Capacity building: The development of individual and collective abilities or capacities to transform conflict from violence into a positive, constructive force. Collectively, capacity building also includes the development of institutions, both state and non-state, which allow society to handle conflict in non-violent ways. (International Alert 1996; cited by Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes.htm)
Capital flight: The gross or net outflow of financial capital from the country during a specified period of time.
Captured state: A state exhibiting a strong centralized authority that has been captured by members of insecure elites who frustrate or eradicate rivals. A state is “captured” when the elite members disagree on a common set of rules by which to govern. (Gros 1992, cited by CIFP 1998: http://www.carleton.ca/~dcarment/cifp/)
Chaos: A condition of total social, economic and political disorder, in which the state is unable to provide for law enforcement and security or deliver basic services, and the economic and other institutions that underpin and sustain normal life in the community collapse.
Child soldier: Any person below 18 years of age who is recruited into an armed force/group and participates in lethal violence or other military support activities such as spying, serving as a messenger or porter, mine clearing, etc. in a political (non-criminal) context. (Rädda Barnen 1998)
Civil disobedience: Refusal to obey unjust laws. This tactic is most effective when used by fairly large groups as a way of getting unjust laws changed. Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) and his followers in India mounted many campaigns of mass civil disobedience in their campaign for independence from Britain. The American civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s, led by Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68), used the same tactic. Civil disobedience is usually passive and nonviolent and aimed at bringing injustices to the attention of lawmakers and the public-at-large. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Civil liberties: The freedom to develop views, institutions and personal autonomy apart from the state. Indicators include free and independent media, freedom of cultural expression, freedom of assembly and demonstration, protection from human rights abuses, and personal social freedoms such as choice of marriage partner and size of family. (Freedom House 1992: 67)
Civil-military operations: Activities in support of operations including the participation of both the military forces and civilian authorities.
A) The collective entity that exists independent of the state composed of NGOs, social movements, and professional and voluntary associations. Civil society occupies a public space between citizen and government and between economy and state. It creates a network of pressure groups able to resist the holders of state power, if necessary. (Seligman 1992; cited by Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes.htm)
B) The total network of private, voluntary organizations. Many terms have been used to describe the organizations that comprise civil society, including non-governmental organizations, private voluntary organizations, grassroots support organizations, private/public organizations, secondary organizations, and voluntary organizations. The literature from these organizations suggests that an effective functioning civil society is one of the key prerequisites for survival of a democratic political system. (TIID 1997)
C) The social, economic, and political groupings that structure the demographic tissue; distinct and independent of the state but potentially under state control, performing demand and support functions in order to influence, legitimize, and/or even replace some of the activities of the state (Zartman 1995: 6)
Civil war: An armed conflict between groups within the same country. Warring factions each control territory, have a functioning government, identifiable regular armed forces, and the allegiance of a significant portion of the nation’s citizens.
Clan-katura: A derivative of the term nomenklatura, it refers to the practice of appointing members of one’s clan to positions of influence and control over civil and military institutions. This practice was widespread in Somalia under the 1969-1991 Siyad regime. (Adam 1995: 71-72)
Cleavage: Socially maintained distinctions among groups in stratified societies. (Gurr and Harff 1994: 193)
A) Alleged emotional influence of massive and direct television coverage and consequent mass arousal on governmental decision making in humanitarian emergency situations. (Leitenberg, 1997; cited by Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes.htm)
B) The dependence of political will on media coverage of humanitarian disaster. (Schmeidl and Jenkins 1998)
C) The rule of thumb to ignore foreign problems that do not make headlines, but those covered by CNN should have been addressed yesterday. (Regehr, cited by Lederach 1997: 73)
Coalition building: Mobilizing different parties and interest groups sharing an interest in one issue area to prepare for confrontation with an adversary or to end a conflict. (Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs.thes.htm)
Coercion: The attempt to enforce desired behavior on individuals, groups, or governments. (US DOD: http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/)
Coercive diplomacy: Gunboat diplomacy or form of military-politico strong-arm tactics to force an unwilling party to accept treaty or terms. (Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes.htm)
Coexistence: A tacit agreement between two or more groups, parties, nations etc. in fundamental disagreement or conflict not to go to war. Coexistence is not quite the same as peace. Parties remain wary and often hostile toward each other, but accept widely different ideologies and social systems can exist without those differences alone being incentive for war. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Collapsing state: A state losing physical control of its territory, forfeiting the authority to make collective decisions for the national population. Such a state lacks a monopoly on the legitimate use of force and cannot interact in formal relations with other states as a fully functioning member of the international community. It may become a repressive or predatory regime in conflict with significant segments of the population. A collapsing state may disintegrate functionally (such as Zaire) or physically (such as Somalia). (Baker & Weller 1998: 10)
Collective intervention: The interference by a group of states in another country’s internal or territorial affairs. (Gurr and Harff 1994: 189)
A. The responsibility borne by all participants to abide by a decision and be responsible for its consequences. Britain applies the doctrine to its cabinet, which is collectively responsible to Parliament for its decisions. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
B. In contrast with the responsibility of an individual for his or her own actions, this term refers to the accountability of individuals in a group for actions taken on its behalf. For example, a board of directors may share collective responsibility for the direction of a company whether or not all individuals directly participate in a particular strategy. Likewise, it could be said that the Afrikaners share collective guilt for wrongs committed by the apartheid state. Trials for human-rights violations have been often criticized for focusing on the individuals who committed the crimes rather than confronting larger issues such as impunity, chains of command, or collective responsibility.
Collective violence: Situations in which people are harmed by the joint contribution of perpetrators, ranging from a small group to an entire society. The number and type of victims can also range widely: a gang attack on a single person; a person losing property or means of livelihood due to destruction during a riot; or harm to an entire population or ethnic group. Instances of collective violence vary along a continuum from spontaneous actions through premeditated and carefully planned mass-killing projects. (Summers and Markusen 1999: ix)
Combat: A violent planned form of fighting, in which at least one party is an organized force. One or both parties hold at least one of the following objectives: to seize control of territory, to prevent the opponents' seizure and control of territory, or to protect one’s own territory. (Dupuy, 1986: 52-53)
Communal contender: Culturally distinct peoples, tribes, or clans in heterogeneous societies who hold or seek a share in state power. (Gurr & Haxton 1996: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/cidcm/mar/minrept1.htm)
A) Natural or man-made disaster with economic, social and political dimensions. A humanitarian crisis in a country, region, or society where there is a total or considerable breakdown of authority resulting from internal or external conflict, requiring an international response that extends beyond the mandate or capacity of any single agency and/or the ongoing UN country program. (UNDHA 1995: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/mcda/refman/glossary.html)
B) Natural or man-made disaster with economic, social and political dimensions. A profound social crisis in which a large number of people die and suffer from war, disease, hunger, and displacement owing to man-made and natural disasters, while some others may benefit from it. Four factors can be measured: the fatalities from violence; the mortality of children under five years of age; the percentage of underweight children under five; and the number of external refugees and internally displaced persons. (Väyrynen, 1998; cited by Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes/htm)
Compromise: A settlement of differences in which each party makes mutual concessions for the purpose of reaching an agreement. It also refers to an agreement blending qualities midway between two different things. Politicians constantly make compromises to keep the widely divergent groups in society satisfied. Without compromise it is difficult to reach agreements and keep government running. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Concentration camp: Location where selected groups of people are confined under inhumane conditions and sometimes killed for purposes of political persecution. Euphemisms for concentration camps are corrective labor camps, detention centers, and internment camps. The most notorious were those instituted by the Nazis to hold and later exterminate Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, communists, and other groups.
Conciliation: The process by which two sides in a dispute agree to a compromise. The agreement has to be voluntary; the process of conciliation, unlike arbitration, does not compel the disputants to accept the proposed solution. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Conciliator: A trusted third party who provides a communication link between the antagonist to assist in identifying the major issues, lowering tension, and moving them toward direct interaction, typically negotiation. (Fisher and Keashly 1990 and 1991; cited by Fisher 1997: 164)
A) The struggle over values or claims to status, power, and scarce resources, in which the aims of the groups or individuals involved are to neutralize, injure or eliminate rivals. (Coser, 1956: 8)
B) Two or more parties with incompatible interests who express hostile attitudes or pursue their interests through actions that damage the other(s). Parties may be individuals, small or large groups or countries. Interests can diverge in many ways, such as over access to and distribution of resources (e.g. territory, money, energy sources, food); control of power and participation in political decision making; identity, (cultural, social and political communities); status; or values, particularly those embodied in systems of government, religion, or ideology. (Creative Associates International 1998: http://www.caii-dc.com/ghai/)
Conflict impact assessment system (CIAS): Method to estimate and evaluate the negative effects of conflict escalation. Early warning systems that alert potentially affected parties of increased conflict escalation risks should also inform their audiences of the costs that a wait-and-see policy is likely to incur. (Reychler, 1997; cited Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes.htm)
Conflict mitigation/management:
A) Efforts to contain and reduce the amount of violence used by parties in violent conflict and engage them in a process to settle the dispute and terminate the violence. (Creative Associates International, 1998: http://www.caii-dc.com/ghai/)
B) The reduction or minimization of violent acts normally targeted toward a specific group in order to compel restraint and restore calm. (von Lipsey, ed. 1997: 5)
Conflict prevention: Actions, policies, procedures or institutions utilized in vulnerable places and times to keep states or groups from threatening or using armed force and related forms of coercion to settle disputes. Also refers to actions taken after a violent conflict to avoid recurrence. (Creative Associates International, 1998: http://www.caii-dc.com/ghai/)
A) A process that transforms conflicts in an enduring manner rather than settling disputes or suppressing differences, by addressing basic human needs and building qualities of sustainable relationships between groups through creating structural mechanisms involving equality among identity groups, multi-culturalism, and federalism as appropriate to each situation. (Fisher, 1997: 268-69)
B) Efforts to increase cooperation among parties to conflict and deepen their relationship by addressing the conditions that led to dispute, fostering positive attitudes and allaying mistrust through reconciliation initiatives, and building or strengthening the institutions and processes through which the parties interact. Conflict resolution can be used to reduce the chances of violence or to consolidate the cessation of violent conflict to prevent re-escalation. (Creative Associates International, 1998: http://www.caii-dc.com/ghai/)
Congo effect: This term refers to a surge in political instability that has threatened several African countries after becoming involved in the war in the DROC. (Duke 1999: A19)
Connectors: Links between people across the lines of conflict. Even in societies where civilian-based civil war rips daily patterns apart, many aspects of life continue to connect people rather than divide them. Common history, culture, language and experience; shared institutions and values; economic and political interdependence; and habits of thinking and acting exist in all societies, including those embroiled by civil war. (Anderson 1999: 23-24)
Conscientization: A term to describe the process whereby people achieve an understanding of the social reality in which they live and their possibilities for actively changing it. (Freire cited by Sørensen 1993: 157)
Conscription: The legal obligation of citizens to perform a stated period of compulsory military duty.
Consent of the governed: The idea that a just government must be based on the consent of the people who live under its jurisdiction. Government must be an expression of popular will. This concept is found in the writings of Western political theorists from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, especially John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Stuart Mill. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Consociational democracy: A type of democratic system characterized by mechanisms serving to promote compromise and consensus among groups in society. Such mechanisms include federalist systems, special legislative practices, and state agencies that facilitate intergroup compromise. (Sørensen 1993: 157)
Consolidated democracy: A democracy in which none of the major political actors consider any alternative to democratic processes to gain power, and no political institution or group has a claim to veto the actions of democratically elected decisionmakers. (Sørensen 1993: 157-158)
Consultation: A knowledgeable and skilled third party who attempts to facilitate creative problem solving through communication and analysis using social-scientific understanding of the conflict process. (Fisher and Keashly 1990, 1991, cited by Fisher 1997: 164)
Cost of conflict: Calculation of conflict cost is notoriously incomprehensive and tends to be limited to direct material and human losses. A fuller assessment should take into consideration the following categories: the human toll with particular consequences for children; the destruction of social fabrics and coping mechanisms; effects on the economy as resource bases are devastated; repercussions when traditional institutions and power relations are altered; threats to regional stability if disputes spill over into neighboring states; humanitarian and reconstruction aid costs for rebuilding war-torn societies; the price tag for peacekeeping; and lost opportunities in development, trade and investment. (Creative Associates International, 1998: http://www.caii-dc.com/ghai/)
Counter-revolution: The overthrowing of a revolution and return to the preceding social order. A famous series of counter-revolutions took place throughout Europe in 1848. After revolutions had overthrown monarchies and autocrats all over the continent, a conservative backlash restored the ousted monarchies and aristocrats to power. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Coup d'état: Seizure of an existing government by a small group. This overthrow is sometimes accompanied by violence. A coup d'état involves relatively few members of the population, and these few are frequently military officers. (Microsoft Corporation 1997-1999: http://encarta.msn.com/)
A) Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during war, or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of the domestic law of the country where perpetrated. (UN Geneva Conventions 1949 & additional protocols)
B) The following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack against civilian population on national, political, ethnic, racial or religious grounds: Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, persecution on political, racial and religious grounds, other inhumane acts. (UN Geneva Conventions 1949 & additional protocols)
Crisis: A set of rapidly unfolding events in general international systems, subsystems, or a country which raises the impact of destabilizing forces substantially above normal levels and increases the likelihood of the occurrence of violence. (Billing, 1992: 92)
Crisis management: Efforts to keep situations of high tension and confrontation from breaking into armed violence, usually involving threats of force. (Creative Associates International, 1998: http://www.caii-dc.com/ghai)
Cult of personality: The enormous power of the leader of authoritarian regimes, reinforced and enhanced by exaggerated propaganda centered on him personally. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Cultural imperialism: The attempt of one society to impose its values on another. (Tisch and Wallace 1994: 161)
Culture: The system of values, customs, beliefs, myths and the historical, philosophical, legal, and religious heritage by and through which a society defines itself and is able to function as a relatively self-contained entity. Culture is rarely factored explicitly into development models and strategies. Some believe that the neglect of culture has been an important reason for development failure and also for the emergence of violent conflict. (Welsh & Butorin, 1990: 272)