Conflict society: understanding the role of civil society in conflict

Abstract

This article analyses the relationship between civil society and conflict. It aims to provide an analytical framework to unpack this complex relationship and assess the impacts which civil society may have on conflict. In a first section, it analyses the implications of context on civil society, namely the implications that statehood, democracy, nationalism, development and international presence have on the nature of civil society. In the second section it examines more specifically the role of civil society in ethno-political conflicts, or as we rename it ‘conflict society’. The final section turns to the identification of different factors determining the impact of civil society on conflicts, including political identities, frameworks of action and political opportunity structures in which civil society actors operate. Accordingly, the different combinations of these determinants lead to the formation of civil society actors and ensuing actions that can either fuel conflict, sustain the status quo, or build peace.