Author: GRIFFITH, Allan.
Title: Conflict and Resolution: Peace-building through the Ballot Box in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Cambodia.
Description: New Cherwell Press Oxford, 1998. Paperback. Book "...presents three case studies and it is not only the peace process that is discussed, but also the preceding conflict process. We are reminded about indigenous peoples, who had maintained their cultures for centuries. We are shown foreign colonisers, who barged in with their delusion of superiority and their mind set of domination. The serious cause and urgent purpose of each of the conflicts are taken into consideration. In Zimbabwe it was a politico/military struggle over self-determination. In Namibia it was a politico/military struggle for independence. And in Cambodia it was a struggle for a modern polity. The actions and reactions of the involved people and leaders are related in a clear and well-documented way. The extended and complicated series of happenings are organised into insight-promoting units.The backgrounds of Africa's liberation conflicts are described - settlers who opportunistically unsettled politico-socio-economic situations, and then fool-hardily resisted any change to undo the changes they had inflicted. African leadership who exhibited remarkable reticence and responsibility by generally refraining from using violence; various groups of the people of Africa who eventually lost their patience and opposed their oppression more and more violently. We also get an insight into the complexities of the Cambodian background - a great empire and civilisation, a unifying language, different religious traditions, geographic regions of differing fertility, subordination, occupation and protection by close or more remote neighbours or foreigners, aspirations of independence and freedom.Along with the conflicts and their local and global contexts, peace processes are studied and the need for patience during a protracted process can be recognised. When a conflict is waged to change an illegitimate government into a legitimate one, the package usually has to include a cease-fire, a transitional government, and an internationally supervised election. These elements, together with the whole issue of legitimation, are duly focused on in the comparative analysis." (review by Jannie Malan) Very good condition. Hand written card dedication, letter and author obit. from wife Mary slipped in to rear of book. 337pp. ISBN 1900312158.

Keywords: Conflict Resolution Peace building ballot box Zimbabwe politico military struggle self-determination Namibia independence Cambodia modern polity GRIFFITH Allan politics political history africa african colonial