Research this month
Relationships and resources: Environmental governance for peacebuilding and resilient livelihoods in Sudan
This approach requires rebuilding trust and relationships between stakeholders and communities that have been impacted by violence. It also calls for improving technical capacity of decision-makers and communities to advance new approaches for environmental governance and views local ownership and innovation as foundational to such efforts. Over time, improving cooperation over natural resources can have important “spill over” effects, often leading to cooperation in other domains and establishing a basis of trust for continued joint action.
Relationships and resources, from UNEP, describes projects undertaken by UNEP and it's partners to develop inclusive and participatory approaches to environmental governance. The projects sought to restore cooperation and trust between communities in conflict over resources, and in so doing benefit both resource governance and peacebuilding.
Developing relations: political parties and civil society in Myanmar
In these early stages of the transitional process, relations between civil society and political parties in Myanmar can be characterised as limited, informal and based on personal relations.
Developing relations, from NOREF, examines how the opening up of the political space in Myanmar is affecting the relationships between civil society and political parties. The paper provides an overview of the situation, emerging relations between political parties and civil society, and the legal and social constraints.
Engaging Afghan religious leaders for women’s rights
If they are equipped with more knowledge and resources on women’s rights from sources they trust, they can serve as positive agents of change in Afghan society. The right message coming from the right person makes all the difference.
Engaging Afghan religious leaders for women’s rights, from USIP, looks at how religious leaders can be encouraged to become promoters of women's rights in Afghanistan. The paper stresses the importance of respecting the values and opinions of religious leaders, and involving them directly in processes of change.
The road to reconciliation: A case study of Liberia’s reconciliation roadmap
The lack of implementation of reconciliation processes in Liberia underscores the significant challenges faced by post-conflict states in developing and aligning coherent and locally-owned peacebuilding processes to achieve tangible, measurable and manageable progress.
The road to reconciliation, from ACCORD, looks at Liberia's 2013 Strategic Roadmap for National Healing, Peacebuilding and Reconciliation. The roadmap was intended to serve as a basis for future reconciliation initiatives in the country. However, one year after it's introduction, little progress has been made toward implementing it. This paper looks at why.
Gender and conflict early warning
Much remains to be done in terms of clarifying concepts, developing the evidence base and putting theory into practice if the prospective benefits of integrating gender perspectives into early warning systems are to be fully realised.
Gender and conflict early warning, from Saferworld, reviews research and guidance on integrating gender perspectives in early warning systems. The paper looks at some of the differing approaches that have been tried, and offers recommendations for how best to ensure early warning systems are gender sensitive.
Educate for peace
If you are work at the intersection of education and peacebuilding, sign up for the newly formed Education for Peacebuilding M&E (Educate for Peace) community. Educate for Peace is a community of practice formed to provide monitoring and evaluation specialists, and education and peacebuilding practitioners with an interactive space for sharing best and emerging practices on how to monitor and evaluate peacebuilding programs. Educate for Peace is a project of UNICEF launched in partnership with Search for Common Ground as part of the Peacebuilding Education Advocacy Programme. It is hosted on the DME for Peace online hub for peacebuilding evaluation.
State of civil society report 2014: Reimagining global governance
The State of civil society report 2014, the latest edition of the annual report on global civil society from CIVICUS, highlights the contribution of civil society around the world. This year there is a particular focus on the relationship between civil society and global governance frameworks.
From the blog
Can we leverage empathy to stop Boko Haram?
By Kirthi Jayakumar: Kirthi Jayakumar argues that empathy and dialogue, not force, are the keys to ending the Boko Haram’s campaign of violence and terror. Read more »
Across the Line of Control: the real stakeholders of peace
By Ashima Kaul: Ashima Kaul looks at the Impact the border between Indian and Pakistani administered Kashmir has on communities. Read more »
Omission of gender: Sri Lanka’s “Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission”
By Harshadeva Amarathunga: Reflecting on the gender perspective in Sri Lanka and the lack of gender sensitivity in the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission. Read more »
What can Burundi learn from peacebuilding in Liberia?
By Jean Baptiste Niyongabo: Burundian peacebuilder, Jean Baptiste Niyongabo, looks at what lessons Burundi draw from Liberia’s peacebuilding process and methods. Read more »
Beyond political indifference: dealing with past wrongs in Uganda
By Otim Denis Barnabas: Ugandan peacebuilder Otim Denis Barnabas looks at recent developments and progress in transitional justice in Uganda. Read more »
Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders & Build Peace 2015
By Insight on Conflict: Entries in this year’s Tomorrow’s Peacebuilding competition that use technology in an innovative way may win a scholarship to ‘Build Peace 2015’. Read more »
Security provision in rapidly urbanising contexts: evidence from Nepal
By Jaideep Gupte and Subindra Bogati: Fighting crime: how understanding security for an increasingly young, urbanising Nepal is important for peace. Read more »
The rising gap between Shias and state institutions in Pakistan
By Jaffer Abbas Mirza: With Shia mistrust of state institutions growing, what does this mean for the future of Pakistan? Read more »
Cocaleros: a photo essay of the Colombian coca production process
By Hasan Dodwell: Catalan activist & photographer, Andreu Vilardell Salles, spent months living with Colombian coca farmers to produce this photo essay of the production process Read more »
Unique early warning project in northern Nigeria
By Elspeth Macdonald: In Northern Nigeria a locally-led early warning project is preventing violent conflict. Read more »
Creating space for women as transformers of conflict
By Laurel Stone: How important are local women in peacemaking? Laurel Stone explores the role that women can play in achieving lasting peace. Read more »
How technology can shape the future of peacebuilding at the local level
By Helena Puig Larrauri: Helena Puig Larrauri considers the role of technology currently as well as into the future in locally led peacebuilding. Read more »
Breaking the silence surrounding war rape in Bosnia
By Tim Bidey: Almost twenty years on from the end of the war, a new campaign aims to increase understanding and decrease stigmatisation of survivors of rape in Bosnia.Read more »
Peace Journalism and Boko Haram
By Kirthi Jayakumar: Kirthi Jayakumar takes a close look at Peace versus War Journalism in relation to finding solutions for the issues concerning Boko Haram. Read more »
