the root of any matter before would be resolved through an institution known
them. Hence, they sometimes subject disputants as the Inkundla/Lekgotla which serves as a
to various ordeals in order to determine their guilt group mediation and reconciliation forum
or innocence. (Nomonde, 2000). This is a community-based
Among the Kalabari and Urobo of Nigeria, conflict resolution committee saddled with the
disputants or accused persons are asked to swim responsibility of finding a lasting solution to
across a creek full of crocodiles; whoever does not problems threatening social cohesion and corpo-
come out alive, is adjudged guilty (Adewoye, rate existence of the community. It is usually
1977). Among the Itsekiri of Niger Delta, a convened in the public and in attendance of the
fowl’s feather is besmeared with some charms parties in the dispute including their family
(juju). If the feather’s quill easily passes through members and the general public, including
the tongue of the defendant, false charges would women and children.
be brought against him (ibid). The adjudication of In principle, the proceedings would be led by a
dispute by ordeal among the Yorubas in the South- Council of Elders and their Chief or, in a serious
Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution 15

issue, the King himself. The ubuntu concept as a Graybill (1998) also observes that during the
cultural-world view holds that “a person is a per- TRC process, perpetrators openly confessed their
son through other people.” Which means that sins, and victims freely forgave them. In essence, A
ubuntu tries to capture the essence of what it this turned to be the foundation for restorative
means to be human, emphasizing the humanity justice legislation in South Africa. Before the
in us. The practical peacebuilding processes of TRC in South Africa, the ubuntu system facili-
ubuntu is articulated and reflected in its effective- tated sincere apologies from the perpetrators of
ness to preserve law and order in the society, as injustice during the apartheid period, as well as
ubuntu society is embedded in communalism that forgiveness by the victims. For an instance, Major
maintains positive relations within the society as a Mbina (former Captian of Ciskei Defence Force)
collective task by every individual. For instance, a testified before TRC saying that “some people
dispute between fellow members of a society is who shot; probably shot without having been
perceived as a matter related to the whole com- given orders, knowing that at the end it is the
munity. According to the notion of ubuntu, each boss that will answer. That is what I want to
member of the community is linked to each of the make clear. I also ask for forgiveness.
disputants, the victims or perpetrators. I empathise with families that lost their members.
The practical demonstration of ubuntu as I ask forgiveness on behalf of the Ciskeian
indigenous conflict resolution and peacebuilding Defence Force, especially those that were
mechanism was renowned at the South African involved. We ask for forgiveness” (TRC Report,
Truth and Reconciliation Commission (SATRC) 1998).
in the post-apartheid period. In the post-apartheid The ubuntu system of building peace is a recipe
South Africa which came about in the 1990, for reconciliation and social cohesion in post-
indigenous method of ubuntu was used to recon- apartheid South Africa. In the words of the Chair-
cile victims and the perpetrators of injustice dur- man South African Truth and Reconciliation
ing the apartheid period in the country. The Commission (TRC), Archbishop Desmond Tutu
system of ubuntu was used to stabilize the polity (1999), a person with ubuntu is open and available
for a new South Africa just emerging from the to others and does not feel threatened when others
apartheid experience. The cardinal objective of achieve because he or she recognises that they
ubuntu in post-apartheid South Africa was to belong to a greater whole. Augustine (2011),
create a durable peace for harmonious relations Gathogo (2001), and Teffo (1994) explicate that
in the society by forgiving and let go of the past. African hospitality in ubuntu is ingrained in Afri-
To institutionalize the concept of ubuntu for can cultural norm, values and customs that are
building durable peace in post-apartheid relevant and important to the process of integra-
South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Com- tion. The process of peacemaking in ubuntu is
mission was established. In the modus operandi reflected in the principles of reciprocity, inclusiv-
of the Commission, the principles of forgiveness ity, and a sense of shared destiny between peoples.
and reconciliation which ubuntu emphasizes The traditional societies in the countries of East,
guided the conduct of the tribunal for building Central and Southern Africa utilised cultural prac-
peace in post-apartheid South Africa. In his work tice of ubuntu as conflict resolution and
titled No Future Without Forgiveness the TRC peacebuilding mechanisms to regulate law and
Chairman, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was order within the society. In the principle of
quoted to have said that the principles ubuntu, each member of the community is linked
(of ubuntu) helped to guide the thoughts and to each of the disputants, be they victims or per-
actions of some of the perpetrators and victims petrators. The ubuntu system of conflict resolution
who came before the South African Truth and and peacebuilding is aimed at resolving disputes
Reconciliation Commission (SATRC) to confess and reconciling parties to disputes with a view to
and forgive (Graybill, 1998; Mani, 2002; Villa- healing past wrongs and maintaining social
Vicencio & Verwoed, 2000). cohesion.
16 Armed Conflicts in Africa and Indigenous Conflict Resolution

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 He olivat kumpainenkin laiskan totkeita työmiehiä, eikä heitä
koskaan pyydettynä palvelukseen, silloin kuin muita, ainoastaan
vihon viimeiseksi, jolloin ei enää ollut muita saatavissa. Sattuipa sitte
tulemaan, keskinkertaista huonompi ruisvuosi ja silloin he jäivät
ilman paikkaa, ei ollut ketään tahtovata. Tämmöisen sattuman
varalta oli Penjalla ja samoin Reetallakin tapana puhua joka syksy,
että tokkopa hän ruvenneekaan palvelukseen ja nyt se toteutui
väkisin. Puheensa vahvistukseksi piti Reeta joka kesä kappaviitisen
potattia kasvussa ja nyt ne olivat tasaiseen tarpeeseen. Penjalla ei
ollut senkään vertaa varustettua, olihan vaan siksi palkkarahoja
tähteenä, että sai niillä kappakymmenisen jyviä.

Toisistaan tietämättä olivat kumpainenkin käyneet eri ajoilla

pyrkimässä asuntoa Petäjämäen mökkiin ja pääsivätkin siihen.
Penjaa oli viehättänyt mökin lämmin tupa ja Reeta piti yhtä paljon
mökin uudesta saunasta, jossa sopi kenenkään häiritsemättä
nukahdella mieleisiään ruokaunia, joita hän oli aina pitänyt suuressa
arvossa.

He eivät olleet koskaan palvelleet yhdessä talossa ja katselivat

vähän vieraan tavalla toisiaan, kun palvelusvuoden kuluttua
ilmestyivät Petäjämäen mökkiin huonemiehiksi. Reeta oli oikein
pahastuvinaan, kun ei hänelle oltu ilmoitettu Penjan tulosta ja sanoi
että tähänkö se tuokin vötkylä on otettuna.

— Vähemmin tulee ikävä huonemiehille, kun on useampia, nauroi

mökinmies.

Penja mahtoi ajatella Reetasta samoin, mutta ei puhunut siitä

muille.
 Kohta tuli näkyviin, että he olivat tarpeen toisilleen. Penja oli
käyttänyt jyvänsä myllyssä, vaan eiväthän ne vielä jauhoinakaan
kelvanneet syötäväksi. Useampia kertoja hän jo mainitsi, että
kukahan joutaisi tekemään leipää, kun Reeta viimein virkkoi:

— Joutaisin tässä minä, jos nuo sattuisivat syntymään.

— Koetahan, sanoi Penja ja kantoi jauhosäkin tupaan.

Silloin se yhteiselämä alkoi. Talonväenkin vuoksi tahtoi Reeta

saada leivistä hyviä, ja että niitä tulisi paljon, leipoi hän ne ohuviksi ja
kirjaili jokaisen päällyskuoren lusikan kärellä. Penja ei osannut edeltä
päin ajatellakaan näin hyvää leipuria ja kiitollisena antoi hän koko
leivän palkasta. Tämä oli Reetan mielestä liika paljon, mutta
täytyihän se ottaa. Palkinnoksi leivästä keitti hän sitten
runsaammasti potattihauvikkaita ja syödessä survasi kuppia Penjaan
päin ja sanoi:

— Tuossa on sullekin potattia.

Kurkalta kävi Penja noppamassa potatin kerrallaan. Ei saanutkaan

usein keittoruokaa, kun ei ollut keittämistä eikä pataa.

Myöhemmin hän sai vähän lihaa, vaan kun ei osannut siitä mitään
laittaa, täytyi pyytää Reetaa yhtiöön. Tämä lisäsi muut aineet ja niin
tuli toimeen ruu'an muute.

*****

Toisen kerran oli. Reeta tekemässä Penjalle leipää, kun

mökinmies otti tuon yhteen menon oikein puheeksi.
 — Teitä näkyy nuo ruokapuuhat vetävän väkisinkin yhteen päin,
sanoi hän, niin eiköhän ole selvintä heittää pois tuo kurkalta syönti ja
käydä sanomassa papille, että se lyöpi leivät yhteisiksi.

— Parastapa taitaisi olla, arveli Penja naurahtaen.

— Vai semmoisia siinä rupesitte vätystelemään, torui Reeta

taputellen hymyssä suin leivän päällystä. Jos vaan vielä puhutte
siitä, niin heitän tämä leivän teon kesken.

— No näytäpä, saatatko heittää kesken, puhui mökinmies. Sitten

me uskotaan että et taivu tuumaan, vaan jos et heitä, niin silloin se
on päätettynä.

Reeta oli heittävinään leipomisen kesken, mutta tuli samassa

takaisin sillä syyllä, että eihän niitä muutkaan jouda leipomaan.

— Ei jouda, eikä tarvitse joutaakaan, teki mökinmies päätöksen.

Se on sitä myöten valmista. Ala vaan Penja varustella tarpeita
pappilaan menoa varten. Ensi perjantaina pääsette sinne minun
hevosessani.

Reeta koetti olla sanoissaan vasten, mutta ääni ja kasvojen ilmeet

osoittivat selvää taipumista. Penja ei ruvennut joutavata
teeskentelemään. Eipä hän viitsinyt tarkemmin tiedustellakaan
toiselta, suostuiko tämä eli ei, lähti vaan kyselemään vähän rahaa
velaksi, yhteenmenokustannuksiin. Eräs hänen entisistä isännistään
tekikin tuon raha-avun ja Penja sai ne maksaa takaisin puuastioita
tekemällä, johon työhön hänellä oli parhaiten halua ja taitoakin.

Perjantaina he lähtivät pappilaan. Reetakin oli lopettanut

teeskentelemisen. Mitäpä se pitkittämällä parani, kun on kerran mies
saatavissa, eikä ole omista eväistä paljon kehumista.

Heti kuulutuksen perästä he rupesivat rehellisesti yhteen ruokaan

ja jopa välistä pistivät supakkata keskenään, kuten rakastuneet
ainakin. Ne mahtoivat olla tulevaisuuden tuumia, sillä Penja ryhtyi
kohta nikkaroimaan. Olipa höylää ja rahaa lainaksi hakiessaan
saanut puolen tusinaa teurastettuin eläinten sarvia, joista vuoleksi ja
laittoi Reetalle oivalliset imurit pakottaville selkäverille. Itseään varten
hän ne etupäässä teki, mutta saattoihan niillä valmiilla pelillä
masautella pois liikoja veriä lähimmäisenkin hartioista. Eikä
kulunutkaan monta viikkoa, kuin ympäristöllä tiedettiin yleisesti, että
Reeta on oivallinen kuppari. Kupattavia alkoi käydä tihkipäätä, niin
että sarvia täytyi laittaa paljoa enemmän. Jopa haittoivat talon
emännätkin kotiinsa ja siellä kulettivat talosta taloon, jossa Reetalla
oli hyvää elämätä pitkäksi ajaksi. Kotiin tuotavaksi kertyi sieltä aika
nivakka särvinaineita ja joku penni rahaakin.

Sillä aikaa veisteli ja lepäili Penja yksinään kortteerilla. Ei hän

paljoa särpimiä kaipaillut, kunhan oli kirjattua leipää. Mutta kerran
sattui leipäkin loppumaan ja Reetalle tuli palattuaan kiire teko. Siinä
kiireessään heitti hän päällykset koristelematta ja leipoi leivät sileiksi.
Mutta siinäpä tuli erehdys. Penja oli pitkää rupeamata viettäissään
käynyt äreämmäksi entistään ja kun ruualle ruvetessaan näki leivät
kirjailemattomiksi, alotti hän siitä juonipuheet.

— Tuollaisiako sinä teitkin, etkä kirjannut, alkoi murista.

— Välttää ne ilmankin, syö vaan pois, kehoitti Reeta.

— Enpään syö, syö sinä.

— Syön minä ja syöt niitä vielä sinäkin.

 — Enpään syö, vie vaan pois.

— Ettäkö tosissasi olet? kysyi Reeta.

— Mitäs et kirjannut. Siinä on.

Penja heitti leivän Reetan syliin ja paiskautui vihoissaan nurkkaan

maata. Nyt näki Reeta, että se on täyttä totta, eikä auttanut muu,
kuin ruveta houkuttelemaan.

— Elä hyvä Penja suutu, minä teen ensi kerralla kirjaleipiä.

— Mistäpä sinä tehnet, kun mätit kaikki jauhot tähän taikinaan.

— Minä otan velaksi?

— Kuka sinulle antaa velaksi?

— Antaa se Peltolan emäntä, kun minä vien sille aluksi rahaa?

— Mistä sinulla rahaa on?

— Kuppauksista sain.

— Sait lampaan päitä ja sokeita ahvenia, vaan et rahaa.

— Aivan rahaa sain, kun vedin toista kymmentä sarvea Ruhmu-

Riston hartioihin, kehui Reeta.

— Ruhmu-Riston hartioihin, jamasi Penja, sillä tuo tieto ei häntä

ollenkaan lauhduttanut. Mikä se senkin laiskan hartioita pakottaa.
Vieläpä tätä rötköä kupata!

— Kuppasin minä, kun tahtoi ja otin rahat pois.

 — Otit sinä, mutta pane mieleesi, että elä mene toista kertaa
semmoisten kanssa saunaan.

— Mikä siitä on. Hyhpä toki! sanoi Reeta, joka ymmärsi Penjan
mielialan.

— No koetapa! kiivastui Penja. On niin lähellä, etten jo nyt anna

hantsausta.

Hän kiivastui niin, että kohosi ylös nurkastaan ja silloinpa ei enää

Reeta uskaltanut virkkaa poikkipuoleista sanaa.

Tästä alkaen joutui hänen ammattinsa tarkastuksen alaiseksi.

Vaimoväkeä sai kyllä kupata kuten ennenkin, mutta jos miehiä oli,
silloin piti Penjan päästä istumaan saunan penkille. Siinä hän hikoili
uskollisesti alusta loppuun, ja hyvin epäilevästi poistui niinkin vähäksi
ajaksi, kuin tarvitsi ulkoa noutaa löylyvettä saunaan. Hikoilemiseen
nähden olisi Penjan sietänyt saada hyvä palkka, mutta enintään sai
vaan kahvikupin, eikä kaikistellen sitäkään. Hänellä oli omat
merkkinsä, että ketä on enin epäiltävä.

— On se tuo Penja saanut pulskan eukon, imartelivat muutamat.

Vieläpä niin osavan kupparin.

Tämmöisten lauseiden lausujat saivat olla varmat, ettei tarvitse

olla kahden kupparin kanssa.

Tämä järjestys ei ollut tulopuolelle ensinkään eduksi. Kaikki saaliit

menivät leipänä ja särvinohtinata sai palkita kirjattu leivän kuori,
johon ruokajärjestykseen Penja olikin aivan tyytyväinen. Reeta siitä
välistä vähän juonitteli, mutta minkäs taisi, kun mies oli heittäytynyt
niin hyväksi, ettei eronnut eri työpaikkoihin. Kerran hän jo siihen
kuivuuteen työlästyi, niin että teki ankaran syytöksen.

— Mitä sinä minusta otit, kun et laita mitään? sanoi hän.

— Minäkö sinut otin? kysyi Penja puolestaan.

— Kukas muut, kuin sinä?

— Itsehän sinä tulit.

— Niinkuin sinä tahdoit.

— Minäkö tahdoin? Sanopa, milloinka minä sinua tahdoin?

Eihän sitä Reeta voinut miten muistaa, kuin ei mitään tahtomista

ollut ollutkaan.

Semmoisena heidän elämänsä pysyi sitten ainaisesti. Penja ei

luopunut koskaan luulostaan ja vaatimuksestaan, ja kun Reetakin
niihin tottui, ei niistä syntynyt tämän suurempia riitoja. Ruokapuoli se
ei tullut koskaan sen runsaammaksi, mutta kun heille ei joukkoa
lisääntynyt, pysyivät he leivissä ja saivat siksi vaatettakin, että
huonetöissä tarkenivat.

Hessu.

Tämä oli hänen yleisesti tunnettu nimensä, jonka mainittua

jokainen paikkakuntalainen ymmärsi, että oli puhe suutari Hessusta.
Tupa-ammatissa oli hänen luonteensa taipunut erittäin leikilliseksi ja
sellaisena se pysyi kaikissa tilaisuuksissa, silloinkin kuin hän
muutamien saapasparien tehtyä hippasi kaupunkiin ja siellä mitä
kiireimmin joi itsensä juovuksiin. Tämän nautinnon vuoksi teki hän
työtä ainakin yhtä ahkerasti kuin köyhä perheen isä kymmenen
lapsensa elatukseksi. Toinen kiihoittaja ahkeruuteen oli se, etteivät
muut suutarit ennättäisi pistäytyä hänen alueelleen. Harvemmin sitä
tapahtuikaan, paitsi joskus, kun talven lähestyessä sattui Hessulle
säästymään rahoja useampia markkoja ja niiden juonnissa viipyi niin
kauvan, etteivät puutteisimmat jaksaneet avojaloin odottaa
varsinaisen suutarinsa tuloa. Paljon hän pahoitteli tällaista virkansa
laimin lyömistä ja tuli siitä syystä joskus lausuneeksi
paheksumisensa koko juomapuuhaan.

— Eikö se olisi muutenkin hyvä vähentää niitä ryyppypäiviä,

neuvoivat tuttavat.

— Yhteen ikälukuun se tulee, missäpähän aika kuluu, kun eivät

vaan ihmiset tulisi turhaan odottamaan, puhua lirpatteli Hessu
omituisen sukkelalla puhetavallaan.

— Vaan olisipa siitä kukkarokin hyvillään, jos vähentäisi niitä

ryyppypäiviä.

— Eikö mitä, selitti Hessu naurahdellen. Suu on minun kukkaroni

ja se on sitä enemmin hyvillään, kuta useimmin siihen antaa.

— Sepä on väärin kaataa kaikki omaan suuhunsa. Olisit

ennemmin hankkinut joukkoa ja elättäisit sitä, kun et muuten osaa
tallentaa.

— Vai joukkoa! kauhistui Hessu. Mihinkäs minä silloin joutuisin, jos

niiltä leipä loppuisi. Niille ei kävisikään sanominen, että pidetäänpä
viikko lomaa, niin kuin minä nyt sanon aina suulle, kun loppuu rahat
ja punssi.

Työhön ryhdyttyä oli Hessu erinomaisen ahkera. Ikä ja tarkka

naskalin reikään tähtääminen olivat kuluttaneet näön, että täytyi
hyvin läheltä katsoa, ja siinä asennossa, saappaan teos leuvan alla,
näytti hän vähäisine vartaloineen ja pienine piikkipartoineen aivan
siltä, kuin orava istuisi käpy sylissä. Eikä hän tästä käpristyneestä
asemastaan suoristunut silloinkaan, kuin tarvitsi kääntyä
puhetovereihinsa, joina hän mieluummin piti kunkin työtalonsa
lapsia. Niille hän keksi kymmenetkin eri ehdot, jotka olivat
suoritettavat, ennen kuin rupeaa tekemään uusia kenkiä. Milloin
heidän oli palkinnoksi itkettävä, milloin naurettava; milloin taas
kapaloitava kissoja ja kammattava niiden päitä. Näitä sovinnoita
tehtäissä oli Hessun ääni niin lapsellisen lempeä ja samalla niin
vakava, ettei lasten mieleen koskaan tullut ajatus, että he olisivat
narrina, sillä syyttä itkeminen ei ollut niinkään helppoa. Kerrankin
kun muuan pieni poika koetti turhaan saada itkua aikaan, ehdotteli
se että kun veli vähän löisi, niin sitten se lähtisi paremmin. Kissojen
kapaloimisessa taas päin vastoin tahtoi tulla itku työksi, kun kissalla
oli kynnet, joilla se koki vastustella tuota hänelle vastenmielistä
vaatetustapaa. Mutta kun tehtävä oli onnistunut ja saatu varma
lupaus uusista kengistä, niin silloin lapset hyppelivät ilosta Hessun
ympärillä ja syleilivät häntä kuin parasta ystäväänsä ainakin.

Oli loppupuoli viikosta, kun vein Hessulle lapikasten tekeet. Hän

epäili, tokko ennättäisi niitä sillä viikolla valmistaa, kun näet pitäisi
lauvantaina käydä kaupungissa.

— Antaa jäädä siellä käynnin toiseen aikaan, esittelin hänelle.

 — Ei se soveltuisi heittää toiseen aikaan, puhua lipatteli hän
naurahdellen.

— No, eiköhän tuo kumminkin soveltuisi, esittelin edelleen..

Minulla on lauvantaina kaupungissa käynti ja koetan siellä toimittaa
suutarinkin asiat.

Hän näkyi arvaavan ajatukseni ja yhä enemmän leppyisenä teki

esteitään:

— Ei ne nyt tällä kertaa tulisi minun asiani muilta toimitetuksi,

itseni siellä pitää olla.

Olin jo edeltäpäin arvannut, ettei Hessua niillä tuumilla saa

estetyksi pois kaupungista, kun se oli nyt niin lähellä ja rahaakin
irtautui viikon työstä parin kolmen pullon hinta. Ne olivat välttämättä
vietävät pois, etteivät jääneet sunnuntain yli mieltä vaivaamaan.
Päätin heittää lapikasten tekopalkan sillä kertaa maksamatta, että
jäisihän se säästöön toisen viikon varaksi, mutta Hessupa piti
lähtöäni silmällä ja tuli hyvin nöyränä pyytämään niitäkin penniä.

— Minä maksan ensi viikon aikana, antaa olla tallessa sinne asti,
esittelin hänelle.

— Tallellahan ne olisivat, vaan antakaa nyt kumminkin, kyllä minä

teen iltaan mennessä ne kengät valmiiksi, neuvotteli Hessu.

Pistin kouraan ne muutamat lantit, jotka hän määräsi palkakseen,

minkä otossa hän aina oli hyvin tunnollinen, varsinkin kun ne olivat
näin pyytämällä saatavana. Viivyttelemättä kiirehti hän työpaikkansa
ääreen.

*****
 Oli jotenkin myöhä, kuin jouduin palautumaan kaupungista.
Aurinko painui mäen taakse ja leikkuuväkeä kulki työpaikoiltaan
viettämään lepopäivää. Pari kaupungista palautuvaa ajoi kotiinsa
päin.

Peltojen ohi tultua metsäiselle matkalle ei siellä näkynyt enää

ketään. Mutta tuolla ojelmuksen luona tuli jalkamies ja hämärässäkin
huomasi, että sillä on kiire. Takin helmat huiskivat kahden puolen ja
jalat vippasivat vilkasta neliä. Ajattelin ensin, että sieltä tulee jokin
hätäsanoman saattaja, ennen kuin huomasin että suutarihan se
onkin, jolla on oma kiireensä. Kohdalle ehdittyä pysähtyi hän
ottamaan muutamia käymäaskelia ja kysäsi:

— Vieläköön tapaan puodit auki?

— Jo hyvinkin, aivan oiisi kiireellä, vakuutin hänelle toivossa, että

jos ennättäisivät sulkea kiinni.

Vasta matkan päästä muisti hän kääntyä sanomaan, että kengät

ovat valmiit ja tervatut. Vastausta hän ei enää joutanut
kuuntelemaan, näin vaan miten kepeästi kantapäät kohoilivat ja takin
liepeet leuhtoivat mennessä.

Asunnolle ehdittyäni menin katsomaan kenkiäni ja näin että niiden

ompelemiseen oli Hessu pannut parhaan taitonsa, eikä siis ollut
ihme, jos päivä kuluikin täperälle.

Sunnuntai-aamuna läksin kävelemään kirkolle. Raikkaassa aamu-

ilmassa tuntui poistuvan kesän kolakkuus. Raukeita, kesän kävelystä
kyliänsä saaneita lehmiä seisoskeli tien vierellä ja keskellä tietäkin.
Kellokas oli ensin pysähtynyt, sitten sitä mukaa toiset ja siinä
asennossa ne seista luuhottivat, taikka paneutuivat pitkäkseen,
lähelle puolta päivää, ellei paimen käynyt hoputtamassa aitaukseen.
Tietä ajavat saivat sivuuttaa jos tahtoivat, itsestään ne eivät
väistyneet, ennenkuin pyörä kovasti jysähti.

Kaupungin läheisyyteen ehdittyäni alkoi aurinko paistaa

korkeammalta. Kaduilla vallitsi sunnuntaiaamun hiljaisuus. Vasten
päivää oleva katuvieri näytti niin leppoisen lämpimältä. Siinä liikkui
joitakuita ihmisiä aamukävelyllä, muutamat taas olivat menossa
kirkkoon, sillä etäämpää kuului jo huomenkellojen kumahtelu.

Mutta tuolla katuvierellä oli jotain erityisempää, sillä useampi

seisahtui siinä ohi mennessään ja pari pientä poikaa eivät näkyneet
raskivan siitä erotakaan. Päätin tehdä pienen mutkan ja kulkea tuon
kautta. Viittavälin päästä näin että ihminen siinä on ja aivan tuttu
mies onkin.

— Mikä tekeminen teillä siinä on, sanoin pojille.

— Me on tuota Hessua pyydetty kilvan juoksuun, kun se kehui

meille piisaavansa, ilakoivat pojat.

— Ehkä on parasta, että erootte pois ja juoksette keskenänne,

neuvoin pojille.

— Niin, niin… sammalsi Hessu. Kyllä minä jos lähtisin… vaan en

minä nyt lähde… tässä on niin lämmin ja hyvä olla…

Lämmin siinä kyllä oli, mutta muuten ei olo erittäin hyvältä

näyttänyt. Alustana oli mukulakivistä laskettu katukäytävä ja tyynynä
rakennuksen kiveys, jonka nojassa pää retkotti epämukavassa
asemassa. Avonainen, melkein tyhjäksi juotu punssipullo seisoi
vierellä odottelemassa, saadakseen ystävälleen tehdä viimeisen
palveluksensa. Mutta tuo ystävyys teki sen ettei ollutkaan enää
voimia nousta ylös jatkamaan matkaansa. Siinä hän nyt vietti
sunnuntain ihanata aamupäivää, yltä ja päältä likaisena, kun oli
vieriksinyt yönsä milloin missäkin soukkelossa.

Tuli taas toisia ohi kulkevia ja joku virkkoi:

— Siihenpä on suutari uupunut. Eikö lähdetä kirkkoon?

Sen verran oli Hessussa vielä tolkkua, että tajusi hänelle

puhuttavan ja tehden onnistumattoman ylösnousu-yrityksen,
rupatteli:

— Kissa ryökäs, kyllä minä pääsen, jos vaikka kirkkoon, vaan en

minä niiden pikku poikain kanssa…

Siihenpä se lähtö raukesi aikaihmistenkin kanssa ja luultavasti

mies piti paikkansa, kunnes poliisi yhytti ja saattoi ennen tunnettuun
olopaikkaan.

*****

Seuraavan viikon puolivälissä palasi Hessu kaupunkimatkaltaan.

Hänen istumisesta käpristynyt ruumisraiskansa oli pitkällisestä
syömättömyydestä ja paljosta juonnista mennyt yhä surkeammaksi.
Päälle päätteeksi oli jalkakin särkynyt retustellessa, että hädin tuskin
pääsi liikkumaan. Nyt eivät taas entiset varallisuudet olleet mieltä
vaivaamassa, ainoastaan vanhat vaatehetvanat päällä ja
haihtumaisillaan oleva punssin kihonen päässä.

— Joko viimeinkin tulivat kaikki asiat toimitetuksi? kyselivät muut.

 — Jopa tulivat, myönnytti Hessu. Nyt pitää taas ryhtyä työhön.
Mutta kissa ryökäs kaikkiakin, kun särkyi jalkani.

— Miten se särkyi?

— Enhän minä muista sitäkään. Arestihuoneessa vaan heräsin nyt

viime kerralla, kun nilkkaani alkoi oikein kolottaa.

— Joko siellä arestissa piti olla montakin kertaa?

— Ei toki tarvinnut olla kuin kahdesti tällä käyntikerralla, kertoi hän

hyvillään.

Pari päivää ennätti Hessu ruokailla ja tehdä työtänsä, kun poliisi

tuli noutamaan entisistä humalasakoista vedelle leivälle. Kenkä oli
kesken ompelun, kun tämä ilmoitti asiansa.

— Voi kun tulit pahalla aikaa, tässä jääpi työ kesken, päivitteli
Hessu ja veteli ahkerasti pikilankaa.

— Saat siltä tehdä töitäsi, kun maksat sakon rahalla, neuvoi poliisi.

— No rahan toivossako ne minua niin alituistaan sakoittelevat,

puhui Hessu jonkun verran kyllästyneenä. Eikö ne vielä tiedä, että
minä kannan tarkasti joka pennin sinne juomakauppaan. En minä
ennätä ommella niin paljoa, että heille vielä ilman edestäkin antaisin.

— Ei se ruunu sinun rahojasi himoitse, selitti poliisi, vaan kun sinä

olet juovuksissa, niin siitähän sinua aina sakoitetaan.

— Minkäs minä sille taidan, kun juomat ovat semmoisia, että niistä
tulee juovuksiin?
 — Joisit vähemmän, taikka et ollenkaan. Tarvitsisit ne vähät
ansiosi muuhunkin, neuvoi poliisi totisena.

— Kyllähän ne tarvitsisi, myönnytti Hessu mielellään. Vaan kun

siihen juontiin on kerran tavastunut, niin mihinkäpä siitä pääsee.

— Eiköhän tuo mieliteko rupea vähenemään, kun käyt taas vettä

ja leipää rippailemassa.

— Enpä usko. Olisi se jo osannut vähetä. Mutta ihan paikallako

minun täytyy lähteä?

— Eipä tässä jouda enää kauvan virantelemaan. Ala vaan

laittautua taipaleelle.

— Kissa ryökäs kaikkiakin, kun jäi vielä monet kengät tässäkin

talossa tekemättä.

Pikku poika tuli paraiksi näyttelemään paljaita jalkojaan, että niihin

pitäisi kengät olla. Hessu unohti heti vastoinkäymisensä ja alkoi mitä
herttaisimmalla tuulella ollen antaa neuvoja vastaisen varalta.

— Niin, kyllä minä tulen muutamain päiväin perästä tekemään,

selitti hän. Vaan sillä aikaa sinun on pidettävä jalkopohjat hyvässä
voiteessa, etteivät kulu… Ja koppakengätkö ne sitten tehdään?

— Koppakengät ja vielä naukuvat, selitti poika.

— Niin ne tehdäänkin. Mutta sinun pitää sillä aikaa, kun minä olen
kylässä, kerätä naukuja. Laita semmoinen pieni pussi ja kun näet,
että kissa rupee naukumaan, niin juoksuta silloin kissan suun eteen
ja kun on herennyt naukumasta, niin solmia pussin suu tarkasti
kiinni, ettei nauku pääse pois… Muistatko nyt kerätä, muuten et saa
naukuvia kenkiä.

Poika arveli vähän, mutta asia oli niin miellyttävä, että täytyi
katastella, missä se aina tarvittava kissa olisi ja mahtaisiko siltä nyt
jo saada tuota puuttuvata ainetta.

Hakumies alkoi panna kiirettä. Jatkaen keskusteluaan pojan

kanssa, laitteli Hessu kapineitaan kokoon ja kun oli ne saanut
paikoilleen, veti takkikulun päälleen, jolloin oli kaikki valmiina. Pari
markkaa pyysi hän tehdyn ja vastaisen työn päälle matkarahoiksi.
Mutta mahdollisesti ne solahtivat jo matkan alussa suuhun ja niin sai
hän nälkäpäivät kärsittyään palata kovasti kurisevalla vatsalla pitkän
matkan työpaikalleen takaisin.

Tästä ei Hessu koskaan valittanut, hän otti elämän tyytyväisesti

vastaan semmoisena kuin se oli. Nautti, kun oli nauttimista, kärsi,
kun sitä tahdottiin, ja palveli näin yhteiskuntaa voimiensa mukaan.

Varosen jouluharmit.

Oli jouluyö. Harmaisen koivukon keskellä seiso; korkea

maalaiskirkko, sekin huurteisena aina huippuunsa asti.

Aamupuoleen yötä alkoi saapua ensimäisiä juhlavieraita

kaukaisimmista kylistä. Ne olivat iltayöstä vähän nukahtaneet ja
sitten ennen puolta yötä lähteneet matkalle, ajatellen satoja
kynttilöitä ja loistavia kynttiläkruunuja, jotka toimittivat heille
joulukuusen virkaa yhteisessä suuressa joulusalissa.
 Myöhemmä ajavain silmää ihastutti etäälle loistava valo kirkon
monista ikkunoista, joka pimeässä yössä näytti niin salamyhkäisen
juhlalliselta, että tulijain sydämet ilosta sykähtivät. Kirkon lähellä
täyttyi tie katkeamattomaksi jonoksi hevosia, jossa tiuvut ja kulkuset
verkalleen soida lerkuttivat. Siinä tuli monen muotoisia ajopeliä ja
ajajia, vaikka vaatteukselleen melkein yhtä lajia: yksi tai kaksi
harmaalla huivilla päällystettyä, suippenevaa myttyä reen perässä ja
siinä sivulla tai sevin puolella ajomies, lammasnahkakauluksineen ja
hattuineen. Kirkon aitauksen portilla nämä mytyt vierähtivät reestä
maahan ja lähtivät jaloillaan tallustamaan kirkkoon. Hatuille jäi
huoleksi hevosten sijoittaminen kirkon-ajaksi.

Viimeisinä saapuivat isäntä ja emäntä Varoset kahdensa ajaen.

Hekin seisauttivat aitauksen lähimmälle portille ja emäntä nousi
reestä, kopistellen heiniä turkistaan.

— Tässäköön me yhdytään kirkon menojen loputtua, arveli

emäntä.

— Yhdytään vaan tässä, myönti Varonen. Mutta mihinkään tänne

sopii hevonen, näyttää niin täydeltä.

— Vie kirkon tuolle puolen, siellä on enempi tilaa, neuvoi emäntä

— Taitaa olla siellä.

— Kuulehan. Minä otin mukaan kaksi kynttilää, sanoi emäntä. Ota

sinä toinen, niin näet, jos sattuisit jäämään takapuolellekin.

— Enpä minä muistanut ottaa kirjaakaan. Eikö tuolla nähne yksillä

tulilla.

Varonen istuutui rekeensä ja alkoi pujotella joukon lomitse.

 Emäntä kiirehti vaimoin ovelle, ehtiäkseen istumapaikalle.
Ruunuista loisti häikäisevä valo hämärästä tulleen silmiin ja täytti
mielet juhlallisilla tunteilla. Hiljainen sohina syntyi sijoittelevan
kansan liikkeistä, johon silloin tällöin yhtyi kovempi juhlallinen kaiku,
kun kirkon palvelijat kulkivat sakariston ovista.

Alhaalta ei emäntä Varonen enää löytänyt tyhjää paikkaa, kun ei

haluttanut tunkeilla. Hän peräytyi ovensuuhun ja nousi parvelle.
Siellä oli vielä tyhjää tarpeeksi, mutta valoa niukemmalta. Hän sytytti
mukanaan tuomansa kynttilän, pystytti sen eteensä ja asetti
virsikirjan siihen viereen.

Kohta alkoi kaikua tuon tunnetun "Lauluja nyt laskekaa" jouluvirren

sävelet. Koko sydämen hartaudella yhtyi siihen emäntä Varonen,
mutta isäntä Varonen, joka oli saanut paikan alhaalla lähellä ovea,
otti osaa ainoastaan kuuntelemalla. Miesten puolella ei muutkaan
ottaneet niin yleisesti lauluun osaa, oliko siihen sitten syynä
äänivarain puute, vai heittivätkö vaimojensa huoleksi, jotka
hujauttelivat niin, että lukkarikin aivan turhaan vaivasi itseään
huutamalla sekaan.

Unisia silmiä ei näkynyt ollenkaan, ei saarnankaan aikana. Nekin,

jotka eivät käsittäneet saarnan sisältöä, pysyivät virkeinä ulkonaisen
juhlallisuuden vaikutuksesta.

Isäntä Varonen kuunteli saarnan alkupuolta hyvinkin

tarkkaavaisesti, kunnes hänen silmänsä yhtyi muutamaan kynttilään,
joka oli kallistunut ja valoi lakkaamatta rasvaa jalustalle.
Huomaamatta kohosi jo Varonen istuiltaan mennäkseen korjaamaan,
kun tuli ajatelleeksi että se on sopimatonta. Täytyi vaan nähdä,
kuinka kynttilä kului harmittavan nopeasti, eikä sille voinut mitään.
Hän koetti kääntää silmiään toisaanne ja ajatella, että pitäjään
yhteistä tavaraahan se on, mutta väkisin siihen silmä kääntyi ja
papin saarnan kuuleminen hämmentyi. Tuo huolettomasti asetettu
kynttilä vaivasi mieltä, kunnes se oli palanut loppuun ja tuiskahtanut
sammuksiin.

*****

Päivän valettua olivat kirkonmenot ohitse ja joukot virtasivat ulos

kirkosta. Jokaisella oli kiire joutua ensimäisinä matkalle, ettei jäisi
hitaitten kanssa yhteen joukkoon. Emäntä Varonen meni määrättyyn
paikkaan odottamaan toveriaan. Hän sai seista pitkän aikaa portilla,
eikä miestä näkynyt. Viimein se tuli taluttaen hevostaan.

— Missä sinä niin pitkään virakoit? kysyi emäntä jo ulompaa.

— Missä! virkkoi Varonen kiukkuisella äänellä. Kun rosvot, hylyt,

ovat vieneet mäkivyöt ja suitset.

— No elä nyt, ihmetteli emäntä..

— Niin nuo katalat ovat tehneet ja miten täältä nyt pääsee

kotiinsakaan. Voi sen…

— Elähän kovin kiukkuille juhlapäivänä, houkutteli emäntä.

— Kiukkuileisi sitä jos kuka, kun uudet, vasta ostetut hevosvärkit

varastetaan. Hirteen semmoiset…

— Koetetaan kärsiä vahinko, lohdutteli emäntä. Kun päästäisiin

taloon, niin otetaan suitset lainaksi.

Muuta keinoa ei ollut ja Varosen täytyi lähteä hevosta taluttamaan

lähimpään taloon. Sieltä he saivat siksi lainaa, että pääsivät
paluumatkalle.

Vaikka emäntä aina vähän päästä muistutti miestään

kiukkuamisesta, ei tämä yhtä kaikki malttanut pitkältä olla
äänetönnä.

— Siihen kostoon ne parikymmentä markkaa nyt menivät, puhui

Varonen. Olisi ne varkaan hyväksi välttäneet huonommatkin. Johan
minä ostaissani hekkoilin ottaa halvempihintaiset, vaan tulin sitten
ostaneeksi nämä, kun luulin saavani itse pitää.

— Ei se niillä rikastu, jos on vienytkin, sanoi emäntä ja

kääntääkseen miehensä ajatukset toisaanne, alkoi puhua
kirkkotoimista.

— Kyllä saarnasi rovasti kauniisti ja aivan näkyi heltyvän kyyneliin

asti, kun puhui, ettei Jeesuksella ollut kätkyttä, ainoastaan tallin
soimi vuoteena.

Hän luuli jo miehensäkin ajattelevan samaa, kun tämä vähän

aikaa vaiti oltuaan alotti:

— Olisi siellä tallissa ollut vanhat mäkivyönresut ja jos minä älysin

ne ottaa, niin varmaan olisivat säilyneet.

— Voi kun sinä olet tuohon maailman tavaraan kovasti kiintynyt,

puhui emäntä nuhtelevasti. Et sinä osaa enää mistään muusta
ajatella.

Varonen itsekin mahtoi tuntea vikansa ja koetti pysytellä

loppumatkan äänetönnä. Muiden joukkojen seuraan päästyä hän ei
kumminkaan malttanut olla ottamatta aina uudestaan puheeksi
noista kadonneista kapineistaan. Kävipä hän pitkiä joulunpyhiä