Academic article free essay sample

The capability of states and institutions to foster post-conflict resolutions that are primarily focused on Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) and Weapons Reduction are determined by the communication processes and the willingness of each member of the party to cooperate. However, the objectives of the two issues must be clearly pointed out to further support several important ideas related to post-conflict resolutions which it fails to address. Muggah presented the way DDR and weapons reduction has been eminent and evolving in the area of post-conflict resolution. Muggah first argued that in the end of conflict, security and stability is not yet attained contrary to other peoples understanding. There are processes involved to gradually restore order. In other words, the ‘post-conflict’ period is not as safe and secure as generally believed.[1] With this, Muggah elaborated several post-conflict scenarios and events that have been evident in studies. The rise of organized urban criminality in the aftermath of conflict is common. We will write a custom essay sample on Academic article or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page [2] This situation paved the way for the rise of post-conflict resolution mechanisms to ensure that these events and scenarios are lessened at a certain extent.   Groups, states and individuals are now recognizing the detrimental effects of these issues and adopted several important measures that will focus on monitoring, communication and cooperation. DDR and weapons reduction were the things that was emphasized by Muggah. He then elaborated on the rise of both literatures and indicated each ones significance in the realm of conflict resolution. DDR is a comparatively recent instrument adopted by the development community in the context of post-conflict reconstruction.[3] It can be seen that the concept of DDR has only been new compared to weapons reduction mechanism that had been used since the Cold War.   Muggah elaborated on the evolution of the concept of weapons reduction and how it has been applied in every specific time frame. Muggah then indicated that the recent concept of weapons reduction seek to address the issues caused by terrorism. More recently, as the (tenuous) linkages between under-development and terrorism have been woven together in policy circles, arms reduction has also recently been invoked by some governments as a part of a general poverty reduction initiative in the post-conflict period.[4] In the next section of Muggah’s analysis, he elaborated on the different flaws and shortcomings of the two mechanisms. Major weaknesses relate to the criteria invoked for measuring ‘success’ or ‘failure’ and the disproportionate focus on disarmament and demobilization, at the expense of long-term activities such as reintegration.[5] He first elaborated on the issue of gauging success and failure and argued that its weakness is that people treat each one as interchangeably and alike which should not be the case. In addition, Muggah argued that these varying criteria (interchanging, rationality of success and failure, substitution for long-term development measures, labeling, and management of expectations) can have detrimental effects and suspicions of the mechanisms credibility to promote post-conflict resolution. In the end, Muggah argued about the importance of communication and indicating objectives. Political process must also be taken into consideration by the actors. It is also important to recognize that any ‘successful’ DDR or weapons reduction intervention depends equally on the management of ostensibly ‘political’ issues associated with reconciliation, peace building and meaningful reform or judicial government and economic structures.[6] In his conclusions, Muggah indicated the importance of these mechanisms in promoting post-conflict resolutions as well as the emergence of development actors to promote such objectives. Mechanisms are in place however the objectives and aims must be clearly elaborated to prevent misunderstanding of the concepts and uncertainty. Looking at the article of Muggah, I can say that the article presented sufficient evidences surrounding the literature. In the end, it can be said that Muggah’s argument regarding DDR and weapons reduction are indeed relevant and convincing enough. By making the essay organized, Muggah is able to foster a better understanding of the article to readers. In the essay, Muggah gave a good outline and indicated important points that need to be considered in studying the two mentioned mechanisms. Furthermore, he looked into the evolution of such concepts and incorporating important actors that contributed to its development. Laslty, Muggah clearly gave important analysis of the two mechanisms shortcomings and highlighted important measures that should be addressed for it to be effective and efficient in promoting post-conflict resolution. Many studies have been made in relation to post-conflict resolutions. There had been reviews pertaining to different scenarios wherein post-conflict resolutions were successful and also failed. The review of Adekanye focused on the different mechanisms where the issue was applied to different countries and how each mechanism paved the way for each ones success and failure. It was indicated the study the (1) importance of arms management in negotiations, (2) resolving disarmament and conflict, and the (3) transition phase. In arms management according to Adekanye must have its own rules and dynamics that each party is willing to follow. The transition from war to peace involves military, political, psychological, humanitarian, and economic questions which are closely intertwined.[7] The next thing that Adekanye looked into is the ways resolving disarmament and conflict. In this section he elaborated on different scenarios where military intervention was made and elaborated on several process that it took for conflict and disarmament to be resolved. Lastly, Adekanye examined the movement from each phase of the issue. He indicated the shift from the military phase going to the process of post-conflict transition. Adekanye also indicated the important factor that arms contributes to the failure or setback in the transition process. Arms are seen as themselves ‘a major source of instability’, and the concern of participants in the project that these military considerations had not been sufficiently addressed in the past.[8] In addition, the factors revolving around the transition phase are varied and dependent on the internal factors present in the country. Comparing this with Muggah’s study, it can be seen that DDR and weapons reduction is a response to the different factors that are revolving around the conflict. The study of Adekanye was an analysis of the relationship between arms and post-conflict resolution.   Thus, both Muggah and Adekanye’s study are literature responses to the emerging field regarding post-conflict resolutions. Each study highlighted important mechanisms that can foster a transition stage for stability and peace after a post-conflict environment. By presenting several cases, the studies presented were able to justify each mechanism that were used and created several important suggestions and recommendations to further improve the process.