May 2014

Research this month

International and local actors in peacebuilding: why don’t they cooperate?

The different perceptions of legitimacy which exist amongst international and local peacebuilding actors mean that local actors are faced with a balancing act between ensuring their legitimacy on the ground and increasingly trying to also have more direct access to donor money.

International and local actors in peacebuiding, from Swisspeace, examines the lack of cooperation between local and international peacebuilders. Drawing on research in Ituri, DR Congo, it argues that the lack of cooperation is not due to differences in power and resources, as is often thought. Rather, fundamental differences in how locals and international assess and perceive the conflict create barriers to effective collaboration.

Dispute resolution and justice provision in Yemen’s transition

Where ADR works well, it tends to be either because it is deeply rooted in local cultural traditions and community mores and derives legitimacy and enforcement from those traditions or because of the strong personality and reputation of the local actors involved (if not a combination of both).

Dispute resolution and justice provision in Yemen's transition, from USIP, looks at alternative dispute resolution in Yemen. The report finds that since the transition period that followed the Arab Spring protests in 2011, these ways of resolving disputes and providing justice have become ever more important. However, as political instability makes the need greater, instability has also undermined the traditional, customary mechanisms, which are being replaced by those backed by armed groups.

We no longer share the land: agricultural change, land, and violence in Darfur

The shift to individual control of land and the ensuing disputes and violence have challenged traditional authority structures and significantly constrained their capacity to resolve land conflicts peacefully.

We no longer share the land, from Oxfam, looks at the local dimensions of conflict in Darfur. The paper makes the case that locally grounded issues such as land rights, land use, and agricultural change, are key factors driving the wider conflict. For a sustainable end to the conflict, these issues need to be address.

Legitimacy and peace processes: from coercion to consent

Including civilian-led grassroots structures in the proposed transition process is a strategic necessity – to give negotiations credibility and legitimacy inside Syria and to convey an accurate representation of the Syrian “street”.

Legitimacy and peace processes is the latest edition of Accord, Conciliation Resources regular publication on peace and conflict issues. The report examines the idea of legitimacy in peace processes - to what extent all stages of the process have broad public support. It includes case studies from 15 countries and a wide range of peacebuilding activities.

Conflict trends 2014/1

The latest edition of Conflict Trends, from ACCORD, includes articles on traditional and constitutional approaches to conflict prevention in Somalia, integrating local perceptions into UN peacekeeping, and Rwanda's Gacaca courts.

From the blog

Access to media improves human security in Syria

By Anton Quist: How local civil society activists are providing access to information, promoting mutual trust, and reducing feelings of insecurity in Syria. Read more »