CTE1111

CITIZENSHIP AND TRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION

UNIT 4
PEACE EDUCATION
Unit learning outcomes

By the end of this unit, you should be able to:

 Explain key concepts of peace, conflict including
conflict analysis and mapping;
 Describe major approaches and theories to PE
 Discuss different ways of addressing a conflict
 Analyze mechanisms for peace building at the
local, international levels and new trends
 UNIT OUTLINE

 Section 1: Understanding peace, peace

education, conflict, conflict analysis and
mapping
 Section 2: Major approaches and theories to
peace education
 Section 3: Ways of addressing a conflict
 Section 4: Mechanisms for peace building at
the local, international levels and new trends.
SECTION 1: Understanding peace, peace education,
conflict, conflict analysis and mapping

 What is peace?
 What is conflict?
 Conflict analysis?
 Conflict mapping?
What is peace?

 Peace has varied meanings and interpretations.

 Some may say there is peace when a ceasefire is reached
or when a peace agreement is signed.
 Many people would define peace as a lack of violence or
war. However, peace is much more than that. Peace is a
comprehensive process that involves the abolishment of
all forms of violence.
 To understand peace, we must understand the forms of
violence that prevent its existence.
Forms of violence that prevents peace
to exist
1. Direct or physical violence: involves the use of physical force
against another and immediate relationship between the
perpetrator and the victim of violence.
 Beating, burning, maiming or killing with or without weapons,
torture, rape, sexual violence, armed conflict, genocide, terrorism,
domestic violence within one’s own home, etc. are examples of
direct or physical violence.
 Physical violence may or may not result in an injury that requires
medical attention.
2. Structural or indirect violence: refers to injustices such as poverty,
discrimination and unequal access to opportunities and services, which are at the
root of much conflict.
 This is a form of violence that is embedded in systems that prioritize certain
groups, classes, genders, nationalities, etc., over others in terms of goods,
resources, or opportunities.
 An example could be apartheid (racial segregation that existed in South Africa)
or the prioritization of boys’ education over girls.
 Structural violence does not need a direct relationship between the perpetrator
and the victim of violence.
 It is built into social, economic, and political structures at the local, national,
regional and global levels.
 It mostly involves the unequal distribution of resources and opportunities and
prevents people from realizing their potentials.
 Unequal access to and unfair distribution of services such as education, health,
natural resources (land) are examples of structural violence.
 Structural violence is the result of social structures or institutions that
prevent people from meeting their basic needs and meeting their
basic human rights.
 Assefa (1993:3) describes this as “ killing without the use of force”.
 For example, hunger can be the result of structural violence, as economic
and social systems may prevent people from being able to access
adequate food supplies, particularly in societies where there are rich with
excess food supplies, and especially when public resources are diverted
to other areas, such as military spending.
 Another example would be institutionalized racism or sexism
 Structural violence is perhaps the most basic obstacle to peace, which
by definition cannot exist in a society in which fundamental human rights
are violated.
3. Cultural violence or symbolic violence: refers to any aspect of culture
such as norms, values, attitudes, beliefs and ideologies that cause and
perpetuate (or that can be used to justify) direct and structural violence.
Cultural violence can happen for instance through religion, ideology, language
and science;
 An example could be the glorification of war and violence, or
inflammatory speeches made by leaders and politicians.
 Peace and peace education are best conceptualized and characterized with
reference to different forms of violence: direct, structural and cultural.
 In other words, different conceptualizations of violence lead to varied
ways of describing peace and peace education.
 Peace is therefore the state of harmony and enjoyment where there is no
direct/physical, structural and cultural (symbolic) violence.
 Defining peace
 Peace is derived from the Latin term ‘pax’, which to the Romans meant a
situation when there was no war fought within the borders of their
empire;
 For the Romans, peace meant ‘absentia belli’, the absence of war.
 But, the term ‘peace’ does not only involve the absence of overt violence
( ‘negative peace’= the absence of war). It also encompasses the
presence of social, economic and political justice (positive peace= state
where basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, health and education are
met and human rights are respected (Hicks, 1985).
 Peace can only last where human rights are respected, where people are
fed, and where individuals and nations are free (Dalai Lama).
Negative vs positive peace

 Negative peace: Absence of direct or physical violence. In order to

create negative peace, we must look for ways to reduce and eliminate
direct or physical violence.
 A cease- fire would be an example of the action for negative peace.
 Positive peace: is the presence of social justice and equality and
absence of structural and cultural or symbolic violence.
 It is characterized by the presence of harmonious social relations and
the “integration of human society”(Gultang, 1964)
 Positive peace refers to a situation where everyone is given equal
chance to actualize his/her potentials or abilities.
 Indicators of peace
There is peace when:
 People are able to resolve their conflicts without violence and can work
together to improve the quality of their lives.
 Everyone lives in safety, without fear or threat of violence, and no form of
violence is tolerated in law or in practice.
 Everyone is equal before the law, the systems for justice are trusted and fair
and effective laws protect people’s rights.
 Everyone is able to participate in shaping political decisions and the
government is accountable to the people.
 Everyone has fair and equal access to the basic needs for their wellbeing –
such as food, clean water, shelter, education, healthcare and a decent living
environment.
 Everyone has an equal opportunity to work and make a living, regardless of
gender, ethnicity or any other aspect of identity.
Levels of peace
 Peace Education: Many different definitions
Peace education = Education that promotes the culture of peace;
Peace education = The process of acquiring values, knowledge and
developing the attitudes, skills, and behaviors to live in harmony
with oneself, with others, and with the natural environment.
UNICEF:
 “Peace education refers to the process of promoting knowledge,
skills, attitudes and values needed to bring about behaviour changes
that will enable children, youth and adults to prevent conflict and
violence, both overt and structural; to resolve conflict peacefully;
and to create the conditions conducive to peace, whether at an
intrapersonal, interpersonal, intergroup, national or international
level (UNICEF, 1999 )”.
UNICEF. (1999). Peace Education in UNICEF, Susan Fountain,
Working Paper, Education Section, Programme Division. New York.
 For IAN HARRIS:
 Peace Education can be simply defined as “ the process of teaching
people about the treats of violence and strategies for peace” and may
take place inside or outside the school (Harris, 2008, p.15);
 Peace education tries to protect students against the evil effects of
violence by teaching skills to manage conflicts nonviolently and by
creating a desire to seek peaceful resolutions of conflicts.
Harris, I. (2009). Peace education: Definition, approaches, and future
directions. Peace, Literature and Art, 1, 77-96.
For AEGIS TRUST:

“Peace education isn’t a history lesson. The

objective is to provide our beneficiaries with
content, knowledge and skills to allow them to
promote peace in their areas of influence.
(schools or community at large)” – Freddy
Mutanguha
For REB (2015):
• Rwanda, because of its long experience of ethnical segregation, genocide and
its consequences and the emergence of Competence Based Curriculum (CBC),
has opted to implement a Peace and Values Education (PVE) programme.
• PVE involves channeling peace education through an integrated combination
of values, concepts, skills, attitudes, activities and predispositions perceived as
essential and justifiable for creating deeper levels of wellbeing and unity in
interpersonal and intragroup, cognitive and affective life and behavioral
processes of all participants in terms of expectations, and entails equal
allocation of resources.
• It is expected to be channeled not only through content but also through the
objectives and methodology of the taught/learnt subjects in the curriculum.
 Thus, Peace and Values Education (PVE) according to REB is defined as
education that promotes social cohesion, positive values, including pluralism
and personal responsibility, empathy, critical thinking and action in order to
build a more peaceful society.

Source
 Rwanda Education Board (REB). 2015(a). Competence-Based
curriculum: Curriculum framework. Kigali, Rwanda.
 If peace is something that can be learned, then it is the job of teachers to educate their
students to be peacemakers.
 This is the task of peace education: to transform the minds of learners in order to build a
peaceful world.
 The essence of PE is transformation of the educator, the student and finally the society
(Turay and ENGLISH, 2008) from the culture of war to the culture of peace;
 Creating a culture of peace requires fundamental change in knowledge, attitudes,
behavior and worldview which enables the learners to take action for a more peaceful
world;
 The final goal of PE is the formation of responsible, committed and caring citizens who
have integrated the values into every day life and acquired skills to advocate for them
(Betty Reardon)
 Unless we teach children peace, someone else will teach them violence (Coleman
McCarthy)
 Types of Peace Education: Formal, non-
formal and informal Peace Education
 Formal education has been defined as official, non-formal education as extra-
curricular, and informal education as spontaneous (Lorand & Raluca, 2013 cited
in UNESCO, 2014).
 Formal peace education happens in the classroom. In the context of Rwanda, in
primary and high schools there is no specific subject called ‘peace education’.
Rather, the latter is embedded in other subjects such as social studies, history.
 In high schools, peace education takes place through Peace and Values Education
(PVE) where peace and values are taught across all subjects. Here peace education
is not taken as a stand alone subject; it is rather a cross-cutting subject.
 Peace education is also a concern for higher learning institution in Rwanda.
Reference is made here to Masters programme in Peace and Conflict Studies at UR,
and the introduction of the present module CTE 1111 Citizenship and
Transformative education. Other private higher learning institutions also have
different forms of peace education.
 Ctd
 Non-formal peace education: Beside the school system (formal
education), Rwanda uses mainly non-formal peace education
channels/forums rather than informal peace education settings.
 Non-formal PE structures are not necessarily established for peace
education purposes (with a clear and consistent pedagogy); rather, they
are forums established by the government and non-governmental
organizations where discussions on violence, conflict, poverty,
insecurity, injustice and government policies and programs are held.
 This means that they are planned and structured discussion forums
(also referred to locally as ‘home-grown solutions’) which go well with
the definition of non-formal education.
 CTD
 Some of the non-formal peace educational channels (in the form of programs,
policies, and institutions) used in Rwanda include: National Women’s Council
(NWC); umugoroba w’ababyeyi “Parents’ Evening Forum; anti-GBV Clubs;
Umuganda (community work); The committee of mediators (Abunzi);
Gacaca; Citizens’ council (inteko y’abaturage); the National Commission of
Children has run a forum at the community level called “friends of family”;
Ingando—Solidarity Camps; Itorero; Umushyikirano—National Dialogue
Council, Umwiherero—Leadership retreat; Ndi umunyarwanda, Gira inka.
 Non-formal peace educational also include museums, churches, genocide
memorials, art exhibitions, etc.
 Some of Government institutions in charge of promoting non-formal PE include
the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC), the National Itorero
Commission (NIC); and the National Commission for the Fight Against Genocide
(CNLG); Unity Club.
 Key civil society organizations in charge of PE

 Aegis Trust, Never Again, Institute of Research and Dialogue

for Peace (IRDP), Wellspring Academy
 Faith-based organizations: African Evangelistic Enterprise
(AEE); Christian Action for Reconciliation and Social
Assistance (CARSA); Rabagirana Ministry; Amahoro Builders
Section 2: Major approaches and theories to
Peace Education
 Bar-Tal and Rosen (2012) highlight two different approaches to
peace education:
 A narrow approach where peace education is carried out in schools,
and
 A broad approach where peace education is carried out in society,
and the community is encouraged to work toward a peace process’
 The school system can be used as an agent of Peace Education
because this system has a great influence over the youth
communities.
 Bar-Tal and Rosen (2012) develop this assumption based on four
factors.
 1) Education can reach a greater portion of society because all children
are required to attend schools in most societies.
 2) School systems are a social institution that can carry out peace
education because they have the resources, methods, legitimacy and
authority.
 3) School takes place during an important and formative period of
children's lives. Therefore they are open to new information and ideas.
 Finally 4) Youth are required to learn the information taught in schools,
and usually they believe the information they are given as truth.
Approaches to Peace Education: Education
for and about peace

 Peace Education means to learn about peace and to

learn for peace i.e. education about peace and
education for peace.
 Education for peace
 Education for peace answers the question, “What skills, attitudes and
knowledge do we need to develop, to create peace?”
 Learning for peace means learning the skills, attitudes and values that
one needs in order to contribute to peace and help maintain it.
 According to Reardon (1999), education for peace is “education to
create some of the preconditions for the achievement of peace” (p.8).
 Education for peace involves developing values, skills and attitudes
that are conducive to building peace.
 It is learning to deal with conflicts without the recourse to violence,
learning to think creatively, learning to apply the methods of active
non-violence or learning to deal with cultural differences in a
constructive way (Space for Peace, 2010).
 Education for peace aims at helping its beneficiaries to become
peacemakers by creating into them inner, interpersonal and intergroup
peace insights hence becoming conscious of their own responsibilities
for peace locally and/or globally;
 It is initiated during a violent conflict or in its immediate aftermath;
 The major objectives of education for peace are restoration,
rehabilitation, reconciliation, creation of a culture of peace, culture of
healing, culture of nonviolence and a culture of excellence through
skills, attitudes and values that enable one to contribute to peace and
maintain it;
 It is conducted alongside other political peace building measures
although, it is entirely pedagogical;
 Education about peace
 Education about peace answers the question “What is peace? ”
 Learning about peace means obtaining knowledge and
understanding of what contributes to peace, what damages it,
what leads to war, what leads to violence, what does 'peace' mean
on each level , what is one’s role in it, how are the different levels
connected? the interrelationship between parties in conflict/peace
(Space for Peace, 2010).
 Education about peace emphasizes knowledge and skills of
peacemaking and it is called “essential peace education”.
 Without this knowledge, peace can’t be achieved.
 Let's use an analogy:
If we think of Peace Education as farming, then:
 Education for peace would be like cultivating the field, fertilizing it
with rich organic nutrients, and watering it so that the seeds can grow. It
is preparing the seedbed.
 Education about peace would be the seeds, which can germinate and
grow well on this well prepared land.
 Education for peace is preparing the minds and hearts of learners
through attitudes and perceptions, and education about peace is the
knowledge that learners need to create a peaceful world.
 The two approaches (education for and about peace) must have a meeting point
of presenting ‘the other’ not as an enemy.
 Major theories of Peace Education:
Peace education for negative peace
 For achieving negative peace, there is a need to have in
place a kind of peace education towards negative peace.
 Here peace education is described as human rights
education (aimed at recognizing the claims individuals can
make principally to the state about how they should be
treated), international education (geared towards
peacekeeping in and between nations), character & values
education, and conflict resolution education (whose goal is
peacemaking skills development) (Harris, 2004).
 Peace education for positive peace

 Structural and cultural violence call for positive peace, which suggests
the creation of social, economic, and political conditions that foster
justice, equality and well-being.
 Positive peace is achieved through a specific kind of peace education
beyond human rights education, international education, and conflict
resolution. It calls for (i) critical peace education, and (ii) post-
colonial peace education.
 Critical peace education (Freire, 1993; Kester & Cremin, 2017) is the
kind of education where young people and adults are equipped with
knowledge, skills, values and attitudes necessary to identify various
forms of injustices existing in society and work towards their
eradication.
Sources:
Freire, P. (1970) (1993) (2003). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York:
Continuum.
Kester, K., & Cremin, H. (2017). Peace education and peace education research:
Toward a concept of post structural violence and second-order
reflexivity. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 49(14), 1415-1427.
 Post-colonial peace education

 Unlike critical peace education which concerns itself with

immediate, localized social injustices and positions the work of
liberation in the mind of the oppressed, postcolonial peace
education (Kurian & Kester, 2019;
Zakharia, 2017; Zembylas, 2018) perceives structural violence
beyond the immediate local context and challenges broader
postcolonial structural violence, i.e. the violence posed by
colonialism despite its apparent end.
 Postcolonial peace education locates structural violence in the
world order deeply rooted in colonialism persistent in areas such
as economics, politics, social, and international relations.
Major theories of peace education

Critical Peace Education

Positive = absence of
structural and cultural
violence

Post-Colonial Peace
Education
Peace

Human rights education,

International education,
Negative = absence of
direct/physical violence Character education;
Values education; Conflict
Resolution
Section 1: Understanding peace, peace
education, conflict, conflict analysis and
mapping
 Conflict
 A conflict means the clash of interest. Clash: incompatibility
leading to disagreement. Often, the conflict occurs when interests of
either party are compromised (not fully meet).
 A conflict refers to the pursuit of incompatible goals by
individuals or groups, thus resulting in an antagonistic state
(state of disagreement).
 It may also be defined as a struggle or contest between people
with opposing needs, ideas, beliefs, values, or goals.
 Conflict situations arise when individuals or groups identify a goal
they want to secure (get/obtain) in order to satisfy material interests,
needs or values. When these perceptions (views, opinions) lead to
actions that come up against the interests, needs and values of
others, a conflict occurs.
 A conflict requires two parties strive to acquire at the same time an
available set of scarce resources, which can be either material or immaterial.
 People often think that conflict is a destructive and undesirable process to be
avoided, contained and eliminated. However, conflict in itself is often a
constructive element of a dynamic society;
 Conflict is a multidimensional social process which is a common and essential
feature of human existence.
 When expressed and handled constructively, conflict can act as a promoter
for personal, social and political change and transformation.
 but conflict becomes very problematic when parties to a conflict resort to
(use) violent means to advance their cause.
 When it is expressed destructively, conflict fosters violence and damage that is
familiar in wars and violent conflicts.
 Different types of conflicts
 Conflict is experienced at all levels of human activity.
 Conflict may be personal or intra-personal/interpersonal/, inter-group/intra-group,
interstate/intrastate; transnational/global; armed conflict/non-armed conflict;
military/non-military conflict; low/middle/high intensity conflict.
 Conflicts vary in intensity from small misunderstanding to large scale wars (armed and
violent wars).
 Regardless of whether they are small or major, conflict undermines peace.
 Conflict whereby parties on both sides resort to the use of force refer to armed conflict. It
includes situations ranging from a military over flight, an attack on a civilian by a single
soldier, or an all-out war with massive casualties.
 Conflicts that occur between relatively similar parties (i.e., those who have equal power)
are referred to as symmetric conflicts.
 Conflicts that arise between dissimilar parties (e.g. between a majority and a minority, or
an established government and a group of rebels) are considered asymmetric conflicts.
Theories about causes of conflict
 Community relation theory: assumes that conflict is caused by ongoing polarization, mistrust
and hostility between different groups within a community.
 Principled negotiation theory assumes that conflict is caused by incompatible positions and
a “zero-sum” view of conflict being adopted by the conflicting parties.
 Human needs theory: assumes that deep-rooted conflict is caused by unmet or frustrated
basic human needs- physical, psychological and social. Security, identity, recognition,
participation and autonomy are often cited.
 Identity theory assumes that is caused by feelings of threatened identity, often rooted in
unsolved past loss and suffering;
 Intercultural miscommunication theory assumes that conflict is caused by incompatibilities
between different cultural communication styles;
 Conflict transformation theory assumes that conflict is caused by real problems of
inequalities and injustices expressed by competing social, cultural and economic frame
works.
 For more about other theories of conflict, read Kebede Lemu Bekelcha (2019). Theories of
conflict. Global Journal of Religions, 1 (4), 1-8. Find the article online under unit 4.
Factors generating conflicts

 There is no single cause of conflict.

 Conflict is context-specific, multi-causal and multi-
dimensional and can result from a combination of
political, economic and social factors.
 Factors generating conflict can occur at different levels.
At the global level:
 Global inequalities (political, North-South economic divide, cultural
domination, sexism=unfair treatment of people because of sex),
 Environmental constraints (pollution, overconsumption= want more, desire
more, buy more, pollute more and waste more),
 Weapons proliferation (production, increase), and
 Ideological contestation;
 Religious intolerance;
 Racism
At the regional level:
 Dependency patterns, cross border social demography, regional diasporas;
 Inequitable access to state and natural resources, a lack of equal
opportunities to access political power and the proliferation of small arms;
 Weak governance and economic mismanagement – such as an unaccountable
security sector, debt burdens, unpopular macro-economic policies, the
collapse of social services and poor terms of trade.
 At the State/national level:
 Weak political institutions: Political institutions that are unable to manage differing
group interests peacefully, to provide adequate guarantees of group protection, or to
accommodate growing demands for political participation;
 Political discrimination and exclusion: the domination of access to state structures
and resources by any one leader, group or political party to the exclusion of others
aggravates social divisions.
 It may provide incentives for excluded leaders to mobilize groups to protest and
engage in violent rebellion.
 Breakdown in social contract : the inability of states to provide basic services,
including justice and security, to all its citizens reduces state legitimacy and trust in
state institutions, weakening or breaking the social contract.
 Corruption: undermines public trust in government, discourages domestic and foreign
investment, worsens inequalities in wealth and increases socioeconomic grievances
(injustices, complaints).
 Identity politics: political positions based on the interests and viewpoints of social groups with
which people identify.
 when introduced and mobilized, religion, ethnicity and culture provide a system of beliefs and
practices that can unite adherents in a community, alter their perception of others and encourage
them to take collective action in the name of their group.
 In situations of exclusion and discrimination, the salience (important/prominent) of group identity
can be a deciding factor in whether groups can be mobilized to violence.
 Identity politics can be used by both dominant and marginalized group to articulate exclusion and
discontent.
 However, all forms of ethnic and religious politics are not exclusionary or do not foster violence.
 Authoritarian rule (leads by a dictator): the ruling groups may resort to violence to prolong their
rule and maintain opportunities for corruption.
 This can in turn provoke violent rebellion by marginalized groups.
 Illegal regimes;
 human rights abuse;
 weak economies: poor resource base;
 weak societies: cultural divisions, ethnic imbalance;
 weak communications,
 Polarized (extreme) attitudes,
 poverty,
 inequalities;
 At interpersonal level :
 The conflict at inter-personal level involves two or more individuals and
is the most common and most recognized type of conflict.
 Four primary sources of interpersonal conflict are:
 (i) Personal differences: Due to the difference in the up bringing,
culture, education, experience, values and traditions and the family
background of the individuals, an interpersonal conflict could arise.
 (ii) Lack of Information: information deficiency is often a result of the
communication break down.
 (iii) Stress: Environmental stress can also cause inter-personal conflict.
Such a stress is caused by a lack of resources, competitive pressures and
the high level of uncertainty among individuals,
 (iv) Role incompatibility/ role conflict or conflicting roles: When
assigned tasks are interdependent , the individual’s roles may be
incompatible.
 Role conflict is especially likely to exist among individuals who
occupy several different roles.
 It may involve incompatibility between individuals’ values and their
job responsibilities, or incompatibility between individuals’ job
responsibilities and their abilities, time, and resources. Examples,
not having enough time to complete one’s work tasks or not having
the training or equipment necessary to complete one’s work, role
overload (i.e., having too much work or work that is too difficult)
and organizational constraints (i.e., any aspect of the work
environment that interferes with job performance), etc.
 About conflicting roles, often you can be asked to perform a task
that you are not usually responsible for. This can cause conflict as
either the individual feels the task is not appropriate for him/her or
another individual believed it was for them.
 At the Individual level:
 Conflict arises within an individual whenever his drives and motives are blocked or he is confronted with
competing roles and goals and he is unable to take decisions.
There are some basic causes of conflict within individuals:
 Incomparability: an individual may not be able to take decisions among alternatives because the outcomes
are incomparable.
 An individual can not take a decision when the results can not be compared. In the same way, an individual
could also be unable to make a comparison between the different alternatives available.
 Unacceptability: Individuals have some acceptable alternatives in terms of their goals and perceptions and
the alternatives may not be satisfactory for the individual.
 When an individual finds the alternatives unacceptable, he/she searches for the alternatives that are
acceptable to him.
 This unacceptability is subjective as some alternatives unacceptable to one may be acceptable to others.
 Uncertainty (hesitation, indecision, doubt, ambiguity):
 The behavior of the people regarding the acceptability of the alternative and effectiveness of the alternative
can be determined with a certain level of certainty.
 In case of uncertainty, an individual may feel frustrated which can finally be reflected in a conflict.
 Stress: may be caused by role ambiguity (i.e., the extent to which one’s role requirements are unclear),
mistreatment at work, and unreasonable workload. etc.
 Activity: Provide and explain other factors that can lead to conflicts at each of level.
Phases of a conflict: conflict escalation
and de-escalation
 Phases of a conflict
 Conflicts changes over time, passing through different stages:
1. Latent conflict or "unstable peace“/pre-conflict exists when
individuals, groups, organizations, or nations have differences that
bother (trouble, worry) one or the other, but those differences are not
great enough to cause one side to act or change the situation;
 However, at this stage, any event can cause (activate) the conflict.
2. Conflict emergence: After a conflict has remained latent for some
time, if the underlying grievances or frustrations (accusations, protests,
complaints are strong enough, a "triggering event" marks the emergence
or the "eruption" phase of the conflict. This is the first appearance of the
conflict.
 Emergence may be followed quickly by settlement or resolution, or it
may be followed by escalation, which can become very destructive.
3. Escalation stage of conflict: Escalation refers to an
increase in the intensity of a conflict and in the
severity of tactics used in pursuing it;
 It can involve the entrance of new parties as well,
violence may start, or if it already occurred it may
become more severe and a greater proportion of a
state's citizens actively engage in the conflict.
 Escalation, however, cannot continue indefinitely. It
may lead to a stalemate,
4. (Hurting) Stalemate (sad deadlock)/ crisis: a situation in
which neither side can win, but neither side wants to back down
or accept loss either;
 Stalemate is the peak of the conflict, when the tension and or
violence is most intense.
 In a large scale conflict, this is the period of war, when
people of all sides are being killed. Normal communication
between the sides has probably ceased. Public statements
tend to be in the forms of accusations made against the other
side (s)
 Still at this stage, parties involved are afraid of the other and
do not want to reconcile with them or meet their demands.
 If the pain of continuing the conflict exceeds that of maintaining
the confrontation, the parties are in what Zartman calls a
"hurting stalemate," which often presents an ideal opportunity
for negotiation and a potential settlement.
 Stalemates emerge for a number of reasons: failed
tactics, depletion of available resources to fuel the
conflict, a reduction in support of the conflict by group
members or allies, or costs becoming too high to
continue.
 5. Conflict de-escalation: One way or another, the crisis will lead to an outcome.
 This stage is often associated with reduced grievances (complaints, protests) , at least
for members of one side;
 Some rights that one party sought may be at least partially won, and that party's goals
are then accordingly softened.
 One side might defeat the other (s) or perhaps call a cease fire if it is a war.
 One party might surrender (admit defeat) or give in (cease fighting) to the demands of
the other party.
 The parties may agree to negotiations with or without the help of a mediator
 An authority or another powerful third party might impose an end to the fighting;
 At this stage, the levels of tension, confrontation and violence decrease with the
possibility of settlement.
 De-escalation can be temporary or can be part of a
broader trend toward settlement or resolution. If de-
escalation is not used as an opportunity for resolution,
conflict stalemate can re- erupt (break out);
 Finally, if and when an agreement is
reached, peacebuilding efforts work to repair damaged
relationships with the long-term goal
of reconciling former opponents.
6. Post-conflict: time for peace building
 After a settlement is reached and a peace agreement is signed,
this is the end of the conflict. The settlement has to be
implemented;
 Peace building often takes a long period eventually culminating
in apology, forgiveness, reconciliation, democratization, and
development in order to avoid a lapse or a relapse into fresh
conflict.
 However, if the issues and problems arising from their
compatible goals have not been adequately addressed, this
situation could lead back to another pre- conflict situation.
 Conflict analysis
 Conflict analysis is about carrying out a systematic study of
the profile, causes, actors, and dynamics of a certain conflict.
 Conflict analysis can be carried out at individual/family,
group/community, regional, national and international levels.
 It helps to understand dimensions of a conflict and how it can
be handled, resolved or transformed into a peaceful
dimension.
 It helps development, humanitarian and peacebuilding
organizations to gain a
better understanding of the context in which they work and
their role in that context.
 Why do we need conflict analysis?

Below are the main reasons as explained by Simon Fisher, et

al. (2000):
 To understand the background and history of the situation
as well as current events.
 To identify all the relevant groups involved, not just the
main or observable ones.
 To understand the perspectives of these groups and to
know more about how they relate to each other.
 To identify factors and trends that underpin conflicts.
 To learn from failures as well as successes.
 Conflicts are complex processes. However, all conflict situations have certain
basic elements in common.
 One way of conceptualizing the relationship between these elements is a
“conflict triangle”, a model proposed by Johan Galtung, for understanding
conflict.
 Galtung first introduced the conflict theory triangle in his article Violence,
Peace, and Peace Research in Journal of Peace Research, Vol. 6, No. 3 (1969),
pp. 167-191
Galtung’s conflict triangle
Galtung’s conflict triangle
 The ABC triangle of Johan Galtung has three aspects: the attitudes (A) of the actors involved,
their behaviour (B), and the contradiction (C).
 The contradiction is defined by the actors involved in terms of the incompatible values or goals
between them.
 The attitudes and contradictions exist on the latent level and are not immediately visible to the
eye, while behaviors are more visible evidence of the conflict.
 The three aspects are interrelated and any one of them may be the starting point for the
development of a conflict.
 An incompatibility in goals, for example over a territory, may lead to hostile attitudes, then
behaviour.
 It is also the case that hostile (aggressive, unfriendly) behaviour can lead to hostile attitudes
and create an incompatibility of goals.
 Likewise, hostile attitudes between actors can result in behaviour that creates an
incompatibility of goals.
 The idea is that a conflict can start at one of three points but must involve all three aspects.
 While analyzing a conflict, we have to discover, to understand
what the attitudes, behaviour and contradiction are, and how
they actually interrelate.
 The conflict may widen (drawing in other parties), deepen
(becoming more prolonged and
possibly violent), and spread (generating secondary conflicts
within the main parties or among outsiders).
 Resolving the conflict must involve a set of dynamic,
interdependent changes that involve decrease of conflict
behaviour, change in attitudes, and transformation of
relationships or structures/contradiction.
 Conflict mapping
 It is a technique used to represent a conflict graphically, placing the
parties in relation both to the problem and to each other.
 When people with different viewpoints map their situation together,
they learn about each other’s experiences and perceptions.
 This tool is best used within groups - i.e., collectively rather than as
an individual exercise.
 In many conflicts, there will be a range of opinions concerning
questions such as;
 What is the core problem?
 What are root causes?
 What are effects that have resulted from this problem?
 What is the most important issue for our group to address?
Conflict tree: a good example for
conflict mapping
 Conflict tree

 The roots stand for the cause(s) of the conflict. Root causes
are the basic “reason” of the conflict. Remember they are
deep and invisible;
 The trunk is where all the roots have converged (came
together, united) and thus it contains all dimensions of the
conflict; The trunk represents the core problem of the
conflict.
 Branches, leaves and fruits are are the effects of the
conflict.
 Over time, the fruits and leaves can fall into the fertile
soil, germinate and develop another tree separate from
the original tree. This illustrates the complexity of
conflicts.
Example: Conflict tree of land use conflicts
between farmers and pastoralists in Tanzania
 Different ways of addressing a conflict

 Many terms are frequently, and almost interchangeably,

used to describe the activities and processes which bring
conflict to an end: Conflict management, settlement,
resolution and transformation.
 Conflict management

 Conflict management refers to the process of limiting the negative aspects

of conflict while increasing the positive aspects of conflict, rather than
dealing with the durable elimination of the causes of conflict.
 It involves the control, but not resolution, of a long-term or deep-rooted
conflict.
 The goal is the reduction or control of increase of the conflict, rather than
dealing with the real source of the problem.
 The goal is to intervene in ways that make the ongoing conflict more
beneficial and less damaging to all sides.
 For example, sending peacekeeping forces into a region involved in conflict
may help calm the situation and limit casualties.
 However, peacekeeping missions will not resolve the conflict.
 Conflict management is the approach taken when complete resolution seems
to be impossible, yet something needs to be done.
Conflict management styles/ strategies or
modes
 There are five conflict management styles :Competing,
Avoiding, Accommodating, Compromising, and
Collaborating.
 Each of these modes can be characterized by two scales:
assertiveness and cooperation.
 None of these modes is wrong to use, but there are right
and wrong times to use each.
Competing/dominating or forcing

 Forcing is when one party imposes his/her opinions, points of view,

decisions, etc; on the other party involved in the conflict.
 It includes the use of whatever means to attain what the party thinks is
right.
 The one party requires the other party, by virtue of physical force,
psychological force, political force, etc., to accept his/her way or
preference.
 One party pursues his or her own concerns despite the resistance of the
other party.
 One party is only concerned about his/her own interests and position
regardless of the ‘other’s opinions and often uses force;
 One party feels dominant over the other and wishes to monopolize control
and out compete the other;
 The competing conflict mode is the 'win-lose' approach.
 This is high assertiveness and low cooperation in competing mode.
 The competing mode is appropriate when quick action
needs to be taken, in emergency situations, when
unpopular decisions need to be made, when vital issues
must be handled, or when one is protecting self-interests.
Avoiding or withdrawing
 In this approach, there is withdrawal (removal) from the conflict.
 One party prefers not to look at the issue, It does not pursue her/his own
concerns or those of the opponent; it does not address the conflict, sidesteps
(fails to deal with), postpones or simply withdraws.
 Avoiding is when one party decides that “staying away from the conflict” is
the best route to take.
 Conflicting parties end up ignoring the problem, thinking that the conflict
will resolve itself;
 If both parties avoid the conflict, this is said to be a 0/0, it is a lose-lose
approach, meaning, none of the parties involved in the conflict wins
anything.
 There is low assertiveness and low cooperation in avoiding mode .
 Many times people will avoid conflicts out of fear of
engaging in a conflict or because they do not have
confidence in their conflict management skills.
 Avoiding is mostly used when the perceived negative end
outweighs the positive outcome.
 It is appropriate when you have issues of low importance,
to reduce tensions, to buy some time, or when you are
in a position of lower power.
 Accommodating or smoothing
 Accommodating is when one party accepts the other party’s will despite the fact
that the one party does not want to accept it.
 Smoothing is fitting in (satisfying with) the concerns of other party first of all,
rather than one's own concerns.
 One conflicting party sets aside his own concerns to maintain peace in the
situation.
 One conflicting party accepts what the other wants, displaying a form of
selflessness (self-sacrifice).
 It involves having to deal with the problem with an element of self-sacrifice;
 This is the lose-win approach where one party loses and the other party wins.
 This behavior will be most efficient if the individual is in the wrong as it can come
as a form of conciliation.
 There is low assertiveness and high cooperation in accommodating mode .
The accommodating mode is appropriate
 to show reasonableness/rational analysis, develop
performance, create good will, or keep peace and when
the issue or outcome is of low importance to them.
 Compromising
 Compromising is about coming up with a solution that would be acceptable to the
parties involved.
 Thus, one party is willing to sacrifice their own sets of goals as long as the others
will do the same.
 Hence, it can be viewed as a mutual give-and-take scenario where the parties
submit the same amount of investment for the problem to be solved.
 Compromising looks for beneficial and mutually acceptable solution which partially
satisfies both parties.
 This is a 50/50 situation where both parties win and lose part of what they
originally wanted; neither one party nor another really achieves what they want.
 Some people define compromise as “giving up more than you want,” while others
see compromise as both parties winning.
 There is moderate assertiveness and moderate cooperation in compromising mode
 It may be appropriate for situations where you need a
temporary solution,
 when there are time constraints, or
 where both sides have equally important goals.
 when you are dealing with issues of moderate importance,
 when you have equal power status, or
 when you have a strong commitment for resolution.
 Collaborating
 Collaborating aims at finding a solution to the conflict through cooperating with
other parties involved.
 Hence, communication is an important part of this strategy.
 In this mechanism, effort is used in digging into the issue to identify the needs of
the individuals concerned without removing their respective interests.
 In Collaborating, individuals aim to come up with a successful resolution
creatively.
 Collaboration involves an attempt to work with the other person to find a win-win
solution to the problem in hand - the one that most satisfies the concerns of both
parties.
 The win-win approach sees conflict resolution as an opportunity to come to a
mutually beneficial result.
 There is high assertiveness and high cooperation in collaborating mode .
 Some people confirm that the collaboration mode is always
the best conflict mode to use.
 However, collaborating takes a great deal of time and
energy.
 Therefore, the collaborating mode should be used when the
conflict warrants the time and energy.
 It is appropriate when the conflict is important to the people
who are constructing an integrative solution, when the issues
are too important to compromise, when merging
perspectives ,when gaining commitment, when improving
relationships, or when learning.
Conflict management modes
 Activity

 Have you ever managed a conflict using one of the conflict

management strategy?
 If yes, share the story with your classmates.
 Conflict settlement
 Conflict settlement refers to an approach emphasizing the reaching of agreement
between the parties through negotiation and mediation.
 It is aimed at bringing the dispute to an end, without necessarily dealing with its
fundamental causes.
 Using this approach, neither side may achieve all of their goals.
 Third party mediators in settlement process often use pressure, inducements and/ or
threats in order to compel the conflict parties to agree to a compromise solution.
 A settlement is often the quickest solution to a difficult or violent situation.
 However, its efficacy is temporary because the underlying relationships and structures
that have caused the conflict remain unaddressed.
 In practice, conflicts that have reached settlements are often re-opened later when
feelings produce new issues or renewed dissatisfactions about old ones, or when the third
party's guarantee runs out.
 The Versailles peace treaty that ended World War I is one
example of a settlement which failed to resolve the
causes of the conflict.
 It did not bring an end to the open hostilities of the war,
but in imposing harsh (punitive) conditions on a defeated
Germany, it laid the seeds of future conflict.
Conflict resolution

 It is concerned with addressing the fundamental causes of conflicts

and aims to produce solutions which are mutually acceptable to all
conflict parties.
 The aim of conflict resolution is not the elimination of conflict. This
would be both impossible and sometimes undesirable.
 Rather, the aim of conflict resolution is to transform actual or
potential violent conflict into peaceful (non-violent) processes of
social and political change.
 Conflict resolution focuses on preventing, decreasing, stopping or
transforming violent conflict using peaceful, non-violent methods.
 Conflict resolution
Resolution of conflict implies that :
 the deep-rooted sources of conflict are addressed,
 changing behaviors so they are no longer violent,
 Changing attitudes so they are no longer hostile, and
 Changing structures so they are no longer exploitative.
 Conflict resolution is used to refer both to the process to bring about these
changes, and to the completion of the process.
 Conflict resolution is a more comprehensive approach (dealing with all aspects of
the problem) based on mutual problem-sharing between the conflicting parties.
 The parties solve the conflict themselves by jointly finding their own solution,
becoming their own guarantors of the agreement.
 The primary objective of this approach is to achieve a “win-win outcome”, in
which long-lasting (even permanent) solutions to the conflict are sought.
 Conflict resolution implies that conflict is bad, and is therefore something that
should be ended.
 It also assumes that conflict is a short-term phenomenon that can be "resolved"
permanently through mediation or other intervention processes.
 However, while it is a fundamental means of dealing with conflict, resolution is
difficult to achieve in practice.
 This is because the conflicting parties (especially in long-standing and/or violent
conflict) are not open to the idea of close co-operation.
 Techniques of conflict resolution

 There are a variety of techniques employed within the field of Conflict

Resolution to manage and resolve conflict at all levels of social interaction.
 The most important techniques available include: conciliation, negotiation,
mediation, arbitration and litigation.
 1. Conciliation

 The practice of bringing together the parties in a dispute with an independent

third party, so that the dispute can be settled through a series of
negotiations.
 The main aims of conciliation are:
 to help identify the major issues of contention/ disagreement,
 to lower tensions between parties and
 to move the parties closer to direct interaction.
 Conciliation represents the first occasion that parties to the conflict require
the intervention of a third party (conciliator).
 It involves a pacification process and gentle persuasion which aims to restore
communication so that negotiation or mediation can take place.
2. Negotiation

 Negotiation is the most basic means of settling differences;

 It is a process that provides the conflicting parties with an opportunity to
directly exchange information and commitments through which they will
resolve their conflict.
 It may make use of a third party (negotiator) who conducts the proceedings, or
who acts as a central feature of the negotiation process, or who may assist in
deadlock-breaking.
 The needs of both parties are considered.
 A negotiated agreement can become a contract and be enforceable.
 Negotiation is the first method of choice for problem-solving and trying to reach
a mutually acceptable agreement.
 If no agreement is reached, you may pursue any of the other options.
 This process can be used at any stage of the conflict.
3. Mediation
 Mediation is often the next step if negotiation proves unsuccessful.
 It also occurs on many different levels, from interpersonal to international.
 Mediation involves the intervention of a third party, who may be more effective in
getting the conflict parties to re-examine their positions, interests and needs;
 It is a voluntary process and the mediator simply acts as an impartial facilitator of the
process of communication.
 The parties directly participate and are responsible for negotiating their own
settlement or agreement.
 At the beginning of the mediation session, the mediator will describe the process and
the ground rules. The parties have an opportunity to explain their view of the dispute.
 Mediator helps each side better understand the other’s point of view. Sometimes the
mediator will meet separately with each side. This can help address emotional and
factual issues.
 .
 Mediations are generally held in the office of the mediator or other agreed
location.
 The mediator cannot make or impose binding (involuntary) decisions nor force
an agreement
 If an agreement is reached, it will generally be reduced to writing and can
become a contract and be enforceable.
 If there is no agreement, conflicting parties can pursue other options such as
arbitration or going to trial.
 Mediation can also be used at any stage of the conflict.
4. Arbitration
 Arbitration is the submission of a disputed matter to an impartial person
(the arbitrator) for decision.
 The arbitrator controls the process, listens to both sides and makes a
decision.
 In a more formal setting, the arbitrator conducts a hearing where all of the
parties present evidence through documents, exhibits and testimony.
 There can be either one arbitrator or a panel of three arbitrators.
 A decision will be made by the arbitrator which may resolve the dispute
and be final;
 The result can be binding (an agreement involving an obligation that
cannot be broken) if all parties have previously agreed to be bound by the
decision.
 In non-binding arbitration, a decision may become final if all parties agree
to accept it or it may serve to help evaluate the case and be a starting
point for settlement talks.
5. Litigation (going to court)

 Litigation is the use of courts and civil justice system to

resolve legal controversies.
 Litigation can be used to compel opposing party to participate
in the solution.
 If you cannot settle your differences through negotiation,
mediation, arbitration or some other means, then you should
pursue litigation through the courts with your lawyer.
 It is involuntary - a defendant must participate (no choice)
 The decision is based on the law
 Conflict transformation
 Conflict transformation refers to the longer-term and deeper structural, relational
and cultural dimensions of conflict resolution.
 It aims to transform a conflict from violence and destruction into a constructive force
which produces social change, progressively removing or at least reducing the conditions
from which the conflict and violence have arisen.
 It is usually used to refer to a specific approach to ameliorating violent conflict that
focuses on the changes needed at many different levels of society in order to create
long-term peace.
 The peace which develops will then be deeply rooted and sustainable;
 It is an ongoing, continuous process by which destructive relationships are developed
into relationships in which conflicts are durably settled by non-violent means.
 It is associated with a commitment to more long term processes of reconciliation,
satisfaction of basic needs and often also democratization.
 It addresses root causes of the conflict by dealing with basic needs, removing
underlying structures that cause conflict.
 It is multilevel: recognizes the need to build peace at different levels. This
includes the political level, through agreements and economic means, as well
as the societal level, where relationships have to be rebuilt, changed and
transformed;
 It is multi-track: Conflict transformation recognizes that peace is built not
only by governments but that many sub-state and supra-state actors play a
role.
 Conflict transformation includes the process of Peacebuilding, which
underpins (supports, emphasizes) the work of peacemaking and
peacekeeping by addressing structural issues and the long-term relationships
between conflicting parties.
 Conflict transformation and mediation

 Mediation and conflict transformation

share the overall goal of building lasting
peace. However, they differ when it comes
to the means employed, the timeframe,
the parties and the third parties involved.
 Mediation vs conflict transformation
(Hellmüller & Ahere, 2014)
Mediation Conflict transformation

Means Assisted negotiations Transforming relationships

and structures

Timeframe Short-term Long-term

Parties Decision-making conflict Society at large

parties
Third parties Mediators and mediation Mediators, peacebuilders,
support actors development workers.
Section 3: Mechanisms for peace building
at the local, & international levels
 Peacebuilding

 The Norwegian sociologist Johan Galtung first created the term peace building in
the 1970s, through his promotion of systems that would create sustainable peace.
 Peacebuilding is defined as an action to solidify peace and avoid relapse into
conflict (Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace (1992);
 “Peacebuilding involves a range of measures targeted to reduce the risk of lapsing
or relapsing into conflict by strengthening national capacities at all levels for conflict
management, and to lay the foundations for sustainable peace and development.
 Peacebuilding strategies must be coherent and directed to the specific needs of
the country concerned, based on national ownership, and should comprise a carefully
prioritized, sequenced, and therefore relatively narrow set of activities aimed at
achieving the above objectives.” (Decision of the Secretary-General’s Policy
Committee, May 2007)
 CTD
 Peacebuilding is a push for core transformations that enable
post-conflict societies to move towards sustainable peace.
 Key post-conflict transformations necessary to produce
sustainable peace, or positive peace, as Galtung (1976) called
it, require going beyond the mere cessation of violence
(negative peace) in order to address the root causes of
violent conflict.
 This involves addressing both drivers and legacies of
conflict and the promotion of both social justice and
cohesion, by addressing injustices and bringing people and
communities together.
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK FOR PEACEBUILDING: FOUR DIMENSIONS
OF SUSTAINABLE PEACE BUILDING: 4Rs (Novelli et al. 2015; Fraser 1995;
2005; Lederach 1995; 1997 )

 Redistribution: concerns equity and non-discrimination in

accessing services (e.g. education), resources, and outcomes for
different groups in society, particularly marginalized and
disadvantaged groups.
Key word: addressing inequalities and inequities

 Recognition: concerns respect for and affirmation of diversity and

identities in different structures, processes in terms of gender,
language, politics, religion, ethnicity, culture, and ability.
Key word: respecting difference; recognizing different identities,
voices and needs.
 Ctd

 Representation: concerns participation, at all levels of society’s systems, in

governance and decision-making related to the allocation, use, and
distribution of human and material resources.
Key word: Inclusive participation in decision making.
 Reconciliation involves dealing with past events, injustices, and the
material and psychosocial effects of conflict, as well as developing
relationships and trust.
Key word: dealing with injustices and the legacies of conflict; address past
human rights abuses or other forms of severe trauma.
 The key elements of peace building have been described
as: Demilitarization, control of small arms, institutional
reform, improved police and judicial systems,
monitoring of human rights, electoral reform, social and
economic development.
 The objectives of post-conflict peace building are:
creation or strengthening of national institutions,
monitoring of elections, promotion of human rights,
provision of reintegration and rehabilitation
programmes and the creation of conditions for resumed
development.
 Relationship BETWEEN peace education and
peacebuilding (Sayed,Y., & Novelli, M., 2016).

 Although the two concepts tend to be similar and often times

some authors use them interchangeably, there is a need to
distinguish between the two concepts.
 According to UNICEF (2011) peace education is “The process of
promoting the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values needed to
bring about behaviour change that will enable children, youth and
adults to prevent conflict and violence, both overt and structural; to
resolve conflict peacefully; and to create the conditions conducive
to peace, whether at an interpersonal, intergroup, national or
international level”.
 Ctd
 It is noticeable from this definition that peace education relies heavily on the
assumption that behavior change is necessary to achieve peace. In fact, peace
education “believes that by acquiring literacy, numeracy, and important life skills such as
critical thinking, decision-making, communication, negotiation, conflict resolution, coping,
and self-management violence can be prevented and conditions amenable to human
development can be established” (Sayed & Novelli, 2016, p. 34).
 On the other hand, peacebuilding is committed to the view that root causes of violence
and conflict go beyond individual characters and behaviors. A view is held here
that the root causes of conflict should be located in different economic,
cultural, and political dimensions that either cause division or foster social
cohesion.
 In short, peace building focuses on structural and psycho-social dimensions.
With this in mind, it is safe to argue that peace education is a sub-component of
education for peace-building.
 Ctd
 To sum up, while peace education assumes that behavioral change is necessary for peace,
peacebuilding highlights the relevancy of structural and psycho-social transformations for peace.
 In peace education, an emphasis is placed on values such as conflict resolution skills, values
education, and inter-group contact.
 Peacebuilding focuses on equity in different domains: education, economic, cultural, and political.
 In addressing past and present conflict, peace education employs school curricula, textbooks,
and/or non-formal education programs and is skewed towards a rights-based approach.
 On the other hand, peacebuilding emphasizes equal representation of diverse groups
(stakeholders) in decision making process, recognition of different identities as well reconciliation
between rivalry parties in addressing past and present conflicts. Here the emphasis is placed on
social justice.
 Finally while peace education predominantly takes place in school structures and
infrastructures, peacebuilding pays attention to societal structures which also comprise the school.
 INTERNATIONAL MECHANISMS OF PEACE BUILDING:
Peace keeping, Peace support operations, humanitarian and development interventions

 There is a range of activities undertaken by the United Nations to

maintain international peace and security throughout the world:
conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peacemaking, peace enforcement, humanitarian
and development assistance
 There is no simple, clear cut definition of peacebuilding that sets it
apart from conflict prevention, peacekeeping, peacemaking,
humanitarian and development assistance. They are mutually
reinforcing.
 If they are used in isolation, they fail to provide the
comprehensive approach required to address the root causes
of conflict and hence reduce the risk of conflict recurring.
Conflict prevention
 Conflict prevention refers to approaches, methods and
mechanisms used to avoid, minimize, and/or contain potential
violent conflicts; and in post-conflict environments, to prevent
violent conflict from re-emerging.
 Conflict prevention involves diplomatic measures to keep
intra-state or inter-state tensions and disputes from
escalating into violent conflict.
 It includes. early warning, information gathering and a
careful analysis of the factors driving the conflict
 Conflict prevention activities may include the use of the
Secretary-General’s “good offices,” preventive
deployment of UN missions or conflict mediation led by
the Department of Political Affairs.
Peacemaking
 Peacemaking generally includes measures to address
conflicts in progress and usually involves diplomatic
action to bring hostile parties to a negotiated agreement.
 The UN Secretary-General may exercise his or her “good
offices” to facilitate the resolution of the conflict.
 Peacemakers may also be envoys, governments, groups
of states, regional organizations or the United Nations.
 Peacemaking efforts may also be undertaken by
unofficial and non-governmental groups, or by a
prominent personality working independently.
 The term "peacemaking" is used in several different ways.
 According to the UN, peacemaking is "action to bring hostile parties to
agreement, essentially through such peaceful means. In this sense,
peacemaking is the diplomatic effort intended to move a violent conflict into
nonviolent dialogue, where differences are settled through representative
political institutions.
 The objective of peacemaking is thus to end the violence between the
contending parties.
 Peacemaking can be done through negotiation, mediation, conciliation,
and arbitration. International law provides another channel through
international courts
 Outside the UN context, peacemaking is sometimes used to refer to a stage of
conflict, which occurs during a crisis or a prolonged conflict after diplomatic
intervention has failed and before peacekeeping forces have had a chance to
intervene. In this context peacemaking is an intervention during armed
combat.
 Third, the term is sometimes used is to mean simply "making peace."
Peacemaking is necessary and important in cases of prolonged violence and in
cases where war crimes and other human devastation demand the attention
of outside forces.
 In the latter two cases, peacemaking implies the threat of violent
intervention as an act of last resort. In the third case it may demand violent
intervention sooner rather than later.
 Peace enforcement

 Peace enforcement involves the application of a range of coercive measures,

including the use of military force. It requires the explicit authorization of
the UN Security Council.
 It is used to restore international peace and security in situations where the
UN Security Council has decided to act in the face of a threat to the peace,
break of the peace or act of aggression.
 The Council may utilize, where appropriate, regional organizations and
agencies for enforcement action under its authority and in accordance with
the UN Charter.
 Peacekeeping
 Peacekeeping is defined as “an operation involving
military personnel, police component and a civilian
component, but without enforcement powers, undertaken
by the United Nations to help maintain or restore
international peace and security in areas of conflict”.
 Peacekeeping is a function of the UN, but there are
occasions when it is used by international and regional
organizations.
 The UN Charter clearly outlines the mandate of the whole UN
system to engage in peacebuilding. The first preamble paragraph
speaks of saving “succeeding generations from the scourge of
war” and the first article states that the purpose of the UN is “to
maintain international peace and security, and to that end to take
effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of
threats to the peace.”
 The primary responsibility of the UN Security Council (SC) is to
maintain international peace and security.
 Ctd
 If the Security Council approves the deployment of a UN peacekeeping
operation, then UN peacekeepers (formed military and police units,
observers and advisers) are deployed to support national security actors
in establishing the safety and security needed for peacebuilding to get
underway.
 In addition, UN peacekeepers increasingly play a significant role as early
peacebuilders themselves. The mandates of multi-dimensional
peacekeeping operations include many peacebuilding tasks, including
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), security sector
reform (SSR), support to electoral processes and re-establishing
governmental authority
 Local mechanisms of peacebuilding
 Local mechanisms of peacebuilding include disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration and rebuilding governmental, economic and civil society
institutions.
 They also have to do with: Security; Socioeconomic recovery; Media,
communication and civic education; Traditional justice and reconciliation;
Heritage and cultural preservation’
 Security: Community-based policing is an approach that brings together the
police, civil society and local communities to jointly take responsibility for and
develop solutions to local safety and security.
 Ctd

Socioeconomic recovery: Community-based approaches have

been adopted to provide for services (health and education, in
particular), infrastructure, natural resource and environmental
management, livelihoods and employment generation – for example
through the formation of cooperatives.
Many of these initiatives have been designed and implemented with
particular attention to fostering social capital, cooperation across
divides, and the foundation for reintegration and reconciliatory
processes.
 Examples: Girinka, VUP (Ubudehe), Vision 2020, EDPRS 1 and 2,
National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) and Vision 2050
 Ctd
 Media, communication and civic education: Community-based radio stations
and other forms of media, broadcast in multiple languages, seek to promote dialogue and
debate on key issues in society.
 Many also seek to promote reconciliatory processes and civic education. Community
video units are another form of participatory communication, whereby people present
their own ideas on key issues.
 Local videographers seek to promote social change by documenting the views and
concerns of different groups in society such that they can learn about each other. Theatre
productions and puppet shows, designed and conducted by communities, have also been
used for outreach education – to teach peaceful dispute resolution and human rights
norms and values.
 Examples: Musekeweya radio show, Ingando, Itorero
 CTD
 Traditional justice and reconciliation: Traditional approaches to justice and
reconciliation often focus on the psycho-social and spiritual dimensions of violent
conflicts. Traditional approaches are also often inclusive, with the aim of reintegrating
parties on both sides of the conflict into the community. An important component is
public cleansing ceremonies, undertaken is an integral step in healing community
relationships.

 Examples: Reconciliation (as was done in South Africa through the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, by the Special Court in Sierra Leone, and the establishment
of the Gacaca courts in Rwanda), institution-building, and political, social and economic
transformation; National Unity and Reconciliation Commission (NURC); National
commission for the fight against Genocide.
 End of unit 4

Thank you for your kind

attention and active
participation!