Ukraine: Democratizing Civil–Military Relations in the Midst of Conflict

Ukraine’s civil–military relations continue to democratize in the midst of its ongoing conflict with Russia. Ukraine’s progress in its political, economic, and military reforms is linked to the development of its civil–military relations, which, in turn, can be a catalyst for further advances in democratization and the application of the national power so essential to it prevailing in its existential struggle to preserve its national independence and fledgling democracy. However, Ukraine’s challenging geopolitical hand has limited its democratic and economic development postindependence. Prior to the war with Russia, due to the Ukraine swaying between the liberal democracies of Europe and the lure of authoritarian Russia, the conflicting interests of stakeholders from the disparate camps limited Ukraine’s ability to break decisively toward either one. The Euromaidan protests, followed by Russia’s annexation of Crimea and incursion into the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine propelled Ukraine onto a pro-Europe path. However, the legacy of Soviet-era bureaucracy, weak political culture, and scarce resources have limited the country’s progress. Key elements of democratic civil–military relations, such as meaningful civilian oversight within the relevant ministries and parliamentary defense committees, are still insufficiently present. So far, the combined impact of limited progress in the development of democratic institutions, poor economic performance, insufficiently mitigated corruption, and war in eastern Ukraine has held the country as a whole back from achieving the results of the higher-performing postcommunist states in the region. However, the Zelensky administration has a clear mandate and the parliamentary majority to implement its vision for Ukraine. Ukraine’s civil–military relations are an important aspect of its strategic success. Political–military and societal–military cooperation and coordination can serve as the catalysts needed to bridge crucial divides and reinforce the parallel reforming tracks of democratic, economic, military, and cultural development and institution-building.

SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ITS CONTRIBUTION TO THE CONFLICT OF LINDEROS IN THE COMMUNAL TERRITORIES, PROVINCE OF ANDAHUAYLAS, REGION APURÍMAC, PERU

The present work had the purpose of arguing the degree of progress in social responsibility that contributed to minimize the conflict of boundaries in the territories of the peasant communities, located in the province of Andahuaylas. The focus is qualitative. Case study design, ex post facto research level. The sample was 90 qualified community members who held a management position until 2018. Results in elements: Environmental, the proactivity for the development of eco-efficient practices through committees, had a frequently low contribution of 50%. Legal, the services of tutelary institutions to harmonize conflicts, the coordination between defense and order committees, the interventions to settle conflicts between communities, had a frequent contribution low by 50%. Ethical, the coordination between associations and defense committees to sanction violators of communal agreements, the practice of accountability, had an often average contribution of 50% internally, externally it tends to be weak. Philanthropic; The agreements and working groups to serve community members affected by some phenomenon or disaster and reduce conflict between communities, had a frequently high contribution of 50%. Conclusion: the advancement of social responsibility had a low contribution with a tendency towards medium, in minimizing the conflict of boundaries in the territories of the peasant communities of the province of Andahuaylas, Apurímac region.

“Guns Plus Interest”

This chapter shows that the principal factors driving the state-nonstate alliances in Kashmir (1989–2003) were the local balance of power and actors’ interests. It was only when the Indian army demonstrated force employment prowess through a string of military victories that it was able to attract opportunists. These were former rebels seeking local power, profit, and security. The proxies—most notably the Ikhwan-ul-Muslimoon in the north, as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Ikhwan and Muslim Mujahideen in the south of the Kashmir Valley—helped to shift the balance of power in India’s favor. This prompted the insurgency to move to the mountainous Jammu region. There, the security forces turned to local activists. These, mostly Hindu, villagers formed the so-called Village Defense Committees.

The Remains of the Movement: The Role of Legal Support Networks in Leaving Violence While Sustaining Movement Identity

This article examines disengagement from political violence and the persistence of a movement identity as concurrent and interrelated processes. Our inquiry is based on long-term qualitative data on 90 individuals associated with twelve underground organizations in the United States and Japan during the 1970s and 1980s. We find that as armed activists face the challenges of arrest and detention, trial, and imprisonment, the network of trial support groups and defense committees that was central to their capacity to engage in violence at the peak of the protest cycle also facilitates the process of disengaging from violence as the cycle declines. The distinctive characteristics of this network (herein referred to as the legal support network or LSN) permit insurgents to retain a movement identity while disengaging from violent activity. The study contributes to a small but expanding literature on post-recruitment dynamics in marginalized, high-risk social movements as well as to research on disengagement from political violence.