Dear colleagues,

I would like to draw your attention to the publication of this year’s spring issue of the Journal of Conflictology, which is freely available at http://journal-of-conflictology.uoc.edu.

Since the beginning of 2011, scholars of Peace and Conflict Studies have focused their attention on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Commentators of the MENA uprisings have, however, been strikingly silent on one country, which is currently at a critical juncture in its historical development: Sudan. Jack Shaka interviewed the Kenian Ambassador Daniel Mboya, first Special Envoy to the IGAD Secretariat in Sudan, on the prospects of peace after the February referendum.

In line with current affairs, the Palestinian author Hani Albasoos examines the drivers behind the upheavals in the MENA and the reactions on part of the international community, led by the United States, up to the time when the editing of the issue was closed. He argues that the events constitute the probably most significant development in global politics of the last decades as they will bear decisive implications for international stability.

Terhemba Ambe-Uva focuses on the role of diasporas in peace building processes in assessing the case of the Nigerian Tiv Diaspora. Two further articles concern themselves with development. Heidrun Zinecker develops a sharpened notion of the concept of civil society and offers a sophisticated conceptual reflection on its role in developing countries. Katharina Merkel adopts a practical perspective on the international efforts in contemporary Afghanistan in critically examining the security-development paradigm for this case.

In continuation, Ramin Jahanbegloo writes on the Ghandian inversion of modern political perception.

Turning to mediation, Renée Gendron’s article focuses on the different roles of silence and Eduard F. Vinyamata presents the Neuro-Linguistic Programming approach.

The Pioneers section is dedicated to the life and work of the Norwegian diplomat Leif Hovelsen, written by one of his intellectual fosterlings, Christoph Spreng.

This issue’s Profile presents the work of the Olympafrica Foundation and offers a book review written by Andreu Solà of “Who Benefits from Global Violence and War”.

Titles and abstracts are also available in Catalan, French and Spanish.

Register at http://journal-of-conflictology.uoc.edu to receive notice of future issues.