Search results
1 – 10 of 21Russia has managed to ensure relative order and stability in the region in recent years, with transfers from the federal budget helping tame local opposition groups that…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB286706
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
As opposition parties also make their own preparations, all political attention is now focused on October’s general elections, although the economy and a resurgence in the…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB287036
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
The researchers found that the heatwave would likely not have occurred if global temperatures remained at pre-industrial levels. Several factors worsened the heatwave’s impact and…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB286622
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
The committee, led by diplomat Adani Illo, forms part of a broader push with AES member states -- Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger -- to move forward on military, political and…
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB286902
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
NIGERIA: More civilian deaths are likely from drones
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-ES286851
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
TURKEY: Pressure on Kurds will intensify further
MALI: Junta risks alienating key local constituency
What kinds of support do interstate rivals provide to domestic actors in ongoing civil wars? And how do domestic actors utilize the support they receive? This chapter answers…
Abstract
What kinds of support do interstate rivals provide to domestic actors in ongoing civil wars? And how do domestic actors utilize the support they receive? This chapter answers these questions by comparing Iranian and Saudi military and non-military (mediation, foreign aid and religious soft-power promotion) support to the Houthis and to the Government of Yemen (GoY) during the Saada wars (2004–2010) and the internationalized civil war (2015–2018). It also focuses on the processes through which the GoY and the Houthis have utilized this support for their own strategic purposes. This chapter applies a structured, focused comparison methodology and relies on data from a review of both primary and secondary sources complemented by 14 interviews. This chapter finds that there were less external interventions in the conflict in Saada than in the internationalized civil war. During the latter, a broader set of intervention strategies enabled further instrumentalization by domestic actors, which in turn contributed to the protracted nature of the conflict. This chapter contributes to the literature on interstate rivalry and third-party intervention. The framework of analysis is applicable to civil wars that experience intervention by rivals, such as Syria or Libya.
Details
Keywords
This paper argues for the need to use multiple sources and methods that respond to research challenges presented by new forms of war. There are methodological constraints and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper argues for the need to use multiple sources and methods that respond to research challenges presented by new forms of war. There are methodological constraints and contention on the superiority given to positivist and interpretivist research designs when doing fieldwork in war situations, hence there is a need to use integrated data generation techniques. The combined effect of severe limitations of movement for both the researcher and researched fragmented data because of polarized views about the causes of the war and unpredictable events that make information hard to come by militate against systematic, organised and robust data generation. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to make fieldwork researchers understand significant research problems unique to war zones.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was guided by the postmodernist mode of thought which challenges standardised research traditions. Fieldwork experiences in Cabo suggest the need to use the composite strategies that rely on the theoretical foundation of integrative and creative collection of data when doing research in violent settings.
Findings
The fieldwork experiences showed that the standardised, conventional and valorised positivist and ethnographic research strategies may not sufficiently facilitate understanding of the dynamics of war. There should not be firm rules, guidelines or regulations governing the actions of the researcher in conflict. As such, doing research in violent settings require reflexivity, flexibility and creativity in research strategies that respond to rapid changes. Research experiences in Mozambique show the need to use blended methods that include even less structured methodologies.
Originality/value
Fieldwork experiences in Cabo challenges researchers who cling to standardised research traditions which often hamper awareness of new postmodernist mode of thought applicable to war settings. It is essential to study the nature of African armed conflicts by combining creativity and flexibility in the selection of research strategies.
Details