All Articles

Contributors to this Dialogue aim to go beyond the divide and polarising language of "peace versus justice" in order to gain a clearer understanding of the potential – and limits – of bringing together human rights and conflict transformation in specific contexts. Drawing evidence from contexts such as Nepal, South Africa, Israel/Palestine, Uganda and Colombia, they argue that a more thorough emphasis on human rights – as causes and manifestation of conflicts, but also as normative and practical intervention tools – contributes to bringing conflict transformation closer to its aim of tackling conflicts at their deepest roots. The lead author and respondents engage in a rich dialogue on areas of tensions as well as complementarity between the two sets of practices: they encourage mutual learning and joint work, and stress the importance of locally-designed, timely and context-specific initiatives, as well as the hard-nosed analysis of political context and use of human rights and conflict transformation discourses.

Lead Article for Dialogue 9.

The exchange between the lead authors and the discussants in this dialogue vividly illustrates the need to shift from a state-centric view, yet without entirely rejecting the notion of state. At the same time it shows the difficulties of integrating concepts of political order that do not correspond with the western-style Weberian/Westphalian state. Instead of advocating ideal-type, off-the-shelf models and blue-prints, the contributors to this dialogue argue that historically well-informed analysis, which leads to a deeper contextualized understanding of the local and regional situation on the ground, has to be the bedrock of any attempts for external assistance aimed at peace and development. They discuss evidence and counter-examples from Somaliland, Afghanistan, Liberia through to the Balkans and East Timor.

Available translations:

Spanish / Español

In this Dialogue, practitioners and researchers reflect on the conditions of success or failure in peacebuilding and conflict transformation. The lead article expresses a lingering worry that complex economic and environmental crises, international factors of violence and war, and an underlying 'murkiness' of values may overwhelm the best efforts for social change and create a feeling that we are “just wasting our time”. The comments emphasize that values and approaches - as well as the international context, power politics and injustice - should be the objects of critical analysis. Investment in learning, honest self-reflection and critical peace research appear to be a must for effective practice. Others stress a need for more effective public mobilization for the effective prevention of violence. Many additional questions are raised and present food for thought for an ongoing debate.

It has taken a few feedback loops, and now we proudly present this Dialogue. Norbert Ropers’ lead article lays out a rich array of systemic ideas originating from both research and practice, applied in the context of Sri Lanka. The respondents reflect, among other things, on additional tools and techniques, comparative experiences in Nepal and Kenya and the added value and utility of systemic conflict transformation.

Available translations:

Spanish / Español

In his lead article, Christopher Mitchell, Professor Emeritus of George Mason University’s Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR), sets out a framework for thinking systematically about the relationship between conflict and (social) change. He considers necessary changes to bring about the resolution of conflict, as well as obstacles to such changes, and envisions possible roles for agents of change. Five authors have expanded on, and critically reviewed, this lead article: Ed Garcia (International Alert), Chris Spies (UNDP Guyana), Ilana Shapiro (University of Massachusetts), Vivienne Jabri (King's College London) and Daniela Körppen (Berghof Peace Support).

Questions of effectiveness, impact and evaluation continue to be most relevant for the field of peacebuilding and conflict transformation: Adam Barbolet, Rachel Goldwyn, Hesta Groenewald & Andrew Sherriff report with intimate knowledge on the development of "conflict sensitivity" as an alternative to PCIA; Kenneth Bush sends thought-provoking "field notes", reflecting on his learning in the context of applying PCIA in the South; Thania Paffenholz presents a comprehensive overview of the "Aid for Peace Approach". Short reflection papers by all authors shed light on progress and controversy regarding the new trends in peace and conflict impact assessment.

Supplement

This Dialogue sets out to assess the usefulness of current analytic approaches and policy recommendations in dealing constructively with war economies. Starting off with an overview of the state of the debate by Karen Ballentine and Heiko Nitzschke, respondents from a broad variety of backgrounds add their reflections, strategies and critique.

Violent crises and internal wars are often consequences of the failure of states to provide stability and security for their citizens. International organisations and development agencies, in order to overcome cultures of violence and to support nation-building processes, have focused on security sector reform as an integral part of third-party intervention in recent years. This issue of the Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series examines the arguments for engagement with the security sector and provides an analysis of the dilemmas that arise, along with suggestions for how they might be overcome.

Available translations:

French / Français

Over the last ten years, interest in conflict prevention and peacebuilding activities has increased significantly. As a result of this interest, there is a high demand for "model" projects, examples of good practice and "lessons learned" which can be transferred to other projects and regions. Supply, though, does not match this demand. There are still no quick and easy answers to the question of how best to assess, monitor and evaluate peace practices. On the contrary, experience shows that assessing and measuring the impact and outcomes of peacebuilding activities is actually a very complicated task. The articles and comments in this first issue of the Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series reflect the state of the art in peace and conflict impact assessment (PCIA) from a variety of angles.