EPIK Journals Online Vol. 4 Iss. 03

EPIK Young Leaders Essay Competition 2013 Award-Winning Work (1st Prize)

The Arab Spring: Is Conflict really better than Cooperation?

Author: Hoo Ri Kim, University of California, Berkeley

Abstract:

As a result of the conflicts during the Arab Spring, the lives of the populations in the region have been arguably improved through measures towards democratization and by the fall of authoritarian regimes. However, at the same time, the populations have suffered losses during the conflicts, and cooperation with the governments could have resulted in continued periods of more peaceful times, exemplified by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Revolutions such as the Arab Spring bring about a radical wave of change to a country’s political system and raise alarm in the international community as a call towards the need for change in relevant countries or regions. However, whether the conflicts are better by what standards is debatable. In this paper, I will examine the conflict of the Arab Spring to evaluate the question of whether conflict is better than cooperation.

Key Words: Arab Spring, conflict, cooperation, authoritarian regimes, transition

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EPIK Journals Online Vol. 4 Iss. 04

EPIK Young Leaders Essay Competition 2013 Award-Winning Work (2nd Prize) 

Conflict Management System and Democracy in Multinational Societies: Case Studies in India and Nigeria

Author: Ji min (Janice) Han, Claremont McKenna College

Abstract:

Conflicts expose a set of problems deeply entrenched in a society. Revelation of underlying problems helps the political elites to clarify issue priorities and form public policies accordingly. Conflicts also mobilize people in a grassroots level as different groups defend their own interests. Thus, conflicts serve to reflect plural interests in a decision-making process, thereby promoting representative and deliberative aspects of democracy. However, conflicts do not always lead to positive outcomes. In order for conflicts to serve the positive functions, a society has to have a sensitive conflict management system. The paper argues that the sensitivity is determined by a society’s conflict management mechanism—political institutions, elite behavior, and civil society—and political culture. This paper compares and contrasts India and Nigeria, the two multinational societies where conflicts have spawned differing consequences. The paper concludes that conflicts can promote democracy in multinational societies, provided that they have a sensitive conflict management system.

Key Words: democracy, power sharing, power dividing, political institutions, civil society, conflicts

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EPIK Journals Online Vol. 4 Iss. 05  

The “democratic peace thesis” argues that democracy is desirable because democratic states don’t wage war against each other. It essentially states that democracy is the most stable form of government and stable governments are less prone to war than governments in transition. However, if this is to be relied upon, an odd phenomenon has emerged in the past few decades- the wars for democracy. In this paper, the author explores the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, the “humanitarian” intervention in Libya and the Lokpal (Anti-Corruption) Movement in India to understand the role of conflict and co-operation in bringing stability and real democracy to all nations of the world. Using various examples of instances during the afore-mentioned events she argues that conflict and co-operation are not competing means, but values that will lead to stability when used harmoniously and keeping in mind the context of each situation.

Key Words: Democracy, Arab Spring, Lokpal, Revolution, Co-operation, Conflict

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