http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news en astrid.fischer@berghof-center.org Copyright 2013 2013-03-27T13:34:07+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/berghof-handbook-dialogue-on-peace-infrastructures-online/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/berghof-handbook-dialogue-on-peace-infrastructures-online/#When:13:34:07Z We are happy to announce that a complete version of our Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series No. 10 Peace Infrastructures – Assessing Concept and Practice is now online. In addition to Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka’s lead article and responses by Oliver P. Richmond, Hannes Siebert and Borja Paladini Adell, you can now read our editors’ introduction and the final reflection by Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka. This dialogue aims to leading the debate forward on the emerging practice and theory of “peace infrastructures”. The lead author and the respondents each give examples of peace infrastructures that they have been involved in as practitioners and/or academics, inviting for joint reflection on past experiences and possible practices for the future. Drawing from examples from Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Colombia, Lebanon and Cyprus, to name a few, the authors of this volume discusses whether and how peace should be given “an address”—and if so, how we best can support peace infrastructures while avoiding pitfalls. The contributors enriches the debate on how we as practitioners and academics can proceed with thinking, conceptualizing and what to be aware of when engaging with the development of peace infrastructures A first comment to this dialogue issue from our reader Silvia Danielak on the peace infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan will be uploaded soon. The print version of Dialogue No. 10 will be available shortly. > Berghof Handbook Dialogue No.10 (complete version) > Introduction (Barbara Unger and Stina Lundström) > Reflection on response articles (Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka) Dialogue Series 2013-03-27T13:34:07+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-interactive-theatre/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-interactive-theatre/#When:13:12:36Z The Berghof Foundation is happy to announce the release of The Art of Seeing: Investigating and Transforming Conflicts with Interactive Theatre by Hannah Reich. In her article, Hannah discusses the issues of uncertainty that remains central in post-war situations even though direct physical threats from through warring factions have been successfully brought to an end. Furthermore, the legacy of the war has to be dealt with. This legacy usually includes a society that is divided into different factions that have hardly any constructive relationships with each other and that lacks a ‘conflict culture’, which allows expressing, altering and transforming the different narrations of the past, the dissimilar perceptions of the present and the unalike visions of the future. This article, on the one hand, seeks to contribute to the debate on how culture can contribute to peacebuilding, by presenting an interactive theatrical group work and performance method called Forum Theatre as a possible format for intervention designed for post-war peacebuilding. This is due to its capacities to function as a tool for relationship-building between the formerly conflicting parties by 1) investigating the relationship, the differences, the attitudes, stereotypes and the forms of interaction, and by 2) building relationships through the process of participation in a joint project together. This twofold functionality explains why the traditional method of Forum Theatre has to be slightly altered and specified in order to accomplish the demands of constructive post-war peacebuilding. On the other hand, this article aims at taking the question about the particularities of the spaces we insert into conflict systems further by displaying the characteristics of the so called aesthetic space of interactive theatre, which might be useful for practitioners who unfold non-theatrical spaces for conflict transformation. 2012-12-20T13:12:36+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-contributions-to-berghof-handbook-dialogue-no.10/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-contributions-to-berghof-handbook-dialogue-no.10/#When:20:24:55Z We are very pleased to announce the release of the three response articles to Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka’s contribution Giving Peace an Address? Reflections on the Potential and Challenges of Creating Peace Infrastructures in “Peace Infrastructures – Assessing Concept and Practice”, Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series No.10. In this Dialogue Oliver P. Richmond, Hannes Siebert and Borja Paladini Adell add on to the debate from different perspectives, aiming to lead the debate forward on the emerging practice and theory of “peace infrastructures”. The authors each give examples of peace infrastructures that they have been involved in as practitioners and/or academics, inviting for joint reflection on past experiences and possible practices for the future. Drawing from examples from Sri Lanka, Nepal, South Africa, Colombia, Lebanon and Cyprus, to name a few, the authors discuss whether and how peace should be given “an address”—and if so, how we best can support peace infrastructures while avoiding pitfalls. The contributors enrich the debate on how we as practitioners and academics can proceed with thinking, conceptualizing and what to be aware of when engaging with the development of peace infrastructures. Dialogue Series 2012-12-14T20:24:55+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-handbook-article-on-peace-infrastructures/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-handbook-article-on-peace-infrastructures/#When:10:25:03Z We are very pleased to announce the release of “Giving Peace an Address? Reflections on the Potential and Challenges of Creating Peace Infrastructures” by Ulrike Hopp-Nishanka. It is the lead article of our next Handbook Dialogue “Peace Infrastructures – Assessing Concept and Practice” to be published this fall. The article defines and narrows the emergent concept of “Peace Infrastructures” as networks of organisations established by conflict parties with the aim of building peace. Thus, it argues, infrastructures for peace have a great potential to contribute to peacebuilding, by strengthening the ownership and commitment of the stakeholders to the conflict. Building on earlier ideas of John Paul Lederach, the emerging concept sets out criteria to distinguish infrastructures from other important actors such as peace constituencies or civil society networks. This article argues that peace infrastructures serve different objectives and function at various stages of a peace process. By linking them vertically and horizontally, they can cover all levels of peacebuilding and constitute relevant entry points for peacebuilding support. Given their particular characteristics, peace infrastructures, however, face diverse challenges with a view to legitimacy and inclusiveness, and depend on their owners’ political will and leadership. The article invites the reader to examine existing structures thoroughly in order to understand and enhance their contribution to peacebuilding in the future. Dialogue Series 2012-06-26T10:25:03+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/the-new-berghof-foundation/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/the-new-berghof-foundation/#When:14:26:46Z As of 2012 the former Berghof Conflict Research, Berghof Peace Support and Institute for Peace Education Tübingen (ift) have come together as part of a revamped Berghof Foundation. The Berghof Foundation has been given a new structure and organisational setting – merging the manifold operational competences in conflict research, peace support and peace education, being complemented with targeted grant-making that draws upon the traditional philanthropic funding provided by the Zundel family to further nurture peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Currently everyone at Berghof Foundation is working hard to develop a new joint website. Within the coming weeks and months the content from our old websites (Berghof Foundation.de, Conflict Research, Peace Support, Friedenspaedagogik.de and Berghof Handbook) will be linked up and transferred to the new overarching Berghof Foundation.org. The existing websites will remain available during this transition period, until all the information has been made accessible on the new site. We apologize for any inconvenience. Miscellaneous 2012-03-01T14:26:46+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/noteworthy-berghof-publication-taking-further-issues-of-security-sector-reform/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/noteworthy-berghof-publication-taking-further-issues-of-security-sector-reform/#When:07:23:59Z Berghof colleagues Véronique Dudouet, Hans J. Giessmann and Katrin Planta have just published the policy report “From Combatants to Peacebuilders: A case for inclusive, participatory and holistic security transitions”. It presents key lessons learnt and policy recommendations based on findings from the participatory research project “Non-state armed groups and security transition processes” (2009-2012), and takes futher issues of security sector reform and DDR in the context of post-war security transitions and transformations. The empirical findings of the report are based on thematic case studies written by local teams made up of researchers and former combatants in the contexts of South Africa, Colombia, El Salvador, Northern Ireland, Kosovo, Burundi, Southern Sudan, Nepal and Aceh. This report is complemented by a more comprehensive volume edited by the same authors and published by Routledge, freshly released. Make sure to check out “Post-War Security Transitions. Participatory Peacebuilding after Asymmetric Conflicts”! Related contents in our Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation include Handbook Dialogue No. 2 on Security Sector Reform (published in 2004) as well as Herbert Wulf’s updated contribution in Advancing Conflict Transformation, The Berghof Handbook II (published in 2011). Noteworthy Partner Publications 2012-02-01T07:23:59+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-translation-into-spanish-article-on-nonviolent-resistance/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-translation-into-spanish-article-on-nonviolent-resistance/#When:16:22:14Z Véronique Dudouet’s article on Nonviolent Resistance in Power Asymmetries, published in 2011 as part of the second print edition of the Berghof Handbook, is now also available in Spanish. We are very grateful to the initiative of Cambio Democrático (Argentina; member of Partners for Democratic Change International), who have prepared this translation in order to share it with their wider community of practice in Latin America. They have been kind enough to also share it with all of our readers, and we are looking forward to a fruitful exchange about the meeting points between nonviolent resistance and conflict transformation. Happy reading! Translations 2012-01-19T16:22:14+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/news-from-our-authors-more-on-conflict-transformation-and-human-rights/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/news-from-our-authors-more-on-conflict-transformation-and-human-rights/#When:13:41:03Z Michelle Parlevliet, lead author for Dialogue No 9 on Human Rights and Conflict Transformation, has gone on to further explore this relationship. Collaborating with colleagues from GTZ, DED and the German Institute for Human Rights, she has written this brand new report: Connecting Human Rights and Conflict Transformation. Guidance for Development Practitioners. The overall thinking you’ll recognise if you are familiar with her Dialogue piece, but what’s interesting are the short examples drawn from programmes around the world. There are also some additional new points, notably about developments within the HR and the CR field. We wish you good reading! Noteworthy Partner Publications 2011-11-15T13:41:03+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/remebering-dehka-ibrahim-abdi/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/remebering-dehka-ibrahim-abdi/#When:08:24:12Z It is now already three months since our esteemed colleague Dekha Ibrahim Abdi has passed on following a severe car accident. We continue to miss her presence. Alice Nderitu, like Dekha a contributor to our Berghof Handbook Dialogue Series, has written a moving testimony of Dekha’s life and work in Kenya which we would like to share with you. You can find a biography of the Right Livelihood Award winner here. Miscellaneous 2011-10-21T08:24:12+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/final-new-online-addition-from-berghof-handbook-ii-new-thoughts-on-power/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/final-new-online-addition-from-berghof-handbook-ii-new-thoughts-on-power/#When:08:06:53Z A new piece by Diana Francis completes our new online additions for the time being. In New Thoughts on Power: Closing the Gap between Theory and Action, she contrasts two familiar models of power: domination and cooperation. Arguing that the dominant concept of “power over” has given rise to a damaging global culture of militarism which blurs the line between pacification and peace, the author sketches a thought-provoking vision of how choosing instead to pursue “power with” could bring about a major paradigm shift. Drawing on real-life examples, she champions nonviolent assertiveness and asks: how much could “people power” achieve if it were taken as seriously as war now is? Articles 2011-10-11T08:06:53+00:00