De-accelerator: A significant cooperative event or shift in policy that tends to de-escalate crisis. (Harff and Gurr 1997: http://www.bsos.umd.edu/cidcm/mar/pubs.htm)
Delegitimation: A process by which a government’s basis for its right to govern is eroded. (Sørensen 1993: 158)
Demagogue: A leader who wins political support by playing to popular fears and prejudices, trying to build up hatred for certain groups. Adolph Hitler, who stirred up the masses by convincing them Jews were responsible for German ills, was a demagogue. In the US, Senator Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957) who led a “witch hunt” for communists in the US during the 1950s, was also a demagogue. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Demobilization: The process of converting a fighter into a civilian. A fighter is in the process of demobilizingafter reporting to an assembly area or camp, surrendering weapon and uniform, but awaiting final discharge. Personnel in assembly areas usually register soldiers for receipt of benefits, whether cash or in-kind. (USAID 1998: 6)
Demobilized: A fighter is demobilized after receiving discharge papers and leaving the assembly area. Reporting to an assembly area is not always a component of demobilization, even in a post-conflict situation. (USAID 1998: 6)
A) A system of government containing three essential conditions: meaningful competition among individuals and groups for representation in positions of government power; institutional channels for participation in public affairs and policymaking that are inclusive of all social and economic groups; and individual, civil and political liberties, including freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly to ensure the integrity of political competition and participation.
B) A political system with a competitive process for choosing leadership; established, publicly known and open decision making processes; institutionalized citizen participation in decision making; and institutionalized protections for participating citizens. (TIID, 1997)
Democratization: A process of change toward more democratic forms of rule. The first phase involves the breakdown of the nondemocratic regime. In the second phase, the elements of a democratic order are established. During the third phase, the new democracy is further developed; eventually, democratic practices become an established part of the political culture. (Sørensen 1993: 158)
Demographic pressure: Pressures deriving from four sources: high population density relative to food supply and other life-sustaining resources; group settlement patterns that affect the freedom to participate in common forms of human and physical activity, including economic productivity, travel, social interaction, religious worship, etc.; settlement patterns and physical settings, including border disputes, ownership or occupancy of land, access to transportation outlets, control of religious or historical sites, and proximity to environmental hazards; and skewed population distributions, such as “youth or age bulge,” or from divergent rates of population growth among competing communal groups. (Baker & Weller 1998: 21)
Demographic transition: A term which describes the movement from high birth rates and high death rates to low birth and death rates. In the first stage, both the birth and death rates are high. Although both rates are very high, it is assumed that the greatest variation is caused by deaths stemming from wars, famines and diseases. The population remains at a low but fluctuating level. The second stage is characterized by continuing high birth rates accompanied by a fall in death rates. As a result, life expectancy increases and population begins to expand. The third stage is characterized by a stabilization of deaths at a low level and a reduction of the birth rate. By the fourth stage, birth and death rates have stabilized and the population is stationary. (TIID, 1997)
Deterrence: Threat-based dissuasive method of conflict escalation prevention that acts on the political will of an opponent in an attempt to restrain him or her from engaging in aggression or continuing further aggression. Deterrence is derived from the possession of credible power instruments to inflict high or unacceptable damage onto an opponent, thereby presumably restraining the latter from exploiting opportunities and pursuing expansionist intentions. (Lutz, 1980: 16-23)
Development refugees: Also called ecological refugees, this term refers to tribal or other peoples displaced by major infrastructural or industrial projects that affect local ecosystems and ways of life. (Hettne 1993: 130-131.)
Devolution: The redistribution or delegation of political power away from a centralized body to a lower, often regional, authority. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Dialogue: A common response to destructive conflict between groups. Dialogue is primarily directed toward increasing understanding and trust among participants with some eventual positive effects on public opinion, rather than the creation of alternative solutions to the conflict. (Fisher, 1997: 121)
Diaspora: A historical dispersion of a group of people deriving from similar origins. For example, the African Diaspora includes African Americans, Africans, Caribbeans, Afro-Russians, Black Brazilians, Afro Latinos, etc. (UMD Diversity Dictionary, http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/Reference/divdic.html)
Diplomacy: The conduct of international relations by negotiation rather than force, propaganda, or recourse to law, and by other peaceful means (such as gathering information or engendering good-will) either directly or indirectly designed to promote negotiation. It is an activity regulated by custom and by law, though flexibility remains one of its vital features. (Berridge, 1995; cited by Schmid 1998: http://www.fewer.org/pubs/thes/htm)
Disaster: The occurrence of a sudden, major misfortune disrupting the basic fabric and normal functioning of a society or community. An event or series of events which gives rise to casualties and/or damage or loss of property, infrastructure, essential services or means of livelihood on a scale beyond the normal capacity of affected communities to cope without assistance. (UNDHA 1995: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/mcda/refman/glossary.html)
Disaster mitigation: A collective term used to encompass all activities undertaken in anticipation of the occurrence of a potentially disastrous event, including preparedness and long-term risk assessment. (UNDHA 1995: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/mcda/refman/glossary.html)
Disaster prevention: Originally defined as measures designed to prevent natural phenomena from causing or resulting in disaster or other emergency situations, the term has now been largely replaced by ‘mitigation’ in the recognition that few natural disasters can be definitively prevented. (UNDHA 1995: http://www.reliefweb.int/library/mcda/refman/glossary.html)
Disaster reconstruction: Longer term activities designed to augment critical infrastructure and promote development goals. This follows disaster relief and rehabilitation but should be viewed as a part of a continuum. (USAID, undated: http://www.info.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/glossary.htm)
Disaster rehabilitation: Intermediate term activities to assist disaster stricken populations to return to a state of viability. A secondary priority to life-sustaining disaster relief. (USAID, undated: http://www.info.usaid.gov/pubs/ads/glossary.htm)
Disenfranchisement: A lack of political, economic or social stake in the present and future well-being of the state. (von Lipsey, ed. 1997: 19)
A) Differences over negotiable interests, choices and preferences found in all human relationships. (Fisher, 1997: 32)
B) Disagreements between states (or within states) serious enough to amount to a potential threat to international peace and security, but not yet reaching the stage of hostilities. Issues here might typically be territorial claims, access to natural resources, access to transport routes and outlets to the sea, other perceived threats to national economic interests, major ideological disagreements or questions about treatment of ethnic minorities. (Evans, 1993: 7)
Diversity: A situation that includes representation of multiple (ideally all) groups within a prescribed environment, such as a university or workplace. This word most commonly refers to differences between cultural groups, although it is also used to describe differences within cultural groups, e.g. diversity within the Asian-American culture including Korean Americans and Japanese Americans. An emphasis on accepting and respecting cultural differences by recognizing that no one culture is intrinsically superior to another underlies the current usage of the term. (UMD Diversity Dictionary, http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/Reference/divdic.html)
Divide and rule: The practice of keeping power by making sure enemies are always divided and therefore too weak to mount an effective challenge. The Roman Empire perfected the strategy of divide and rule, and the British Empire employed the same tactic. (Fast Times 1999: http://www.fast-times.com/political.html)
Dividers: Systems and institutions that historically or traditionally separate people and can thus cause tension between them. These include systems of discrimination, exclusion, and dominance, or might include spatial separation when different groups occupy separate areas. Such systems and institutions may promote or reflect long-standing tensions between groups and can cause –or be manipulated to cause– conflict. (Anderson 1999: 32)
Dominant minorities: Numerically small ethnic groups exercising a preponderance of both political and economic power within a society. Contemporary examples include South Africans of European descent and the Alawis of Syria. (Gurr and Harff 1994: 190)
Dynamic variables: Short-term, often sudden, political, economic, or other developments – or perceptions– that impact a country’s stability. These variables must be traced to assess whether a country is moving toward or away from violent conflict.