RSSNews from our Partners - Taking further themes from Dialogue Issue 9 on Human Rights and Conflict Transformation
Michelle Parlevliet writes at the end of her lead article in Berghof Handbook Dialogue 9 that “this article has concentrated on intra-state conflict and has highlighted the role of the state in relation to citizens. It has, however, not engaged with other facets of reality that also characterize many contemporary conflicts, such as cross-border linkages and the role of non-state actors including customary institutions (traditional leaders, informal justice systems) and other social entities (e.g. war lords, religious movements, gang leaders).” A new edition of Conciliation Resources’ Accord series takes up this issue of cross-border dynamics. In Accord 22 – Paix sans frontières / building peace across borders – the editors and contributors explore “how peacebuilding strategies and capacity need to ‘think outside the state’: beyond it, through regional engagement; and below it, through cross-border community or trade networks. And it looks at how beyond and below can be connected”. Case studies focus on East and Central Africa, the South Caucasus, West Africa, Kashmir, the Middle East and Central America.
We find: a volume dedicated to bringing conflict transformation closer to today’s changing challenges! Ultimately, combining work on the state, beyond and below it will be the mix that it takes.