Elicitive Capacity as a Critical Component for an Infrastructure for Peace

Abstract

An important component of Peacebuilding processes are constructive relationships between external intervening actors and individuals and communities who have experience of the complexities involved by violent conflict and transition from war to peace. The article defines “elicitive capacity” as the ability of external (and internal) actors to foster agency within the existing potential for peace in a given society; and at the same time to build effective linkages and partnerships with actors already present in the society.Elicitive capacity entails an ability to listen to relevant stakeholders in the area; institutional flexibility; an orientation towards empowerment and recognition. Elicitive capacity can occur within different levels society and types of interaction, and can assume different forms: e.g. as transformative dialogue facilitation, based on processual empowerment and recognition; in the form of experiential education, individual and collective capacity building; as the “opening of space” for collective action.