Contents:
1. Welcome to the ninth MICROCON Newsletter
2. Publications
Research Working Papers
Journal Articles
3. Other publications by MICROCON members
4. Other news
Dear Colleague,
This is the eighth MICROCON Newsletter. It contains news on our new publications and news from MICROCON partners.
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2. MICROCON Publications
Research Working Papers
RWP20: Circumstantial Alliances and Loose Loyalties in Rebellion Making: The Case of Tuareg Insurgency in Northern Niger (2007-2009) - Yvan Guichoua
The goal of this paper is to specify the nature of the Mouvement des Nigériens pour la Justice (MNJ) as a non-state armed organisation and to make sense of its shaky existence since its inception, almost three years ago, with a particular focus on the period that made the MNJ a serious political and military opponent to the government. Our argument is that circumstantial alliances and percolation of grievances provoked by local micro-political dynamics and long-standing disenfranchisement of some sections of the Tuareg youth permitted the movement to take off as a credible rebel group. Ultimately, we want to verify if existing analytical tools made available by the theoretical literature on non-state armed groups are adequate to make sense of the MNJ’s organisational trajectory, particularly considering Jeremy Weinstein’s seminal book “Inside Rebellion”. By putting too much emphasis on “initial conditions”, Weinstein’s model, we argue, fails to properly acknowledge the micro-social dynamics that shape armed groups and their erratic trajectory, and we stress the need to investigate what armed organizations are sociologically made of rather than bluntly postulating their existence.
Journal articles
Is Fiscal Decentralization Conflict Abating? Routine Violence and District Level Government in Java, Indonesia - Oxford Development Studies 37(4):397-421 - Mansoob Murshed, Mohammed Zulfan Tadjoeddin and Anis Chowdhury
Utilizing a newly created data set the authors examine the relationship between routine/everyday violence and fiscal decentralization in 98 districts of the Indonesian island of Java. By examining possible relationships between fiscal decentralization and routine violence, this paper fills a gap in the literature where the analysis of the relation between fiscal decentralization and violence is relatively scant. Routine violence, which is different from both civil war and ethno-communal conflict, centres around group brawls, popular justice or vigilante violence. Despite the uniform implementation of fiscal decentralization, subnational entities exhibit varying experiences with decentralization, but a common consequence is the increased size of local government. Fiscal decentralization, and the increased size of local government, can alleviate pentup frustrations with a centralized state, as local government expenditure is seen to satisfy the needs of communities with which people identify more closely. The authors also find that the greater the share of locally generated revenues, the lower the number of violent incidents; but this capacity to generate more local revenues mainly lies in richer districts. Therefore, richer districts are likely to have a lower incidence of violence. An earlier version of this paper was published as MICROCON Research Working Paper 7.
3. Other Publications by MICROCON Members
The Central Margins: Congo’s Transborder Economy and State-Making in the Borderlands - DIIS Working Paper 25 - Timothy Raeymaekers
This paper explores the connections between cross border trade, armed rebellion, and state making in the borderland of North Kivu province (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo) and Kasese (Western Uganda) during the recent war to peace transition (1990s-2003). Rather than collapsed statehood and economic development-in-reverse, the author argues that the interdependencies and accumulation strategies developed during Congo’s protracted crisis have gradually made this borderland a crucial pillar in the equilibrium forces between formal and informal, state and non state actors and regulations in this territorial periphery – which has subsequently become a central margin in today’s regional processes of state formation.
The City as Frontier: Urban Development and Identity Processes in Goma - Crisis States Working Paper 61 - Koen Vlassenroot and Karen Büscher
This paper focuses on the different processes of contestation that have defined Goma's present identity as well as that of its inhabitants. Two dimensions of this contestation are illustrated: the struggle for dominance over the local socio-political space; and the struggle for economic control. The first section reflects on the position of Goma as a centre of change and contestation. The second focuses on the different dynamics that explain the city’s growing autonomy, and analyses the different transborder dynamics that have shaped contemporary Goma. These dynamics are illustrated on the basis of an evaluation of the economic and political impact of the cassiterite trade and an illustration of the socio-economic importance of Goma’s border district − Birere. The final section evaluates the extent to which these dynamics have influenced the perceptions and selfperceptions of Goma’s inhabitants. This analysis starts from socio-economic and political realities at the local level, but without neglecting interactions between the state, region and city. In doing so, the paper seeks to highlight how the state, region and city are imagined and experienced in the everyday lives of Goma’s inhabitants and how this imagination and experience is linked to processes of identification.
Violent Conflicts Increase Income Inequality - DIW Berlin Weekly Report - Marc Vothknecht
Political unrest, civil war, and—in extreme instances—genocide have contributed to the disappointing economic growth observed in many developing countries in recent decades, particularly in Africa. Sustained periods of violence also influence the distribution of income within a society; a cross-country analysis shows that income inequality increases as a result of violent conflicts, especially in the early post-war period. Immediate post-war efforts to address the social and economic disruption caused by conflict may help to counteract this trend.
Military and Civilian ESDP Missions: Ever Growing and Effective? - IAI Discussion Paper - Nicoletta Pirozzi and Sammi Sandawi
This discussion paper attempts, based on the trends that can be deduced from the first six years of practical experience, to study more closely the operative aspects of European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) civilian and military missions, which are addressed in three chapters: in the first part on the evolution of ESDP missions and operations, the running as well as completed EU field activities will be described through the lens of the first patterns of European crisis management. Then follows a detailed analysis of apparent operational trends in ESDP, which will highlight both the structural strengths as well as the deficits of European engagement. The third part considers goals and realities of ESDP as it is today in the face of further developments that are already beginning to make themselves known.
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4. Other news:
Institute for Social Studies holds conference on Understanding Peace, Conflict and Violence