Military Means To Conflict Resolution

GST 222 – Lecture:
Military Means to Conflict

Resolution
Professor Daniel
E. Gberevbie
Introduction: Peacekeeping,
Peacemaking and Peace Enforcement
 Going by the title of the course, “Peace

and Conflict Resolution,” it is clear that
conflict in human society is inevitable.
 For the sake of emphasis, I will like to

say that conflict is natural to human
beings.
2 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

Cont’d
 An individual can suffer from

personality conflict:
 A condition in which the individual is
confused about who he or she is, a
situation that leads to depression in life.

Cont’d
 If an individual can suffer personality

conflict by not understanding self, then
imagine a social setting where you have
aggregation of individuals.

Cont’d
 Man is essentially a social being that

lives and co-habits with other men in a
community, implying that conflicts are
bound to occur in his/her affairs with
others.

Cont’d
 But even though conflict is natural to

man, conflict in itself is not good, when
conflict escalates, it can lead to
disruption of social life, halt the
advancement in human endeavour and
bring about discomfort to man and his
society.

Cont’d
 Therefore man as a rational being has come

to realize that peace as an alternative to
conflict is most desirable and should be
pursued at all times to enable man live a
comfortable life.
 One mechanism of achieving peace is
through military force; the use of coercive
instruments.

Military (Force)
 The military comprise of individuals

authorized by the government to carry
instruments of coercion in the interest
of the state.

Cont’d
 The military is a very vital and important

institution in the life of any country.
 It plays a role of preserving the country

and safeguarding it from both external
aggression and internal insurrection.

Cont’d
 The military as an institution in the

history of man is continuously in the
process of stabilizing society for orderly
living.

Cont’d
 For instance, the superpower nations or

countries of the world today arrogate to
themselves the title of “superpower
nations” by the reason of their military
might.

Cont’d
 However, another important role of which

the military institution has been utilized is
in conflict resolution.
 This is more pronounced in situations

where conflict has escalated to the height
of warfare or when conflict had
degenerated into armed combats by the
disputants.
Cont’d
 It is under this scenario that the role of

the military comes to fore in conflict
resolution., e.g. Libya, Ivory Coast,
Liberia. Sierra Leone.

Cont’d
 Conflict theorists, often use three terms

to describe the roles of the military in
conflict resolution to include:
peacekeeping, peacemaking and
peace enforcement:

(1) Peacekeeping
 Peacekeeping is the art usually carried out by

the military that aims at keeping combatants
from attacking each other, this is done by
putting some kind of barriers between them.
 These barriers are often made up of neutral

soldiers (peacekeepers) from the United
Nations (UN) or a group of neutral nations
(third parties).

Cont’d
 During peacekeeping operations, the

soldiers do nothing to settle the
disputants’ differences or help
negotiate a peace agreement.
 The soldiers performing peacekeeping
missions simply keep the two sides
apart.
Cont’d
 Over the years, the United Nations have

shown leadership in spearheading
peacekeeping operations around conflict
spots all over the world.
 The soldiers who carry out peacekeeping

mission put on helmet or beret in the UN
blue colour and are called “Men of blue
helmets” and the areas where they patrol
17
are known as 07/21/20
“blue lines.” Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie
Cont’d
 Most countries who contribute soldiers

to UN operations are usually neutral
nations, not related in any way to the
disputants.

Cont’d
 In UN operations, it is the Security

Council that is empowered by the
Charter to authorize the mandate for
peacekeeping, while the General
Assembly appropriates the
funds/budget of the mission.

Cont’d
 One of the fundamental things we should

know is that peacekeepers do not intrude
into the affairs of disputants.
 Their operations are limited to observing
the peace settlement, which must have
been entered and kept for some time
before the deployment of the
peacekeepers.
Cont’d
 The peacekeepers do not carry heavy

arms, but light arms, and functions to
interpose themselves physically
between the warring parties.
 Their arms are for self-defence.

Cont’d
 The essence is that any side that

attempts to break the peace agreement
or cease fire, must first attack the
peacekeepers before getting to their
enemy.

Cont’d
 Most other times, peacekeepers

monitor the cease-fire agreement and
reports back to the UN. They function
to ensure free elections and also make
sure that respect for human rights are
adhered to.

(2) Peacemaking
 Peacemaking is the process of forging a

settlement between the disputing parties.
 While this can be done in direct negotiation with
just the two disputants, it is often also
accomplished with a third-party mediator.
 This third party assist with the process and
communication problems, and help the parties
work effectively together to draft a workable peace
accord.

Cont’d
 Peacemaking is not the final step in the

peace process
 As exemplified in the Middle East and
other parts of the world, it takes more
than a peace accord to bring peace to a
region.

Cont’d
 Peace accord is just the beginning and

must be followed by long-term peace
building (i.e. the process of normalizing
relations and reconciling differences
between the warring factions)

Cont’d
 Though peacemaking encapsulates

mainly non-coercive diplomatic means
of achieving peace, recent
understanding has widened the
concept to include coercive slants, in
which case the military stands involved.

Cont’d
 The UN in 1999, following series of

problems of peacekeeping, proposed a
peacemaking operations that would not
only monitor a cease-fire but enforce it, if
it breaks down.

Cont’d
 The peacemakers engage in the process

of disarmament and demobilization,
which ensures that the warring parties do
not fall back into arms conflict after the
peacemakers are withdrawn.

(3) Peace Enforcement
 Peace enforcement operations occur

when there is a mandate to enforce a
cease-fire by taking coercive action
against either party or both (usually
when there is a violation of existing
ceasefire).

Cont’d
 Peace enforcers are more heavily

armed than peacekeeping forces.
 Peace enforcement therefore involves

the use of force beyond self-defence.

Cont’d
 Peace enforcement is necessary because

there are conflicts; where a particular party
becomes adamant and constitute an
obstacle to peace.
 This party to a conflict either make it difficult
to reach a cease-fire, or even when cease-
fire agreement are reached, it doesn't
comply with such agreements.
Cont’d
 Once the international community or

third party clearly identifies such party
that fails to comply with the peace
agreement; may decide to intervene
and enforce it or apply force to reach
one.

Cont’d
 The operation of ECOMOG in Liberia

and Sierra-Leone, NATO in Sarajevo
and UN operations in Libya and Ivory
Coast are good examples of peace
enforcement missions.

Cont’d
 In such situation, the soldiers carry

heavy arms that can overwhelm those
of the aggressive side.
 UN operations now have the

responsibility to protect by intervening
to safe lives.
END OF LECTURE
Thanks for Listening

&
God bless

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GST 222 – Lecture:

Military Means to Conflict

 Going by the title of the course, “Peace

 For the sake of emphasis, I will like to

2 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 An individual can suffer from

3 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 If an individual can suffer personality

4 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Man is essentially a social being that

5 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 But even though conflict is natural to

6 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Therefore man as a rational being has come

7 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 The military comprise of individuals

8 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 The military is a very vital and important

 It plays a role of preserving the country

9 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 The military as an institution in the

10 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 For instance, the superpower nations or

11 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 However, another important role of which

 This is more pronounced in situations

 It is under this scenario that the role of

13 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Conflict theorists, often use three terms

14 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Peacekeeping is the art usually carried out by

 These barriers are often made up of neutral

15 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 During peacekeeping operations, the

 Over the years, the United Nations have

 The soldiers who carry out peacekeeping

 Most countries who contribute soldiers

18 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 In UN operations, it is the Security

19 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 One of the fundamental things we should

 The peacekeepers do not carry heavy

 Their arms are for self-defence.

21 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 The essence is that any side that

22 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Most other times, peacekeepers

23 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Peacemaking is the process of forging a

24 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Peacemaking is not the final step in the

25 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Peace accord is just the beginning and

26 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Though peacemaking encapsulates

27 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 The UN in 1999, following series of

28 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 The peacemakers engage in the process

29 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Peace enforcement operations occur

30 07/21/20 Prof. Daniel E. Gberevbie

 Peace enforcers are more heavily