Notebook
Libya: Subnational Governance as an Anchor of Stability
As the Libyan people see renewed prospects for peace, subnational governance may represent an integral part of a resolution to protracted instability. For such a solution to work, it will require broad participation in the negotiation process, the absence of internal and external spoilers, and that the institutional arrangements agreed upon must address the main drivers of conflict effectively.
read moreA New Dynamic for Post-Soviet Conflict Settlement?
The protracted conflicts across the post-Soviet space have returned to the center of regional and international politics over the past several months. First, it was the military escalation between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, then the prospect of a new push to settle the conflict over Transnistria.
read moreWhat next for Moldova?
Maia Sandu’s victory in the second round of Moldova’s presidential elections has been widely celebrated in Western media. But will it matter for one of Europe’s poorest country which has been torn between Russia and the West for the better part of the past three decades.
read moreSubnational governance is key to peace
Resolving subnational conflicts is ultimately about governance because their drivers are frequently linked to grievances and perceived injustice associated with access to power and resources, and to feelings of ethnic, social and / or geographic exclusion and marginalization.
read moreDecentralization Reloaded in Ukraine?
History is often said to repeat itself or at least to rhyme. Decentralization in Ukraine has been on and off the agenda of successive governments since the country’s independence in 1991. Much like previous attempts to decentralize power, President Zelenskiy’s draft decentralization law has become embroiled in long-established power struggles and had to be withdrawn.
read moreConnecting Human Rights and Conflict Resolution in Eastern Ukraine
How can international human rights protection mechanisms be employed in the gray zone of armed conflict in weak states? This question is particularly relevant for the war in eastern Ukraine where for five years residents have been without state aegis for their most basic human rights.
read moreIn Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskiy must tread carefully or may end up facing another Maidan uprising
It’s been six years since the start of the Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine, which led to the ousting of then-President Viktor Yanukovych. By the time his successor Petro Poroshenko was elected in May 2014, the domestic political scene in Ukraine and the geopolitical dynamics in the contested EU-Russia neighbourhood surrounding it had fundamentally altered.
read moreUkraine presidential election: young comedian leads polls, but country’s dangerous divisions are no joke
Ukraine’s presidential election campaign is a tragic indictment of the country’s current political state. Most candidates have adopted populist strategies, voters appear highly irrational in their preferences, trust in the political system and its leading representatives is extremely low, and the country remains deeply divided and perpetually stuck in a systemic social, political, and economic crisis partly of its own making.
read moreThe merits and risks of reshaping internal power balances along subnational governance levels
Since the end of World War II, we have experienced a shift in conflict dynamics, from inter-state to intra-state conflicts. In 2016 alone, the world witnessed 47 intra-state conflicts. Today, wars are fought within state borders between a multiplicity of actors over the distribution of political power and national wealth both at and between the center and subnational governance levels. Marginalized groups are vying for greater autonomy at the local level, while those in control of the state—be they majorities or dominant minority groups—seek to consolidate political power at the center. Such intra-state conflicts with subnational dimensions are among the most protracted and violent conflicts.
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