Anna Jarstad, Uppsala University

2009-2014

The project investigates the role of local actors and institutions in managing political violence in the South African province KwaZulu-Natal. An under-researched aspect is the role of the local dynamic in such processes. The project analyses the local dynamic in KwaZulu-Natal, where violence has continued long after the political violence in the rest of the country subsided when the Apartheid regime fell.

The main purpose has been fulfilled by investigating the role of local actors and institutions in managing political violence in the South African province KwaZulu-Natal. The local dynamic has been investigated by desk studies and field work. Most so called hot spots, around 20, have been visited and about 60 interviews have been conducted with people affected by political violence. In the material analyzed there are interesting differences between the type, cause and consequences of political violence in the different societies. However, both oral and written local peace agreements have been difficult to find so other local mechanisms have been given a more prominent role in the project.
The timeframe has been adjusted from three to four years when the project received funding over an extended time period at the same time as the existing material did not included systematic and detailed information.

THE THREE MOST IMPORTANT RESULTS

1. The political system creates incentives for political violence to change the power balance at the local level. Especially important are the common by-elections. If a politician from party A is murdered, a by-election can result in a person from party B assuming the vacant position. In this was the power balance is change so that party B gain increased representation between the ordinary elections.
2. Political violence has different effects: some individuals decrease their political participation, while other increase it.
3. The interpretation of the aim of the political violence matters for whether or not it is seen as legitimate. Violence during Apartheid was seen as a part of the legitimate struggle for freedom, while contemporary violence within political parties is seen as illegitimate.

NEW RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Several new research questions have emerged during the project. They are included in the conference paper "Introducing democracy from the outside? A project outline", "Precarious Peacebuilding", 1-2 October 2013, The Swedish Institute of International Affairs. The central question relates to local ownership of peace and democracy and how this can be supported.

INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH

Invited key note speaker to GIGA Conference in Hamburg on "Power Sharing Agreements in Africa: Implications for Democracy and Societal Trust", 1-2 October 2009.
Invited expert at the Meeting on International IDEA's Election and Conflict Tool, Stockholm, 24-25 May 2010.
Chair of "Mediation and Peacebuilding: A new agenda?" at the Conference on Meeting the New Challenges to International Mediation, Uppsala, June 14-16, 2010.
Organizer of pre-convention workshop and panels, as well as chair and discussant at the Annual Convention for International Studies Associations 2011, Montreal. Workshop: The causes and consequences of failed liberal peacebuilding, 15 March 2011. Paper presentations at ISA panels: The Politics of Hybrid Peace: Hybrid Violence, Thursday, March 17; The Politics Of Hybrid Peace: Limitations Of The Liberal Peacebuilding Project, Friday, March 18.
"Peacebuilding and democratisation", SANORD conference, Johannesburg, South Africa, 29 November 2011. Part of a trip to enhance research and teaching collaboration between Uppsala University and countries in Southern Africa. Visit also included presentations at Rhodes University. Invited by Deputy-Vice Chancellor, Uppsala University, Kerstin Sahlin.
Organizer of panels, chair and discussant at the Annual Convention for International Studies Associations 2012.
"Does peacebuilding hinder democratization and/or vice-versa?",Winter school on Challenges of democracy in multicultural societies in Neum, Bosnia and Hercegovina, 28 January - 2 February 2013. Arranged by Universität Zürich, Zentrum for Demokratie Aarau and Embassy of Switzerland, Swiss Cooperation Office Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Invited expert ISP (Institutions for Sustainable Peace, network based at GIGA, Hamburg), 5-9 April 2013.
Discussant at Annual Convention for International Studies Associations 2013.
"Methodological challenges in the studies of the effects of political institutions in divided societies", talk at the workshop Status Quo Vadis - Political Institutions in Divided Societies, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary, 9-10 May 2013.
Invited speaker at "Seminar on Precarious Peacebuilding: Frictional encounters between ideas, actors and practices", 12 May 2014, CRIC, University of Copenhagen.
Co-organizer (with Johanna Söderström) of workshop Post-War Democracy with Stephen Stedman and other international scholars and a practitioner from EEAS, 5 June 2014.

RESEARCH INFORMATION

Chairperson for the Association for Political Science (which organizes events open to the public), Uppsala University, from June 2009-February 2012.
Invited speaker at "Critical Perspectives on 20 years of South African Democracy. A symposium in honour of the memory of Nelson Mandela", 15 May 2014, Uppsala University.

THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT PUBLICATIONS

1. "Views of contemporary politics in KwaZulu-Natal: An interview study with survivors of violence" (with Kristine Höglund), revised and re-submitted to Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 17 June 2014.
Research on the impact of war on politics and activism finds that exposure to political violence can have varying influence on individuals. These studies complement previous research on political participation by highlighting the psychological and social processes related to attitudinal and behavioural change in the wake of trauma. Our interview study with survivors of violence in the violence-prone KwaZulu-Natal province in South Africa, contributes to this body of research. It shows that emotions provoked by political violence are important for understanding the forms of political participation practiced by survivors of violence. It also suggests avenues for further research relating to the meaning attached to such violence. More specifically it finds that survivors of violence view contemporary politics in fundamentally different ways. Moreover, while some survivors become more engaged and mobilised politically, others distance themselves from politics, or remain at the same level of political engagement.
2. "Toward Electoral Security: Experiences from KwaZulu-Natal" (with Kristine Höglund), accepted for publication in Africa Spectrum, September 2011 (available free online).
There is a growing recognition of the dangers of electoral violence. Yet, the theoretical foundation for systematic research and for adequate policy is still underdeveloped. This article aims to develop the theoretical understandings of strategies to manage and prevent electoral violence. This is accomplished by integrating research conducted within the two academic discourses on democratization and conflict management and also by drawing on the experiences from the conflict-ridden province KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The five strategies identified are monitoring, mediation, legal measures, law enforcement and self-regulating practices. In the article, the functions and mechanisms of the strategies are discussed. In addition, we analyse the limitations and usefulness of each of the strategies in turn and also provide suggestions on how to improve electoral security.

PUBLICATION STATEGY

International peer-reviewed journals within different research fields (psychology, peace- and conflict research and political sciemce) have been selected for maximum outreach and impact.

OPEN ACCESS

From 2011 two project publications are available free online:
1) "Toward Electoral Security: Experiences from KwaZulu-Natal", with Kristine Höglund, accepted for publication in Africa Spectrum, September 2011.
2) "Strategies to prevent and manage electoral violence: Considerations for Policy", ACCORD Policy and Practice Brief(med Kristine Höglund),
http://www.accord.org.za/publications/policy-a-practice-briefs.htm

PUBLICATIONS

1. "Views of contemporary politics in KwaZulu-Natal: An interview study with survivors of violence" (with Kristine Höglund), revised and re-submitted to Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 17 June 2014.
2. "Sharing Power to Build States", 2013, in International Statebuilding: Concepts, Themes and Practices. A Routledge Handbook edited by David Chandler and Tim Sisk.
3. "Introducing Hybrid Peace Governance: Impact and Prospects of Liberal Peacebuilding" (with Roberto Belloni), Global Governance, 2012, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-6.
4. Co-editor of "An Introduction to Hybrid Peace Governance" (with Roberto Belloni), 2012, Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations Vol. 18 No. 1 Jan.-Mar.
5. "Towards Electoral Security: Experiences from KwaZulu-Natal" (with Kristine Höglund), Africa Spectrum, 2011, Vol. 46, No. 1, pp. 33-59.
6. "Local Peace Agreements: The Road to Peace and Democracy in KwaZulu Natal?", Statsvetenskaplig tidskrift, 2010, Vol. 112,No. 1, pp. 60-68.
7. "Strategies to Prevent and Manage Electoral Violence: Considerations for Policy", (with Kristine Höglund), Policy & Practice Brief. 2010. Durban: Accord.