Western Sahara

Western Sahara PDF Author: Stephen Zunes
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815655517
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
The Western Sahara conflict has proven to be one of the most protracted and intractable struggles facing the international community. Pitting local nationalist determination against Moroccan territorial ambitions, the dispute is further complicated by regional tensions with Algeria and the geo-strategic concerns of major global players, including the United States, France, and the territory’s former colonial ruler, Spain. Since the early 1990s, the UN Security Council has failed to find a formula that will delicately balance these interests against Western Sahara’s long-denied right to a self-determination referendum as one of the last UN-recognized colonies. The widely-lauded first edition was the first book-length treatment of the issue in the previous two decades. Zunes and Mundy examined the origins, evolution, and resilience of the Western Sahara conflict, deploying a diverse array of sources and firsthand knowledge of the region gained from multiple research visits. Shifting geographical frames—local, regional, and international—provided for a robust analysis of the stakes involved. With the renewal of the armed conflict, continued diplomatic stalemate, growing waves of nonviolent resistance in the occupied territory, and the recent U.S. recognition of Morocco’s annexation, this new revised and expanded paperback edition brings us up-to-date on a long-forgotten conflict that is finally capturing the world’s attention.

Western Sahara

Western Sahara PDF Author: Stephen Zunes
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815655517
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 398

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Book Description
The Western Sahara conflict has proven to be one of the most protracted and intractable struggles facing the international community. Pitting local nationalist determination against Moroccan territorial ambitions, the dispute is further complicated by regional tensions with Algeria and the geo-strategic concerns of major global players, including the United States, France, and the territory’s former colonial ruler, Spain. Since the early 1990s, the UN Security Council has failed to find a formula that will delicately balance these interests against Western Sahara’s long-denied right to a self-determination referendum as one of the last UN-recognized colonies. The widely-lauded first edition was the first book-length treatment of the issue in the previous two decades. Zunes and Mundy examined the origins, evolution, and resilience of the Western Sahara conflict, deploying a diverse array of sources and firsthand knowledge of the region gained from multiple research visits. Shifting geographical frames—local, regional, and international—provided for a robust analysis of the stakes involved. With the renewal of the armed conflict, continued diplomatic stalemate, growing waves of nonviolent resistance in the occupied territory, and the recent U.S. recognition of Morocco’s annexation, this new revised and expanded paperback edition brings us up-to-date on a long-forgotten conflict that is finally capturing the world’s attention.

Conflict and Peace in Western Sahara

Conflict and Peace in Western Sahara PDF Author: János Besenyő
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000807339
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 285

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Book Description
This book offers the first comprehensive analysis of MINURSO (the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara), focused on its activities, composition, purpose, and operational future in Western Sahara, the world’s last colony. The book’s focus is broad, examining MINURSO from key historical, legal, military and political angles whilst assessing the future of UN peacekeeping missions in the Western Sahara. Supported by a diverse, international mix of perspectives and professions—including academics, lawyers, soldiers, and humanitarian aid workers—an in-depth view of MINURSO is provided, rooted in practical Western Saharan field experience. The authors reveal the complexities of the region and of the mission locally, but also analyze MINURSO through a global lens, focusing on relations with the United States, China, Russia, France, and African states. This approach emphasizes the importance of the region as a site of international struggle while remaining conscious of local contexts. A landmark contribution to peacekeeping studies, the book is vital reading for practitioners and academics focused on the Western Saharan conflict and the MENA region, but will also be of interest to those engaged in international relations, international law, and security studies.

Western Sahara

Western Sahara PDF Author: Stephen Zunes
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
ISBN: 0815652585
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 358

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Book Description
The Western Sahara conflict has proven to be one of the most protracted and intractable struggles facing the international community. Pitting local nationalist determination against Moroccan territorial ambitions, the dispute is further complicated by regional tensions with Algeria and the geo-strategic concerns of major global players, including the United States, France, and the territory’s former colonial ruler, Spain. Since the early 1990s, the UN Security Council has failed to find a formula that will delicately balance these interests against Western Sahara’s long-denied right to a self-determination referendum as one of the last UN-recognized colonies. The widely-lauded first edition was the first book-length treatment of the issue in the previous two decades. Zunes and Mundy examined the origins, evolution, and resilience of the Western Sahara conflict, deploying a diverse array of sources and firsthand knowledge of the region gained from multiple research visits. Shifting geographical frames—local, regional, and international—provided for a robust analysis of the stakes involved. With the renewal of the armed conflict, continued diplomatic stalemate, growing waves of nonviolent resistance in the occupied territory, and the recent U.S. recognition of Morocco’s annexation, this new revised and expanded paperback edition brings us up-to-date on a long-forgotten conflict that is finally capturing the world’s attention.

Profit over Peace in Western Sahara

Profit over Peace in Western Sahara PDF Author: Erik Hagen
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 3956794052
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Profit over Peace in Western Sahara examines the role of natural resources in the occupation of Africa's last colony. Not well known to the wider public, the territory of Western Sahara is considered by the United Nations to be awaiting decolonization. Its liberation from colonial rule has come to a standstill due to Morocco's continued military occupation of a part of the territory. The protracted conflict has dramatic consequences for the Sahrawi people of Western Sahara. This book details, among other things, a remarkable vote in the European Parliament in 2011 when EU offshore fisheries were rejected by the territory. The battle over the fisheries elegantly illustrates how the EU—for political reasons and financial self-interest—has ignored basic principles of international law. This publication is edited by Erik Hagen and the artist Mario Pfeifer, who has been researching the region since 2011 and provides visual material for the book. Erik Hagen has followed the issue of resources in Western Sahara since 2002, both as a journalist and as a campaigner for the organization Western Sahara Resource Watch. An essay by lawyer Jeffrey J. Smith examines the 2017 landmark judgment in South Africa concerning a bulk vessel carrying conflict minerals from the territory. English/Arabic, with a German insert Contributors Erik Hagen, Mario Pfeifer, Jeffrey J. Smith

The conflict of Western Sahara and the United Nations’ role in resolving it

The conflict of Western Sahara and the United Nations’ role in resolving it PDF Author: Mareike Peters
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3668166811
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 24

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Topic: Peace and Conflict, Security, grade: 1,3, Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg (Politikwisschenschaften), course: Introduction to Conflict Management, language: English, abstract: This paper deals with the question why the international community turns a blind eye to the Western Sahara conflict. Moreover, why do the United Nations fail to implement measures to resolve the conflict between Morocco and the people of the Western Sahara? The Western Sahara conflict can be added to the list of the most ambivalent conflicts in recent history. Morocco occupied the African country in 1976 and since then the population of the former Spanish colony is fighting for self-determination while living as refugees in the desert of Algeria. The United Nations acknowledged that the country belongs to the people of Western Sahara. Consequently, the Moroccan occupation is illegal, especially regarding international law. However, no change or progress has been made; all negotiation attempts have failed. Hence, the conflict could be seen as intractable.

War and Refugees

War and Refugees PDF Author: Richard I. Lawless
Publisher: Burns & Oates
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description


Perspectives on Western Sahara

Perspectives on Western Sahara PDF Author: Anouar Boukhars
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1442226862
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 355

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Book Description
The ongoing conflict in Western Sahara is one of the more intractable legacies of European colonization in North Africa. Following the withdrawal of Spain, this territorial dispute escalated in 1975 into a war of independence between the Sahrawi people of the Polisario Front, who were backed by Algeria, and the states of Mauritania and Morocco. In 1976, the Polisario Front established the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, which was not admitted in the UN but won recognition by a few states. After multiple peace efforts, the conflict reemerged in 2005 as the “independence Intifada.” Today, the Polisario Front controls about 20% of Western Sahara. At the heart of the conflict lie geopolitical interests and incompatible claims aggravated by the use of military force and decades of mostly unproductive diplomatic maneuvers by international bodies and regional or foreign powers. This thorough, impartial survey brings together some of the best experts on the Sahara question to provide a broad-based analysis of the problem, from a range of perspectives. Featuring new research, the chapters examine the roots of the conflict, its dynamics, and potential solutions. This groundbreaking text also addresses questions of law, human rights, natural resources from an analytical point of view. Contributed by scholars from North Africa, Europe, and the U.S., it is an essential contribution to the literature of Middle East and African studies.

The Western Sahara Conflict

The Western Sahara Conflict PDF Author: Pedro Pinto Leite
Publisher: Nordic Africa Inst
ISBN: 9789171065711
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 31

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Book Description
This book gives a comprehensive background to the long running conflict on the status of Western Sahara and particularly highlights the question of the territory’s natural resources, such as fish, oil and phosphates. The book analyzes why this territory, (mainly covered by desert and only sparsely populated), has since 1976 when the former colonial power Spain left the territory, engaged governments and people, both regionally and internationally, and the implications of its natural resources. The book includes: - a summary of the Western Saharan conflict, by Pedro Pinte Leite, specialist in international law in the Netherlands; - an up-to-date picture of the situation in Western Sahara with regard to natural resources, and the way in which exploitation is taking place, by Toby Shelley, a British journalist; - the UN’s legal opinion from 2002 on exploitation of the natural resources of a Non-Self-Governing Territory written by Hans Corell, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel. Two political views of the conflict are also included. Magnus Schöldtz and Pål Wrange from the Swedish Foreign Ministry elucidate the Swedish Foreign Policy on the Western Sahara Conflict. A statement by Karin Scheele, MEP and President of the Intergroup on Western Sahara in the European Parliament focuses on the economic interests of the parties involved in the conflict. These contributions together with an extended chronology, by Claes Olsson, over the different phases of the conflict form a useful information source for policy-makers, researchers, students and activists interested in or dealing with issues related to the Maghreb framework and in particular the Western Saharan conflict. Contributors include: Hans Corell, is Ambassador and a Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, the Legal Counsel Pedro Pinto Leite is a Portuguese international jurist based in Holland, secretary of the International Platform of Jurists for East Timor and coordinator of the Dutch section of the International Association of Jurists for Western Sahara. Claes Olsson has done further research after his degree in social sciences and is the author of several books and articles on the Western Saharan issue. Magnus Schöldtz, Deputy Director, Head of North Africa Section, Middle East and North Africa Department, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Stockholm. Pål Wrange is a principal legal advisor on public international law at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm. Toby Shelley is a journalist and writer. He is author of 'Endgame in the Western Sahara', published by Zed Books. He has visited the Western Sahara and the Sahrawi refugee camps on a number of occasions. Karin Scheele, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), is President of the Intergroup on Western Sahara in the European Parliament

International Dimensions of the Western Sahara Conflict

International Dimensions of the Western Sahara Conflict PDF Author: Yahia H. Zoubir
Publisher: Praeger
ISBN: 0275938212
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The war in the Western Sahara recently entered its sixteenth year. Although progress toward peace has been made, concrete steps to a final resolution have not yet occurred. This has had serious political, social, economic, and military consequences for the countries in the region. Despite the significance of the issue, until now very few scholarly works have dealt with the regional and international dimensions of the conflict. In particular, little attention has been paid to the role of the superpowers and of the United Nations in the region and to the other related issues which are the focus of this book. The Western Sahara conflict raises serious questions about the role of international law and of the United Nations in achieving the decolonization of former colonial territories and resolving regional conflicts. Taken together, the work of the scholars, diplomats, and experts in international law who have contributed to this volume constitutes a significant contribution to our understanding of the role of outside powers in the origins and evolution of the war in the Western Sahara. Their work also casts new light on the efforts of the Maghrebi states to overcome regional divisions by themselves and on the continuing attempts by the United Nations to resolve the conflict in the Western Sahara and restore respect for international law. This work will interest specialists West African affairs and in international law and organizations.

International Law and the Western Sahara Conflict

International Law and the Western Sahara Conflict PDF Author: Juan Soroeta Liceras
Publisher: Wolf Legal Publishers
ISBN: 9789462401396
Category : Conflicts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Spain joined the UN in 1955, and the UN's main bodies pressured Spain to proceed with the decolonization of "Spanish Sahara," which shortly after, and under the name of Western Sahara, was included in the list of non-self-governing territories. When Spain was preparing the referendum of self-determination in 1975, the UN General Assembly asked for it to be suspended until the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion. This opinion established that, in 1884, there were no ties of sovereignty between Morocco and Mauritania and the people of the territory, and that the conflict should be resolved through the exercise of the right of self-determination. Nevertheless, following the signing of the Madrid Agreements and the withdrawal of Spain from the territory, Morocco and Mauritania occupied it, forcing the Saharawi people to start a war of national liberation that would last until 1991. That year launched a peace plan negotiated by Morocco and the POLISARIO Front, which provided for the holding of the referendum on self-determination. When the UN's Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara issued the composition of the census in 2000, Morocco decided to abandon the peace plan, accusing the UN of bias, thus leaving the conflict in an apparent impasse. Since 1975, the result of this conflict has seen the Saharawi people split between those who survive through international humanitarian aid in refugee camps in Tinduf, Algeria, and those who live in their own country under Moroccan occupation. This book explains the key issues of the conflict, from the perspective of international law, with particular emphasis on the development of the peace plan, as well as the causes and consequences of its paralysis.