Intercommunal Violence

Kenya is a large multi-ethnic country, with over 40 different ethnic groups and many overlapping conflicts. It has high levels of sexual and gender-based violence and of intercommunal violence; low levels of persistent violence; cycles of election-related violence; and increasing numbers of terrorist attacks. The incidence, gravity and intensity of violence have all increased in recent years.

Conflict dynamics highlighted in the literature as having a particularly important impact on conflict in Kenya include the following:
◾Social fragmentation, politicised ethnicity and partisan politics: political entrepreneurs use ethnic affiliation and manipulate ethnic grievances as the basis for political mobilisation to gain power and control over resources.
◾Corruption and impunity: corruption has severely compromised the security sector, while impunity and lack of justice legitimise violence and lead to revenge attacks.
◾Land and development projects: inequity in land ownership and access cause widespread grievances, as do development projects that are not delivered in a conflict-sensitive manner.
◾Discrimination and marginalisation: certain groups and areas have faced long-term discrimination and marginalisation, which has been exploited by violent extremists.
◾Al-Shabaab’s exploitation of local politics: recently Al-Shabaab’s violence has interwoven with local Kenyan violence, as Al-Shabaab has used social and economic grievances to deepen political divides and further its own cause.
◾The government’s response: the politicisation of the counterterrorism response and the scapegoating of certain ethnic and religious groups have also played into Al-Shabaab’s hands.
◾The proliferation of small arms: this provides more opportunities for violence and wider insecurity.

Recommendations from the literature include measures to strengthen Kenya’s security, combat the threat of Al-Shabaab and radicalisation, and address pastoral violence in the drylands of Kenya. They include a focus on: i) addressing inequalities and socioeconomic marginalisation; ii) reforming the security sector and tackling corruption;  iii) improving the relationship between the state and Muslim communities; iv) refraining from hate speech and ‘collective punishment’; and v) engaging in conflict-sensitive development.

This study focuses on analyzing inter-community violence that occurred in the urban district of Abobo (Ivory Coast) in connection with social cohesion factors. On the basis of the actionist theory, the working hypothesis states that the inter-community violence in the urban district of Abobo, is the consequence of a negative ethnocentric identity developed by some citizens against other groups of people. This behavior has been stimulated by the context of the crisis the country has gone through and by a set of sociocultural factors. One hundred and fifty (150) persons were sampled to participate in this study. The tools used for the investigation consists of documentary research, questionnaire, and observation. The qualitative and quantitative methods were used for the data processing. The results of the study show that the appearance of inter-community violence, in the urban district of Abobo, arose out of the social, political and military crisis, as well as from an atmosphere of discrimination, stigmatization, and impunity. Actually, good relations were maintained among the different communities of the district of Abobo. This relation was formerly based on mutual tolerance, forgiveness, acceptance of mutual differences and, most especially, respect for human dignity. But these relations have totally worsened and have unfortunately led to inter-community violence. Also, this violence has negatively impacted the social values that united them. This situation has broken the existing social cohesion between the people living in that urban district. Résumé L'étude a pour objectif d'analyser les violences intercommunautaires dans la commune d'Abobo (Côte d'Ivoire) en les articulant à des problématiques de la cohésion sociale. Sur la base de la théorie actionniste,

This paper lists various types of knowledge and relates them to a repertory of civil society peace-building strategies. Taking the East Bank of Equatoria in Sudan as a case of a complex political emergency, the need for a well-informed, finely-tuned, multi-actor, multi-level approach to conflict is argued. In this concrete case, civil society peace action is shown to link such phenomena as lobbying in the capitals of superpowers, demonstrations for corporate responsibility at the HQs of extractive industries, mediation between warlords, capacity building workshops for grassroots women peace activists, expert meetings on the restoration of the rule of law, the establishment of grassroots conflict-prevention networks, participatory land-use-planning meetings of traditional elders, and facilitation of peace marches by religious leaders. These diverse interventions are shown to be linked by civil society peace action into a single whole aimed at strengthening the forces for peace and weakening the forces of conflict.

הקדמה לתיק מסות על אירועי מאי 2021
דניאל מונטרסקו וניצן לונברג
תיאוריה וביקורת גליון 55 (חורף 2021)
https://theory-and-criticism.vanleer.org.il/%D7%92%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%95%D7%9F-55-%D7%97%D7%95%D7%A8%D7%A3-2021/

לגליון המלא
https://bit.ly/3CDYHgL