Conflict Analysis

This article examines how communities in Lanao del Sur, the Philippines, perceive the role of traditional dispute resolution (TDR) actors in resolving rido (clanbased conflict). Using a mixed-methods approach, the study assesses the frequency of engagement, perceived effectiveness, and level of community trust in various actors, including executive heads of local government units, traditional leaders, religious leaders, Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants, and members of the security sector. Findings reveal that while TDR is widely trusted and accessible, it risks both being captured by and excluding the elite. The article proposes a hybrid dispute resolution framework that combines cultural legitimacy with institutional safeguards, advancing debates on post-conflict justice in legally plural societies. In doing so, it highlights the potential for hybrid mechanisms to foster more inclusive, accountable, and sustainable peacebuilding.

In the province of Lanao del Sur in the Philippines' Bangsamoro region, peace is often discussed in official reports, agreements, and donor briefings. Yet for many residents, peace remains fragile, uncertain, and deeply contested. Although the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) formally ended decades of armed rebellion, it did not end the everyday fear of violence.. In many communities, the presence of firearms continues to shape daily life, limiting movement, straining relationships, and undermining trust. EN

The Niger Delta is a territory rich in natural resources, especially in oil and gas. But it is still one of the least developed parts of the country. To a large extent, the phenomenon of resource wealth existing in tandem with widespread poverty can be understood through the lens of the intersection of national identity, historical legacies of colonialism, governance and national issues through to the socioeconomic conditions within local communities. The paper through historical and descriptive research methodologies proffer historical moorings as regards the impact of the nexus of national identity on the development efforts in the Niger Delta and how both contribute on the development trajectory of the region. It was discovered in the paper that promotion of national symbol, which may be a song, a motto, or an anthem, can promote unity and thereby facilitate development in all areas. Notwithstanding, the paper recommends among others that the Federal Government of Nigeria and all Non-Governmental Organisations in the region should think on how to develop the neglected areas in the region.

The war on Iran, initiated by the United States and Israel on February 28, 2026, has produced consequences that extend far beyond the immediate theater of conflict. Drawing on the Al Jazeera Inside Story panel discussion "What's the long-term global impact of the war on Iran?" as a primary analytical source, this paper examines three interlocking dimensions of the conflict's legacy: the structural disruption of global energy markets precipitated by Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz; the erosion of American credibility and alliance architecture in both the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and transatlantic spheres; and the paradoxical strengthening of Iran's regional leverage despite severe domestic damage. The paper advances the argument that the war represents a paradigmatic case of strategic miscalculation rooted in epistemic failure-the systematic underestimation of an adversary's resolve and retaliatory capacity-and that its long-term consequences will reshape the political economy of energy, the architecture of Gulf security, and the terms of any future non-proliferation diplomacy with Iran. The implications are assessed against the structural conditions that made the conflict possible and that will condition the postwar order.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Rome, 2017 Recommended citation D'Errico, M., Grazioli, F. & Mellin, A. 2017. The 2012 crisis in Mali and its implications on resilience and food security. FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 17-04. Rome, FAO. The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by FAO in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO.

Farmers-herders' crisis is one of the recurrent security challenges in Nigeria. However, studies have examined the nature of farmers-herders' crisis at local level. Yet, there seems to be inadequate information on macroscopic causes and inherent factors responsible for farmers-herders' crisis in Nigeria. Hence, this study attempts to fill the missing gap by conducting an empirical review of studies on farmers-herders' crisis in Nigeria with a view to providing the broad causes of farmers/herders' crisis across regions in Nigeria. This study relies largely literature on farmers/herders' crisis in Nigeria. Drawing its conclusion from careful empirical review analysis, the study concludes that the farmers-herders' crisis is enflaming changes in people's character in a manner that is inimical to sustainable peace. Therefore, existing governmental and nongovernmental efforts should be strengthened with a view to stemming the tide of the crisis and safeguarding people's peaceful disposition.

The prospect of United States military intervention in Syria — which intensified dramatically in August and September 2013 following evidence of chemical weapons use — generated significant anti-war protest activity across the United States and Europe. This column examines these demonstrations in the context of a longer history of anti-war activism, asking whether the movement against intervention in Syria represented a continuation of the organizational forms and political arguments that characterized opposition to the Iraq War or a qualitatively different response to a qualitatively different conflict. Drawing on anthropological frameworks for understanding political mobilization and moral reasoning, the piece engages seriously with the difficulty of anti-war positions when the alternative to intervention is the continuation of mass atrocity.

The Niger Delta region comprises of nine states of Nigeria which nature have endowed with natural deposit of petroleum and natural gas. The discovery of petroleum in commercial quantity in Olobiri in 1956 heralded a period of economy prosperity as the financial windfall from the trade in the "black gold" was unprecedented in the country. But the aftermath of this seeming economic prosperity have not transcended positively in the life of the citizens of Nigeria in general and those of the Niger Delta in particular. Drawing on data from the secondary sources and relying on the Relative Deprivation Theory as a template for analysis, this study assessed how structural inequalities in oil revenue distribution, environmental degradation, and political marginalisation have generated recurring cycles of resistance. It further interrogated governmental responses (ranging from military suppression and amnesty programmes to legislative reforms), and evaluated the impact and legacies of these struggles on Nigeria's political economy. The study revealed that resistances in the Niger Delta have adopted various forms, all tailored towards ensuring that the populaces are beneficiaries of the output of their environment. It found that government responses to resistance movement are not always tailored toward ameliorating the sufferings of the people, but to minimize tensions while it continues to maximize profit at the detriment of the locals. The study showed that non-violent resistance in the region is often met with stiff military responses, resulting in loss of lives and properties. It recommended that governmental policies for the Niger Delta should be people oriented and not used as a conduit to

The Niger Delta region comprises of nine states of Nigeria which nature have endowed with natural deposit of petroleum and natural gas. The discovery of petroleum in commercial quantity in Olobiri in 1956 heralded a period of economy prosperity as the financial windfall from the trade in the "black gold" was unprecedented in the country. But the aftermath of this seeming economic prosperity have not transcended positively in the life of the citizens of Nigeria in general and those of the Niger Delta in particular. Drawing on data from the secondary sources and relying on the Relative Deprivation Theory as a template for analysis, this study assessed how structural inequalities in oil revenue distribution, environmental degradation, and political marginalisation have generated recurring cycles of resistance. It further interrogated governmental responses (ranging from military suppression and amnesty programmes to legislative reforms), and evaluated the impact and legacies of these struggles on Nigeria's political economy. The study revealed that resistances in the Niger Delta have adopted various forms, all tailored towards ensuring that the populaces are beneficiaries of the output of their environment. It found that government responses to resistance movement are not always tailored toward ameliorating the sufferings of the people, but to minimize tensions while it continues to maximize profit at the detriment of the locals. The study showed that non-violent resistance in the region is often met with stiff military responses, resulting in loss of lives and properties. It recommended that governmental policies for the Niger Delta should be people oriented and not used as a conduit to

El Gobierno Abierto Relacional (GAR en adelante) conformado por la rendición de cuentas, la transparencia, la participación ciudadana y el acceso a la información, desde el nivel departamental se consolida como un pilar para la evaluación participativa, y busca ampliar las capacidades de la administración en cuatro ámbitos: Fortalecimiento institucional, Espacios de participación, Transparencia en la ejecución, y Servicio al ciudadano, sobre lo cual el presente artículo brindará consideraciones.

This study examines the relationship between media coverage and public information demand during the Lebanon conflict in March 2026. Using a dataset of 11,623 English-language news articles collected from the GDELT database and Google Trends data for searches conducted within Lebanon, the study compares the distribution of news coverage across topics with the distribution of public search interest. News headlines were filtered for relevance and classified into four categories: Conflict, Economy, Living Conditions, and Emigration. Public information demand was measured using Google Trends topic data for the same categories. The results show a substantial divergence between news coverage and search interest. Conflict accounted for 94.9% of classified news coverage but only 36.9% of total search interest. In contrast, Economy, Living Conditions, and Emigration together accounted for 63.1% of search demand but only 5.1% of news coverage. Time series analysis indicates that search demand for economic and living conditions remained consistently elevated throughout the month rather than reacting to specific conflict events. These findings were robust to the exclusion of the peak conflict period (March 1-5), with Conflict coverage remaining at 94.9% and the information gap persisting across all three under-covered categories. The findings suggest that during the study period, media coverage of Lebanon was heavily concentrated on military events, while public information demand was distributed across economic conditions, daily life, and emigration. This study contributes to agenda-setting research by providing a quantitative comparison between media agenda and public information demand during an active conflict period.

Among the Arab Spring revolutions, the case of Syria could be the one that retained global attention due to its impact on regional instability and humanitarian crisis. The long-lasting conflict, originating from demand for regime change in the country, involved the armed groups and was fueled by the intervention of great powers along with other external actors since the beginning in 2011. This study aims to describe typologies of conflict, taking the Syrian conflict as a case study, focusing on the competing interactions between the armed groups and placing it as an intra-state conflict during its first four years, from 2011 to 2014. This study employed the qualitative case study approach and armed conflict typologies to address the question. The results show that Syria's conflict was very complex, in which most of the armed groups fought against one another. While the conflict was leading to a form of war by intensity, it also represented other types of conflicts, such as civil war, state-formation or secessionist conflict, and non-state armed conflict.