Research this month
Peacebuilding 2.0: Mapping the boundaries of an expanding field
An expanded field, joined by dedicated citizens with a vision for peace, has the power to create positive social change in the most unstable conflict zones around the world
Peacebuilding 2.0 brings together the initial findings of the Peacebuilding Mapping Project, a joint project from the Alliance for Peacebuilding and USIP. The project aims to establish a consensus on professional peacebuilding activities in the US.
Reconciliation and trust-building in Bosnia-Herzegovina
The most striking differences in attitude towards reconciliation did not divide Croat, Bosniak and Serb respondents, or respondents from different cities, but divided responses given by respondents from the majority population of each city from responses given by minorities in those cities.
Based on a survey of over 600 people from four regions across Bosnia-Herzegovina, Reconciliation and trust-building in Bosnia-Herzegovina finds strong support across groups for reconciliation, though varying degrees of optimism over reconciliation processes. The survey was completed by the Religion and Ethics in the Making of War and Peace Project and the Center for Empirical Research on Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
What Happens after the war? How refugee camp peace programmes contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding strategies
The purpose of this research attempts to address this gap through establishing whether the implementation of refugee camp peace programmes can contribute to post-conflict peacebuilding strategies once peace programme participants repatriate.
What happens after the war, from the UNHCR, looks at refugee camp peace programmes. The programmes aim to provide refugees with conflict resolution skills. It is hoped that refugees will use these skills after they return to their communities and help prevent violent conflict restarting. This research attempts to determine how effective the programmes are.
Still time to act: rising conflict fears in Kosovo
Survey results show that confidence-building measures are now urgently required to prevent social polarization from growing and to restore popular trust in governing institutions.
Still time to act, from Saferworld, looks at public perceptions of safety and security in Kosovo at the end of 2011. The report presents evidence of a widely held fear of renewed ethnic conflict and low confidence in security and justice systems. Includes recommendations for improving the situation are included.
Resilience: a stock-taking
Widely understood as ‘bouncing back’ after attacks, accidents and disruptions, the resilience concept has over time been complemented by a variety of new definitions. How should policy-makers understand the concept in formulating security policy? What are its core characteristics? And how do these characteristics relate to approaches that seek to foster resilience?
Resilience: a stock-taking, from PRIO, discusses the idea of 'resilience' and what it's growing popularity means for the field of human security. The paper gives an introduction to the concept and touches upon the practical and strategic implications.
Violent conflict and gender inequality: an overview
We show that a far wider set of gender issues must be considered to better document the human consequences of war and to design effective postconflict policies.
Violent conflict and gender inequality seeks to show the impact of conflict according to gender. The paper argues that the impact of conflict is rarely gender neutral, and conflict impacts in a wide range of areas. Both must be recognised in order to create programmes that tackle the aftermath of conflict effectively. Published by the Households in Conflict Network.
From the blog
Put peacebuilding at the heart of post-2015 talks
Lord Jack McConnell, former Scottish First Minister and UK Special Representative for Peacebuilding, argues that peacebuilding must be part of what comes after the Millennium Development Goals end in 2015. Read more »Sri Lanka: Young people come together for peace
In Jaffna, northern Sri Lanka, 400 student leaders, from all backgrounds and parts of the country, came together to unite for peace, an event unthinkable just five years ago. Read more »Impact and humanitarian action in Somalia: is there a place for critical reflection?
In recent years there has been a growing perception that the ability to provide humanitarian assistance to populations affected by conflict and crisis is becoming increasingly restricted. This idea is associated with the issue of humanitarian politics – how humanitarian action has directly or indirectly impacted political structures or been politicised. Hannah Vaughan-Lee, discusses this in relation to Somalia which is frequently used as an example of how humanitarian space has become a “scare commodity” as a result. Read more »Liberia: Challenges facing peace and reconciliation
Liberia has begun the process of sustaining the peace that has been built in recent years. However difficult challenges lie ahead. Insight on Conflict’s local correspondent for Liberia, Nat Walker, looks at Liberia’s “Roadmap for National Healing, Peacebuilding and Reconciliation”, which aims to give direction to the process. Read more »Nepal: Restless move for truth and justice
The peace accord that ended Nepal’s armed conflict called for the establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation commission to tackle impunity and promote reconciliation. Yet, six years on, victims of Nepal’s conflict are still waiting for a commission to be set up. Ambika Pokhrel, Insight on Conflict’s Local Correspondent for Nepal, looks at why the process has taken so long. Read more »DR Congo: Magic spells, chicken’s blood and making peace
Sophie Tholstrup, DFID’s DR Congo Humanitarian and Development Coordinator, shares her reflections of a workshop which brought together local peacebuilding organisations to discuss how best to encourage combatants to demobilise and reintegrate.Read more »Afghanistan: women struggling for representation in the peace process
Women in Afghanistan are struggling to have their voices heard in the country’s peace process. Mariam Safi, Insight on Conflict’s local correspondent for Afghanistan, argues that increasing women’s representation must become a top priority. Read more »Women sidelined from Burma’s fledgling peace process
Burma is going through a process of unprecedented change. Central to the long-term viability of this “new Burma,” are efforts to bring about national reconciliation and secure a lasting peace between the Burma military and the many non-state armed groups that have been fighting for self-determination for decades. Women could play a key role in this process, however so far their voices have been sidelined. Read more »The silence of male/male rape victims in Burundi and DRC
Increasing evidence shows that men are also the victims of rape within conflicts and war. We need to understand that men are not only perpetrators, but can also be victims of sexual violence, if we are to end their stigmatization and provide them with support, argues Thomas E. Wikstøl. Read more »Uganda at 50: unfinished business
Churchill described Uganda as the pearl of Africa. As the country celebrates 50 years of independence, Stephen Oola asks why the country has been so beset by problems since then, and if the next 50 years will be any better. Read more »Lebanon: The fear of the unknown
After a prolonged civil war has come to an end, there often remains a fear of the other community, particularly regarding religion and ethnicity. Rosi Kern, Insight on Conflict’s local correspondent for Lebanon, discusses how Lebanese peacebuilding organisations are seeking to avoid this. Read more »From the ground up: Women’s roles in local peacebuilding
To mark International Peace Day on 21 September, Womankind Worldwide and ActionAid launched a new report on the vital but overlooked roles of women peacebuilders. Lee Webster, Policy and Advocacy Manager, gives an overview of the study. Read more »
