http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news en beatrix.schmelzle@berghof-handbook.net Copyright 2012 2012-03-01T15:26:46+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 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-evaluating-peacebuilding-online/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-evaluating-peacebuilding-online/#When:07:59:43Z The first new addition of this week is a contribution by Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church entitled Evaluating Peacebuilding: Not Yet All It Could Be. It assesses the quality of peacebuilding evaluation work being undertaken in a rapidly professionalizing field. The author gives several examples of good and bad practice and suggests that current evaluation practice is failing to foster accountability and learning quite as well as it could. She explores reasons why evaluation may fall short of established quality standards or stray from its explicitly stated purpose, offering recommendations for improvement to researchers, practitioners and donors alike. And with that, we have one more new addition to look forward to. Stay tuned! Articles 2011-10-11T07:59:43+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-the-pitfalls-of-state-fragility-and-state-building-online/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-the-pitfalls-of-state-fragility-and-state-building-online/#When:06:35:23Z The second “new entry” for this week is Susan Woodward’s critical and thought-provoking discussion of appraoches to state-building in the Western Balkans. Located in Section IV of the Handbook, Varieties of State-Building in the Balkans: A Case for Shifting Focus takes a critical look at the debate on state failure, examining the various ways that state-building programmes have impacted on the successor states of the former Yugoslavia. The author shows how unchallenged assumptions, unrealistic expectations and ignorance of local contexts can lead to political orders being imposed with little regard for domestic legitimacy or locally-driven solutions. Instead of explaining away the predictably poor outcomes, she suggests the need for critical appraisal of those driving the state-building agenda. (The article builds on ideas first contributed to Dialogue Series No 8.) Happy reading – and till next week, when the final two new articles from Berghof Handbook II will go online! Articles 2011-10-05T06:35:23+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-transitional-justice-and-reconciliation-online/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-transitional-justice-and-reconciliation-online/#When:07:33:42Z In Section V of our handbook you now find a new article on Transitional Justice and Reconciliation: Theory and Practice. In it, Martina Fischer outlines two major strands of activity aimed at helping societies come to terms with the legacy of a violent past. The emerging paradigm of transitional justice is broadened out to incorporate gender justice and the many different aspects of truth recovery. The concept of reconciliation is discussed in light of its relevance to conflict transformation, also addressing the problems posed by selective remembrance, denial and victimhood. Systematically, open questions are explored and the need for more practice-orientated research is stressed. Enjoy the read – and look forward to more to come (on state-building in the Western Balkans, on evaluation, and on power). Articles 2011-10-04T07:33:42+00:00 http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-mediation-online/ http://www.berghof-handbook.net/news/new-article-on-mediation-online/#When:13:30:35Z A fresh perspective on mediation is delivered by Hans J. Giessmann and Oliver Wils in their contribution to Advancing Conflict Transformation, the second print volume of the Berghof Handbook. In Seeking Compromise? Mediation through the Eyes of Conflict Parties, they adopt an empathetic view on mediation from the perspective of conflict parties who may or may not choose to engage in it. Addressing five crucial questions – why, when, where and from whom third-party mediation might be sought, and what results are expected of it – the authors draw up recommendations for those trying to offer or support mediation processes. They put special emphasis on the role of insider mediators and the need for multi-partiality. This article is nicely complemented by Ron Fisher’s contribution Methods of Third-Party Intervention, also part of the 2011 print volume of the Berghof Handbook. Enjoy! Articles 2011-09-29T13:30:35+00:00