Peacebuilding Activities Research Articles

Navigating the Pandemic Through Technology: Colombian NGOs Promoting Peace During the COVID-19 Era

This article examines how Colombian NGOs use Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for peacebuilding attempts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing from 17 interviews with NGO members, the study underscores the pivotal role of digital peacebuilding in sustaining and expanding peace attempts, effective data management, and a broader engagement of target groups beyond in-person activities often associated with safety and financial concerns. The findings also identify prevailing challenges of incorporating ICTs in NGO's peacebuilding activities, ranging from privacy-related concerns to connectivity issues. The article points out the potential for NGOs to enhance interactivity, knowledge transfer, and diversity in their activities with ICTs, including IT security training and awareness campaigns on hate speech and propaganda. It also emphasizes the importance of developing risk reduction strategies tailored to the specific needs of different target groups.

Possibilities and limitations of anticipatory action in complex crises: acting in advance of flooding in South Sudan.

Little evidence exists on the design and implementation of anticipatory action (AA) in complex crises. This article examines a 2022 United Nations 'early action' pilot in South Sudan in advance of extreme flooding. As a case study of efforts to act in a complex crisis, it contributes to learning on assisting conflict-affected and displaced populations in advance of extreme weather events. The research points towards the possibility and value of implementing forecast-informed early action in complex contexts with limited forecast skills and multiple hazards when trigger-based AA is not possible. It also argues for the need to link AA implemented in complex crises to development and peacebuilding actors and processes. More broadly, examining the perceptions and processes of AA in the form of early action, rather than a formal AA framework, is highly relevant for the AA community as attention is increasingly placed on providing AA in countries affected by fragility and conflict.

Organizing for peace: The organizational behaviors of business amid conflict

Business-and-peace research has explored the avenues by which organizations can engage in peacebuilding activity, yet little is known about the types of organizations that create peace or about how these differ compared to those that either ignore peace or enhance conflict. Peacebuilding organizations require distinct operating logics and capabilities that promote concord among social groups, and they can take the form of hybrid organizations—those that pursue profit in a commercial logic while also addressing social objectives. But not all hybrid organizations with social objectives, such as poverty reduction or equality, are able to promote peace. In this article, we identify the organizational capacity to fuse intergroup sensitivity into operations as a crucial factor that distinguishes hybrid organizations capable of peacebuilding from other organizational forms. The discussion provides guidance for practitioners on fostering such organizations, while warning against the assumptions found in business-and-peace literature that describes how ethical conduct and unguided social agendas can promote peace.

Needs or Interests: Drivers of China’s Peace Engagement in Conflict-affected Countries

ABSTRACT What drives China’s peace engagement in conflict-affected countries: does China provide peacebuilding support where its help is needed the most or to advance its own interests? Despite a growing body of literature addressing this question, the analytical scope remains limited to China’s short-term peacebuilding measures and individual case studies. In this article, we build on longitudinal large-N data addressing China’s long-term peacebuilding. We detect a strong association between Chinese peace engagement and the economic needs of recipients. Mixed results are obtained regarding the role of China’s interests. While security and diplomatic interests appear to drive its peace engagement to some extent, there is no clear evidence of its economic interests influencing the engagement in conflict-affected countries. The article makes three contributions. First, we add to the growing literature on China’s peace engagement by adopting a broad definition of peacebuilding and, by doing so, expanding the analytical scope. Second, we contribute to the literature on emerging peacebuilding actors drawing on the case of China. Last, we make a policy-relevant contribution by demonstrating the complexity of peacebuilding actors’ motivation in engaging with conflict-affected countries.

The Challenges of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Leadership in the Restoration of Peace and Stability in Ethiopia

The war in Ethiopia is ongoing, causing immense bloodshed, destruction of infrastructure and displacement of people. Communities involved in war that experience gross violations of human rights and excessive violence are likely to experience long-term trauma and deep psychological consequences. Religious leaders could support conflict-affected communities by facilitating peacebuilding activities and trauma-healing. The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC), as a country-wide and prominent religious institution, would be in position to play such a role had it made efforts to promote dialogue and peace at the peak of the conflict and openly condemned the violence in Tigray. Instead, the inactivity of the Church leadership resulted in the Diocese in Tigray declaring its separation from the EOTC. The current paper seeks to examine the challenges that the Church leadership faces in encouraging dialogue and reconciliation in the country given the rifts it has experienced within. It also explores the ability of the Church leadership to influence state actors to make peace and to rehumanise those dehumanised by the politics of war.

The UN and NATO as the Main Pillars of the International Security Architecture with a Focus on the Middle East Region

This study provides a summary overview of the creation and the activities of the international security architecture in the form of their two main pillars, i.e. the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the Near and Middle East region. Within the framework of international security relations, this is a very unstable and conflictual region, where this instability has lasted practically since the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. The global UN, its overall activity and importance, especially humanitarian and peace-building activities not only for the Near and Middle East region, is very beneficial, through out the Cold War period up to the present day. As a security organization, NATO is among the most important global actors influencing current international security relations. Through their activities, both of these organizations represent a essential means of ensuring world peace and security.

“Feeling things happen”: Evaluating the Playhouse Theatre and Peace-building Academy (2018–2020)

ABSTRACT This article discusses the tension often experienced in “Arts for Peace” programmes between the desire meaningfully to evaluate a creative process and the need to account to funders for the delivery of pre-determined expected outcomes that makes no allowance for discoveries made as the project unfolds. Taking the EU-funded Theatre and Peace-building Academy programme (2018–2020) as its case-study, it reflects on the efficacy of the arts to engage with a wide range of people at a deep level, helping them to challenge their assumptions and presuppositions and to begin to see things in new ways and from opposing perspectives. In particular, it invites a re-examination of some of the assumptions that typically frame peacebuilding activities.

The Dynamics of Herder-Farmer Conflicts in Plateau State, Nigeria, and Central Darfur State, Sudan

Abstract Drawing on their own field studies, the authors examine how state and local actors involved in resource management and peacebuilding activities are implicated in the conflict between farmers and herders in Plateau State, Nigeria, and Central Darfur State, Sudan. The authors show that state officials, traditional chiefs, and security agents intensified the conflict by perpetuating the inequitable distribution of resources needed for the survival of farmers and herders, while promoting a peacebuilding process that empowered some groups and disempowered others. The divisive role state and local actors played accentuated the socio-political grievances underlying the conflict and enervated the peacebuilding process.

Introducing Peacebuilding Philosophy to Language Teacher Education

Rebecca L. Oxford’s contributions to academia extend well beyond language learning strategy research, for which she is well known, to embrace peace education in language classrooms. Inspired by her peace education philosophy, this study first describes the influence of Oxford’s scholarly research in peace approach. Then, it presents a case study of five preservice teachers, all native Turkish speakers, who were guided to adopt the peace approach philosophy to develop creative teaching materials to be implemented in the Practicum course. Throughout six hours of weekly lessons at a state middle school, the preservice teachers integrated peacebuilding activities into their English instruction. The analysis of the qualitative data from lesson plans, classroom observations, and reflective writings, revealed compelling findings. Preservice teachers who implemented peacebuilding activities showcased increased competence and awareness of peace education philosophy, and they reported feeling more confident and fulfilled in their teaching. Children exposed to peacebuilding activities experienced a shift in their emotional state. It was also found that peacebuilding activities fostered inner harmony, boosted self-confidence, and enhanced children’s English learning engagement. The study highlights the crucial role of integrating peace education into teacher education programs, particularly for language teachers. Equipping educators with the tools and philosophies of peacebuilding can empower them to become agents of positive change, cultivating global citizens who embrace harmony and understanding.

Effectiveness of Peace Building from Below: Activities of local NGOs During Armed Conflict in Cameroon

The grassroots level or bottom-top peace building is getting more and more attention and is acknowledged as a crucial part in the peace building process, despite the official peace process commonly targets the top level. Peace agreements signed by the elite (top-bottom) will not be implemented thoroughly in society unless the population living the conflict has their own agency. These community-led agencies in the form of local NGOs play pivotal role in the effective implementation of peace building from below. This article seeks to examine the effectiveness of peace building activities from below carried out by local NGOs during armed conflict. Adopting the theory of subsidiarity in enhancing community-led peace building activities, this article employed the quantitative research approach with the use of questionnaire for data collection. The article targeted 107 respondents from Buea sub-division using purposive sampling technique in selecting the respondents who are well knowledgeable with regards to the peace building activities carried out by local NGOs. The findings reveal that NGOs have effectively implemented the following as peace building from below during armed conflict in communities; advocacy for peace, sensitization on no to drug abuse, sports and cultural activities, capacity building for youths, identifying the causes of the conflict, and protection of human rights as peace building from below activities. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are doing even more peace building activities than any official governmental agencies. In many of the areas of the world at large and in Cameroon in particular, they have a long term presence that is afflicted with intractable conflicts. NGOs are in an excellent position to engage in a wide variety of peace building activities from below.

CSCE’s Peace Efforts in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict during the Czechoslovak Chairmanship in 1992

The year 2022 marked thirty years since the Chairmanship of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic in the CSCE. The article focuses on one of the main agendas of that period: the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. It aims to assess the success of the CSCE peacemaking activities and initiatives during 1992 and to answer the question of whether individual actors’ efforts led to a peaceful solution, defusing the situation, and improving relations between the parties to the conflict in the South Caucasus region. Finally, the article concludes that, although the CSCE gradually moved from soft actions to peacebuilding activities, it lacked peace-making experience and sufficiently developed and flexible mechanisms compared to other international organizations.

Community Clustering of Food Insecurity and Malnutrition Associated With Systemic Drivers in Chad.

Chad suffers from protracted hunger, facing high food insecurity (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification 3 and above), and acute malnutrition levels that surpass the emergency threshold (15% global acute malnutrition) yearly. The Food Security Sector, with European Union support, leads an inclusive effort to increase synergy between humanitarian, development, and peace-building actors to understand and address drivers of hunger. To understand the spatial distribution of child wasting and household food insecurity and systemic drivers (conflict, livelihoods, vegetation, cultural norms) as well as better understand the relationship between child wasting and household food insecurity in Kanem and Bahr el Ghazal (BeG) region, Chad, with the goal of improving nexus programming and targeting. A cross-sectional randomized cluster survey was conducted in August 2021 in Kanem and BeG across 86 villages, reaching 7002 households and 6136 children. Data were collected on child anthropometry, household food security, and livelihoods. Using mixed methods, primary data were triangulated with secondary geospatial data on vegetation index and conflicts as well as qualitative interviews with local actors. Analysis was conducted using comparison tests, linear and logistic crude, and adjusted models, as well as looking at the design effect as a measure of clustering of outcomes at the community level. The geospatial distribution of hunger indicators shows child wasting and food insecurity are highly clustered. However, communities with a high prevalence of child wasting were not those with the highest levels of food insecurity, indicating different pathways. Clustering of food insecurity and child wasting is due to basic drivers of conflict, health, and seasonal access to natural resources. The high levels of food insecurity and child wasting are each concentrated in specific survey clusters and are not necessarily connected. They result from different causal pathways at the community level linked to the systemic drivers of the rule of access to natural resources, environmental seasonality, and livelihoods. This suggests a greater need for an integrated humanitarian, development, and peace-building interventions to address the persistent high prevalence of food insecurity and child wasting. It also suggests that these community-level and systemic drivers require greater consideration from the start in research design and data collection.

Toward an integrated approach for mental health and psychosocial support and peacebuilding in North-East Nigeria: programme description and preliminary outcomes from 'Counselling on Wheels'.

Despite theoretical support for including mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) with peacebuilding, few programmes in conflict-affected regions fully integrate these approaches. To describe and assess preliminary outcomes of the Counselling on Wheels programme delivered by the NEEM Foundation in the Borno State of North-East Nigeria. We first describe the components of the Counselling on Wheels programme, including education and advocacy for peace and social cohesion through community peacebuilding partnerships and activities, and an MHPSS intervention open to all adults, delivered in groups of eight to ten people. We then conducted secondary analysis of data from 1550 adults who took part in the MHPSS intervention, who provided data at baseline and 1-2 weeks after the final group session. Vulnerability to violent extremism was assessed with a locally developed 80-item scale. Symptoms of common mental disorders were assessed with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale (PTSD-8). Data were analysed through a mixed-effect linear regression model, accounting for clustering by community and adjusted for age and gender. After taking part in group MHPSS, scores fell for depression (-5.8, 95% CI -6.7 to -5.0), stress (-5.5, 95% CI -6.3 to -4.6), post-traumatic stress disorder (-2.9, 95% CI -3.4 to -2.4) and vulnerability to violent extremism (-44.6, 95% CI -50.6 to -38.6). The Counselling on Wheels programme shows promise as a model for integrating MHPSS with community peacebuilding activities in this conflict-affected region of Africa.

Human Rights and Peacebuilding: Bridging the Gap

Abstract In view of academic and policy discussions about a persisting gap between human rights and peacebuilding in the UN system, this article examines how peacebuilding has been integrated into the work of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). The analysis draws on interviews with UN Member State attachés and representatives of non-governmental organizations, as well as a range of HRC documents focusing on Myanmar between 2006 and 2021. The findings complement the existing academic literature with nuanced insights into the interaction between human rights and peacebuilding practitioners from a human rights, institutional perspective. The analysis reveals that the HRC is aware of the link between human rights and peacebuilding, implicitly supports peacebuilding and seeks to strengthen institutional cooperation through the prevention resolutions. However, despite efforts to increase engagement, explicit linkages and coordination with the UN’s peacebuilding institutions in New York remain rare. Institutional silos, concerns about sovereignty and mandate overlap, fears of politicization as well as a lack of political will and capacity constraints present obstacles to cooperation. This article points to the need for a better information flow and stronger interaction between human rights and peacebuilding actors in Geneva and New York to enhance mutual understanding. Improving synergies between human rights and peacebuilding institutions in Geneva and New York is key to bridging the overall gap between human rights and peacebuilding—both in policy and practice.

Navigating the Middle Ground: Unpacking the Role of Mid-space Actors in Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia

Navigating the Middle Ground: Unpacking the Role of Mid-space Actors in Hybrid Peacebuilding in Asia

Peran Perempuan dalam Proses Bina Damai: Studi Kasus Aktivis Perempuan di Sudan Selatan (2005-2018)

Amidst the oppressive patriarchal culture, the lingering conflict in South Sudan between 2005-2018 has caused women to experience discrimination and violence. The dissatisfaction of women activists with the social system and the protracted conflict eventually encouraged them to participate in the peacebuilding process. This article examines the role of women in the peacebuilding activities by describing the work of women activists in South Sudan. The study is conducted qualitatively by applying the case study method and utilizing the Feminist methodology to comprehensively examine individuals and women's activist organizations activities in peacebuilding through the women perspective. This research finds that women activists play a role in the peacebuilding process at every level of the actor pyramid, from grassroots, middle, to top level. Positive and transformative changes take place as the result of their roles. At the top level, the peacebuilding efforts have encouraged the South Sudanese government to involve women activists in the peace negotiation process withSudan and ensure gender equality in the formulated constitution. At the middle and lower levels, peacebuilding efforts succeeded in convincing South Sudanese to support the implementation of gender equality as part of conflict resolution. Keywords: Women; Peacebuilding; Gender Equality; Discrimination; South Suda

An Analysis of Non-Governmental Organisations’ Approach to Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in Northern Ghana

Non-governmental organisations in northern Ghana have been key actors in rural development and peacebuilding in conflict-affected communities. This study employed qualitative methods to critically examine how NGOs contributed to maintaining relative peace for the successful resolution of the crisis in Yendi after regicide in 2002. Forty- nine respondents were selected using purposive sampling criterion. Thematic descriptive approach was used for the analysis of the data. The research reveals that peacebuilding NGOs, in partnership with the state agencies and international community, play significant stabilisation role in post-conflict societies due to their neutrality and general acceptability to conflict parties. Based on the perspectives of interview respondents, we argue for the state to focus on creating a conducive atmosphere while NGOs and other non-state actors synergize to effectively manage conflicts in affected societies until lasting solution can be achieved. Some of the recommendation are: Donors must be expanded in order to solicit sufficient funds for successful completion of peace initiatives. NGOs must expand their scope of operations, devise a comprehensive approach for addressing adverse activities and turning them into ‘builders’ in post-conflict settings.

Forum: Making Peace with Un-Certainty: Reflections on the Role of Digital Technology in Peace Processes beyond the Data Hype

Abstract Recent years have seen the acceleration of data- and evidence-based approaches in support of peace processes, creating a renewed confidence that conflicts can be predicted, known, and resolved, based on objective information about the world. However, new technologies employed by conflict parties, stakeholders, and those who aim to make or build peace have also made peace processes less ascertainable, intelligible, and predictable. Technology can thus create both more certainty and uncertainty in (and about) peace processes. This forum article presents a first collaborative attempt to explore how the use of technology by conflict parties and peacebuilding actors influences these dynamics. We examine various fields of engagement, ranging from conflict prevention to peace mediation, peacekeeping, and longer-term peacebuilding. Our discussion engages with a variety of related activities, including predictive analysis and foresight, conflict analysis, cease-fire monitoring, early warning and early action, and problem-solving and trust-building dialogues. We suggest approaching un-certainty as a spectrum between uncertainty and certainty that can be studied across epistemic, ontological, and normative dimensions, thus inviting further academic research and policy reflection. The article is coauthored by scholars and current or former practitioners and underlines the necessity, benefits, and feasibility of research–practice exchanges on this topic.

Feminist Rethinking of the Representation of African Women in Peacebuilding: A Theoretical Analysis

Are women just victims in times of war and post-conflict peacebuilding? This question is a manifestation of years of research into the participation and underrepresentation of women in peacebuilding. Women’s underrepresentation in peacebuilding has been ascribed to several factors such as the patriarchal culture of most African societies, the “women-as-victims-only” narrative and the under-reporting of informal contributions women make through their participation in peacebuilding activities. Importantly, the women as-victim-only narrative which features in numerous studies is often cited as why women are not participating in post-conflict peacebuilding, thereby necessitating the opening question. Therefore, this paper used the radical feminist theory as a lens to rethink the agency that women embody during peacebuilding in a bid to argue that women are much more than victims. More specifically, it sought to examine the validity of the women-as-victims-only narrative and how it limits the representation of women in peacebuilding. By using qualitative methodology and radical feminist theoretical framework, this paper argued that women are much more than victims of war as they often participate in peace processes. The study found that women in Sierra Leone were an integral part of the peace processes, which lends credence to the notion that women are both victims of war and agents of peace.

Realism – Forgotten Theory for Peacebuilding

The article brings attention to the gap in the research on peacebuilding from the perspective of realist theories. Started by Johan Galtung, the peacebuilding field has been largely influenced by his understanding of peace and violence, as well as by the peace studies discipline itself. An Agenda for Peace turned the theoretical concept into international practice, and the liberal spirit accompanying it imprinted on the research approaches that guide peacebuilding activities. Executed in the form of democratic transformation and statebuilding, peacebuilding operations often did not bring the expected results and called on a lot of criticism. Besides, throughout the decades dominating approaches (liberalism complemented by institutional and critical IR theories) have not been able to explain the continuous unattainability of sustainable peace and exacerbation of violence. A little attention has been given to peacebuilding by the realist theory, which has limited interest in local conflicts. In this aspect, the article aims to discuss how the realist theories have been addressing the topic of peacebuilding so far, analyse what are the main assumptions related to peacebuilding from a realist perspective; and assess if the realist theories can be helpful in resolving the problem of peacebuilding ineffectiveness. The article opens further discussion on whether the realist perspective and its focus on states’ interests, rather than (democratic and liberal) values and institutions, can be used for analysing the problems of the peacebuilding process and can help to better understand situations, where it is ineffective.