Articles Archive - Page 6 of 6 - Minnesota Journal of International Law

Consociationalism: A Constitutional Solution for Ethnic Tension and Violence in South Sudan

Robert Dube

Consociationalism, a theory based around power-sharing mechanisms for different ethnic groups, is a key component of many modern solutions to ethnic-based conflict. Consociationalism is a theory aimed to reorient Western policy away from its preference for majoritarian solutions to end ethnic conflicts. Instead, Arend Lijphart, the promulgater of consociationalist theory, urged policy makers to recognize the value of ethnic identities. Lijphart asserted that a recognition of the complexities of ethnic tensions would allow policy makers to create governments that could alleviate, if not eliminate, ethnic tensions by creating ethnic-based governments. Consociationalism provides a path for countries suffering from ethnic conflict, like South Sudan, to return to political stability.

An Interview with Professor Stephen Befort

Ian Taylor

Professor Stephen F. Befort is the Gray, Plant, Mooty, Mooty, and Bennett Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School. He practiced in the labor and employment field extensively before joining the University of Minnesota Law School faculty in 1982, and he continues to serve as a frequent arbitrator of labor and employment disputes. Professor Befort is a widely published scholar in the field of labor and employment law, having authored more than 40 articles and eight books, including INVISIBLE HANDS, INVISIBLE OBJECTIVES: BRINGING WORKPLACE LAW AND PUBLIC POLICY INTO FOCUS (with John Budd, 2009). He has served as Co-Editor of the ABA Journal on Labor and Employment Law, Chair of the American Branch of the International Society for Labor and Social Security Law, Chair of the Labor Law Group, and as a member of the National Academy of Arbitrators Board of Governors.

The Role of Women Entrepreneurs in Rebuilding a Nation: the Rwandan Model

Karen E. Woody and Abbey R. Stemler

Twenty-five years ago, Rwanda experienced an unprecedented human rights atrocity. In just one hundred days in the spring and early summer of 1994, over 800,000 Rwandans were killed by their fellow countrymen and women.2 The dead totaled nearly eleven percent of the country’s population.3 What was horrifically unique about the Rwandan genocide was the number of citizen killers.4 These individuals used rudimentary means to slaughter their neighbors and fellow community members. Families, friendships, communities, and an entire country, were torn apart within the course of three months. And with a fifty percent drop in GDP in 1994, the country’s economy also was in shambles.5 After the genocide, the task of rebuilding community trust and economic stability was beyond daunting.