- Home
-
Contextual analysis
Exercise
Contextual analysis
Summary
This is a summary of the threats and challenges presented on Day One – in a clear format, and ideally written up on a flipchart. After the presentation, participants should be given an opportunity to discuss and make comments.
Format
Presentation
Required materials
Flipchart paper and marker pens.
Facilitation notes
This is a particularly useful process for groups that are struggling to shift from discussing the larger political aspects of their security challenges – that is, the underlying causes and drivers of insecurity in their context – to the specific challenges and threats that they, and their organisations, are facing. For example, while patriarchy, conflict and rising fundamentalism are key factors in the creation of an insecure environment for women human rights defenders, they are not the specific challenges that participants need to address at an integrated security workshop. Rather, the threat of rape, attacks on family members, aggressive slander in the media and/or kidnapping are the kind of very specific challenges that participants should seek to address on Day Two. An example of a contextual analysis prepared for the South Caucasus Integrated Security Workshop in 2009 is set out below:
Contextual Analysis
What are the Key Contextual Challenges in our Overall Environment?
- Historic ‘Waves’ (Nationalusm, Post-communism, The Rose Revolution
- Economic pressures
- International relations
- Conflict (‘Post’ and ‘Pre’)
- Rising fundementalisms
- Patriarchy/‘culture’
- ’Imitation’ democracies
How do these Challenges affect our Operation environment?
| Increasing | Decreasing |
|---|---|
| Violence against women | Financial support |
| Criminal influences/pressure | Community support |
| Threats to indepedence and freedom | Respect and protection |
| Freedom of expression | |
| Freedom of movement |
What are the Priority Threats to Activists an our Work?
| Legal and administrative pressures from the State: | Risk of physical violence | Slander/deflamation | Psychological and physical health | Threats to family (and from family) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – Restrictive NGO laws – Financial restrictions against NGO sector | – Beatings and rape – Border crossings – Arrest – Detention – Hostagetaking – Disappearance | – Physical threats against family members – Psychological pressure – Economic pressure – Criminalisation – calling activist spies, traitors, terrorists | – Uncertainty (don’t know the future, can’t plan), causes stress – Difficulty in establishing psychological boundaries in the face of violence – Effects on the psychical health | – Physical threats against family members; – Psychological pressure – Economic pressure – Family members don’t agree with the work, try to restrict you |