Resource Library Data

This table contains the entire repository of data and resources that the Better Evidence Project has collected and curated. To find resources you are interested in, simply use the search box on the top right of table and search based on any parameters that you are interested in: Country name, Keywords, Type of Resource, Authors, etc. The table will automatically populate as you search.  You can expand the number entries you’d like to see by toggling the show entries box (top left of the table) and select the number you’d like to see. 

To help narrow your search by keywords, please refer to this post that features a running list of keywords in use in the repository.

 

Resource Library

Navigate through our resource library, search for the terms you are interested in and the table will populate automatically with matching results.
TitleAuthorsSubject KeywordsAbstractLinkCountry Name
Eirene Peacebuilding DatabaseAlliance for PeacebuildingDesign, Monitoring, and Evaluation DataThe Eirene Peacebuilding Database® is the culmination of nearly two years of work to search, catalogue, curate, and share peacebuilding key indicators that will help you all better assess your work and measure impact. It puts forward program approaches, indicators, and measures currently being used in peacebuilding across seven program areas.
https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/eirene-peacebuilding-databaseWorldwide
Keeping The Peace And Building Stability In NamibiaElliot ShortGovernance: Constitutions, Elections, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR)The United Nations Transition Assistance Group helped to ensure that the withdrawal of South African troops and broader post-conflict transition of the newly independent Namibian state was peaceful.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/keeping-the-peace-and-building-stability-in-namibia/Namimbia
Final Evaluation: Youth Engage Project Multi-stakeholders Collaboration in Reducing Youth Engagement in ViolenceBibhuti BistaConflict Resolution, Project Evaluation, This evaluation report assess the impact of the Youth Engage: Multi-stakeholder Collaboration in Reducing Youth Engagement in Violence that was implemented from December of 2014 to December of 2016 in Nepal. The report relies on a participatory approach to conduct the research. The report highlights the benefits of youth engagement and training to reduce violence in communities. This report emphasizes the importance of capacity building and strengthening the abilities of local organizations, local leaders, and law enforcement. The report looks at how development projects can foster dialogue and increase trust between stakeholders and as a result reduce their engagement in criminal and violent activities. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db70e83fc0a966cf4cc42ea/t/5f3c1d7fb70ffd12b9aa4dc7/1597775233053/0501.pdfNepal
Incremental Inclusivity: A recipe for effective peace processes?Andreas Schädel, Véronique Dudouet, Johanna-Maria Hülzer, and Carlotta SallachInclusive Peace ProcessesThis report focuses on strategies around the inclusion of various constituencies and interests in conflict resolution processes that can result in legitimate, equitable and lasting solutions to complex protracted armed conflicts. There is a particular focus on the timing and sequencing of multiactor inclusion in peace processes by conducting a comparative assessment of ‘incremental inclusion’ approaches for non-signatory armed groups and civil society actors during the negotiation and implementation of four peace/ceasefire agreements: Afghanistan, Colombia, Mali and Myanmar.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/incremental-inclusivity-in-peace-processes-key-lessons-learntWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In South Africa (Natal)Elliot ShortCeasefire, Election, Reconciliation
The armed conflict between the ANC and Inkatha/IFP in the South African province of Natal during the end of apartheid was ended.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-south-africa-natal/South Africa
Preventing Conflict Relapse In LiberiaElliot ShortFragility, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), TrainingA series of peacekeeping operations helped to maintain stability in Liberia for fifteen years following the signing of the Accra Agreement, preventing a conflict relapse.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-conflict-relapse-in-liberia/Liberia
Evaluation of Search for Common Ground Programming in LiberiaSusan Shepler, Olaide Omideyi, Clementine Lue ClarkProject Evaluation, Mediation, PeacemakingThis evaluation report provides insight into how peace committees, advocacy, and spreading awareness through media can help reduce tensions between communities. The report further offers insights into the impact of financial constraints on peacemaking projects. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db70e83fc0a966cf4cc42ea/t/5f344ea8f8fcbb7dfed5d227/1597263529886/0344.pdfLiberia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Philippines (Mindanao – Milf)Elliot ShortMulti-Track Diplomacy, Governance:Power Sharing, Monitoring/Verification: Third PartyLengthy negotiations mediated by the International Contact Group (composed of four governments and four NGOS), supported by international monitoring missions and local peace infrastructure, helped to end the armed conflict on Mindanao. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-philippines-mindanao-milf/Philippines
Ending the Armed Conflict in Indonesia (Aceh)Elliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementNegotiations mediated by the Crisis Management Initiative resulted in the Helsinki Agreement, which brought an end to the armed conflict in the Indonesian province of Acehhttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-indonesia-aceh/Indonesia
Interactions Between Peacemaking and Constitution-Making Processes in Burundi: A Stabilising or a Crisis Factor?Willy Peter NindoreraDemocracy and Governance, Conflict PreventionThis study analyzes the regional mediation process of the Arusha Accords in Burundi. The process, first chaired by president of Tanzania Nyerere and then by Nelson Mandela, lasted for over two years and led to very comprehensive and detailed peace agreements. Constitutional reforms followed and were, to a large extent, directly implemented provisions from the Arusha Accords after another complicated negotiations process which required further mediation by South Africa. This case suggests that while the process has managed to end the civil war, it lacks legitimacy and it has not led to democratic governance. The case study also analyzes the role of ethnicity in peace processes, the impact of different mediation styles, the limitations of power sharing agreements, and the challenges of transforming rebel groups into political parties.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/interactions-between-peacemaking-and-constitution-making-processes-in-burundi-a-stabilising-or-a-crisis-factorBurundi
Ending The Armed Conflict In Democratic Republic Of Congo (North Kivu - Cndp)Elliot ShortDiplomacy, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Armed Non-State ActorsThe armed conflict between the Congress for the Defence of the People and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo in North Kivu was ended with a peace agreement following a UN investigation.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-north-kivu-cndp/Democratic Republic of Congo
How local are local agreements? Shaping local agreements as a new form of third-party intervention in protracted conflictsRim TurkmaniNegotiations, Peace Agreement, Multi-Track DiplomacyBased on two case studies from Syria, this article argues that unilateral external intervention in protracted conflicts is not only about military and financial support to one or other warring party. Unilateral external actors often get involved in the negotiation of local agreements, creating a hybrid form of intervention that combines the roles of warfighting, mediation, and policing. In this context, external actors are able to transform their military, financial and logistical support to states and non-state armed groups into leverage and negotiating power that determines the outcome of local negotiations, thereby gearing the dynamics of the conflict towards their own interests and away from the local agenda. This hybrid external intervention may, in some circumstances, contribute to an unjust and uncertain stabilisation process, while in other circumstances, it can undermine local peace efforts. The clear implication is the need for a greater role and mandate for multilateral actors.https://peacerep.org/publication/how-local-are-local-agreements/Syria
Middle East and North Africa Local Service Delivery Initiative : Promoting Social Accountability and Demand for Good GovernanceBeddies, Sabine; Felicio, Mariana; Dedu, Gabriel; Fall, Fatou; Vagneron, Caroline governance,citizen action, rule of lawGood governance is an underlying condition for the formulation of effective and efficient public policies, programs, and services. It implies a social contract and adherence to rules and laws that enable improved interaction between government and constituents on transparency, accountability, and participation. Good governance is equitable and inclusive, responsive and consensus-oriented. Governance reforms rank high on the development agenda of many Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, particularly in regard to public service delivery. Social accountability approaches aim to improve the performance of public services, user satisfaction, and value for money. This note highlights lessons learned thus far from the four Local Service Delivery Initiative (LDSI) pilot programs. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12776Middle East
Some Reflections on the Role of Power in Track II MediationEvan HoffmanMediation, Track II, Diplomacy, PowerPower is a central feature of both Track I (formal) and Track II (informal) mediation. Power intersects the mediation process at every stage and is deeply embedded in the process, its design and structure, as well as who facilitates it. This paper addresses the question of how to manage these and other power dynamics and what can be done to alter them. Four key insights are presented based on the author’s personal experience undertaking peacemaking and mediation in Canada and overseas over the last twenty years. The four insights are that: (1) Convening power is shaped by the type of process and who is running it; (2) The mediator has procedural power but exercising it might create a reputational cost; (3) Power imbalances are likely to occur and the mediator needs to make a conscious effort to address them; (4) Power, which is often deeply embedded in the social institutions where the conflict is occurring, can be used for either constructive (peaceful) or destructive (violent) purposes and that decision is influenced by leaders from different sectors (political, military, etc.). Based on these four key insights, several recommendations for mediation and peacemaking actors to address power dynamics are developed. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12710Worldwide
Conflict Assessment, Galmudug State: An Analysis of Local PerspectivesAbass Kassim Sheikh, Janel B. Galvanek, Pascal GrimmInclusive Peace Processes, Local PeacemakingThis study investigated the nature and dynamics of conflicts in Galmudug State. The assessment examined the various conflicts that exist in the state and the key actors that play a central role in these conflicts. It also examined the conflict resolution mechanisms that are used to resolve local conflicts in Galmudug State, and the actors that play an important role in conflict resolution and reconciliation processes. Additionally, it examined opinions and attitudes on topics such as federalism and overall political participation in Galmudug State while also investigating the various challenges to conflict resolution and reconciliation processes.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/conflict-assessment-galmudug-state-an-analysis-of-local-perspectivesSomalia
Qatar and the UAE in Peacemaking and PeacebuildingCourtney FreerDiplomacy, Economics and Conflict, MediationThis paper seeks to highlight ways in which Qatari and Emirati peacemaking/ peacebuilding engagement is qualitatively different from other states’ or international organisations’ efforts in this sphere. The main questions explored were how Qatar and Emirati approaches to peacemaking/peacebuilding are unique, whether or to what extent their engagement has been useful to the resolution of conflicts, and how the FCDO can leverage these states’ interest in this sphere. Through the research, the authors uncovered five main characteristics of peacemaking/ peacebuilding done by these small but wealthy states. First, small states, unlike regional or global superpowers, tend to have fewer direct links to the conflicts themselves, and so they can be selective about cases in which they become involved. Second, the fact that both states benefit from immense hydrocarbon wealth undoubtedly aids their ambitious goals abroad. Third, efforts at peacekeeping in the states analysed here tend to be guided by a desire to distinguish themselves abroad, something of statebuilding through foreign policy. Fourth, the trend towards the involvement of Qatar and the UAE in regional peacemaking/peacebuilding, as well as potential build-up of military capacity, is likely to accelerate, given perceptions of UK and US withdrawal from the region. Fifth, a lack of institutional depth in these small states means that policies are at times abandoned quickly and without explanation and that personal ties are of critical importance.https://peacerep.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Qatar-and-UAE-in-Peacemaking-and-Peacebuilding95.pdfQatar, UAE
Advancing Reconciliation and Promoting Peace in Northern Mali (ARPP)Mercy CorpsMediation, Early Warning, Conflict ResolutionThis report showcases evidence of project effectiveness in reducing youth involvement in violence, building mediation capacity to resolve conflicts, and building locally driven early warning systems in Mali.https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db70e83fc0a966cf4cc42ea/t/5f4920167f5bd244a3cb628a/1598627863401/1396.pdfMali
Food Systems in Conflict and Peacebuilding SettingsCaroline Delgado, Vongai Murugani, Kristina TschunkertHunger and violence, Food insecurityFood security is closely related to peace and stability. Failing food systems and the resultant increasing world hunger are among the most pressing issues of our time. The figures are stark: in 2020, 155 million people were acutely food insecure—an increase of nearly 20 million from the year before. Nearly 30 million people were on the verge of starvation, meaning that they did not know where their next meal would come from. The world is thus far not on track to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 (Zero Hunger) by 2030. Despite the devastating Covid-19 pandemic, violent conflict remained the main driver of global hunger in 2020. The number of active violent conflicts is on the rise, and they are also becoming increasingly severe and protracted. Conflict has a direct negative impact on food systems, affecting people’s ability to produce, trade and access food. In most armed conflicts of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, conflict actors have used food as a weapon of war and deliberately destroyed food systems, with lasting food insecurity as a principal legacy of war. Moreover, food insecurity may create grievances that can escalate into instability and violent conflict, acting as a channel for individuals or groups to express broader socio-economic and political grievances. Simply put, without a resolution to food insecurity, it will be difficult to build sustainable peace, and without peace, the likelihood of ending global hunger is minimal. The increases in both acute food insecurity and violent conflict demand urgent and decisive action. The objectives of this three-part policy paper series are to emphasize the urgency of addressing the relationship between conflict and food insecurity and to point out existing opportunities to do so. This initial paper aims, firstly, to inform policymakers of the intricate relationships between food security and violent conflict. Secondly, it aims to alert policymakers to the potential ability of sustainable and equitable food systems to contribute to peace, and then highlights the action required to enhance this potential. The paper synthesizes existing research and evidence, concluding with four recommendations. The second paper explores the links in context, detailing how they play out in two specific settings: Venezuela and Yemen. The third paper discusses opportunities and practical steps that can help to break the vicious circle of hunger and conflict.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/food-systems-conflict-and-peacebuilding-settings-pathways-and-interconnectionsWorldwide
Resolving the Militarised Territorial Dispute between Bahrain and QatarElliot ShortDiplomacy, ArbitrationThe longstanding militarised territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar regarding the Hawar Islands was prevented by the diplomatic intervention of the Government of Saudi Arabia and resolved by the International Court of Justice in 2001.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-bahrain-and-qatar/Qatar
Ending The Armed Conflict In NigerElliot ShortDiplomacy, Ceasefire, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR)The third Tuareg rebellion (2007-2009) in Niger was ended with a peace agreement mediated by the Government of Libya.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-niger-2/Niger
Ending The Interstate Conflict Between Eritrea And EthiopiaElliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: United Nations, Dialogue, PeacekeepingThe war between Eritrea and Ethiopia was ended by mediation efforts led by the Organisation of African Unity during negotiations held in Algeria and the deployment of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to the region.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-interstate-conflict-between-eritrea-and-ethiopia/Ethiopia
The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data ProjectACLEDConflict DataACLED collects real-time data on the locations, dates, actors, fatalities, and types of all reported political violence and protest events around the world.https://acleddata.com/#/dashboardWorldwide
New Paths and Policies towards Conflict Prevention: Chinese and Swiss PerspectivesCourtney J. Fung, Björn Gehrmann, Rachel F. Madenyika, Jason G. TowerConflict PreventionThis book explores the discourse on conflict prevention and peacebuilding by bringing together researchers from China and Switzerland over a series policy dialogues. The Charter of the United Nations, adopted in the immediate aftermath of World War II, is clear about the fundamental necessity for the international community to act in partnership to prevent violent conflict. Given recent shifts in global power dynamics, there is an apparent need for international policy issues to be addressed in ways that are inclusive of a wider variety of perspectives and approaches. Chinese policy actors are increasingly interested in fostering their own discourse on issues of prevention and peacebuilding, rooted in Chinese experience, and engaging with peers from other contexts. The chapters in this volume explore the rationale for conflict prevention and review prevailing academic and practitioner discourses on fundamental questions such as the rationales for why conflicts should be prevented and whether ‘mainstream approaches’ are still relevant. This book will be of interest to students of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, Chinese politics, and International Relations.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12178China
Fresh Insights on the Quantity and Quality of Women's Inclusion in Peace Processes Thania Paffenholz, Antonia Potter Prentice, Cate BuchananGender, Peace Process, Mediation
This policy brief resulted from a meeting of policy analysts, practitioners, and academic involved in the women, peace and security agenda to review, analyze and frame key findings from research related to women's participation and gendered approaches to inclusive peace processes. The brief was intended to contribute to the UNSCR 1325 high-level review process. The focus is on understanding why there is a persistent lack of women's direct participation in peace processes and the connection to the political economy of power as well as ways technical packages for women's participation can be strengthened and increased. Mediators play a key role in increasing women's meaningful participation. In addition, the complexity of women's multiple identities and roles needs to be better reflected in peace process design. Interspersed in the brief are both examples of women's participation in peace processes as well as recommendations for ways to strengthen women's participation. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12897Worldwide
Addressing the Climate-Conflict Nexus in Fragile StatesMercy CorpsClimate, Conflict, GovernanceThe present study looks at the relationship between climate variability and violent conflict, and the extent to which state capacity is able to mediate this link within five countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that have experience conflict or instability in recent years: Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. Because most studies look at these relationships cross-nationally, we recognize that there is much variation at the subnational level in terms of climate variability, conflict, and local governance and seek to examine subnational differences. Despite variation across and within countries, two key insights stand out from the analyses. First, the report finds support for a link between higher temperature variability and greater violent conflict. Precipitation variability, however, shows results that are more mixed. Second, the report observes a general trend whereby stronger state capacity appears, in some cases, to reduce the likelihood that climate variability will lead to conflict.https://www.mercycorps.org/research-resources/climate-conflict-nexusWorldwide
INFORM Severity IndexACAPSHumanitarian DataThe INFORM Severity Index is a regularly updated, and easily interpreted model for measuring the severity of humanitarian crisis globally. This global severity analysis is coherent with other types of severity analysis conducted by ACAPS, in the field, at a subnational level.
https://www.acaps.org/methodology/severityWorldwide
Preventing a Conflict Relapse in Albania
Elliot ShortPeacekeeping , Political MissionThe Multinational Protection Force and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe Presence in Albania helped to restore order, monitored the border with Kosovo, and mediated a peaceful end to an attempted coup d’état in 1998https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-albania/Albania
National Election Response Groups as infrastructures for peace Reuben J.B. Lewiselection violence, state-building, locally-ledIn West Africa, National Elections Response Groups (NERGs) are being developed as response structures to mitigate election-related conflict, and their operationalisation is proving to be successful in a number of countries that have held elections – including, most recently, in Sierra Leone. NERGs are designed as infrastructures for peace, and serve as platforms for peaceful dialogue and shuttle diplomacy with political parties during national elections. NERGs also respond to incidences of harassment, intimidation and violence; work towards keeping communities calm and organised; and engage with all political groups to keep the peace. This article discusses the development and operationalisation of NERGs as an infrastructure for peace during recent elections in some West African countries.https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/national-election-response-groups-as-infrastructures-for-peace/Sierra Leone
Containing the Armed Conflict in KashmirElliot ShortDiplomacy, PeacekeepingThe United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan has helped to prevent a major interstate war between India and Pakistan in Kashmir since 1949.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-kashmir/Kashmir
Preventing Armed Conflict In Georgia (Adjara)Elliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Diplomacy, Citizen Action
The diplomatic efforts of the Georgian and Russian governments helped prevent a war in the Autonomous Republic of Adjara.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-georgia-adjara/Georgia
The Importance and Value of Local Peacemaking Initiatives: Lessons From AfricaBetter Evidence ProjectLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Mediation, Peacemaking
This session focus on the importance of local peacemaking initiatives and how outside intervenors can complement rather undermine such efforts, as too often occurs. The specific focus is on examples from Sub-Saharan Africa. Three cases are highlighted: a South Kivu dialogue process that was organized and facilitated by Carter School faculty member Charles Davidson and local partners in the DRC; local mediation practice in Bangassou in the Central African Republic supported by UN Senior Mediation Advisor and Better Evidence Project Advisory Board member Emmanuel Bombande; and a successful network of women mediators (HAWENKA) who have strengthened the ongoing peace process among warring Somali diaspora groups in Northern Kenya. The Carter School’s Better Evidence Project provided a grant to HAWENKA that developed lessons from the mediation with an eye to developing evidence of the effectiveness of locally facilitated peacemaking efforts. There is also a facilitated discussion about how local peacemaking initiatives are becoming more prevalent and more successful in areas where international efforts have usually failed.
https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/the-importance-and-value-of-local-peacemaking-initiatives-lessons-from-africa/Africa
Supporting Social Accountability in the Middle East and North Africa : Lessons from TransitionsBousquet, Franck; Thindwa, Jeff; Felicio, Mariana: Grandvoinnet, HeleneGovernance: Reforms, Governance: TransitionSocial accountability is increasingly recognized as a way to make governance reforms and development efforts more effective in responding to the needs of citizens. Supporting initiatives that strengthen social accountability at the regional and national levels is consistent with the priority the Bank places on social and economic inclusion, citizen participation, and the quality of governance. The longer paper provides a brief overview of some experiences in the Middle East and North Africa (MNA) Region and international experiences from Indonesia, Turkey and the Philippines supporting social accountability during political and economic transitions. The full paper was prepared for a conference around the 2011 Annual Meetings in Washington, DC and included high-level policy makers from Egypt, Tunisia, Turkey, Indonesia and the Philippines. A panel of civil society organizations from the MNA Region exchanged perspectives about social accountability in the region, emerging opportunities and remaining challenges in making government more effective through an informed and engaged citizenry. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12781Middle East
Paving Pathways To Peace Talks With Sanctions Exemptions?Rebecca BrubakerSanctions, Mediation, Diplomacy
The majority of UN sanctions regimes are designed in support of a peace process or to protect an
existing agreement. Most of these peace processes involve talks that take place outside the country
or region in conflict. Often, however, key stakeholders in the conflict – whose participation in the
talks is necessary for a credible and even a durable outcome – are under UN travel bans and asset
freezes. These targeted measures are among the most frequently applied of all UN sanctions. Thus,
it is often assumed that mediators face a dilemma: exclude listed individuals from talks held abroad
or include them and risk violating the existing travel ban and adjoining asset freeze.
Or do they? In all but one of the existing UN sanctions regimes, there are little known and rarely
used exemptions that would allow sanctioned individuals to participate in peace talks. The language
varies in specificity and scope and the process for applying differs between regimes (and even
within regimes). But the overall message is clear: mediators possess a formal option for requesting
an exception to a sanctions measure in order to enable the successful convening of parties for
peace talks.1
The following memo will briefly outline the existing constellation of exemptions related to peace talks,
examine how they are meant to work, share insights on how they actually work, discuss implications
for policy practitioners, and propose actions aimed at improving these exemptions’ attractiveness
to mediators.
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:7875/SanctionsMediation_WEB.pdfWorldwide
Ending the Armed Conflict in AngolaElliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementAn agreement negotiated by the belligerents ended the conflict in Angola.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-angola/Angola
Resolving the Militarised Territorial Dispute between Cambodia and Thailand Elliot ShortDiplomacy, Arbitration, Monitoring and VerificationRegional diplomacy led by ASEAN and arbitration by the ICJ resolved the militarised territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand which threatened to escalate into a major interstate conflict following border clashes in 2011.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-cambodia-and-thailand/Cambodia
Pathways for Peace : Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent ConflictConflict Prevention, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Economics and Conflict, Diplomacy, Locally-led Peacemaking: Women-ledThe resurgence of violent conflict in recent years has caused immense human suffering, at enormous social and economic cost. Violent conflicts today have become complex and protracted, involving more non-state groups and regional and international actors, often linked to global challenges from climate change to transnational organized crime. It is increasingly recognized as an obstacle to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. This has given impetus for policy makers at all levels – from local to global – to focus on preventing violent conflict more effectively. Grounded in a shared commitment to this agenda, Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict is a joint United Nations and World Bank study that looks at how development processes can better interact with diplomacy and mediation, security and other tools to prevent conflict from becoming violent. To understand ‘what works,’ it reviews the experience of different countries and institutions to highlight elements that have contributed to peace. Central to these efforts is the need to address grievances around exclusion from access to power, opportunity and security. States hold the primary responsibility for prevention, but to be effective, civil society, the private sector, regional and international organizations must be involved. Enhancing the meaningful participation of women and youth in decision making, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people are fundamental to sustaining peace.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12782Worldwide
Assessing Progress on the Road to Peace: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluating Conflict PreventionGoele ScheersDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Conflict Prevention, Citizen ActionThis paper evolved out of the experiences of GPPAC in setting up a planning, monitoring and evaluation system. During this process, discussions about monitoring and evaluation took place within the network. These discussions revealed that many of the civil society organisations are facing challenges in monitoring and evaluating conflict prevention activities; most of them are still looking for effective tools and methods to assess the results of their work.https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/AssessingProgressontheRoadtoPeace_ECCP2008.pdfWorldwide
When disasters and conflicts collide: improving links between disaster resilience and conflict preventionKatie Peters, David Keen, Tom MitchellClimate and Conflict, Food Insecurity, Natural Resources and ConflictThis report focuses on the links between conditions of vulnerability and risks associated with the nexus of natural disasters, conflict and fragility. It also recognises that any given context will be mired by an even more complex array of intersecting risks. For example, in 2011, drought, and food and political insecurity in East Africa contributed to a full-scale humanitarian crisis. A combination of natural hazards, conflict and fragility provided a recipe for human suffering.

The evidence base for the ‘natural’ disasters-conflict interface is challenging: it is fragmented and contested, with a number of studies highlighting directly opposing lines of arguments. This suggests that the complexity of conflict and disaster dynamics can only be understood when grounded in specific contexts. Examples are therefore provided in the report from disaster risk reduction in Afghanistan, resilience building in the Sahel region, community based risk reduction in Karamoja and national risk reduction in Nepal.
https://odi.org/en/publications/when-disasters-and-conflicts-collide-improving-links-between-disaster-resilience-and-conflict-prevention/Worldwide
Gender Inequality IndexUNDPGender Inequality DataThe GII is an inequality index. It measures gender inequalities in three important aspects of human development—reproductive health, measured by maternal mortality ratio and adolescent birth rates; empowerment, measured by proportion of parliamentary seats occupied by females and proportion of adult females and males aged 25 years and older with at least some secondary education; and economic status, expressed as labour market participation and measured by labour force participation rate of female and male populations aged 15 years and older. The GII is built on the same framework as the IHDI—to better expose differences in the distribution of achievements between women and men. It measures the human development costs of gender inequality. Thus the higher the GII value the more disparities between females and males and the more loss to human development.
https://hdr.undp.org/en/content/gender-inequality-index-giiWorldwide
Resource Scarcity: Catalyst for Conflict or Cooperation?Marcelle C. Dawson, Christopher Rosin, Navé WaldResources, Conflict ResolutionA common perception of global resource scarcity holds that it is inevitably a catalyst for conflict among nations; yet, paradoxically, incidents of such scarcity underlie some of the most important examples of international cooperation. This volume examines the wider potential for the experience of scarcity to promote cooperation in international relations and diplomacy beyond the traditional bounds of the interests of competitive nation states. The interdisciplinary background of the book’s contributors shifts the focus of the analysis beyond narrow theoretical treatments of international relations and resource diplomacy to broader examinations of the practicalities of cooperation in the context of competition and scarcity. Combining the insights of a range of social scientists with those of experts in the natural and bio-sciences—many of whom work as ‘resource practitioners’ outside the context of universities—the book works through the tensions between ‘thinking/theory’ and ‘doing/practice’, which so often plague the process of social change. These encounters with scarcity draw attention away from the myopic focus on market forces and allocation, and encourage us to recognise more fully the social nature of the tensions and opportunities that are associated with our shared dependence on resources that are not readily accessible to all. The book brings together experts on theorising scarcity and those on the scarcity of specific resources. It begins with a theoretical reframing of both the contested concept of scarcity and the underlying dynamics of resource diplomacy. The authors then outline the current tensions around resource scarcity or degradation and examine existing progress towards cooperative international management of resources. These include food and water scarcity, mineral exploration and exploitation of the oceans. Overall, the contributors propose a more hopeful and positive engagement among the world’s nations as they pursue the economic and social benefits derived from natural resources, while maintaining the ecological processes on which they depend.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12177Worldwide
Preventing Armed Conflict In The Caspian SeaElliot ShortNatural Resources and Conflict, Negotiations, Economics and ConflictAn interstate conflict between Iran and Azerbaijan was prevented and the risk of war between any of the littoral states on the Caspian Sea was demonstrably reduced.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-the-caspian-sea/The Caspian Sea
Containing The Armed Conflict In Georgia-(South Ossetia) For 16 YearsElliot ShortMediation, Peacekeeping, Monitoring/Verification: Regional OrganizationThe armed conflict in South Ossetia was contained between 1992 and 2008 by the deployment of a regional peacekeeping mission.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-georgia-south-ossetia-for-16-years/Georgia
Containing The Armed Conflict In UkraineElliot ShortDiplomacy, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, DialogueThe armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine has been contained to the oblasts of Donetsk and Luhansk with help from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which deployed a monitoring mission to the region and has facilitated dialogue between the belligerents since the war began.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-ukraine/Ukraine
International Multiparty Mediation and Conflict Management Challenges of cooperation and coordinationSiniša VukovićMediation, Conflict ManagementThis volume aims to provide a detailed explanation of the effects of cooperation and coordination on international multiparty mediation in conflicts. Contemporary scholarship stresses that the crucial ingredients for a successful multiparty mediation are ‘consistency in interests’ and ‘cooperation and coordination’ between mediators. This book seeks to supplement that understanding by investigating how much the ‘consistency of interests’ and ‘cooperation and coordination’ affect the overall process, and what happens to the mediation process when mediating parties do not share the same idea and interest in finding a common solution. At the same time, it explores the obstacles in achieving coordination and coherence between various mediators in such an environment and how to surmount the problems that multiple mediators face when operating without a ‘common script’ in attempting to mediate a negotiated settlement. The study investigates three distinct mechanisms (both on the systemic and contextual level) that have the potential to deter defection from a (potential) member of the multiparty mediation coalition: geo-political shifts, changes in the conflict dynamics, and mediators’ ability to bargain for a cooperative relationship. As the number of states and international actors that are involved in mediation increases, a careful assessment is necessary not only of their relative institutional strengths and weaknesses, but also of how to promote complementary efforts and how to synchronize the whole process when one actor is transferring the responsibilities for mediation to others. This book will be of much interest to students of mediation, conflict management, war and conflict studies, security studies and IR.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12174Worldwide
Safe Havens Amidst the Jihadist Storm: How Leaders Spare Some Regions from Terrorist Violence in the Sahel Mathieu BereConflict Prevention, Locally-led Peacemaking: Youth-led, Locally-led Peacemaking: Interreligious
This study identifies what has helped the people of Amataltal in Niger and Dori in Burkina Faso maintain a relatively satisfactory level of peace and security amidst the jihadist storm that has been sweeping across the Sahara-Sahel region since 2011. To that end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 key local actors selected through purposeful sampling techniques, with the help of local partner organizations, in Amataltal, Agadez, and Niamey in Niger, and Dori in Burkina Faso during the summer of 2021. The respondents were from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, including men, women, and youth leaders. One of the major findings is that the relative peace and security enjoyed by Dori, Amataltal, and the larger Agadez region resulted from a set of initiatives taken by local actors who understood that peace cannot be obtained only through military means, but also requires local solutions, involving local leaders and the whole population, to satisfactorily address security, development, and governance issues. The peace activism of local leaders, the commitment of the population to peace and social cohesion, the establishment of local infrastructures for peace (especially local peace committees), the vocational training and provision of economic opportunities to youth, and a more visible, positive presence of the government, have made a critical difference in terms of peace and security between Dori, Amataltal, and Agadez, and other localities affected by jihadist terrorism in Niger and Burkina Faso. There have been some significant obstacles and challenges: the lack of adequate financial and logistical resources to conduct their activities; difficulties of communicating, traveling, and mobilizing people; and the difficult relationships that local civil society actors and international partners often had with government officials whenever they took a critical stance. This study calls attention to the fact that local people are not only recipients of peacebuilding. They are, and can be, change agents and key actors for violence prevention and peacebuilding in their societies. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12982?show=fullNiger
Empowering Ethiopian WomenUSAIDWomen, gender equality, community, education, health, equity. This fact sheet emphasizes the importance of women's access to resources, community participation, and contributions. It brings insights into the relevance to Ethiopia and the United States. The essential focus on empowering Ethiopian Women resides on the programming of increasing female educational and economic opportunities while promoting health and safety, as well as increasing women's roles in conflict prevention and peacemaking. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1860/Fact_Sheet_Empowering_Ethiopian_Women_Jul_2017.pdfEthiopia
Land and Conflict: Toolkit for Preventing and Managing Land and Natural Resources ConflictUnited Nations Interagency Framework Team for Preventive ActionNatural Resources, Land Tenure, Conflict PreventionBecause the management of land and natural resources is one of the most critical challenges facing developing countries today, this field guide is intended to help build the capacity of national stakeholders, the UN system and the European Union prevent land and natural resources from contributing to violent conflict. This guide focuses on critical concepts related to land and natural resource tenure, strategies for addressing land grievances and conflict, a framework for international action, appropriate conflict management tools and approaches, and post-conflict strategies. 14 cases studies are also included. The guide focuses on the exploitation of high-value natural resources, including oil, gas, minerals and timber which has often been cited as a key factor in triggering, escalating or sustaining violent conflicts around the globe. Furthermore, increasing competition over diminishing renewable resources, such as land and water, are on the rise. This is being further aggravated by environmental degradation, population growth and climate change. The mismanagement of land and natural resources is contributing to new conflicts and obstructing the peaceful resolution of existing ones. Land and natural resource issues are almost never the sole cause of conflict. Land conflicts commonly become violent when linked to wider processes of political exclusion, social discrimination, economic marginalization, and a perception that peaceful action is no longer a viable strategy for change. Land issues readily lend themselves to conflict because land is an important economic asset and source of livelihoods and it is also closely linked to community identity, history and culture. Addressing land grievances and conflicts is fundamental to creating sustainable peace, so international assistance should prioritize the early and sustained engagement in land issues as part of a broader conflict prevention strategy. Such early attention can reduce the human, economic, social, environmental costs of conflict.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12717Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In India (Assam)Elliot ShortMigration and Conflict, Ceasefire, Peace ProcessA gradual peace process has reduced the scale of the armed conflict in Assam while negotiations involving local people and organisations, several layers of the Indian government, and Assamese armed groups are being held.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-india-assam/India
Enforcing UN Sanctions and Protecting Humanitarian Action: Towards a Coherent and Consistent ApproachSophie Huvé, Rebecca Brubaker, Adam Day, Zuzana HudákováSanctions, Humanitarian Engagement, Rule of LawSanctions represent some of the most important tools at the disposal of the United Nations (UN) and are often deployed as part of the Organization’s conflict prevention and management strategies. In situations of armed conflict, UN sanctions regimes coexist alongside International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and interacts with those actors tasked with providing impartial humanitarian assistance to lessen the negative impacts of war. While in principle UN sanctions and humanitarian action share common goals of helping to prevent the worst aspects of armed conflict, in practice they can come into contradiction with each other. For example, overbroad implementation of sanctions regimes can impede the ability of humanitarians to access vulnerable populations or deploy much needed resources. In turn, sanctions designers worry that humanitarian aid can sometimes be diverted or manipulated to subvert the intended goals of sanctions regimes.
This raises several important questions: (1) How can the sanctions and humanitarian communities better understand each other’s respective priorities? (2) How can sanctions regimes be better designed and implemented to protect humanitarian action while still functioning effectively? (3) What specific steps could the Security Council take to improve the interplay between UN sanctions and humanitarian engagement?
Based on in-depth case studies, a wide-ranging online survey, and qualitative interviews with experts across the humanitarian and sanctions communities, this United Nations University Centre for Policy Research explores the relationship between UN sanctions and humanitarian action. Acknowledging the complex and challenging environments in which sanctions regimes are employed, the report highlights continuing gaps in knowledge across the two communities, and the need for greater understanding for how sanctions and humanitarian action could be more complementary to each other. The report offers a range of recommendations to the UN Security Council, sanctions actors, and humanitarians.
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:8672/UNU_SanctionsandHumanitarianAction.pdfWorldwide
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In ComorosElliot ShortElections, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organizationm, DialogueOngoing negotiations and the deployment of Organisation of African Unity/African Union observer missions and a military operation helped to ensure that Comoros did not experience a conflict relapse. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-comoros/Comoros
Transitional Justice and DDR: The Case of RwandaLars WaldorfDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peace Process, Transitional Justice
The International Center for Transitional Justice explores the relationship between transitional justice interventions and disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programs in the case of post-genocide Rwanda. The creation of 11,000 Gacaca (courts) enabled Rwanda to have trials for 1/5 of the adult population and they also began the process of DDR 1995, demobilizing and reintegrating 54,000 people by 2009. Some barriers to success have been overpromised foreign aid, a failed micro-credit scheme, lack of gender sensitivity, and extensive stays in rehabilitation centers, and political instability. A number of organizations have set upon DDR and have offered protection, education, rehabilitation respites, transportation, financial support, etc. The local Gacaca helped to ensure accountability and in some cases reparations on a wide yet sustainable level. The clearest outcome of this study is that DDR and transitional justice efforts (Gacaca) are more successful when carried out in isolation of each other. It became clear to the researchers that DDR would cease to be a genuine effort when combined with a justice process.https://www.ictj.org/sites/default/files/ICTJ-DDR-Rwanda-CaseStudy-2009-English.pdfRwanda
Ending The Armed Conflict In Republic Of CongoElliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Negotiations, FragilityThe ceasefire and cessation of hostilities agreements ended the Ninja insurgency in the Pool region, while a comprehensive Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration programme has helped to stabilise the area.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-republic-of-congo/Republic of the Congo
From Militants to Policemen: Three Lessons from U.S. Experience with DDR and SSRAlison Laporte-OshiroDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Governance: Transition
Consolidating the legitimate use of force in the hands of the state is a vital first step in post-conflict peacebuilding. Transitional governments must move quickly to neutralize rival armed groups and provide a basic level of security for citizens. Two processes are vital to securing a monopoly of force: disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration and security sector reform. Disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) involve disbanding armed groups that challenge the government’s monopoly of force. Security sector reform (SSR) means reforming and rebuilding the national security forces so that they are professional and accountable. U.S. experience in Afghanistan, Iraq, Liberia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo yielded three crosscutting lessons: go in heavy, tackle DDR and SSR in tandem, and consolidate U.S. capacity to implement both tasks in a coordinated, scalable way.https://www.usip.org/publications/2011/11/militants-policemen-three-lessons-us-experience-ddr-and-ssrWorldwide
Preventing Armed Conflict In ZimbabweElliot ShortGovernance: Transitition, Peace Processes: Inclusion, Preventive DiplomacyThe diplomatic intervention of the Southern African Development Community and South African President Mbeki helped to avert an armed conflict in Zimbabwe following a contested election in 2008. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-zimbabwe/Zimbabwe
Inclusive Ceasefires and Peace ProcessesNPSSCeasefire, negotiations, peace process, dialogueThe alarming number of conflicts and associated civilian casualties worldwide emphasizes the need to find resolution through peaceful means. The many methods of unarmed civilian protection (UCP) often prove successful in solving or calming conflicts with the long-term benefit of strengthening communities, infrastructure and ongoing dialogue that are needed to sustain hard-earned peace. Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is a global civilian protection agency, working in some of the world’s most troubled zones to promote peace through civilian protection, reduction of community violence, and self-protection, conflict prevention, conflict management capacity development. Currently, NP has approximately 300 protection officers deployed in our programs in Iraq, Myanmar, Philippines, and South Sudan and we are collaborating with more than 50 implementing community organizations in 24 countries. To interrupt cycles of violence and facilitate sustainable peace, we work through five avenues, one of which is inclusive ceasefires and peace processes.https://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org/images/Publications/CoreComp/ceasefire_np.pdfGlobal
Confronting War: Critical Lessons for Peace Practitioners
Mary B. Anderson, Lara Olson, Kristin DoughtyPeace Processes, Inclusion, Do No HarmThis working paper reflects the work and lessons learned from the Reflecting on Peace Practice Project. Over an eighteen month period, RPP conducted twenty-six case studies on a wide variety of types of peace efforts, undertaken in a range of geographical settings, in different stages of conflict, at different levels of society, and with varying forms of connectedness to local, indigenous peace efforts. These case studies were done at the invitation of the agencies involved, to capture their internal reflections on their work, as well as the views of a wide range of counterparts – participants, partnering local and international NGOs and other agencies, communities affected by the work, representatives of relevant levels of government, etc. The cases were conducted through field visits to the areas where the programs were undertaken. There were also a series of consultations bringing together more than eighty peace practitioners—both those who live in conflict situations and those who work outside their own countries. These practitioners reviewed and reflected on lessons that emerged from the cases were telling us. A number of issues emerged as central to effective peace practice but around which there remain significant differences of experience and belief. These linkages between levels in peace work, the roles and relationships between “insider” and “outsider” peace agencies, and the relationship between context analysis and strategy development. Additional areas of focus included tradeoffs between working for the reduction of violence and for social justice, dealing with deliberate disruptions of peace processes, and assessing Inadvertent negative impacts. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12714Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Timor-LesteElliot ShortPeacekeeping,Referenda: Independence, Governance: TransitionA multilateral military intervention led by Australia brought an end to the armed conflict in Timor-Leste in 2000 after decades of instability and war.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-timor-leste/Timor-Leste
Ending The Armed Conflict In Uganda (West Nile)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Amnesty, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR)The ongoing insurgency in northern Uganda was ended with a peace agreement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-uganda-west-nile/Uganda
Ending The Armed Conflict In SpainElliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Ceasefire
The work of international NGOs helped to end the conflict between the Government of Spain and the Basque separatist movement, ETA.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-spain/Spain
SIPRI Multilateral Peace Operations DatabaseStockholm International Peace Research InstitutePeace Operations DataThe SIPRI database on multilateral peace operations provides comprehensive, reliable and authoritative data on all multilateral peace operations (both UN and non-UN) conducted around the world. The purpose of the database is to present an annual snapshot of multilateral peace operation deployments. SIPRI is currently expanding its multilateral peace operations database and, among other things, moving from annual to monthly snapshots.
https://www.sipri.org/databases/pkoWorldwide
Women's Participation in Peace ProcessesCouncil on Foreign RelationsGender & Peace Agreements DataThis interactive displays data on women’s participation in a selection of major Track I (formal or official) peace processes since 1992, building on research by the Women and Foreign Policy program (WFP) at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and data featured in the UN Women report Women’s Participation in Peace Negotiations: Connections Between Presence and Influence. The following outlines the methodologies used by WFP scholars and includes a definition of terms.
https://www.cfr.org/womens-participation-in-peace-processes/explore-the-dataWorldwide
Engaging Civil Society Organizations in Conflict-Affected and Fragile States : Three African Country Case StudiesWorld Bank Citizen action, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)
Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a prominent role in conflict-affected and fragile states. In the absence of capable or credible public institutions due to conflict or weak policy environments, CSOs tend to substitute for public institutions and become primary providers of basic social services. At the same time, the international donor community has increased its involvement in countries affected by conflict and instability, often relying increasingly on CSOs to reach the poor. While the prominent role of CSOs in social service delivery and other development activities is often seen as an interim solution, it may extend for years, even decades. Recognizing that reliance on CSOs is likely to prevail for the foreseeable future in many countries, there is a need to consider how to make CSO engagement more effective and sustainable. The objective of this report is to identify approaches to more effectively engage CSOs in the context of weak public institutions in conflict-affected and fragile states. The report will: 1) Examine the roles, strengths, and weaknesses of CSOs in terms of service delivery, community development, advocacy, peace building, and governance; 2) Identify the factors that influence CSO effectiveness in performing these functions; 3) Assess donor influence on CSOs and their indirect influence on governance by supporting CSOs; and 4) Discuss the relationship between CSOs and government including their changing roles, weak communication, and government efforts to coordinate and regulate CSO activity. Key findings are presented from pilots of the Civil Society Assessment Tool (CSAT) in Angola, Guinea Bissau, and Togo. The pilots were conducted from January 2004 to February 2005. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12772Africa
Is Prevention the Answer?Charles Call, Susanna CampbellConflict Prevention, Preventive Diplomacy, Monitoring/Verification: Third Party
Is prevention the answer to escalating violent conflict? Conflict prevention uses carrots and sticks to deter future violence. Its power thus rests on the credibility of policy-makers’ commitment to supply the carrot or stick in a timely manner. Unfortunately, there are several political and bureaucratic barriers that make this unlikely. First, it is difficult for policy-makers to sell preventive actions to their constituencies. In contrast with core security interests (like nuclear warfare), an uptick in violence in a faraway, non-strategic country provides a less convincing call for action. Second, preventive decisions are difficult to make. Decision-makers are predisposed to avoid making difficult decisions until a crisis breaks out and they are forced to act. Third, preventive actions are political, not technical, requiring the use of precious political capital for uncertain outcomes whose success may be invisible (manifest in the absence of violence). Perhaps, if decision-makers are able to overcome these obstacles and make more credible commitments to conflict prevention, then conflict prevention will become a more credible solution to violent conflict.https://www.amacad.org/publication/prevention-answerWorldwide
Beyond consultations: a tool for meaningfully engaging with women in fragile and conflict-affected statesSaferWorldGender, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)The Beyond Consultations tool is designed to support actors to move towards more meaningful engagement with women in fragile and conflict-affected states , in response to feedback that many consultation exercises tend to be extractive, tokenistic and disempowering.

The tool enables a self-assessment of current consultation practices and provides a best practice framework to ensure that women and women’s organisations are fully engaged in decision-making processes. It should be used as early as possible during the planning and design phase of engagement, and regularly revisited throughout the participation activity and its evaluation.
https://beyondconsultations.org/Worldwide
Rising Powers and Peacebuilding: Breaking the Mold?Charles T. Call and Cedric de Coning (eds.)PeacebuildingThis edited volume explores what is new and innovative about the peacebuilding approach of key actors (Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa, and Turkey) from the Global South. The results of these peacebuilding efforts by rising Global South powers are compared with each other and to approaches by Western donors and international organizations. The case studies explore whether the evidence shows that these approaches provide successful and alternative approaches to peacebuilding. Essentially, the book concludes that there are lessons to be learned from the peacebuilding approaches of these rising powers. Peacebuilding is both defined and applied differently than how Western powers and international agencies generally frame and implement peacebuilding interventions and programming.https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-60621-7.pdfWorldwide
Reducing Armed Conflict In “Boendoe”Elliot ShortEarly Warning, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Monitoring/Verification: Third PartyThe construction of a local peace infrastructure in the country known as “Boendoe” helped to reduce violence in the area and minimised the risk of an armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-boendoe/Boendoe
Reconciliation For Peace In South SudanUSAIDReconciliation, Locally-led Peacemaking: Interreligious, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)Reconciliation for Peace in South Sudan (RfPSS) aimed to support the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) and its ecumenical partners in addressing communal conflicts and maintaining peace through reconciliation activities, while also strengthening grassroots constituencies and faith-based structures connected to the SSCC to undertake peacebuilding and reconciliation activities. The geographic focus of the project covered the former Lakes, Jonglei and Western Equatoria states, as well as Juba County. The goal of the project was to build a more peaceful, prosperous and reconciled South Sudan, based on inclusive citizen engagement at all levels, attention to past wrongs and the implementation of a just and comprehensive peace accord.
While the project recorded some achievements, particularly around increasing organizational coherence and formalizing systems within the SSCC, several key challenges negatively affect the overall impact. In particular, the evaluation highlights weaknesses with local ownership and the quality of the partnership between Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the SSCC; problems with attribution and overlap in terms of RfPSS and other donor-funded initiatives in operation; flaws in the design logic and project assumptions; and an absence of coherent approaches to government engagement.
https://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00TNMW.pdfSouth Sudan
Language of PeaceLauterpacht Centre for International Law (University of Cambridge), in collaboration with the United Nations Mediation Support UnitPeace Instruments, TerminologyThe Language of Peace (LoP) data base of peace agreements is a key component of United Nations Mediation Support Unit’s online mediation support capacity. The database has been co-developed with Cambridge University. It is an innovative tool to search provisions of peace agreements providing easy access to compare and collate language on key issues across 75,000+ provisions of around 1,000 peace agreements.https://www.languageofpeace.org/#/Worldwide
Gender Trainings in International Peace and Security: Toward a More Effective ApproachSarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé, Stéfanie von Hlatky, Savita Pawnday, Marie-Joëlle ZaharGender, effectiveness, reflection, training, evaluation As more and more states and organizations adopt a gendered approach to international policy, trainings on how to conduct gender-based analysis and integrate gender perspectives into policies and programming have proliferated. But despite this increase in gender trainings, it remains unclear how effective they have been due to challenges related to their design, delivery, targeting, and evaluation. After mapping the ecosystem of gender trainings in the realm of international peace and security, this issue brief unpacks each of these challenges. It concludes with a set of recommendations for improving gender trainings.https://www.ipinst.org/2020/07/gender-trainings-in-international-peace-and-securityWorldwide
Opting out of War: Strategies to Prevent Violent ConflictMary B. Anderson, Marshall WallaceLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Violence Prevention, Governance

This book reports stories of existing capacities and resilience on the part of multiple communities—some quite sizable and significant—that manage to prevent violent conflict when all the incentives that surround them are to become involved, to fight. The stories of thirteen communities show that prevention of violent conflict is possible. Normal people living normal lives have the option to say no to war, and they take it. Normal leaders in systems that already exist can respond to and support their people in non-engagement, and they do. This kind of conflict prevention does not require special training, new leadership, or special funding. It occurs, repeatedly and around the world in different types of conflict. The communities described in this book were successful because they acted with intentionality and planning to set themselves apart from the agendas of the war, for pragmatic rather than ideological reasons. They did not move to avoid interaction with actors in the conflict nor attempt to be irrelevant to the battle. They were not hidden from view by remoteness or because of their insignificance in numbers. The alternate route they chose is not war-prevention, but it does constitute prevention of violent conflict in their contexts. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12809Worldwide
Reducing Armed Conflict Across Nigeria (Middle Belt)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Monitoring/Verification: Local, Migration and Conflict

The development of a peace infrastructure across the Middle Belt of Nigeria has helped to reduce armed conflict and prevent electoral violence.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-across-nigeria-middle-belt/Nigeria
Global Food Security IndexEconomist Intelligence UnitFood Security DataThe Global Food Security Index (GFSI) considers the issues of food affordability, availability, quality and safety, and natural resources and resilience across a set of 113 countries. The index is a dynamic quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model constructed from 58 unique indicators that measure the drivers of food security across both developing and developed countries.
https://impact.economist.com/sustainability/project/food-security-index/Worldwide
From Power Mediation to Dialogue Support? Assessing the European Union's Capabilities for Multi-Track DiplomacyKarin Goldner-Ebenthal, Veronique DudouetMediation, Dialogue, Multi-Track DiplomacyThis report seeks to answer this question, by assessing EU capabilities for multi-track diplomacy from a ‘whole-of-society’ perspective, as defined in the Horizon 2020-funded project “Whole-of-Society Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding” (WOSCAP). Multi-track diplomacy (MTD) is defined here as a specific approach to EU foreign policy intervention, with a primary emphasis on diplomatic initiatives aimed at supporting conflict prevention and peacebuilding, primarily through negotiation, mediation/or and dialogue across different levels (Tracks) of engagement within partner countries. MTD is highly compatible with a whole-of-society perspective on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, as it rests on the assumption that transforming complex and multi-dimensional conflicts requires an inclusive approach which does not solely focus on elite bargaining but requires constructive interactions with multiple conflict stakeholders and affected constituencies in order to reach a sustainable settlement. Such an approach thus implies a shift away from a sole reliance on traditional state diplomacy and Track I muscled mediation. It stresses instead the need for coordinated efforts by multiple third-party actors to support dialogue across various levels of society through diversified methods of ‘soft power’ diplomacy, according to the various stages of conflict and peacebuilding. The report will thus analyze the timing, nature and dimensions of EU multi-track diplomacy in war-affected or post-war contexts outside of its borders, in order to assess whether its actual capabilities for dialogue and mediation support match its ambitiously-stated goals with respect to proactive engagement, horizontal coherence and integration, and vertical inclusivity. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12718Europe
International Crisis BehaviorDuke UniversityPeace and Conflict DataThe aim of the ICB Project is to shed light on a pervasive phenomenon of world politics. There are four specific objectives: the accumulation and dissemination of knowledge about interstate crises and protracted conflicts; the generation and testing of hypotheses about the effects of crisis-induced stress on coping and choice by decision makers; the discovery of patterns in key crisis dimensions – onset, actor behavior and crisis management, superpower activity, involvement by international organizations, and outcome; and application of the lessons of history to the advancement of international peace and world order.
https://sites.duke.edu/icbdata/Worldwide
People-to-people Peacebuilding: A Program GuideUSAID Office of Conflict Management and MitigationPeacebuilding, community-building, development, conflict sensitive. This guide, developed in consultation with scholars and practitioners, provides specific guidelines on the implementation of people-to-people peacebuilding programs for use by USAID and its development partners. These programs, conducted in some of the most difficult and challenging environments, require special care to ensure impact, capture learning and advance a Do No Harm approach. The guidelines aim to assist program designers and evaluators in how best to do that by describing the state-of-the-art in people-to-people peacebuilding. Its purpose is to assist USAID staff at Missions, as well as others working in development and peacebuilding, to implement high-quality people-to-people programs. The guide is structured around fourteen guidelines grouped into three stages of the program cycle: design, implementation, theories of Change and monitoring and evaluation. The bibliography serves as an extensive reference for further research and learning. While the guidelines described in this guide would likely be applicable to most conflict mitigation programs, the focus of this document is specific to people-to-people programming and conflict-sensitive international development. The guidelines were identified based on extensive review of existing people-to-people programs and interviews in March-April 2010 with scholars of conflict resolution noted for their expertise in people-to-people approaches.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12752Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In India (Mizoram)Elliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Peace Process, Multi-Track Diplomacy
The armed conflicts in Mizoram, India, were ended after a lengthy negotiation process between armed groups and the Government of India.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-india-mizoram/India
Final Evaluation: Community Violence Reduction Pilot Project In Paoua (CAR) Transition InternationalDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Violence Prevention, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
The Community Violence Reduction (CVR) pilot project is targeting 10 hotspot locations in the northwestern part of the Central African Republic (CAR), the sous prefecture of Paoua, where there is a strong presence of Anti-Balaka and ‘self-defence’ groups and community violence is particularly severe. Implemented by IOM, supervised by MINUSCA-DDR, and supported by the United Nations Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), the project provides support to armed group elements not eligible for the national DDR programme, as well as vulnerable people in the concerned communities. The project’s general objective is to improve security at the local level, through the economic and social reinsertion of violence-prone armed groups’ elements non-eligible for the national DDR programme and community dialogue mechanisms in hotspots areas playing a stronger and positive role in the prevention of violence at the local level. The most important conclusion is that indeed the project has had a stabilising effect on the 10 targeted communities, with increased security, reduced violent incidents and perceived increase in peaceful coexistence. Fewer arms circulate in the communities and a large percentage of the armed people not eligible for DDR have reduced violent and illegal activities and started to engage in productive activities. People also express that due to this improved security they have restarted farming. Further, the roads repaired have a direct impact on mobility and related trade and commerce, which has led to an overall improvement of the economic situation of the community as a whole.https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/car_june_2017_-_evaluation_of_community_violence_reduction_project.pdfCentral African Republic
Preventing Armed Conflict In Democratic Republic Of CongoElliot ShortElections, Violence Prevention, Governance: TransititionAn armed conflict was prevented during the 2006 general elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo thanks to the concerted efforts of local people and organisation, the Congolese administration, and donors such as the EU.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-democratic-republic-of-congo/Democratic Republic of Congo
Evidence Based Peacemaking: What We Need to Know; What We Need to Share; What We Need to LearnBetter Evidence ProjectDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Training, Problem-Solving Workshop
This session is a discussion about what we know and don’t know, the next steps towards strengthening evidence-based peacebuilding, and where gaps remain. As a community of practice, how can we more effectively share what we are learning? At a minimum, evidence-based peacebuilding must result from meaningful input from, and collaboration with, practitioners and organizations in conflict-affected societies. How can scholars and researchers contribute to that? Search for Common Ground has developed a Global Impact Framework, in consultation with organizations and practitioners in the field, intended to bring together the lived experience of those living and working in conflict and to align measures that help people understand where they are most influential in transforming conflict. In doing so, Search for Common Ground and the Better Evidence Project, through its forthcoming Resource Center, are reframing the conversation about evidence related to peace and conflict in a way that can foster cross-fertilization and inform better learning and decision-making at all levels, while also incorporating local actors and needs as well as bridging theory and practice.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/evidence-based-peacemaking-what-we-need-to-know-what-we-need-to-share-what-we-need-to-learn/Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Democratic Republic Of CongoElliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Ratification: Peace Agreement, Armed Non-State Actors
The Second Congo War (1998-2003) was ended by negotiations hosted by the South African government and the deployment of UN peacekeepershttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-democratic-republic-of-congo/Democratic Republic of Congo
Evaluating Media Interventions in Conflict CountriesAmelia Arsenault; Sheldon Himelfarb; Susan AbbottCommunications: Media Strategies, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, Fondation Hirondelle, Internews Network, the United States Broadcasting Board of Governors, and the Center of Innovation for Media, Conflict, and Peacebuilding at the United States Institute of Peace commissioned this report following a five-day multistakeholder meeting of donors, implementers, and academics on how to better evaluate media’s impact in ameliorating conflict, at the Caux Conference Center in Switzerland. The report both reviews the state of the art in evaluating media interventions in conflict and outlines the Caux Guiding Principles (hereinafter, Caux Principles) for improving the evaluation process. It stresses effective evaluation as a critical step forward for using the media in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.https://www.usip.org/publications/2011/10/evaluating-media-interventions-conflict-countriesWorldwide
Cost of Conflict: Untold Stories, Georgian- Ossetian ContextDina Alborova, Susan Allen, Nino KalandarishviliCost of Conflict, Stories, Conflict experiencesThis collection brings together personal stories told by people who were directly affected by the conflict and who continue to pay a price for the conflict today. In multilayered analysis of the conflict and of ways of its resolution the analysis of the human dimension is paid much less attention. This subse­quently impedes the perception of the complete picture and leads to decisions that neglect the interests of those people who carry the heavy burden of con­flicts and wars.http://isnc.ge/isnc/images/edition/file/edition_19.pdfGeorgia-South Ossetia
Strengthening Locally-Led Peacebuilding: From Policy to ActionLiz Hume & Leslie MitchellLocally-led, conflict prevention, reccomendationsLocally-led peacebuilding (LLPB) is critical to preventing and managing violent conflict and building sustainable peace in conflict affected and fragile states. This policy brief outlines the importance of LLPB programming in building local individual and organizational ability to lead and partner with international organizations, identifies best practices for and challenges of donors and implementing international partners working to advance LLPB, and provides recommendations for its meaningful implementation. While this policy brief focuses on the peacebuilding sector, these recommendations are also applicable to international development and humanitarian assistance.http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12784Worldwide
Local infrastructures for peace in Guinea-Bissau: The contribution of the Regional Spaces for Dialogue to peacebuildingInter-PeaceCommunications: Public Relations, dialogue, citizen action In 2007, Interpeace and its partner, the national NGO, Voz di Paz (Voice of Peace), established 10 permanent dialogue groups all over the country. By assisting the population in conflict management, these Regional Spaces for Dialogue (RSDs) made a critical contribution to peacebuilding in Guinea-Bissau. Since 2011, they have resolved more than 200 local conflicts by using dialogue as a tool for the peaceful management of conflict related to insecurity, bad governance, religion and violence against women, among other issues. This power to convene such gatherings can be explained by the respect and legitimacy conferred on the local personalities who constitute these RSDs. While rooted in local realities, at the same time, the RSDs represent a community of craftspeople of peace at the national level. Their members have a sense of full ownership of their mission and RSDs objectives. Together, they pursue their engagement with dedication and demonstrate their determination to support, in the long term, their country’s journey to stability and non-violence. https://www.interpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/2015_11_25_Local_Infrastructures_for_Peace_in_Guinea-Bissau.pdfGuinea-Bissau
Preventing Armed Conflict In Moldova (Gagauzia)Elliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Identity and ConflictA second war in Moldova during the 1990s was prevented thanks to the negotiation of an effective political compromise with Gagauz leaders.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-moldova-gagauzia/Moldova
Evaluation of Sida’s Support to Peacebuilding in Conflict and Post-Conflict ContextsErik Bryld, Julian Brett, Nadia Masri-Pedersen, Cécile CollinDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Conflict Prevention, Human Rights
This report presents a synthesis of the findings from the evaluation of Sida’s support to peacebuilding in conflict and post-conflict contexts since the early 1990s. It has been commissioned by Sida and undertaken by Tana Copenhagen. The evaluation assesses Sida’s approach and support to peacebuilding at the strategic level and seeks to identify what has worked well and what has worked less well. To do so, it draws from four country evaluations of Sida’s support to peacebuilding in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Guatemala, Rwanda and Somalia. The evaluation finds that Sida’s support has been relevant to the general context in the four countries. While Sida has played an important role in supporting processes that have contributed to positive change and has managed to identify and utilise opportunities to support peacebuilding, underlying conflict factors remain and continue to undermine sustainable peace. The alignment of Swedish strategies and underlying Sida documentation to specific peacebuilding needs has been weak because, with some exceptions, it has failed to target sufficiently the key root causes of conflict. The report includes recommendations to strengthen Sida’s peacebuilding engagement.https://cdn.sida.se/publications/files/sida62210en-evaluation-of-sidas-support-to-peacebuilding-in-conflict-and-post-conflict-contexts-synthesis-report.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Philippines (Revolutionary Workers’ Party -Mindanao)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Peace Processes: Implementation, CeasefireNegotiations mediated by the local NGO Balay Mindanaw stopped the fighting between the Revolutionary Workers’ Party – Mindanao and the Government of Philippines in 2005 and ongoing efforts, although unable to produce a peace agreement, have prevented further conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-philippines-revolutionary-workers-party-mindanao/Philippines
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Eritrea And YemenElliot ShortDiplomacy: Track 1, Mediation, Rule of LawThe immediate threat of armed conflict was ended and the territorial dispute over the Hanish Islands was resolved by the Permanent Court of Arbitration.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-eritrea-and-yemen/Yemen, Eritrea
Trust-Building in Security and Rule of Law Partnerships: Risks, Biases and Knowledge GapsKaroline Eickhoff, Viktoria BuddeRule of Law, SecurityThis policy brief investigates underlying assumptions at the policy level on how trust comes about in Security and Rule of Law (SRoL) partnerships. Drawing on a policy review and interviews, it identifies two prevalent ‘Theories of Change’ as causal pathways for SRoL programs towards enhancing citizens’ trust in security-related state institutions. It then critically reflects on these causal assumptions, considering recent advancements in trust research from various disciplines. Based on analysis, it provides recommendations on how to better reflect trust and trust-building in SRoL policies and programming.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/trust-building-in-security-and-rule-of-law-partnershipsWorldwide
Reflecting on the Role of Regional and International Interventions in Resolving the Post-coup Crisis in SudanClayton Hazvinei VhumbunuCitizen Action, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Governance: Transitition
A coup brought to Sudan a change of power after the 30-year governance of the former president Al-Bashir, which was followed by a crisis as there was no effective transitional governance. Following these lines, regional and international interventions influenced Sudan in its post-coup crisis, creating a pathway towards a more stable transition and settlement. External actors -- some regional and international institutions -- have had implications in African conflicts. Taking into account the accomplishments and limitation, the role of regional and international actors were key to addressing conflict and tensions in Sudan and the subregion. The transitional governance in Sudan provides an example of enhanced sustainability and broader involvement by external influences on the continent. This article focuses on the main influential external actors, which include the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Ethiopia (under the Ethiopian Initiative), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Arab League, the Sudan Troika (of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Norway) and the United Nations (UN). Coordinated interventions such as this one — leading to civilian-led government and stability — provide insights towards the role of external institutions upon peace and stability in the continent, which are worth reflecting on and considering for further action. https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/reflecting-on-the-role-of-regional-and-international-interventions-in-resolving-the-post-coup-crisis-in-sudan/Sudan
Purdue University Report on the International Peace and Prosperity Project in Guinea-BissauMohan J. Dutta, Stacey L. Connaughton, Evan Hoffman, Agaptus Anaele, Christina Jones, Angela KachuyevskiViolence prevention, local peacebuildingThe International Peace and Prosperity Project (IPPP) meaningfully contributed to peace in Guinea-Bissau by engaging in numerous diverse activities across different sectors and at various levels with many actors and collaborators. Based on five years of working towards peace and prosperity in Guinea-Bissau, two key lessons were learned. First, an effective violence prevention initiative needs to maintain maximum flexibility and pursue multiple initiatives simultaneously, especially during times of impending crisis. Second, leadership and engagement by local people is necessary for success in violence prevention and peace initiatives. Other important key lessons, as outlined later on in this report, were also gleaned from the IPPP experience.https://www.cla.purdue.edu/ppp/documents/publications/Purdue.pdfGuinea-Bissau
Resisting Corruption along Drug Trafficking Routes: An Analysis of Criminal Justice Bodies in Latin America and West AfricaAndy McDevitt, Jessie BullockCorruption, drug traffickingThis radical idea of sending soldiers without guns was condemned by the media because they felt the soldiers would be massacred given the first 14 peace attempts had failed.https://www.transparency.org/en/publications/resisting-corruption-along-drug-trafficking-routes-an-analysis-of-criminal-justice-bodies-in-latin-america-and-west-africaDominican Republic
Dynamic Analysis of Dispute Management (DADM) ProjectUniversity of Central ArkansasThird Party Dispute Management DataThe Dynamic Analysis of Dispute Management (DADM) Project was established to assist scholars and students in researching and analyzing efforts by third-party actors – including states, intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) – to manage intrastate or domestic political disputes during the 20th and 21st centuries.  The project includes two basic activities: (1) the collection of information associated with cases of intrastate disputes and third-party management of intrastate disputes in the 20th and 21st centuries (intrastate dispute narratives); and (2) the coding of information related to cases of intrastate disputes and third-party management of intrastate disputes in the 20th and 21st centuries (data sets).https://uca.edu/politicalscience/dadm-project/Worldwide
Why and When to Use the Media for Conflict Prevention and PeacebuildingVladimir Bratic, Lisa SchirchCommunications: Media Strategies, Training, Conflict Prevention
The media’s role in contributing to cognitive, attitudinal and behavioral change on a large scale is unique. Conflict prevention and peacebuilding professionals can use the media in harmony with their other programs - if they know when, why, and how to use the media for the most strategic impact in lessoning the polarization between groups. On the other hand, media professionals still have much to learn about why and when their work can contribute to preventing violent conflict and building peace between groups. The media and peace professionals both have their limitations and share an interest in the dynamics of conflict.
Cooperation between agencies, donors, civil society, peacebuilding organizations and media practitioners is essential. There is a need for meetings, seminars and work groups where models and best practices can be shared. Because using media in peacebuilding is a new practice, everyone has a lot to learn from the exchange of experiences. A careful assessment of whether the media is likely to play a positive or negative role in achieving the goals of conflict prevention and peacebuilding requires greater insight into ways the media helps and harms the path toward constructive change. Both peacebuilding and media professionals still have a great deal to learn on this journey
https://www.sfcg.org/articles/media_for_conflict_prevention.pdfWorldwide
Operationalizing the Sustaining Peace Agenda: Lessons from Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Papua New GuineaAgathe SarfatiOperations management, implementation, policy, sustained peaceThe twin resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council in 2016 made a breakthrough in the UN’s conception of peacebuilding. Significant work has since been undertaken to reconfigure the UN system to work toward the implementation of these resolutions, and the UN Peacebuilding Commission has launched a comprehensive review of the peacebuilding architecture to be completed in 2020. To inform this review, this issue brief synthesizes findings related to the operationalization of the peacebuilding and sustaining peace resolutions at the country level. The paper concludes that much of the focus to date has been on improving the effectiveness of how the UN delivers its mandates on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. To fully realize the vision of the sustaining peace agenda, its operationalization must increasingly focus on the impact of these efforts. This requires questioning and testing the theory of change underpinning these operational reforms to ensure the UN is effectively helping societies build the foundation for sustaining peace.https://www.ipinst.org/2020/06/operationalizing-sustaining-peace-agenda-burkina-faso-liberia-papua-new-guineaBurkina Faso
South Asia's Nuclear Challenges: Interlocking Views from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United StatesLora Saalman, Petr TopychkanovNuclear postureThis study provides an overview of views on nuclear postures and escalation affecting South Asia, based on 119 interviews conducted in 2020, without attribution, with military, nuclear, political and regional experts from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United States. These discussions revealed a number of interlocking points that offer building blocks for both official and non-official engagement on such issues as no first use (NFU), lowered nuclear thresholds, conventional and nuclear entanglement, escalate to de-escalate, and emerging technology development.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/south-asias-nuclear-challenges-interlocking-views-india-pakistan-china-russia-and-united-statesIndia
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In MozambiqueElliot ShortElections, Peace Agreement, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR)The United Nations Operations in Mozambique helped to maintain peace and stability in extremely adverse conditions in post-war Mozambique.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-mozambique/Mozambique
Aid Worker Security DatabaseHumanitarian OutcomesAid Worker Security DataThe Aid Worker Security Database (AWSD) records major incidents of violence against aid workers, with incident reports from 1997 through the present. Initiated in 2005, to date the AWSD remains the sole comprehensive global source of these data, providing the evidence base for analysis of the changing security environment for civilian aid operations.https://aidworkersecurity.org/Worldwide
Creating the Political Space for Prevention: How ECOWAS Supports Nationally Led StrategiesPaige Arthur, Céline MonnierMonitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Early Warning, Citizen action
In discussions on the prevention agenda at the United Nations, member states express reservations about potential infringement upon their sovereignty. Some are concerned about an approach to prevention that entails an assessment of their vulnerabilities and risks for violent conflict. This policy brief looks at how ECOWAS has addressed similar sensitivities with its member states in West Africa and is successfully accompanying them to build nationally led, upstream prevention strategies.https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/regional_organization_final_august_29_pdf.pdfWest Africa
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Indonesia (Central Sulawesi)Elliot ShortElections, Governance: Power Sharing, Violent Extremism
Stability in Central Sulawesi was restored, ending the intercommunal conflict and preventing a conflict relapse.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-indonesia-central-sulawesi/Indonesia
Global Terrorism IndexInstitute for Econ. and Peace & Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START)Terrorism DataThe GTI report is produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP) using data from Terrorism Tracker and other sources. The GTI produces a composite score so as to provide an ordinal ranking of countries on the impact of terrorism. The GTI scores each country on a scale from 0 to 10; where 0 represents no impact from terrorism and 10 represents the highest measurable impact of terrorism.
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/global-terrorism-indexWorldwide
Rule Of Law And Sustaining Peace: Towards More Impactful, Effective Conflict Prevention Adam Day, Jessica CausRule of Law, Peacekeeping, Conflict PreventionThe present report is based upon eight in-depth case studies conducted by UNU-CPR, in close
consultation with relevant UN peace operations, agencies and field offices. The cases were selected
to cover a range of settings, from countries hosting UN peacekeeping operations (Central
African Republic [CAR], Democratic Republic of the Congo [DRC] and Mali) or special political
missions (Colombia, Afghanistan and Lebanon), to non-mission settings (Bangladesh, Bosnia and
Herzegovina) and reflect the breadth of the UN’s rule of law work. While not comprehensive, the
cases offer insights into both the types of rule of law interventions and the ways in which country
contexts may enable or inhibit the UN’s ability to have a strong impact on conflict prevention.
The report not only offers consolidated lessons from the eight case studies, but is also designed
to provide an actionable framework for rule of law policymakers and practitioners across the
UN system. As such, it is divided into the following chapters: (1) the logic of rule of law, describing the
theory of change behind the UN’s interventions and some concepts to understand how the UN
contributes to impact on the ground; (2) common challenges arising in the UN’s rule of law work
across a range of settings; (3) lessons from the eight cases; and (4) a framework outlining key
considerations for rethinking UN approach to rule of law assistance and strategies in the future.
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:8342/RuleOfLaw_FullVolume.pdfWorldwide
Rapid Assessment of Conflict PreventionChristopher Cramer, Jonathan Goodhand, Robert Morris, Helena Pérez-Niño, Benjamin Petrini and Joshua RogersDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Peace Processes, Conflict PreventionThis Rapid Evidence Assessment (REA) has found that there is only a weak body of evidence published between 2010 and 2015 on conflict prevention and violence mitigation: there is no medium- to large-scale body of evidence on specific interventions with clear findings on ‘what works’ grounded in moderate or high quality research (as assessed in terms of the principles and indicators of good evidence adopted in the REA). While there is only a limited extent to which the search uncovered ‘what works’, there were some clear signals about ‘what doesn’t work’. 27 studies had clear findings that interventions had been ‘ineffective’ and six of these were high quality studies. The best of these studies highlighted the dangers of ignoring political drivers of conflict, the need to consider the distortionary effects of different aid modalities, and the specific design features that may render some forms of intervention (e.g. CDD) more vulnerable to attack than others. The REA suggests that there remains a large gap between the demand for evidence by policymakers/practitioners and the supply of research by researchers and evaluators in the field of conflict prevention and mitigation. The stubbornness of this gap raises questions about how policymakers can help researchers to overcome barriers to supply and provide incentives for improving the body of evidence about what works. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/58245e85ed915d7ad500001a/effectiveness-conflict-prevention-interventions1.pdfWorldwide
USHMM Early Warning Project Comparison SurveyValentino, Ulfelder and Hazlett, Center for Prevention of Genocide, USHMMGenocide and Attrocity Risk DataThe survey consists of just a single question: Which country is more likely to see a new episode of mass killing in [YEAR]? Respondents choose between two countries in a head-to-head comparison. They can answer the question for as many different pairs of countries as they like. Responses are aggregated into an overall rank ordering of countries. Our survey is open to the public for the month of December, and is actively promoted to experts, policymakers, NGOs, and scholars in international affairs.https://earlywarningproject.ushmm.org/comparison-surveysWorldwide
Interactive Peacemaking: A People-Centered ApproachSusan H. AllenPeacemaking, Conflict Resolution, International RelationsThis book examines the theory and practice of interactive peacemaking, centering the role of people in making peace. The book presents the theory and practice of peacemaking as found in contemporary processes globally. By putting people at the center of the analysis, it outlines the possibilities of peacemaking by and for the people whose lives are touched by ongoing conflicts. While considering examples from around the world, this book specifically focuses on peacemaking in the Georgian-South Ossetian context. It tells the stories of individuals on both sides of the conflict, and explores why people choose to make peace, and how they work within their societies to encourage this. This book emphasizes theory built from practice and offers methodological guidance on learning from practice in the conflict resolution field. This book will be of much interest to students and practitioners of peacemaking, conflict resolution, South Caucasus politics and International Relations.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12182Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Democratic Republic Of Congo (North Kivu – M23)Elliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Negotiations, PeacekeepingThe armed conflict in North Kivu between the Congolese government and the M23 armed group was ended by the deployment of a peacekeeping mission, regional diplomacy, and a peace agreement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-north-kivu-m23/Democratic Republic of Congo
Preventing Armed Conflict In EstoniaElliot ShortElections, Referenda: Independence, MediationA diplomatic intervention led by the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe helped to avert an armed conflict in Estonia following the collapse of the Soviet Union.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-estonia/Estonia
Preventing an interstate conflict between Colombia, Ecuador, and VenezuelaElliot ShortDiplomacyA war between Colombia and Ecuador, which was likely to have drawn in Venezuela as well, was avoided with the help of a diplomatic intervention from the Organisation of American States and the Rio Group.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-interstate-conflict-between-colombia-and-ecuador-and-venezuela/Venezuela
Ending The Armed Conflict In Indonesia (North Maluku)Elliot ShortViolence Prevention, Religion and Conflict, Human RightsThe deployment of Indonesian security forces to North Maluku ended the intercommunal conflict and prevented further fighting.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-indonesia-north-maluku/Indonesia
Contributing to People's Safety and Peace in Cueibet, South SudanSafeworldIntra-communal conflict In this brief Safer World provides a context update about the current situation in Cueibet –a county in Lakes state in South Sudan. They present safety and security challenges identified by communities, authorities and civil society for all levels of government, and national/international organisations to consider. They also provide recommendations for how best to address the challenges identified such as the easy availability of weapons, cattle raiding, weak justice systems and a lack of security services to turn to.https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/publications/1334-contributing-to-peopleas-safety-and-peace-in-cueibet-south-sudanSouth Sudan
Promoting Peaceful and Safe Seasonal Migration in Northern Central African RepublicGuillaume de Brier, Peer Schouten, Peter Marsden, Dirk Gillebert, Timea Szarkova, Anna Moens, Lucie HayeSeasonal migration, conflictThe borderlands of the Central African Republic (CAR) are home to one of the largest seasonal livestock migrations (transhumance) in the world. Decades of unrest and crisis, however, have brutally disrupted most aspects of herding—the routes taken, the people involved, governance mechanisms, as well as relations to local populations. To understand these changes and inform future peacebuilding efforts, IPIS and Concordis conducted a large-scale mapping and consultation with 1.300 stakeholders in CAR’s western borderlands of Ouham-Pendé and Western Ouham. Based on these consultations, the report takes a deep dive into the different mutual perceptions of transboundary and local herders and sedentary people of the deep causes of conflict and pathways for peaceful cohabitation. It identifies changes in herding routes and practices, highlights grass-root barriers to peace, assesses trust in different institutions for security and justice, and identifies opportunities for conflict transformation and economic growth.https://pure.diis.dk/ws/files/4060092/2021_Concordis_Report.pdfCentral African Republic
Rebuilding The Rule Of Law In Post-conflict EnvironmentsDr. Corbin Lyday, Jan StromsemPost-conflict, rule of law, development, peacemaking. This guide provides practical guidance on rule of law programming in post-conflict environments. It reflects over twenty years of experience working in post-conflict environments, and presents the key challenges, lessons learned, and programming options for advancing rule of law development objectives in these environments. It is hoped that this guide will facilitate effective analysis, planning and programming that contribute to the strengthening of the rule of law in post-conflict societies.https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/USAID-Post_Conflict_ROL_508.pdfWorldwide
Reconciliation in PracticeKelly McKoneReconciliation, Peace Processes: Strategies, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)Reconciliation plays a key role in building sustainable peace after mass violence which requires individual and collective work along the lines of identity. Through a deeper understanding of reconciliation, its definitions, and its practices on the ground, a clearer path can bring forth an effective analysis of coordinated efforts by individuals, non-governmental organizations, and governments. It is key to observe different reconciliation efforts and approaches, to unfold various projects’ intervention strategies, indicators to measure efficacy, evaluations, and transference of information. The report follows four stages: discussion of research methodologies used for information gathering and analysis; then it presents and evaluates the ten distinct, albeit overlapping, areas of practice in the field; the results are then presented according to the measures at the individual, community, or government level; lastly, gaps in the practice and evaluation of reconciliation are discussed and recommendations for future research are expressed. This research is a base to inform further questions regarding reconciliation projects and methods. Overall, practices and intervention strategies of reconciliation are looked upon, as well as the operationalization of the definition of reconciliation and associated terms, weak and strong indicators used at different levels, and evaluation tools and what it involves to the stakeholders. https://www.usip.org/publications/2015/08/reconciliation-practiceWorldwide
Women’s Participation And The Fate Of Nonviolent Campaign: A Report On The Women In Resistance (Wire) Data SetErica Chenoweth, Conor Seyle, Sahana DharmapuriLocally-led Peacemaking: Women-led, Gender, Inclusive PeacebuildingDrawn from the Women in Resistance (WiRe) data set, this report is a first of its kind attempt to assess resistance movements on the degree to which they incorporate women into their political goals, their memberships, and their leadership. The brief draws on the findings from the full report, which examines the effects of women’s representation in resistance movements on their choice of strategies and movement effectiveness. It outlines key findings from the data, as well as practical implications and recommendations for governments, civil society, and scholars.https://oursecurefuture.org/research-analysis/women%E2%80%99s-participation-and-fate-nonviolent-campaigns-policy-briefWorldwide
Data For Peacebuilding And Prevention Ecosystem Mapping The State Of Play And The Path To Creating A Community Of PracticeBranka PanicDigital Security, Technology, Private Sector and PeacebuildingIn 2019 and 2020, the Center on International Cooperation convened researchers and practitioners for a series of workshops on Data for Peace and Security highlighting practical applications of these new approaches in the peacebuilding field. This report, launched at the first virtual dialogue, lays out the state of the field and provides recommendations on how best to grow the field effectively. The report maps and analyzes the existing global ecosystem in the field of data for peace and prevention. It highlights multiple examples of relevant initiatives throughout the world utilizing big data, data visualization, AI, ML, image recognition, and social media listening. It also discusses technical challenges impacting all actors, such as the lack of data or lack of high-quality data, lack of access due to security reasons, and data colonialism, as well as the ethical considerations brought on by exponential technologies (security, accessibility, transparency, safety, trust, bias, and justice), and some specific challenges for data-driven approaches to peacebuilding.https://cic.nyu.edu/publications/data-peacebuilding-and-prevention-ecosystem-mapping-state-play-and-path-creatingWorldwide
Ceasefires Tracker: Monitorings the effects of Covid ceasefires on peace processes and armed conflict.PeaceRepCeasefire DataThe Covid-19 Ceasefire Tracker is a publicly available digital tracking tool to examine the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak on peace processes and armed conflict across the world. The tool monitors the progress of ceasefires alongside live data on infection rates in country. The data can be viewed in a timeline format, a search browse format, and a map format which also includes live data on infection rates in country.
https://peacerep.org/covid19/research/ceasefires/Worldwide
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Disputes Between Botswana And NamibiaElliot ShortNegotiation, Mediation, Ratification: Peace AgreementThe territorial dispute between Botswana and Namibia, the result of an 1890 treaty between Germany and the UK, was peacefully resolved by the arbitration of the International Court of Justice in 1999 after a series of border clashes.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-disputes-between-botswana-and-namibia/Botswana, Namibia
Containing the Armed Conflict in Mexico (Chiapas)Elliot ShortMonitoringAlthough the conflict between the Zapatista movement and the Government of Mexico has not been resolved, the fighting has been effectively contained since 1997.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-mexico-chiapas/Mexico
Ending The Armed Conflict In Ghana (Northern Region)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Monitoring/Verification: Local, Economics and Conflict
The Guinea Fowl War in the Northern Region of Ghana was ended by the deployment of troops and the mediation of a peace agreement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-ghana-northern-region/Ghana
Stopping The Armed Conflict In Somalia (Mudug)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: Local
The peace agreement ended the fighting in the central province of Mudug, reducing armed conflict in the area and allowing supplies to cross Somalia, mitigating the impact of other conflicts.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/stopping-the-armed-conflict-in-somalia-mudug/Somalia
Mitigating The Impact Of Armed Conflict In Democratic Republic Of Congo (Butembo)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking: Interreligious, Private Sector and Peacebuilding, Food Insecurity
The city of Butembo and its population was spared from much of the fighting that took place across the Democratic Republic of Congo from 1999-2003 thanks to the efforts of local people and organisations.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/mitigating-the-impact-of-armed-conflict-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-butembo/Democratic Republic of the Congo
Youth as Agents of Peace : SomaliaWorld Bank; United NationEconomics and Conflict, YouthThis paper is the first joint country study conducted by the United Nations and the World Bank aimed at translating into practice the principles of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2250, through direct and local engagement with young people and their communities in one of the most fragile and conflict-ridden areas on the African continent. Focusing on young people is particularly meaningful as Somalia’s population is the youngest of the African continent overall. Against a backdrop of continued conflict, insecurity, and violent extremism facing Somalia, the study offers a positive vision for defining peace as articulated by young women and men. It concludes by offering an operational framework for supporting youth in peacebuilding. The report’s recommendations postulate a comprehensive understanding of youth, peace, and conflict going beyond solutions based solely on increased employment. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12770Somalia
SIPRI Arms Transfers DatabaseStockholm International Peace Research InstituteArms Transfer DataThe SIPRI Arms Transfers Database contains information on all transfers of major conventional weapons from 1950 to the most recent full calendar year. It is a unique resource for researchers, policy-makers and analysts, the media and civil society interested in monitoring and measuring the international flow of major conventional arms.
https://www.sipri.org/databases/armstransfersWorldwide
Opening the Black Box : The Contextual Drivers of Social AccountabilityGrandvoinnet, Helene & Aslam, Ghazia and Raha, ShomikhoCitizen ActionThis publication fills an important knowledge gap by providing guidance on how to assess contextual drivers of social accountability effectiveness. It aims to strategically support citizen engagement at the country level and for a specific issue or problem. The report proposes a novel framing of social accountability as the interplay of constitutive elements: citizen action and state action, supported by three enabling levers: civic mobilization, interface and information. For each of these constitutive elements, the report identifies 'drivers' of contextual effectiveness which take into account a broad range of contextual factors (e.g., social, political and intervention-based, including information and communication technologies). Opening the Black Box offers detailed guidance on how to assess each driver. It also applies the framework at two levels. At the country level, the report looks at 'archetypes' of challenging country contexts, such as regimes with no formal space or full support for citizen-state engagement and fragile and conflict-affected situations. The report also illustrates the use of the framework to analyze specific social accountability interventions through four case studies: Sierra Leone, Pakistan, Yemen, and the Kyrgyz Republic. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12771Worldwide
Reducing Armed Conflict in Sudan (South Kordofan)Elliot ShortLocally-led peacemaking initiatives, FacilitationPeace Committees created with support from the NGO Peace Direct conducted at least 32 successful interventions to prevent relatively minor disputes from escalating into armed conflict in South Kordofan, Sudan.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-sudan-south-kordofan/Sudan
Ending The Armed Conflict In The Republic Of CongoElliot ShortReconcilitation, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Governance: Transition A series of peace agreements mediated by the Government of Gabon brought an end to the armed conflict that engulfed the Republic of Congo during the 1990s.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-the-republic-of-congo/Republic of the Congo
Reducing Armed Conflict On The Mali-Niger-Burkina Faso International BorderElliot ShortMediation, Reconciliation, Peace Processes: ImplementationThe Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue has worked with the governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger to reduce armed conflict in the frontier region where their respective international borders meet.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-on-the-mali-niger-burkina-faso-international-border/Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In South SudanElliot ShortPeace Agreement, Governance: Transition. MediationThe IGAD has successfully prevented a conflict relapse in South Sudan by employing a range of monitoring mechanisms and facilitating ongoing dialogue between former belligerents.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-south-sudan/South Sudan
Positive Peace IndexInstitute for Economics and PeacePeace and Security DataPeace is much more than the absence of violence. Positive Peace describes the attitudes, structures and institutions that underpin and sustain peaceful societies. The Institute has developed a conceptual framework, known as the Pillars of Peace, that outlines a system of eight factors that work together to build positive peace. Derived from a statistical analysis of over 4,000 datasets, the Pillars of Peace provides a roadmap to overcome adversity and conflict, and to build lasting peace.
https://www.economicsandpeace.org/research/Worldwide
War State, Trauma State: Why Afghanistan Remains Stuck in ConflictErik Goepnertrauma state, civil war, violence, protracted conflictAfghanistan has become a trauma state, stuck in a vicious cycle: war causes trauma, which drives more war, which in turn causes more trauma, and so on. Thanks to 40 years of uninterrupted war, Afghans suffer from extremely high rates of post‐​traumatic stress disorder and other mental illnesses, substance abuse, and diminished impulse control. Research shows that those negative effects make people more violent toward others. As a result, violence can become normalized as a legitimate means of problem solving and goal achievement, and that appears to have fueled Afghanistan’s endless war. Thus, Afghanistan will be difficult, if not impossible, to fix.https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/war-state-trauma-state-why-afghanistan-remains-stuck-conflictAfghanistan
Ending The Armed Conflict In AlbaniaElliot ShortGovernance: Transition, Elections, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization
The Multinational Protection Force, an Italian-led peacekeeping mission mandated by the UN to restore order in Albania in 1997, succeeded in ending the armed conflict and restoring stability to Albania following a severe political crisis.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-albania/Albania
The Impact of COVID-19 on Peace and Confict Dynamics: A Case Study of Korogocho Informal Settlement, Nairobi, KenyaInternational AlertSocial cohesion, inter-communal conflict, COVID-19The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a major impact in Kenya, not just through illness and deaths caused by the virus, but also due to the effects of measures put in place to limit its spread. Kenya’s economy has contracted and household food insecurity has increased markedly. Many women, young people and members of vulnerable groups are worst affected by the socio-economic impacts. This research looked at the impact of COVID-19 not just on people’s livelihoods, but also on social cohesion in Nairobi’s informal settlements, with a focus on the Korogocho informal settlement. Korogocho was known to have a history of conflict and experienced particularly high levels of violence following the 2007 general election. It was also thought to be less ‘researched’ than some other informal settlements in Nairobi.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/impact-covid-19-peace-and-conflict-dynamics-korogocho-nairobi-kenyaKenya
Global Registry of Violent Deaths (GReVD)GReVDConflict DataThe Global Registry of Violent Deaths (GReVD, pronounced like ”grieved”) will be a database of every violent death coded by time and location. The primary use of the registry will be monitoring and counting violent deaths as an important part of monitoring global violence trends. Furthermore, it is expected that the database will be an important record and recognition of lives lost to violence.

To build the infrastructure necessary to monitor violent deaths at this scale, new coding standards, innovations in human and machine coding and increased precision of coding will be necessary. Innovations in these technologies and practices will be shared within the consortium. These innovations will be shared with governments of countries affected by violence so that global monitoring of violence can improve. The consortium is committed to helping countries and civil society improve their monitoring of violence as an important component of promoting global violence reduction.
https://grevd.org/Worldwide
Glossary of Key Terms in Evaluation and Results Based ManagementOrganisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)EvaluationThe DAC Working Party on Aid Evaluation (WP-EV) has developed this glossary of key terms in evaluation and results-based management because of the need to clarify concepts and to reduce the terminological confusion frequently encountered in these areas.https://www.oecd.org/dac/evaluation/2754804.pdfWorldwide
Adding Up to Peace: The Cumulative Impacts of Peace InitiativesDiana Chigas and Peter Woodrow Peace Initiatives, Impact Assessments, Case StudiesThis book aims to identify how cumulative impacts in peace practice operate at all levels, in order to provide practical lessons for policymakers, donors and practitioners to develop more effective strategies for greater progress towards peace. This book builds on CDA’s Reflecting on Peace Practice Project (RPP), launched to answer the question: What works—and what doesn’t work—in peacebuilding? It seeks to deepen our understanding of how multiple peacebuilding initiatives in a conflict zone interacted and added up (or didn’t), to result in progress towards larger societal level peace, or Peace Writ Large. The findings are a product of sixteen case studies conducted between 2007 and 2012, gathering the perceptions of both local and international stakeholders.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12748Worldwide
Responsible Ingo Transitions And Locally Led Development: Findings From A Global Online ConsultationAji Ceesay, Dimitri KotsirasDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), A key component of working towards locally led development is to enable responsible partnership transition processes. This is especially crucial in the aid sector where donor priorities regularly shift, and contexts are ever-changing, which has led to a greater need to sustain impact and ensure local actors’ sustainability. However, a significant gap that has emerged to support international actors to effectively leave contexts, end programs, or transform organizational structures is the lack of knowledge around best practices and practical examples of responsible partnership transitions.
As the international development sector continues to explore practical ways to work towards locally led approaches, responsible partnership transitions remain a key part of this process. Poor partnership transitions obstruct the road to sustainable development. In these instances, not only are local actors left to pick up the pieces without the necessary tools and resources to continue the work, but any progress from previous work may be lost. International actors need to effectively plan their partnership transitions, and also make sure that these processes are locally led. However, challenges remain in achieving fully locally led partnership transitions, transitions, including how they are defined de and communicated, communicated, as well as what approach is taken and how they are implemented. Other challenges include the abrupt withdrawal of INGOs and funding from partnerships, the exclusion of key stakeholders in transition planning and processes, wider power imbalances in the international development sector and a lack of support for local actors’ capacity and sustainability.
https://www.stoppingassuccess.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/P4D-Consultation-Report_Final.pdfWorldwide
Bringing Stability to SomaliaElliot ShortLocal Peace Initiative, Conflict PreventionMost of north-east Somalia was spared from the conflicts and famines of the 1990s thanks to the efforts of local people and organisations in Puntland to reduce armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/bringing-stability-to-somalia/Somalia
South Asia's Nuclear Challenges: Interlocking Views from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United StatesLora Saalman, Petr TopychkanovNuclear postureThis study provides an overview of views on nuclear postures and escalation affecting South Asia, based on 119 interviews conducted in 2020, without attribution, with military, nuclear, political and regional experts from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United States. These discussions revealed a number of interlocking points that offer building blocks for both official and non-official engagement on such issues as no first use (NFU), lowered nuclear thresholds, conventional and nuclear entanglement, escalate to de-escalate, and emerging technology development.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/south-asias-nuclear-challenges-interlocking-views-india-pakistan-china-russia-and-united-statesChina
Financing Peace:Inhancing Adaptation, Maximising ImpactSebastian KratzerFinancing peace, Funding peacebuildingTo explore the trends in financing peace processes, Conciliation Resources, the European Institute of Peace, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, and swisspeace convened a joint online event on 11 February 2021. It brought together peace practitioners with government and philanthropic donors toexplore current practice in funding peacemaking (more narrowly focused on engaging belligerents and securing security arrangements and political agreements) and peacebuilding (directed at long-term, often intergenerational change to support peace). The event highlighted an appetite to discuss these issues, with over 170 people joining the conversation from across the sector and the globe.https://www.c-r.org/learning-hub/financing-peace-enhancing-adaptation-maximising-impactWorldwide
Ten Foundations for Gender Inclusive Peacebuilding Practice Abiosseh DavisGender, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)
The present Peacebuilding in Practice paper lays out the foundations for gender inclusive peacebuilding and is a result of a reflection process that Interpeace took between 2017 and 2019 to examine its implementation of gender programming. It demonstrates lessons learned and recommendations for developing, implementing and evaluating gender inclusive programmes. This Peacebuilding in Practice paper, developed through a consultative process across Interpeace offices as well as on an extensive literature review, aims to strengthen Interpeace’s capacity to bring its unique contribution to building sustainable peace and advancing gender equality. The practice note is intended to be complemented by the development and application of tools and processes that allow for the effective implementation of the ten identified foundations.https://www.interpeace.org/resource/ten-foundations-for-gender-inclusive-peacebuilding-practice/Worldwide
Integrating Peacebuilding within Policy Frameworks in Post-conflict Settings Wilfred Gray-JohnsonPost-conflict, United Nations, frameworks, peacebuilding, policySince 2006, there has been much effort exerted towards integrating peacebuilding as a component of key policies and strategies as well as development programmes in post-conflict countries. This article intends to contribute to ongoing discussions on institutionalising peacebuilding, with a focus on Liberia. The article sets the premise that in order to foster the link between security and emergency programming, including longer-term development and sustained peace, especially in post-conflict countries, peacebuilding elements need to be infused into policies and programmes. In this regard, the article discusses efforts by the government of Liberia to integrate peacebuilding as a component of policies and frameworks as well as development programmes.https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/integrating-peacebuilding-within-policy-frameworks-in-post-conflict-settings/Liberia
What Makes or Breaks National Dialogues?Tania Paffenholz, Anne Zachariassen, Cindy HelferDialogue, MediationThe international mediation and peacebuilding community continues to struggle to fully comprehend the functioning, relevance, and effectiveness of national dialogues for managing political transitions and building sustainable peace. The objective of this report is to contribute to a better understanding of the common features and characteristics of National Dialogues. It further explores the various political and procedural factors as well as conditions that have enabled or constrained such initiatives to reach agreements and sustain their implementation in the long term. Based on a comparative analysis of 17 cases of National Dialogues held between 1990 and 2014, this study is an output of the National Dialogue research project (2015–2017) of the Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative (IPTI) at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. Some of the key findings are that National Dialogues have been used as an instrument to resolve political crises and pave the way for political transitions and sustainable peace; they have often been used by national elites as a tool to gain or reclaim political legitimacy, which has limited their potential for transformative change; and procedures for preparing, conducting, and implementing National Dialogues, in particular selection and decision-making rules, play a decisive role in whether processes are perceived as representative and legitimate. While most National Dialogues reached an agreement, only half of these agreements were implemented and when National Dialogues resulted in sustainable transitions, there was generally a favorable consensus among elites, in addition to international support and public buy-in.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12749Worldwide
A More Equitable Society: Promoting Social Cohesion and Diversity in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Dialogue for the Future II)Alida Vračić, Aida Vežić, Marcus CoxDialogue, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Problem-Solving Workshop
This is a final evaluation of the joint project, “A More Equitable Society: Promoting Social Cohesion and Diversity in BiH (Dialogue for the Future II)” (DFF 2). The project was under the auspices of the BiH Presidency and funded with a $2 million grant from the UN Secretary- General’s Peacebuilding Fund. It was managed jointly by three UN agencies, UNICEF, UNDP, and UNESCO, and ran from January 2018 to December 2019. A predecessor project (DFF 1) had been implemented between 2014 and 2016. The DFF 2 joint project sought to promote dialogue and joint problem-solving among different groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) at local and state levels, to promote collaboration, trust and social cohesion. It had a focus on the youth, women’s organizations, and marginalized groups. It consisted of capacity building for civil society representatives, establishing dialogue platforms, a small grants facility for projects that promoted social cohesion, and a public information campaign and other media-related activities. The evaluation was undertaken over three months, beginning with an inception visit to UN offices in Sarajevo in January 2020 and with six days of fieldwork in February 2020. The evaluation finds that the project was highly relevant to the challenges facing BiH, and in particular to the circumstances of a post-war generation that has grown up with entrenched ethnic divisions. The design sought to build linkages and cooperation across groups through dialogue on social cohesion. However, some of the ambitious sets of outcome targets were not realistic. This evaluation ends by providing several recommendations for the UN’s future peacebuilding work and project design. https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/dff_2_bih_final_evaluation_report_-_may_2020.pdfBosnia and Herzegovina
Insecurity and Governance Challenges in Southern LibyaFrederic Wehrey Instability, extremism, governance, international community, Southern Libya remains a region of endemic instability wracked by communal conflict, a shortage of basic services, rampant smuggling, and fragmented or collapsed institutions. The region has long existed on the periphery of Libya’s politics and international concerns—but that must change. Increasingly, the vacuum of governance in the south has drawn in political actors from northern Libya and outside states. Extremists seeking refuge in the south and migrants being smuggled through the region directly impact the security of Libya, neighboring states like Tunisia, and Europe.https://carnegieendowment.org/2017/03/30/insecurity-and-governance-challenges-in-southern-libya-pub-68451Libya
Ending the Armed Conflict in GuatemalaElliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementNegotiations mediated by the UN resulted in the signing of the Accord for a Firm and Lasting Peace in 1996, ending the armed conflict in Guatemala after 36 years. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-guatemala/Guatemala
Ending The Armed Conflict Between Communities In Ethiopia And KenyaElliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Dialogue, Problem-Solving WorkshopThe 2005-2009 conflict between the Gabra and Borana communities on the Ethiopia/Kenya border was ended, stabilising the frontier, and reducing the likelihood of further conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-between-communities-in-ethiopia-and-kenya/Ethiopia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Russia (Chechnya)Elliot ShortViolent Extremism, Governance: Power Sharing, CeasefireThe diplomatic manoeuvrings of the Government of Russia ended the war in Chechnya after a decade of conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-russia-chechnya/Russia
Enhancing Peacekeeping Training Through Cooperation: Lessons from Latin AmericaIgarapé Instituteeffectiveness, peacekeeping, cooperation, inclusive, There is growing recognition at the UN and among member states that peacekeeping must be made more effective, especially in face of major budget cuts and wavering leadership by traditional actors. Against this backdrop, how can member states improve the quality of pre-deployment and mission preparation for UN peacekeeping? This policy brief focuses on one area in which innovation has become more urgent than ever: enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping through better training. More specifically, we analyze the emerging configurations, innovations, and challenges of international cooperation for peacekeeping training centers (PTCs), drawing on the case of Latin America.https://igarape.org.br/en/enhancing-peacekeeping-training-through-cooperation/Brazil
Ending Armed Conflict In The Uk (Northern Ireland)Elliot ShortPeace Agreement, Negotiations, Diplomacy: Track 1Negotiations mediated by the Government of USA resulted in the signing of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement/Belfast Agreement, which ended almost three decades of armed conflict and intercommunal violence in Northern Ireland. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-armed-conflict-in-the-uk-northern-ireland/Northern Ireland
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In NepalElliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Governance: Transition, Peace Processes: ImplementationThe United Nations Mission in Nepal worked with local people and organisations to ensure that the peace process stayed on track while facilitating the Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration and military integration process, preventing a conflict relapse in Nepal.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-nepal/Nepal
Reducing Armed Conflict In GhanaElliot ShortMediation, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Citizen ActionArmed conflict across Ghana has been reduced by the construction and maintenance of a comprehensive peace infrastructure.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-ghana/Ghana
Consolidating Peace through Inclusive Access to Livelihoods in NepalPhil VernonInclusive peace, Livelihood accessImproving access to livelihoods opportunities for men and women from different identity groups is critical for peace. This is especially true in Nepal, where ethnic, religious, caste and gender-based exclusion has long been understood as a cause of conflict. Nepal is at a crucial phase in its peace process. High-level agreements have been reached, the new constitution agreed, and elections held. People are now expecting a peace dividend.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/consolidating-peace-through-inclusive-access-livelihoods-nepal/Nepal
Global Database of Humanitarian OrganizationsHumanitarian OutcomesHumanitarian DataGDHO is a global compendium of organisations that provide aid in humanitarian crises. The database includes basic organisational and operational information on these humanitarian providers, which include international non-governmental organisations (grouped by federation), national NGOs that deliver aid within their own borders, UN humanitarian agencies, and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. https://www.humanitarianoutcomes.org/projects/gdhoWorldwide
South Asia's Nuclear Challenges: Interlocking Views from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United StatesLora Saalman, Petr TopychkanovNuclear postureThis study provides an overview of views on nuclear postures and escalation affecting South Asia, based on 119 interviews conducted in 2020, without attribution, with military, nuclear, political and regional experts from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United States. These discussions revealed a number of interlocking points that offer building blocks for both official and non-official engagement on such issues as no first use (NFU), lowered nuclear thresholds, conventional and nuclear entanglement, escalate to de-escalate, and emerging technology development.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/south-asias-nuclear-challenges-interlocking-views-india-pakistan-china-russia-and-united-statesPakistan
Ceasefire Drafter’s Handbook: An Introduction and Template for Negotiators, Mediators, and StakeholdersPublic International Law & Policy GroupPeace Agreement, Ceasefire, Mediation
The Public International Law & Policy Group’s (PILPG) Ceasefire Drafter’s Handbook is a guide intended to effectively supplement the activities of negotiators and drafters of ceasefire agreements. This Handbook draws from PILPG’s experience in ceasefire negotiations, as well as state practice and comparative analysis of over 200 ceasefire agreements from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. This Handbook includes an Introduction to Ceasefires and an Annotated Ceasefire Template. The Introduction to Ceasefires provides information on the core elements of ceasefires, the effects of asymmetry on ceasefire agreements, the role of third parties, and the legality of ceasefire agreements. The Annotated Ceasefire Template describes core provisions and provides sample language for drafters to incorporate into ceasefire agreements. Although each template section offers drafters a guiding framework, it may be necessary to reshape the provisions to address the nuances of each situation.http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12910Worldwide
Global Peace IndexInstitute for Economics and PeacePeace and Security DataProduced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the GPI is the world’s leading measure of global peacefulness. This report presents the most comprehensive data-driven analysis to-date on trends in peace, its economic value, and how to develop peaceful societies. The GPI covers 99.7% of the world’s population, using 23 qualitative and quantitative indicators from highly respected sources, and measures the state of peace across three domains:

– the level of Societal Safety and Security,
– the extent of Ongoing Domestic and International Conflict,
– and the degree of Militarisation.
https://www.visionofhumanity.org/maps/#/Worldwide
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Timor-LesteElliot ShortGovernance: Constitutions, Internally Displaced Persons/Refugees, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations
A transitional international administration and a peacekeeping mission helped to prevent a conflict relapse in Timor-Leste and laid the foundations for an accountable state governed by a constitution and an elected government to be built.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-timor-leste/Timor-Leste
Effective Weapons and Ammunition Management in a Changing Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration ContextSavannah de TessièresDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peacekeeping, TrainingFirst published in 2018, and developed as part of a joint initiative between the Department of Peace Operations and the Office for Disarmament Affairs, the Handbook provides DDR practitioners with practical guidance to design and implement state-of-the-art disarmament and weapons and ammunition management initiatives as part of integrated DDR processes, including through the use of DDR-related tools such as Community Violence Reduction. The Handbook draws upon good practices and innovative approaches developed in the field, as well as relevant international standards and guidelines. This second edition reflects relevant developments at the policy level, including the launch of the revised Integrated DDR Standards and the new MOSAIC module on SALW control in the context of DDR, and ensures consistent gender mainstreaming as well as systematic integration of youth considerations.https://www.un.org/disarmament/ddr-handbook-2ed/Worldwide
Co-managing Peace: Natural Resources, Agreement Design, And The Promotion Of Peace After WarColleen Devlin, Micaela Iveson, Eric KeelsNatural Resources and Conflict, Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Economics and ConflictThe responsibility of natural resource management can often bring challenges or affect peace agreements, even be a main source of conflict. For this reason, the arrangement between communities and governments to distribute authority and responsibility for natural resource management to stakeholders can ensure joint management of resources after civil war settlements. Through the analysis of 34 comprehensive peace accords that negotiate the end of civil conflict between governments and rebel groups, the advocacy by rebels to co-management provisions and redistributive policies prompted three results: co-management reduces the risk of future fighting, allows a longer peace (compared to resource management provisions), and should address combatant concerns about natural resources through transparency. Co-management, as an approach, not only enhances peace processes after armed conflicts but can also signify a method of prevention by addressing current conflicts where large-scale violence has not yet emerged. https://securefisheries.org/co-managing-peaceWorldwide
Role of Provincial and Local Government in Reparation: Addressing Immediate Reparative needs of Conflict Victims in NepalInternational AlertTransitional justice, ReconciliationThe Nepal government must provide reparations as compensation for the harm caused and the trauma still being experienced by thousands of individuals and families following the aftermath of the decade long armed conflict.Reparation serves as a vehicle for acknowledging past violations and state responsibility for harms suffered by victims as well as a public commitment to respond to their enduring impact.3 Domestic reparation programs are considered to be the most effective tool for victims to receive reparation.Reparation must be “adequate, effective and prompt” building upon the principle of “full reparation”.1 Providing reparation is not just a policy choice but an obligation owed to victims as a result of an unlawful breach of international and domestic law during the conflict. Victims of gross violation of human rights and humanitarian law have a right to reparations and States have a corresponding obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill this right.2 4 It is important to note that reparation not only means compensation but measures including restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction, and guarantees of non-recurrence.5 6 Reparation can take place as individual or collective, material or symbolic reparation, or both.7https://www.international-alert.org/publications/role-provincial-and-local-governments-reparation/Nepal
Dissolving conflict. Local peace agreements and armed
conflict transitions
Jan PospisilPeace Processes, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Conflict PreventionThe lessening likelihood and the often-sobering outcomes of comprehensive national peace processes directed attention to local peacemaking in recent years. Difficult to distinguish and define, local peace agreements work on a broad range of issues and engage a multitude of diverse actors. Local peace agreements construct a world of peacemaking that contradicts an ordered and levelled understanding of conflict. Instead, they reveal hybrid conflictscapes that are enmeshed in ways analytically hard to distinguish. In such an environment, local peace agreements can employ various functions: they can connect and strategise relationships between actors, mitigate and manage conflict settings, or disconnect localities or communities from the broader conflict landscape. In doing so, they do not necessarily work towards a linear and sequenced resolution of a conflict but towards dissolving it by undermining the conflict’s logics and conditions.https://peacerep.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Pospisil-2022-Dissolving-conflict.-Local-peace-agreements-and-armed-conflict-transitions.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In India (Nagaland)Elliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Ceasefire, Armed Non-State Actors
An ongoing peace process effectively contained the armed conflict in Nagaland for 14 years until a more comprehensive settlement was reached in 2015.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-india-nagaland/India
Can Emerging Technologies Lead a Revival of Conflict Early Warning/Early Action? Lessons from the FieldBranka PanicEarly Warning, Conflict Prevention, TechnologyThe early warning/early action (EWEA) community has been working for decades on analytics to help prevent conflict. The field has evolved significantly since its inception in the 1970s and 80s. The systems have served with variable success to predict conflict trends, alert communities to risk, inform decision makers, provide inputs to action strategies, and initiate a response to violent conflict. Present systems must now address the increasingly complex and protracted nature of conflicts in which factors previously considered peripheral have become core elements in conflict dynamics. This report starts by surveying the data-driven techniques with the greatest potential to revolutionize the field, along with emerging trends in data and modeling. Then, it reviews contextual thematic issues most likely to shape EWEA (such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change), and concludes with recommendations for engaging emerging technologies in EWEA's future development.https://cic.nyu.edu/publications/can-emerging-technologies-lead-revival-conflict-early-warningearly-action-lessons-fieldWorldwide
Development and Prevention: National Examples of LinkagesPaige Arthur, Céline MonnierEconomics and Conflict, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Conflict PreventionDevelopment is an essential tool for conflict prevention, as often root causes are related to lack of equitable access to economic opportunities, or a combination of political and economic inequalities that fuel grievances—as highlighted in the 2011 World Development Report and the 2018 UN–World Bank Pathways for Peace report. Some risk factors may therefore need to be addressed with development tools. Drawing on field research and on member state reporting at the recent High-level Political Forum in July 2019, this briefing highlights development measures countries have taken to support prevention, and highlights ways the UN system can better assist these efforts.https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/policy_brief_linkages_development_-_prevention-final.pdfWorldwide
“Frameworkers” and “Circlers” – Exploring Assumptions in Impact Assessment Reina C. NeufeldtDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Humanitarian Engagement, PeacebuildingThis chapter explores two contending constituencies and their arguments about why and how to identify impact in peacebuilding initiatives in practice. The two constituencies, “frameworkers” and “circlers”, involve sets of people who blend across the lines of development and conflict transformation work and possess very different arguments about how to conceptualize and operationalize issues of impact and change in program design, monitoring and evaluation. The differences matter in a practical sense for workers in international and national NGOs because their views often clash during program design, monitoring and evaluation processes, and leave both sides dissatisfied. These differences also hinder people’s ability to talk clearly about impact and change, what matters, how people “know what they know” about impact and change and, therefore, how they do their peacebuilding work. The premise of the chapter is that by unmasking the conceptual debates, peacebuilders can improve their ability to speak about and achieve effectiveness and impact. After outlining the two basic constituencies, frameworkers and circlers, and a review of the current status of peacebuilding monitoring and evaluation, the author examines how tensions between the two approaches provide insights into the underlying issues that need to be addressed. The chapter concludes with examples of ways that peacebuilding or other social change-orientated programs have adapted to bridge the positions in practice and identify practices that can strengthen particular areas that are currently under-developed and can benefit program design. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12902Worldwide
Atrocity Forecasting ProjectGoldsmith, Soymea, Australian National UniversityGenocide and Attrocity Risk DataThe project has the overall purpose of enhancing capacity for forecasting mass atrocities and genocide globally and in the Asia-Pacific region. The specific aims are to:

develop sophisticated, appropriate, and cutting-edge quantitative forecasting models,
improve understanding of the causes of political instability and conflict which greatly increase the probability of mass atrocities or genocide,
improve understanding of the crucial causal processes which lead from instability to mass atrocities or genocide, and
produce forecasts and reports which are useful as early warning tools for protection of vulnerable populations.
The project builds on the current academic literature, and employs machine-learning based forecasting techniques, which can greatly enhance analytical capacity in combination with standard qualitative and quantitative social science methods. The forecasts are intended to be used in combination with other quantitative and qualitative analysis and expert knowledge.
https://politicsir.cass.anu.edu.au/research/projects/atrocity-forecastingWorldwide
Preventing Armed Conflict In São Tomé And PríncipeElliot ShortRule of Law, Governance: Reforms, Preventive Diplomacy
Constitutional order was peacefully restored in São Tomé and Príncipe thanks to the mediation efforts of a host of national governments and international organisations.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-sao-tome-and-principe/São Tomé and Príncipe
Gender-sensitive conflict analysis: a facilitation guideSaferWorldGender, Problem-Solving Workshop, Inclusive PeacebuildingGender-sensitive conflict analysis is a starting point that enables peacebuilding organisations to understand how gender inequality fuels conflict and discrimination, exclusionary politics and violence against marginalised groups in society. It also highlights how different types of violence are used to maintain power in public (political) and private (family and community) spaces, and how these spaces are connected.

For organisations working in places affected by conflict and violence, a gender-sensitive conflict analysis provides a chance to move beyond gender-sensitive peacebuilding practice into seeking to promote equality and meaningful participation that leads to structural change.

The guide is intended to support facilitators to undertake a participatory gender-sensitive conflict analysis
https://www.saferworld.org.uk/resources/publications/1284-gender-sensitive-conflict-analysis-a-facilitation-guideWorldwide
UN Support to Local Mediation: Challenges and OpportunitiesUnited Nations: Department of Political and Peacebuilding AffairsMediation, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations
This publication by DPPA's Mediation Support Unit outlines various opportunities and challenges related to the UN's involvement in support of local mediation and dialogue processes. The paper draws on insights emanating from a series of field deployments, reflection exercises as well as case studies (detailing local mediation processes in 5 country cases, including Afghanistan, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, the Philippines as well as South Sudan) conducted over the past two years (2018-2020). The paper seeks to deepen understanding of UN engagement at the local level and its strategic relevance to UN peacemaking efforts; distil insights around pursuing linkages between national and local mediation processes; as well as highlight lessons from engagements with traditional peacemaking approaches and the inclusion of women in mediation at local level. Early reflections indicate the need to identify and leverage the UN's comparative advantage; enhance coordination within and beyond the UN; champion the do no harm principle, local capacities and local ownership; as well as strengthen the inclusion of women, youth, indigenous groups, victims, and other, often marginalized groups, in mediation and dialogue processes at local level.http://dag.un.org/handle/11176/401082Worldwide
The Handbook of Conflict PreventionIgarapé Institute Conflict Prevention, Citizen Action, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
This handbook seeks to build more clarity to conflict prevention concepts and practice. Based on extensive consultations at the UN and the AU and with support from Global Affairs (Canada), it offers a working definition and a typology of innovative preventive approaches. In setting out a standard nomenclature, the goal is to help improve knowledge sharing across Africa in particular. At the same time, the handbook is designed to provide policy makers and practitioners with insights and ideas for prioritizing, designing, implementing and evaluating conflict prevention. https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/The-Handbook-of-Conflict-Prevention.pdfWorldwide
Resolving The Militarised Border Dispute Between Guinea-Bissau And SenegalElliot ShortPreventive Diplomacy, Rule of Law, War Prevention
French diplomacy helped to prevent border clashes from escalating while the arbitration of the ICJ resolved the territorial dispute between the two countries.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-border-dispute-between-guinea-bissau-and-senegal/Guinea-Bissau, Senegal
Mediation and artificial intelligence: Notes on the future of international conflict resolutionKatharina E. HöneDigital security, technology, mediationThis report provides an overview of artificial intelligence (AI) in the context of mediation. Over the last few years AI has emerged as a hot topic with regard to its impact on our political, social, and economic lives. The impact of AI on international and diplomatic relations has also been widely acknowledged and discussed. This report focuses more specifically on the practice of mediation. It aims to inform mediation practitioners about the impact of AI on mediation, including its benefits, its challenges, and its risks in relation to peacemaking. It also hints at synergies between the mediation and technology communities and possible avenues of co-operation.https://www.diplomacy.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Mediation_and_AI.pdfWorldwide
The “Do No Harm” Framework for Analyzing the Impact of Assistance on Conflict: A Handbook.CDA Collaborative Learning ProjectsProgram Evaluation, Conflict Resolution, AidAlthough it is clear that, by itself, assistance neither causes nor can end conflict, it can be a significant factor in conflict contexts. Assistance can have important effects on intergroup relations and on the course of intergroup conflict. In a DNH IMPLEMENTATION PROJECT area, for example, one NGO provided 90% of all local employment in a sizable region over a number of years. In another, the NGO estimated that militia looting of assistance garnered US $400 million in one brief (and not unique) rampage. Both of these examples occurred in very poor countries where assistance's resources represented significant wealth and power. At the same time, giving no assistance would also have an impact—often negative. The DNH has thus chosen to focus on how to provide assistance more effectively and how those of us who are involved in providing assistance in conflict areas can assume responsibility and hold ourselves accountable for the effects that our assistance has in worsening and prolonging, or in reducing and shortening, destructive conflict between groups whom we want to help. The DO NO HARM “Analytical Framework” was developed from the programming experience of many assistance workers. It provides a tool for mapping the interactions of assistance and conflict and can be used to plan, monitor and evaluate both humanitarian and development assistance programmes. The Framework is NOT prescriptive. It is a descriptive tool that: 1) identifies the categories of information that have been found through experience to be important for understanding how assistance affects conflict; 2) organizes these categories in a visual lay-out that highlights their actual and potential relationships; and 3) helps us predict the impacts of different programming decisions.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12715Worldwide
Disaster risk reduction, urban informality and a ‘fragile peace’: the case of LebanonKatie Peters, Kerrie HollowayFragility, Climate and Conflict, Corruption and Conflict
For too long, policy-makers, practitioners and funders in the international community have failed to pay sufficient attention to disaster risk reduction (DRR) in contexts of conflict. As a result, states and citizens living in fragile, volatile and violent situations are often unable to prepare for or mitigate against risk and, when natural hazards occur, the impacts are likely to be disproportionately devastating.
Although on the surface, Lebanon appears to be a relatively peaceful and stable society, digging deeper reveals a turbulent undercurrent, described by interviewees for this study as a ‘fragile peace’. This refers to the deep-seated inter- and intracommunity tensions that impede social cohesion in cities and that could flare up into violence at any time. The situation is exacerbated by a fragile political system built on sectarianism, inadequate urban governance and widespread corruption, coupled with inequitable access to rights and resources for displaced and refugee populations.
The Lebanon case highlights many of the complexities and contradictions associated with achieving disaster resilience in conflict situations. It also challenges conventional concepts of what constitutes a conflict context, and reveals new insights on how DRR can be pursued in these situations. Insight into sectarian divisions, urban informality, the marginalisation of refugees, and the prioritisation of conflict risk over natural hazards, help to develop our collective understanding and shed light on the types of DRR approaches and actions that are viable and appropriate in contexts characterised as holding a ‘fragile peace’.
https://odi.org/en/publications/disaster-risk-reduction-urban-informality-and-a-fragile-peace-the-case-of-lebanon/Lebanon
Preventing Armed Conflict In KenyaElliot ShortReconciliation, Elections, Citizen ActionElectoral violence in Kenya was prevented from escalating into armed conflict by the efforts of local people and organisations and the African Union’s Panel of Eminent Personalities, which led the talks which produced the National Accord and Reconciliation Acthttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-kenya/Kenya
Organized Crime in Mali: Why it Matters for a Peaceful Transition from ConflictLuca Raineri, Chiara GallettiOrganized crime, institutional fragilityInadequate governance, institutional fragility and widespread insecurity are both consequences and causes of the expansion of criminal activities. The impact of their proliferation is key to understanding the current – and endemic – instability affecting Mali. Yet, to date, there is little indication that policy strategies put forward by the Malian government, as well as by its international partners, are learning from the past to engage with the issue of organised crime as a threat to peace and security. This policy brief aims to help address this gap. Understanding how crime impacts on the achievement of development goals, on conflict risks, and on mounting fragility and safety threats is indeed crucial for building long-lasting and sustainable peace in Mali.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/organised-crime-mali/Mali
Failing Together: Key Lessons On How To Have Constructive Conversations About Failures In Development And PeacebuildingJessica Baumgardner-Zuzik, Emily Janoch, Benjamin Bestor, Saurav Upadhyay Development, evidence-based practiceDevelopment and peacebuilding is about tackling complex problems with different stakeholders in contexts that change every day. There is no way to solve these problems without failing. But we are reluctant to talk about failure, especially on the record. Veronica Olazabal from The Rockefeller Foundation, Lane Pollack from USAID, and Leslie Wingender with Humanity United recently spoke about what it takes to learn from failure as part of the InterAction Evaluation & Program Effectiveness Community of Practice. https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/afp-publications/failing-together-5-5-2021Worldwide
Preventing a Conflict Relapse in Kosovo
Elliot ShortPeacekeeping , TransitionA North Atlantic Treaty Organisation peacekeeping force, a UN transitional administration, and a political mission from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe have successfully helped to prevent a conflict relapse in Kosovo since 1999. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-kosovo/Kosovo
Conflict BarometerHeidelberg Institute for International Conflict ResearchPolitical Conflicts DataThe Heidelberg Institute for International Conflict Research’s (HIIK) annually published Conflict Barometer grades countries based on the intensity of sub-national, national or international conflict they are currently experiencing, according to publicly available data.https://hiik.de/?lang=enWorldwide
Identity, Gender, and Conflict Drivers in PakistanJumaina SiddiquiGender, Identity and Conflict, Conflict Prevention
Based on a study conducted in the Pakistani town of Haripur that investigated children’s attitudes toward identity, this Peace Brief finds that identity-based divides are in fact not the primary drivers of conflict at the community level, but notes the continuing salience of gender identity, which produces differing social expectations and differing understandings of conflict resolution roles.
https://www.usip.org/publications/2017/03/identity-gender-and-conflict-drivers-pakistanPakistan
Paving the Way: Contributions of Interactive Conflict Resolution to PeacemakingRonald J.FisherConflict Resolution, PeacemakingThis first-of-a-kind collection brings together in one volume the strongest available evidence of successful transfer effects from unofficial third-party work to official peacemaking. Using comparative case analysis from several real-world interventions, Paving the Way offers insights into the conditions and qualities of successful programs of interactive conflict resolution from experts in the field. Editor Ronald J. Fisher has assembled a collection of seminal case studies that illustrate interactive approaches to conflict resolution from the Malaysia-Indonesia conflict in the 1960s to the Peru-Equador peace process of the late 1990s. Integrating theory, research, and practice, the cases posit that interactive conflict resolution can make a significant, and sometimes essential, contribution to the resolution of protracted and violent identity conflicts. The methods and solutions offered in Paving the Way will serve as best practices for those in the field and as training tools and resources for scholars and policymakers.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12181Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In ComorosElliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Peace Agreement
The Organisation of African Unity-led diplomatic intervention helped to end the armed conflict in Comoros after several rounds of talks culminated with the creation of a federal Comorian state.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-comoros/Comoros
Evidence databaseAnticipatory HubEarly Warning & Anticipatory Action DataThis database complements the Early Action Database by collating evidence on the effectiveness of (potential) early actions. Its primary purpose is to help practitioners evaluate and compare early actions based on existing data. As anticipation is a relatively new concept, evidence from anticipatory humanitarian programs may be lacking for many actions. For this reason, to the extent possible, the database also includes evidence from Development, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Humanitarian Response interventions/actions that could be adapted to the anticipatory context (see the implementation context filter). This way, practitioners can still learn from what is known about specific interventions in non-anticipatory contexts.
https://www.anticipation-hub.org/experience/evidence-database/evidence-listWorldwide
Ending The Interstate Conflict Between Ecuador And PeruElliot ShortDiplomacy: Track 1, Peace Processes: Implementation, Monitoring/Verification: Regional OrganizationThe mediation of four regional governments (the Guarantors of the Rio De Janeiro Protocol) led by Brazil ended the interstate conflict between Ecuador and Peru in 1995 after just over one month of fighting.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-interstate-conflict-between-ecuador-and-peru/Peru
Land Conflict WatchLand Conflict WatchLand Tenure Conflict DataLand Conflict Watch is a research-based data journalism project that maps, collects, and analyses ongoing land conflicts in India. It not only presents a macro picture at the national level but also zooms in to give details of each conflict at the micro level.https://www.landconflictwatch.org/#homeIndia
Youth Participation in Global Governance for Sustaining Peace and Climate ActionMasooma Rahmaty and Jimena Leiva RoeschYouth, climate change, policy, frameworks, locally-ledThis issue brief outlines the synergies between the youth, peace, and security (YPS) and youth climate action agendas. It also examines the factors that contribute to young people’s exclusion from global governance, including negative misperceptions of youth, outdated policy frameworks, lack of funding, and weak links between youth and global governance fora. The paper concludes with recommendations for governments and multilateral institutions to better assess the links between youth, peace, and climate change and include young people in decision-making processes.https://www.ipinst.org/2021/04/youth-participation-in-global-governance-for-sustaining-peace-and-climate-actionWorldwide
Reducing Armed Conflict Across KenyaElliot ShortCitizen Action, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Peace AgreementThe development of an effective peace infrastructure helped to reduce armed conflict across Kenya and limit the risk of electoral violence.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-across-kenya/Kenya
Incremental Inclusivity in Peace Processes: Lessons LearntAndreas Schädel and Véronique DudouetProject Evaluation, Inclusive Peace ProcessesThis policy brief provides evidence-based lessons learnt and recommendations on the timing, sequencing and modalities of inclusion of nonsignatory armed groups and civil society actors in peace processes. It aims to inform a strategic understanding on how to design and implement peace processes that are effective in bringing about an inclusive political, economic and social transformation. In particular, it draws on a comparative assessment of ‘incremental inclusion’ approaches for nonsignatory armed groups and civil society actors during the negotiation and implementation of peace agreements in Afghanistan, Colombia, Mali and Myanmar.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/incremental-inclusivity-in-peace-processes-key-lessons-learntWorldwide
International Aid Transparency Initiative DataInternational Aid Transparency InitiativeHumanitarian & Development DataData published to IATI covers information about organisations and their development or humanitarian work, including finances, location, sector, results, conditions and supporting documents.
https://iatistandard.org/en/iati-tools-and-resources/Worldwide
Preventing An Interstate Conflict Between South Sudan And SudanElliot ShortReferenda: Independence, Armed Non-State Actors, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization
South Sudan and Sudan have maintained relatively peaceful relations for a decade thanks to the mechanisms established following the 2011 referendum.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-an-interstate-conflict-between-south-sudan-and-sudan/Sudan / South Sudan
Maintaining Stability and Containing Armed Conflict in LebanonElliot ShortPeacekeepingUN Peacekeepers have helped maintain stability and contain or end several armed conflicts in Lebanon since 1978.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/maintaining-stability-and-containing-armed-conflict-in-lebanon/Lebanon
Reflecting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining PeacePeace Directreflection, reccomendations, peacebuilding, civil societyThe role of civil society in building sustainable peace is no longer debatable. ‘Reflecting on Peacebuilding and Sustaining Peace’, presents a summary of a global online consultation with civil society that took place in June 2020. Over 280 participants from 97 countries joined the virtual conversation to share their perspectives on peacebuilding and contribute their views and experiences. This report is a synthesis of their exchange and presents key messages and recommendations on how to improve support for peacebuilding, and better understand the role of civil society in building sustainable peace.https://www.peacedirect.org/us/publications/reflecting-on-peacebuilding-and-sustaining-peace/Worldwide
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Disputes Between China And Russia/Soviet UnionElliot ShortNegotiations, Dialogue, Ratification: Peace AgreementThe long-standing border dispute between China and Russia (which almost sparked a war in the 1960s) was resolved, dramatically reducing the chance of an interstate conflicthttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-disputes-between-china-and-russia-soviet-union/China, Russia/Soviet Union
Stopping The Armed Conflict In Angola For Five YearsElliot ShortElections, Governance: Power Sharing, Monitoring/Verification: Third Party
The fighting in Angola was significantly reduced for approximately five years thanks to the mediation efforts of the UN and the governments of Portugal and USA.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/stopping-the-armed-conflict-in-angola-for-five-years/Angola
Ending The Proxy Conflict Between Chad And SudanElliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Diplomacy: Track 1, Peace Processes: Implementation
A peace agreement mediated by the Government of Senegal helped to end years of proxy conflict between the governments of Chad and Sudan and reduce the risk of a major interstate conflict between them.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-proxy-conflict-between-chad-and-sudan/Sudan
Ending The Armed Conflict In NepalElliot ShortGovernance: Transition, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, Ratification: Constitution
Nepalese political parties worked together with widespread public support to find a political solution to the ongoing armed conflict in Nepal and mediate the negotiation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which brought an end to a decade of war and created the framework for a lasting peace.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-nepal/Nepal
Preventing Armed Conflict In Solomon IslandsElliot ShortCeasefire, Governance: Reforms, Peace Processes: Implementation
Negotiations facilitated by the Commonwealth and the Government of Australia combined with the deployment of an international monitoring mission and the creation of a peace infrastructure to prevent intercommunal violence from escalating into war in Solomon Islands in 2000.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-solomon-islands/Solomon Islands
Freedom House Aggregate ScoreFreedom HousePolitical and Civil Rights DataFreedom House rates people’s access to political rights and civil liberties in 210 countries and territories through its annual Freedom in the World report. Individual freedoms—ranging from the right to vote to freedom of expression and equality before the law—can be affected by state or nonstate actors. Click on a country name below to access the full country narrative report.
https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scoresWorldwide
African Peace Processes (APP)ETH ZurichPeace Negotiations DataThe “African Peace Processes (APP)” dataset covers peacemaking efforts in armed conflicts in Africa over the 1989–2019 period. Specifically, the APP dataset identifies rounds of peace negotiations in armed conflicts listed by the Uppsala Conflict Database Program (UCDP). Overall, the data cover more than 2,600 individual peace-​negotiation rounds across 769 conflict-​years in Africa. For each negotiation round, the APP dataset lists the start and end dates, and provides information on the negotiation’s outcome as well as on any third party involved as a mediator.
https://css.ethz.ch/en/research/datasets/african-peace-processes--app-.htmlAfrica
Together We Can: Supporting Local Peace Efforts in Magwi CountyAdalei Broers, Amzah JumaProject Evaluation, MediationThis report offers approaches to conducting conflict mapping exercises and engages local partners and local communities to resolve conflict and to intervene in case of an event to reduce tensions. The report focuses on conflict mediation efforts in between two tribal groups in South Sudan: The Madi, and the Acholi. The report highlights the importance of unifiers in bringing communities together and finding common ground that can help foster peace and stability. In particular, the report showcases the crucial role that religious leaders can play in peace processes. Critically, the report notes the pressures on Women in those communities and the pivotal role they play in their communities and in the peace processes. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12764South Sudan
Mitigating The Impact Of Armed Conflict In ColombiaElliot ShortHuman Rights, Problem-Solving Workshop, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
Peace communities created by local people caught in the crossfire during the armed conflict in Colombia (and accompanied by Peace Brigades International since 1997) have helped to mitigate the impact of the fighting on civilians.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/mitigating-the-impact-of-armed-conflict-in-colombia/Colombia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Côte D’ivoireElliot ShortCivil War, Ceasefire, PeacekeepingA series of international peacekeeping missions helped to contain the conflict in Côte d’Ivoire until a French/UN 2011 military intervention definitively ended the conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-cote-divoire/Cote D'Ivoire
Keeping The Peace In Somalia (Puntland)Elliot ShortGovernance: Transition, Elections, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
Puntland has enjoyed relative peace while conflict has continued across most of Somalia.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/keeping-the-peace-in-somalia-puntland/Somalia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Guinea-bissauElliot ShortPeacekeeping, Ceasefire, ElectionsMediation by the CPLP and ECOWAS helped to end the civil war in Guinea-Bissau.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-guinea-bissau/Guinea-Bissau
Ending The Armed Conflict In Nigeria (Plateau State)Elliot ShortAlternative Dispute Resolution, Monitoring/Verification: Local, Early Warning
A military intervention by the Nigerian military helped to contain intercommunal violence in Plateau State until the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue mediated a peace agreement which ended the fighting and helped create a peace infrastructure to continue its work and prevent a conflict relapse.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-nigeria-plateau-state/Nigeria
Strengthening local and national infrastructures for peace in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho and South SudanNontobeko Zondi, Wandile LangaConflict Management, peacebuilding, conflict preventionIn 2016, ACCORD outlined its 2017–2021 Six-Pillar Strategy, which seeks to contribute to sustainable peace, security and development in Africa by mitigating conflict. One of the critical pillars of the Strategy is Pillar 2, which focuses on strengthening local and national infrastructures for peace. This Policy and Practice Brief aims to reflect on the practical experiences, challenges and lessons of ACCORD in advancing the concept of local and national capacity for peace, in the period 2018 to 2019. The preliminary reflections are drawn from ACCORD’s work in four countries, namely, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho and South Sudan.https://www.accord.org.za/publication/strengthening-local-and-national-infrastructures-for-peace-in-burundi-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-lesotho-and-south-sudan/Lesotho
DDR and Peacebuilding: Thematic review of DDR contributions to peacebuilding and the role of the Peacebuilding FundUnited Nations Peacebuilding Support OfficeDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, TrainingThis report reviews the contributions of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) to peacebuilding. The review draws on the experiences of three case studies: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal and focuses specifically on the projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The recommendations of the review aim to help the DDR and peacebuilding communities, and the PBF in particular, strategically and programmatically position their support to DDR (-related) initiatives for more lasting and promising peacebuilding results. The review works on identifying lessons that contribute to a greater understanding of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of DDR programmes to peacebuilding, added-value and comparative advantage of PBF’s funding arrangements, and promising practices that can be used to shape future programming. The review approaches the interlinkages of peacebuilding and DDR through the latter’s role in promoting the peace process, provision of basic security, peace dividends (including economic revitalization, restoring social fabrics and civic responsibility) as well as addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Firstly, explores the policy relationship and interlink- ages of DDR programmes and peacebuilding and the practical implications of this interrelationship on the ground. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the funding structure of the PBF and provides a summary of each of the three case studies. Thirdly, it explores the results of the three case studies horizontally, highlighting overall trends, contextual differences, lessons, and challenges across the cases. It finally highlights the main findings and expresses recommendations that contain specific action points aimed toward PBF efforts and contributions to achieving sustainable peacebuilding results. https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/ddr_pbf_thematic_review.pdfDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Prevented Wars, The Role of International Organizational Intervention in Successful PreventionMargarita TadevosyanThird Party, Recent research has focused on the role of international organizational intervention in preventing large scale wars. The idea of conflict prevention is not new; different scholars have scrutinized different aspects of conflict prevention. At the same time, most existing literature focuses on individual preventive interventions. Recognizing that conflict prevention is an established field both in academic and policy circles, this study provides additional evidence on how conflict prevention can be strengthened and further reinforced by engaging in a systematic analysis of previous cases of preventive engagement by international organizations. The goal of the research was to understand why and how certain interventions led by different international organizations were able to prevent the outbreak of violence and large-scale war and halt the spread of hostilities.

This study is a comprehensive review of 18 specific conflict prevention interventions carried out by one of the four large international organizations—the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), Organization of American States (OAS), and the Commonwealth of Nations—between 1990 and 2015. With recognition of this diversity, the analysis sought to uncover and understand patterns that would provide additional evidence on how to prevent future wars and violent conflict. Based on the research findings Dr. Tadevosyan developed a targeted list of recommendations that can help intervening organizations to maximize their impact in preventing the outbreak of deadly violence.
https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12179Worldwide
Powers of Persuasion: Incentives, Sanctions and Conditionality in PeacemakingAaron Griffiths, Catherine BarnesPeacemaking, SanctionsThis report is the result of a project that analyzed the use of sanctions, incentives and conditionality from the standpoint of whether they underpin or undermine peace processes (ie the formal and informal processes of dialogue and negotiation between the parties that aim to address their conflict). Used effectively, it seems that these policy tools can tip the balance towards settlement by increasing the costs of fighting and the rewards for making peace. There is often an assumption that such tools have the potential to induce parties to participate in negotiations and encourage them to reach and implement peace agreements. Yet many of the cases in this study reveal how these policy tools have been ineffective or even ‘done harm’ in exacerbating tensions and fueling conflict dynamics. Four overriding conclusions can be drawn from this study for how to enhance the effectiveness of external influence in support of peacemaking. (1) External actors need to prioritize support for sustainable peace as their primary goal in a conflict situation and craft their strategy to help achieve it – recognizing that this may, in turn, create the enabling conditions for achieving other foreign policy goals. (2) Sanctions, incentives and conditionality are most likely to be effective when they are responsive to the parties’ own motivational structures and support a pre-existing societal dynamic for conflict resolution. (3) They need to be designed and implemented in ways that help to create momentum in the resolution process, which (4) typically requires a degree of strategic coherence amongst external actors, necessitating mechanisms for coordination.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12746Worldwide
Breaking the Mold: Lessons from Sixteen Years of Innovative UN Political Engagement in NepalRebecca Brubaker,United Nations, peace processes, locally led UN political engagement in Nepal between 2002 and 2018 has long been considered a successful example of sustained and innovative support to a critical peace process. Many governments in the broader region, however, have largely eschewed international assistance in resolving conflicts, perceiving it as an unnecessary infringement on state sovereignty or a threat to regional balances of power. This paper looks at lessons the UN could learn from its political presence in Nepal. It summarizes the four periods of the UN’s involvement, highlights best practices, and reviews the challenges faced and how they shaped the range of actions available to the UN.https://www.ipinst.org/2021/02/lessons-from-sixteen-years-of-innovative-un-political-engagement-in-nepalNepal
Untapped Peacebuilders: Including Persons with Disabilities in the Builiding PeaceSophia CloseInclusive peacebuilidng, Persons with disabilitiesInclusive peace, or the idea that all stakeholders in a conflict-affected society should have a meaningful role in shaping peace, is receiving widespread global recognition.1 There are currently around one billion women and girls, men and boys, and sexual and gender minorities with disabilities, affected by a range of sensory, physical, psychosocial and/or intellectual impairments. This number is rapidly increasing due to global population aging, increased incidence of chronic diseases and injuries caused by environmental factors such as climate change, natural disasters and conflict. This number represents around 15% of the global population, making persons with disabilities the largest minority group in the world.3 There is a clear link between poverty and disability with 800 million persons with disabilities living in developing countries.4 More than half of all persons with disabilities live in countries affected by conflict and natural disasters.https://www.c-r.org/learning-hub/untapped-peacebuilders-including-persons-disabilities-building-peaceWorldwide
Faith Matters: A Guide For The Design, Monitoring, & Evaluation Of Inter-Religious PeacebuildingPeter Woodrow, Nick Oatley, & Michelle Garred religion, design, monitoring, and evaluation (DM&E), peacebuildingThe Guide outlines the decisions and stages involved in setting up a monitoring process and undertaking an evaluation for inter‐religious action for peacebuilding. It adapts and supplements secular evaluation principles and practices to ensure that the monitoring and evaluation of inter-religious actions are sensitive to and respectful of faith traditions, values, practices, priorities and motivations—and that they capture adequately the important spiritual dimensions of the work. It draws on available “how to” guidance on monitoring and evaluation processes and includes multiple references to the most relevant resources.https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/afp-publications/faith-matters-10-2017Global
Mediation in the Yemeni Civil War: Actors, Outcomes, and Lessons LearnedJúlia Palik, Siri Aas RustadMediation, Peace Processes: Strategies, Negotiations
​Yemen is the most severe humanitarian crisis in the world today. Qatar, the UN, EU, US, and the Gulf Cooperation Council have tried to mediate the conflict between the Government of Yemen and the Houthis. But mediation efforts have been complicated by the duality of roles: some mediators have been directly involved as a conflict party, and others indirectly involved, providing support to those engaged in the war. These factors violate the mediation principle of impartiality and diminish a mediator’s credibility and leverage. This brief analyzes all mediation efforts between the Yemeni government and the Houthis since 2007, reviewing the strategies, outcomes, and implementation processes to identify the factors that have hindered successful mediation.
https://www.prio.org/publications/11353Yemen
Gender Gap IndexWorld Economic ForumGender Inequality DataThe Gender Gap Index quantifies the gaps between women and men in four key areas: health, education, economy, and politics. Data is available from 149 countries for select years between 2010-2021. Scores are based on the level of access women have to resources and opportunities relative to men. Countries are given a score from 0-1. A score of 1 indicates full equality between women and men and a score of 0 indicates full inequality. The Gender Gap Index is published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and is designed to capture the magnitude of gender-based disparities and track progress over time.
https://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2018/data-explorer/Worldwide
State Support For Peace Processes: A Multi-Country ReviewJohn Langmore, Tania Miletic, Aran Martin and Nathan SheaDiplomacy: Track 1, Diplomacy: Track 2This study, done for the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, explores what mechanisms exist to connect government foreign policy to expertise on peacemaking and peacebuilding. The report examines institutional frameworks that support Track 1 and Track 2 peacemaking and mediation efforts, including they are financed, supported, staffed and trained within governments, NGOs and academic institutions. Seven countries were selected for review: Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. The experiences and lessons learned from peacemaking activities in those countries are used to provide recommendations for Australia.https://minerva-access.unimelb.edu.au/handle/11343/148424Worldwide
The Missing Link : Fostering Positive Citizen-State Relations in Post-Conflict Environmentsvon Kaltenborn-Stachau, Henriette.Governance: Reforms, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Citizen ActionThe aim of this study is to convince national and multilateral policy makers of the importance of the public sphere concept for democratic governance and strategic post-conflict assistance planning with the objective of positive and sustainable change in current post-conflict assistance policy and practice. The study introduces the conceptual thinking underlying the public sphere framework and, citing evidence from different countries, highlights its relevance and calls for its application in post-conflict environments. For practitioners the study provides a public sphere assessment toolkit and a toolbox for interventions. It also offers concrete examples and recommendations on how to address the specific governance challenges identified through a public sphere analysis in three countries: Timor-Leste, Liberia and Burundi. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12778Africa
MENA Regional Organisations in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding: The League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic CooperationCourtney FreerMonitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Multi-Track Diplomacy, Peace ProcessThis report, compiled through desk research and interviews with academics and policymakers, serves to highlight primary assets and challenges of three regional organisations in the MENA peacemaking/peacebuilding space: the League of Arab States, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation. It introduces the primary goals of each organisation before illustrating the assets and pitfalls of each through the use of concrete case studies of their involvement in regional conflicts. The report seeks to interrogate the efficacy of three regional organisations in peacemaking/peacebuilding, ways in which their involvement in this sector differs from that of other regional or extra-regional bodies, the unique challenges facing the MENA region, and the best way for the FCDO to engage, either with these bodies or others, to enhance progress towards peace in a region that houses several ongoing political conflicts.https://peacerep.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Regional-Organisations-in-Peacemaking51.pdfMiddle East
Containing the armed conflict between South Sudan and Sudan (Abyei)Elliot ShortMediation, PeacekeepingA UN peacekeeping mission has helped to prevent renewed armed conflict in the contested area of Abyei for a decade.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-between-south-sudan-and-sudan-abyei/Sudan
Preventing Armed Conflict in MadagascarElliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Peace Processes: Implementation, ElectionsA political crisis which verged on the brink of sparking a civil war in Madagascar was prevented from escalating by an effective international diplomatic intervention and the mediation of a peace agreement by the Southern African Development Community.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-madagascar/Madagascar
Assessing International Statebuilding Initiative Effectiveness at Preventing Armed Conflict RecurrenceElliot ShortStatebuildingThe practice of statebuilding is employed by a broad spectrum of multilateral organisations and national governments as a tool to stabilise fragile states, including those that are recovering from conflict. However, much of the existing literature focuses on weighing up the ethical arguments concerning statebuilding rather than analysing its impact on the societies in which it takes place. This assessment combines data from Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index, financial data harvested from relevant publicly available databases, and an extensive survey of the academic and policy literature to examine whether statebuilding is an effective means of preventing post-conflict states from relapsing into war. By exploring the cases of Burundi, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nepal, it demonstrates that although statebuilding can help to achieve this goal, certain conditions and methods are required for it to be effective. When such conditions and methods are absent, donors’ resources are employed to build regimes rather than states and leave the recipient country at risk of returning to conflict.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12168Burundi
Alternative Dispute Resolution Practitioners GuideScott Brown, Christine Cervenak, and David FairmanAlternative Dispute Resolution, conflict management, negotiation, conflict resolution. With the spread of ADR programs in the developed and developing world, creative uses for and designs of ADR systems are proliferating. Successful programs are improving the lives of individuals and meeting broad societal goals. There is a critical mass of ADR experience, revealing important lessons as to whether, when, and how to implement ADR projects. Drawing on this experience, this Guide is intended to provide an introduction to the broad range of systems that operate under the rubric of ADR. It is designed to explore and clarify the potential uses and benefits of ADR and the conditions under which ADR programs can succeed. It is written to help project designers decide whether and when to implement ADR programs in the context of rule of law assistance or other development initiatives. The Guide is also explicit about the limitations of ADR programs, especially where they may be ineffective or even counterproductive in serving some development goals.https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1868/200sbe.pdfWorldwide
Operationalizing the Sustaining Peace Agenda: Lessons from Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Papua New GuineaAgathe SarfatiOperations management, implementation, policy, sustained peaceThe twin resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council in 2016 made a breakthrough in the UN’s conception of peacebuilding. Significant work has since been undertaken to reconfigure the UN system to work toward the implementation of these resolutions, and the UN Peacebuilding Commission has launched a comprehensive review of the peacebuilding architecture to be completed in 2020. To inform this review, this issue brief synthesizes findings related to the operationalization of the peacebuilding and sustaining peace resolutions at the country level. The paper concludes that much of the focus to date has been on improving the effectiveness of how the UN delivers its mandates on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. To fully realize the vision of the sustaining peace agenda, its operationalization must increasingly focus on the impact of these efforts. This requires questioning and testing the theory of change underpinning these operational reforms to ensure the UN is effectively helping societies build the foundation for sustaining peace.https://www.ipinst.org/2020/06/operationalizing-sustaining-peace-agenda-burkina-faso-liberia-papua-new-guineaLiberia
Preventing Widespread Conflict In Democratic Republic Of Congo (Ituri)Elliot ShortFood Insecurity, Internally Displaced Persons/Refugees, Humanitarian EngagementOperation Artemis prevented a much larger conflict which could have contributed to a major famine from happening in Ituri, Democratic Republic of Congo, in 2003.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-widespread-conflict-in-democratic-republic-of-congo-ituri/Democratic Republic of the Congo
Diplomacy And Peace In Fragile ContextsJonathan Marley, Erik ForsbergFragility, Diplomacy, FacilitationDiplomats and other diplomatic actors serve as the primary political actors in fragile contexts, both for OECD Development Assistance Committee members and the broader international community. They directly contribute to immediate and long-term peace, and their broad political network and knowledge positions them as a nodal point for effective and inclusive humanitarian, development and peace action in fragile contexts. This paper examines three different functions diplomatic actors assume that contribute to peace in fragile contexts: diplomacy as global governance, diplomats as peacebuilders and diplomats as facilitators. This paper is one of ten working papers supporting States of Fragility 2020. It works together with Security actors in fragile contexts, Conflict prevention in fragile contexts, and Peacebuilding in fragile contexts to provide comprehensive background to Chapter 2 on peace in States of Fragility 2020.https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/6a684a4b-en.pdf?expires=1651771308&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=03936B557D88A03E1581B672AF6176BCWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Nigeria (Southern Plateau State)Elliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: Local, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Inclusive PeacebuildingLocal people and organisations and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue developed a peace declaration that ended the ongoing low-intensity armed conflicts between 56 communities in southern Plateau State, Nigeria.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-nigeria-southern-plateau-state/Nigeria
Subsist or Persist? Assessing Drivers of Migration and Effects of Foreign Assistance Programs on Migration from the Northern TriangleMercy CorpsMigration and conflict, Northern TriangleThis report aims to identify solutions rooted in evidence and research, examining who migrates, why they are migrating, and whether development programs can curb the flow of migration. The report finds that foreign assistance programs are alleviating violence and increasing economic opportunity, economic hardships—including the effects of climate change on agricultural livelihoods—and violence are key drivers of migration, and that people migrate out of desperation. The report finds that the evidence that they do have demonstrates that U.S.-funded initiatives are improving lives in the Northern Triangle and these programs likely do contribute to curbing migration by addressing its root causes.https://www.mercycorps.org/research-resources/subsist-or-persistEl Salvador
If Victims Become Perpetrators: Factors Contributing to Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Central SahelLuca RaineriViolent extremism, Central SahelThis study focuses on young Fulani people in the regions of Mopti (Mali), Sahel (Burkina Faso) and Tillabéri (Niger), and analyses the factors contributing to community vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism. One of the key findings of this research is the assertion that violent extremism in the central Sahel is primarily a response to local conflicts, and that the link with international jihadism is more rhetoric than reality. This study shows that the most determining factor contributing to vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism is the experience (or perception) of abuse and violation by government authorities. On the other hand, the study shows that strengthening social cohesion, supporting young men’s and women’s role in their communities, and mitigating social and gender exclusion could strengthen community resilience. The research also identifies strategies to deploy to curb violent extremism in the central Sahel. To restore trust between marginalised citizens and their governments, international partners need to prioritise efforts aimed at supporting state accountability towards its citizens; improve access to justice, especially transitional justice, and ensure inclusive governance; improve supervision of the armed forces; and promote youth employment, including through migration.https://www.international-alert.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sahel-Violent-Extremism-Vulnerability-Resilience-EN-2018.pdfBurkina Faso
INFORME FINAL EVALUACIÓN DEL PROGRAMA CONJUNTO DE PAZ PARA GENERACIÓN POST CONFLICTOPeacekeeping, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Conflict PreventionThis final report evaluates the first experience of implementation of the program of Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) for the post-conflict generation, executed in El Salvador. It was established in 2006 as a flexible tool to consolidate peace, supporting the broader peace objectives of the United Nations in countries at risk of falling back into conflict. This report covers 18 months of the first PBF-approved intervention to support the peacekeeping agenda and the achievement of a “second generation of peace agreements”. The evaluation of the program has the main purpose of learning. The evaluation of the Joint Peace Program for the Post-Conflict Generation provides evidence about the planned and unplanned results achieved, what has worked and what has not, and why. Likewise, the evaluation illustrates lessons learned, as well as the good practices that have been generated through the implementation of the Program, which can be taken up and implemented by the agencies and their partners and participants. The evaluation has set the following main objective: Examine how and to what extent the Joint Peace Program for the Post-Conflict Generation has contributed to the strengthening and consolidation of care and protection mechanisms for people affected by different manifestations of violence. In this sense, to give an accurate response to the defined needs, the objective is complemented with the definition of the evaluation criteria, for which the relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, and sustainability of the intervention of the Program concerning the design and results achieved, as well as the unintended results, identifying possible negative and positive consequences derived from the intervention. Further, The Joint Peace Program for the Post-Conflict Generation implemented contains a framework of results made up of three major results, namely: Result 1. Strengthened institutional mechanisms for protection and attention to victims, Result 2. The strengthen of institutional mechanisms for care and reintegration of the returned migrant population, Result 3. Increase institutional capacities for the fulfillment of internal and external control functions of Security and Justice institutions. https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/informe_final_de_la_evaluacion_programa_conjunto_de_paz_para_generacion_post_conflicto.pdfEl Salvador
Youth and NonViolence in GuineaFrances Fortune, Quentin KanyatsiProject Evaluation, Mediation, Peacemaking, Youth, Conflict PreventionThis evaluation report provides useful information about the intervention in Guinea with clear metrics as to how the project has helped improve the mediation skills of the Youth population and led to better mediation and reduction in violence. There is a particular focus on elections for this project that can offer generalizable knowledge that can be applied to other cases where there is a risk of violence surrounding elections. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12780Guinea
Improving International Support to Peace Processes: The Missing PieceOECDPeace Processes, Multi-Track Diplomacy, Inclusive PeacebuildingPeace processes hold the promise of re-starting non-violent efforts towards creating more equitable, resilient and developed societies. Yet, such processes are politically and psychologically complex, as well as high-risk. Many fail and such failure is harmful, as it reduces confidence and increases cynicism amongst parties to a conflict, citizens and international partners alike. International support can help a peace process to succeed but its nature and quality matter greatly.

“The Missing Piece” identifies seven recommendations to improve the quality of support that states and international organizations provide to peace processes. It does this through a thorough analysis of: the characteristics of today’s violent conflicts, the factors that influence the success and failure of a peace process and the current strengths & weaknesses of international support.
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264179844-en.pdf?expires=1651771544&id=id&accname=ocid41016750&checksum=7B9783E19C7B55059CDAA78B31B9FC5EWorldwide
Key Considerations When Supporting Peace Processes DCHA/CMMConflict, development, negotiations, mediation, peace. Development professionals can play an important role in any peace process, providing the technical knowledge and practical, on-the-ground insights necessary to create a peace agreement that is durable. There are a number of lessons learned that are important for development practitioners to keep in mind when supporting peace processes. Much of the guidance offered in this brief has been distilled from multiple sources in academic literature, from background materials used in developing CMM’s toolkit on supporting peace processes and from materials produced by numerous other research institutionshttps://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12754Worldwide
Does Reconciliation Prevent Future Atrocities?Kate LonerganReconciliation, Violence Prevention, Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
What are atrocity crimes, why and when do they arise, and how can peacebuilding practice help to prevent them? This report delves into the conceptual foundations of reconciliation and atrocity prevention in the context of Sri Lanka’s history of conflict and ongoing reconciliation process, analyzing institutional-level reconciliation efforts and drawing from a randomized field experiment in an interpersonal reconciliation program. It suggests that by understanding the conditions under which reconciliation is most effective, peacebuilding practice will be better placed to achieve its goals after violent conflict.https://www.usip.org/publications/2017/09/does-reconciliation-prevent-future-atrocitiesSri Lanka
Preventing Interstate Conflict In The Great LakesElliot ShortPeace Processes: Strategies, Diplomacy: Track 1, Conflict Prevention
After being established by the African Union and the UN, the ICGLR has prevented further interstate conflict in the Great Lakes since 2003.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-interstate-conflict-in-the-great-lakes/Great Lakes
Malian Women’s Participation in the Algiers NegotiationsJenny LorentzenNegotiations, Gender, Peace ProcessThis FAIR case brief focuses on Malian women's participation in the Algiers negotiations in 2014­–2015. It shows how there were stark differences in perceptions of fairness when it came to women's participation among the different actors involved, including relatively strong resistance to women's participation from the international mediation team and the conflict parties in Algiers. Women activists, on the other hand, considered their exclusion and the resistance they faced as deeply unfair. They voiced their concerns through national and international campaigns, and sought support from international partners such as the UN, EU, bilateral partners, and individuals in positions of power. Even though exclusion dominated the Malian negotiations, the perceptions of this as unfair resonated enough with relevant audiences for the actors to enter into limited negotiations and adaptations with regards to how women should participate (at the table, through civil society hearings, from a distance), when women should participate (during negotiations or in the reconciliation), and which women should participate (civil society representatives or members of negotiation teams).
https://www.prio.org/publications/12903Mali
Aid Coordination and Delivery : Yemen Policy Note 5World BankHumanitarian Engagement, Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, FragilityThis policy note outlines options for aid coordination and delivery in Yemen. It draws on a vast amount of experiences and lessons learned from post-conflict recovery and peace building processes both in Yemen and elsewhere over the past decade.Its central message is that timely international support and targeted financial aid will be critical to the implementation of a new peace agreement in Yemen, but delivery of this support will have to be carefully designed, sequenced, and coordinated in order to overcome divisions and assist Yemen in addressing the challenges driving the cyclical nature of conflict in the country. This note highlights the importance of focusing efforts in the immediate termon sequencing and coordinating while the conflict is ongoing, and negotiations move forward to support immediate recovery programming once negotiations achieve a positive outcome. This note argues that the peace dividend, that is recovery and development, and humanitarian assistance need to be effective immediately to build peace and overcome the causes of conflict. At the same time such arrangements should strengthen national systems and capacities that are needed toeliminate poverty, promote development objectives, and help to build peace.These challenges are compounded by the fact that expectations will be extremely high during the immediate aftermath of the latest round of conflict,absorptive capacity will remain limited for years to come, and the government capacity to deliver will be hindered by its lack of access and legitimacy in certain parts of the country even following a peace agreement.https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28592Yemen
Reducing Armed Conflict In India (Manipur)Elliot ShortPeace Processes: Implementation, Ceasefire, Armed Non-State ActorsThe level of armed conflict taking place in the complex social and military environment of Manipur has been reduced thanks to a gradual peace process led by the Indian government.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-india-manipur/India
Locally Led Peacebuiliding: A Case Study of a Chieftency Dispute in the Brong Ahafo Region of GhanaPurdue Peace ProjectLocal peacebuiliding, community disputeLocally led peacebuilding, also referred to as locally driven peacebuilding, is a move to recognize that those who are directly affected by conflict should drive peacebuilding efforts. This white paper responds to calls for more data-driven exemplars of locally driven peacebuilding. It does so by presenting as a case study the work of the Purdue Peace Project (PPP) in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana to help prevent violence related to a long-standing chieftaincy dispute.https://www.cla.purdue.edu/ppp/documents/publications/locallyledpeacebuilding2018.pdfGhana
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Indonesia (Aceh)Elliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Mediation, Peace Processes: ImplementationThe International Monitoring Presence and the Aceh Monitoring Mission helped to prevent a conflict relapse in the Indonesian province of Aceh.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-indonesia-aceh/Indonesia
Reducing Armed Conflict In Somalia (Somaliland)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), DialogueThanks to the efforts of local people and organisations, Somaliland has remained at peace for almost thirty years while much of the rest of Somalia was been plagued by conflict and famine.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-somalia-somaliland/Somalia
Preventing Renewed Interstate Conflict On The Korean PeninsulaElliot ShortCeasefire, Diplomacy, Monitoring/Verification: LocalThe Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission and the Military Armistice Committee helped to contain the armed conflict between North and South Korea for over four decades, playing a key role in implementing the terms of the 1953 Armistice and monitoring adherence to them by both signatories.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-renewed-interstate-conflict-on-the-korean-peninsula/Korean Peninsula
Historical Reconciliation and Protracted ConflictsEASI Working Grouproot causes, reconciliation, protracted conflictTwenty years after the end of the Cold War, the realization of hopes for a Euro-Atlantic world undivided, prosperous, and at peace remains elusive. There is as yet no sense of common goals between the enlarged Atlantic community of the West and many of the nations that emerged from the Soviet Union. No consensus exists on how the region should develop, what its economic future can be, or how both larger and smaller countries can take advantage of important global trendshttps://carnegieendowment.org/2012/02/03/historical-reconciliation-and-protracted-conflicts-pub-46991Europe
Civil Society in Conflict Transformation: Strengths and Limitations Martina FischerCitizen action, Statebuilding, Humanitarian EngagementThis book chapter focuses on the potential contribution that civil society actors can make to peacebuilding. There is also an examination of what types of activities international and transnational NGOs undertake in order to influence international politics in a way that contributes to coping with global challenges. The author explores key questions such as: What are the strengths and limitations of civil society actors? What types of activities do NGOs undertake? What problems and dilemmas are faced in the development of civil society in war-torn societies? What is the role and potential of (local) civil society actors in war-to-peace transitions and what problems and dilemmas stem from the development of civil society in war-torn societies? She uses the example of Bosnia-Herzegovina to explore the limitations of civil society's contributions to peacebuilding, and how civil society relates to state-building. Finally, the chapter addresses how such considerations impact theoretical conceptualizations of the term "civil society". http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12903Bosnia and Herzegovina
"Liberians for Liberians": A Locally-Led Ebola Campaign in LiberiaStacey L. Connaughton, Kai Kuang, Liliya Yakova, Arunima Krishna, Jasmine Linabary, Grace Yeanay MaysonPublic health, Ebola, local community activismThe Pen-Pen Peace Network, a local peace committee in Liberia, has been fighting the Ebola outbreak with its own Ebola Campaign, with the assistance and encouragement of the Purdue Peace Project (PPP), USA, and the Women Movement for Sustainable Develop-ment-Liberia (WOMSUD). This report summarizes and highlights the work that these local Liberians have done to date and the pre-liminary findings that have emerged from systematic data collec-tion of their work.https://cla.purdue.edu/ppp/documents/publications/Liberians.pdfLiberia
Peace Agreements DatabaseThe University of EdinburghPeace Agreements DataThe PA-X Peace Agreement Database (www.peaceagreements.org) is a database and repository of peace agreements from 1990 to date, current up until 1 June 2021. PA-X provides a comprehensive dataset of peace agreements from 1990 to mid-2021, capable of underpinning both quantitative and qualitative research. It aims to be accessible to:

• mediators and parties in conflict seeking to understand how compromise can be crafted

• civic actors seeking to influence on-going peace talks and proposals

• social science researchers interested in understanding peace agreements quantitatively and qualitatively.
https://www.peaceagreements.org/Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In CroatiaElliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Peacekeeping, Ceasefire
The Contact Group (composed of Russia, EU, USA, and UN) successfully mediated the negotiation of the Basic Agreement on the Region of Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium, which ended the armed conflict in Croatia during the collapse of Yugoslavia.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-croatia/Croatia
Community Participation In Transitional Justice: A Role For Participatory ResearchUSAIDCommmunity participation, trasnsitional justice, reparation, peacemaking. This manual aims to assist civil society organizations (CSOs) to use participatory research to promote community participation in transitional justice. Community participation benefits transnational justice strategies by assisting them in responding to unique needs and challenges within each community; encouraging the necessary participation to create and enhance change by legitimizing initiatives amongst the public; and addressing root causes of human rights violations like marginalization and disempowerment. Through participatory research, the communities greatest needs and priorities can lead action plan to address them, offering an incentive for community participation in transitional justice. This manual unveils this connection to build sustainable institutions and societies that deliver justice, ensure opportunities and foster the respect for human rights. https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/CPTJUSAID.pdfGuinea
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In South AfricaElliot ShortDialogue, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization
The deployment of monitoring missions by the Commonwealth, EU, Organisation of African Unity, and the UN helped to prevent violence during the 1994 elections and ensured that South Africa did not experience a conflict relapse after the transition from apartheid.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-south-africa/South Africa
South Asia's Nuclear Challenges: Interlocking Views from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United StatesLora Saalman, Petr TopychkanovNuclear postureThis study provides an overview of views on nuclear postures and escalation affecting South Asia, based on 119 interviews conducted in 2020, without attribution, with military, nuclear, political and regional experts from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United States. These discussions revealed a number of interlocking points that offer building blocks for both official and non-official engagement on such issues as no first use (NFU), lowered nuclear thresholds, conventional and nuclear entanglement, escalate to de-escalate, and emerging technology development.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/south-asias-nuclear-challenges-interlocking-views-india-pakistan-china-russia-and-united-statesUnited States
Can We Build Peace from a Distance? The Impact of COVID-19 on the Peacebuilding Sector Elizabeth Laruni, Kim Toogood, Lucy HoldawayCOVID-19, Lack of contact and peacebuildingThis background paper explores some of the ways in which the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted one of the foundation principles of peacebuilding practice: the basic need to bring people together face-to-face. It takes a step back to look at the overall impact on peacebuilding practice when intergroup contact is limited, encouraging an examination of the principles that underpin practice.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/can-we-build-peace-from-a-distance-impact-covid-19-peacebuilding/Worldwide
From words to actions: The experience of the UN Special Political Missions in Colombia on women, peace and security.Marcie MerskyGender, Peace Processes: Implementation, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations

The Colombian peace process and its 2016 Final Peace Agreement are widely held to be an international model for gender-sensitivity and the inclusion of women’s rights. The United Nations (UN) played an active role, along with others in the international community, first in encouraging and advising key actors to advance the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda during the peace negotiations (2012-2016) and then through the establishment of two consecutive special political missions (SPMs) in Colombia to verify specific provisions of the Agreement. In its efforts to implement the WPS agenda in Colombia, the UN worked in close cooperation with the authorities and former guerrillas, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP), as well as with civil society and international stakeholders.https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/WPS%20Study%20Lessons%20Learned.pdfColombia
South Asia's Nuclear Challenges: Interlocking Views from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United StatesLora Saalman, Petr TopychkanovNuclear postureThis study provides an overview of views on nuclear postures and escalation affecting South Asia, based on 119 interviews conducted in 2020, without attribution, with military, nuclear, political and regional experts from India, Pakistan, China, Russia and the United States. These discussions revealed a number of interlocking points that offer building blocks for both official and non-official engagement on such issues as no first use (NFU), lowered nuclear thresholds, conventional and nuclear entanglement, escalate to de-escalate, and emerging technology development.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/south-asias-nuclear-challenges-interlocking-views-india-pakistan-china-russia-and-united-statesRussia
Ending The Interstate Conflict Between Eritrea And EthiopiaElliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: United Nations, Dialogue, PeacekeepingThe war between Eritrea and Ethiopia was ended by mediation efforts led by the Organisation of African Unity during negotiations held in Algeria and the deployment of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to the region.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-interstate-conflict-between-eritrea-and-ethiopia/Eritrea
Ending The Proxy Conflict Between Chad And SudanElliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Diplomacy: Track 1, Peace Processes: Implementation
A peace agreement mediated by the Government of Senegal helped to end years of proxy conflict between the governments of Chad and Sudan and reduce the risk of a major interstate conflict between them.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-proxy-conflict-between-chad-and-sudan/Chad
Ending the Armed Conflict in Bosnia and HerzegovinaElliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementThe Government of the USA successfully mediated a series of peace agreements which ended the multifaceted armed conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina/Bosnia and Herzegovina
Business and Peace: It Takes Two to TangoMarkus Mayer, Ben Miller, Kathryn Nwajiaku-Dahou, Johannes SchreuderBusiness and peace, Private sector and peacebuilding, Fragility and investmentAs a basic proposition, the idea that if businesses can operate in an ordinary manner, that will help build peace, seems uncontentious to many. As a field for both research and policy it is about two decades old. There is increasing agreement among donor governments that strengthening the private sector strengthens the prospects for peace. Unfortunately, evidence to support the proposition is not very strong and, on the other side, there is just as much evidence of business activities contributing to the continuation of conflict. This paper is to be commended for setting out dispassionately to explore the issues and disentangle the different threads of evidence and argument.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/usiness-and-peace-it-takes-two-tango/Worldwide
A handbook for development practitioners: ten steps to a results-based monitoring and evaluation systemJody Zall Kusek and Ray C. RistProject EvaluationAn effective state is essential to achieving socio-economic and sustainable development. With the advent of globalization, there are growing pressures on governments and organizations around the world to be more responsive to the demands of internal and external stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency, greater development effectiveness, and delivery of tangible results. Governments, parliaments, citizens, the private sector, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society, international organizations, and donors are among the stakeholders interested in better performance. As demands for greater accountability and real results have increased, there is an attendant need for enhanced results-based monitoring and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects. This handbook provides a comprehensive ten-step model that will help guide development practitioners through the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. These steps begin with a 'readiness assessment' and take the practitioner through the design, management, and importantly, the sustainability of such systems. The handbook describes each step in detail, the tasks needed to complete each one, and the tools available to help along the way.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12763Worldwide
Mapping Business-Peace Interactions: Five Assertions for How Businesses Create Peace Jason Miklian Private Sector and Peacebuilding, Economics and Conflict, DiplomacyThe conjunction of business and peace is a growing global phenomenon, but conducted and researched over a vast array of fields and contextual settings. This article provides theoretical order for this disparate material, illustrating cutting-edge research and highlighting the most urgent knowledge gaps to fill. Extracting findings from the business community, international organizations, and the academic community, this article maps these findings into five assertions about how businesses impact upon peace: economic engagement facilitates a peace dividend; encouraging local development facilitates local capacities for peace; importing international norms improves democratic accountability; firms can constrain the drivers or root causes of conflict; and undertaking direct diplomatic efforts with conflict actors builds and/or makes peace. These assertions provide a framework for categorizing and testing prominent business-peace arguments. They also support preliminary arguments that businesses cannot expect to be rewarded as peacebuilders just because they undertake peacebuilding activities, that economic opening only brings as much peace as a local regime will allow, and that truly courageous business-peace choices are rarely made in fragile contexts. This framework can encourage more coherent scholarly findings and more effective business engagements within the complex and challenging realm of peacebuilding.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12775Worldwide
Enhancing Peacekeeping Training Through Cooperation: Lessons from Latin AmericaIgarapé Instituteeffectiveness, peacekeeping, cooperation, inclusive, There is growing recognition at the UN and among member states that peacekeeping must be made more effective, especially in face of major budget cuts and wavering leadership by traditional actors. Against this backdrop, how can member states improve the quality of pre-deployment and mission preparation for UN peacekeeping? This policy brief focuses on one area in which innovation has become more urgent than ever: enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping through better training. More specifically, we analyze the emerging configurations, innovations, and challenges of international cooperation for peacekeeping training centers (PTCs), drawing on the case of Latin America.https://igarape.org.br/en/enhancing-peacekeeping-training-through-cooperation/Bolivia
Ending The Armed Conflict In The Philipinnes (Soldiers Of The Filipino People/young Officers’ Union/revolutionary Nationalist Alliance)Elliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Dialogue, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
A peace agreement mediated by an agency of the Government of the Philippines ended the repeated efforts of the Soldiers of the Filipino People, the Young Officers’ Union, and the Revolutionary Nationalist Alliance factions of the military to seize power with forcehttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-the-philipinnes-soldiers/Philippines
Localising protection responses in conflicts: challenges and opportunities Victoria Metcalfe-Hough Citizen Action, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Violence Prevention
In conflict situations around the world, civilians are providing their own frontline ‘protection services’, adopting a variety of strategies and utilising various capacities and capabilities to try to prevent and mitigate the impact of conflict-related violence and abuse, and repair the damage done to their lives and livelihoods. On the ground, however, international humanitarian organisations are still failing to fully understand and systematically integrate these local and self-protection efforts in their own response strategies. This report considers in detail the role of local populations in their own protection; the role of local non-state actors in enhancing those efforts; and the relationship between these and the strategies adopted by international ‘humanitarian protection’ actors. The paper further seeks to explore the tensions, challenges and opportunities inherent in a more localised approach to protection. https://odi.org/en/publications/localising-protection-responses-in-conflicts-challenges-and-opportunities/Worldwide
Local, National, and International PeacebuildingPeace Science DigestPeacebuildingThis report focuses on the “local turn” in peacebuilding, and the importance of locally led initiatives and local knowledge in support of peacebuilding activities. The series of articles in this report look to examine how locally driven decision making can help alleviate post-conflict grievances. The articles tackle the issue of power and how the push for the local turn challenges those traditional power structures that are driven by external actors. As a result, the articles raise important questions on the role of donors, the relationship between international and local peacebuilders, and how those relationships impact long-term outcomes of peacebuilding initiatives.https://peacesciencedigest.org/special-issue-local-national-and-international-peacebuilding/Worldwide
New Paths and Policies towards Conflict Prevention: Chinese and Swiss PerspectivesCourtney J. Fung, Björn Gehrmann, Rachel F. Madenyika, Jason G. TowerConflict PreventionThis book explores the discourse on conflict prevention and peacebuilding by bringing together researchers from China and Switzerland over a series policy dialogues. The Charter of the United Nations, adopted in the immediate aftermath of World War II, is clear about the fundamental necessity for the international community to act in partnership to prevent violent conflict. Given recent shifts in global power dynamics, there is an apparent need for international policy issues to be addressed in ways that are inclusive of a wider variety of perspectives and approaches. Chinese policy actors are increasingly interested in fostering their own discourse on issues of prevention and peacebuilding, rooted in Chinese experience, and engaging with peers from other contexts. The chapters in this volume explore the rationale for conflict prevention and review prevailing academic and practitioner discourses on fundamental questions such as the rationales for why conflicts should be prevented and whether ‘mainstream approaches’ are still relevant. This book will be of interest to students of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, Chinese politics, and International Relations.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12178Switzerland
National Election Response Groups as infrastructures for peace Reuben J.B. Lewiselection violence, state-building, locally-ledIn West Africa, National Elections Response Groups (NERGs) are being developed as response structures to mitigate election-related conflict, and their operationalisation is proving to be successful in a number of countries that have held elections – including, most recently, in Sierra Leone. NERGs are designed as infrastructures for peace, and serve as platforms for peaceful dialogue and shuttle diplomacy with political parties during national elections. NERGs also respond to incidences of harassment, intimidation and violence; work towards keeping communities calm and organised; and engage with all political groups to keep the peace. This article discusses the development and operationalisation of NERGs as an infrastructure for peace during recent elections in some West African countries.https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/national-election-response-groups-as-infrastructures-for-peace/Ghana
Preventing Armed Conflict In Fyr Macedonia (2001)Elliot ShortNegotiations, Peacekeeping, Governance: Reforms
Armed conflict was prevented once again in Macedonia in 2001, in this case by a diplomatic intervention by a range of intergovernmental organisations, the deployment of a North Atlantic Treaty Organisation peacekeeping mission, and the strengthening of existing peace infrastructure.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-fyr-macedonia-2001/North Macedonia
Peacebuilding in Fragile ContextsJonathan MarleyFragility, Economics and Conflict, Humanitarian EngagementPeacebuilding thinking and practice have evolved significantly over the past decade. The business case for the effectiveness of peacebuilding has been established. Successful interventions underscore the importance of peacebuilding initiatives, as do the high-profile failures that occur when peacebuilding is absent, fragmented or insufficient. With the emergence of new approaches to peacebuilding led by the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture Review, this paper examines the state of peacebuilding operations and finance in fragile contexts and, building on established trends and debates, identifies four areas that could be critical for driving progress on peacebuilding over the next decade. The paper is one of ten working papers supporting States of Fragility 2020. Together with the papers entitled “Diplomacy and peace in fragile contexts”, “Conflict prevention in fragile contexts”, and “Security actors in fragile contexts”, It provides a comprehensive background to Chapter 2 on peace in States of Fragility 2020.https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/d222bc0a-en.pdf?expires=1651673547&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=C9569BD773B1329835C441EC6A2E46FEWorldwide
Keeping The Peace In Solomon IslandsElliot ShortPreventive Diplomacy, Elections, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR)The International Peace Monitoring Team, Peace Monitoring Council, and Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands helped to prevent armed conflict in Solomon Islands after the unrest of 1999-2000.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/keeping-the-peace-in-solomon-islands/Solomon Islands
Ayesha Siddiqi, Katie Peters and Julia ZulverFragibility, Climate and Conflict, Rule of Law
Colombia is considered one of the most advanced countries in Latin America for disaster risk reduction (DRR). Decades of state engagement in large-scale disasters has generated a relatively mature legal and institutional framework governing disaster response and risk reduction. However, the country also has a long history of conflict, involving targeted killings, generalised violence, kidnapping and extortion.
As in many other parts of the world, Colombia’s current DRR policy and practice fail to take adequate account of the conflict situation. As a result, large numbers of conflict-displaced people (an estimated 15% of the country’s population is internally displaced) are highly vulnerable.
This case study sheds light on why disaster risk is so high in Colombia, and how disasters and conflict interact to increase vulnerability. In addition to exploring the current national institutional and policy frameworks for DRR, it includes a critical analysis of two recent disasters: a landslide in the Mocoa area in 2017 and the structural failure of a dam resulting in severe flooding of the Cauca River in 2018.
The findings highlight the complex and inherently political nature of DRR efforts in a context of conflict, protracted displacement and troubled state–society relations. The study highlights the need for an approach that goes beyond technocratic solutions; the reality that there are competing visions for DRR in conflict situations; and the fundamental necessity of rebuilding the social contract and recognising the rights and voices of affected citizens.
https://odi.org/en/publications/doble-afectacion-living-with-disasters-and-conflict-in-colombia/Colombia
Crisis Management Beyond the Humanitarian-Development NexusAtsushi Hanatani, Oscar A. Gómez, Chigumi KawaguchiHumanitarian, DevelopmentIn addressing humanitarian crises, the international community has long understood the need to extend beyond providing immediate relief, and to engage with long-term recovery activities and the prevention of similar crises in the future. However, this continuum from short-term relief to rehabilitation and development has often proved difficult to achieve. This book aims to shed light on the continuum of humanitarian crisis management, particularly from the viewpoint of major bilateral donors and agencies. Focusing on cases of armed conflicts and disasters, the authors describe the evolution of approaches and lessons learnt in practice when moving from emergency relief to recovery and prevention of future crises. Drawing on an extensive research project conducted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency Research Institute, this book compares how a range of international organizations, bilateral cooperation agencies, NGOs, and research institutes have approached the continuum in international humanitarian crisis management. The book draws on six humanitarian crises case studies, each resulting from armed conflict or natural disasters: Timor-Leste, South Sudan, the Syrian crisis, Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, and Typhoon Yolanda. The book concludes by proposing a common conceptual framework designed to appeal to different stakeholders involved in crisis management. Following on from the World Humanitarian Summit, where a new way of working on the humanitarian-development nexus was highlighted as one of five major priority trends, this book is a timely contribution to the debate which should interest researchers of humanitarian studies, conflict and peace studies, and disaster risk-management.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12173Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In India (Tripura)Elliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Ceasefire, Governance: Power SharingThe armed conflict in Tripura between the Indian government and Tripuri armed groups was ended by a series of negotiated settlements with several armed opposition groups and the stabilisation of the international border.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-india-tripura/India
‘Capacities for Peace’: lessons from the Ivorian-Liberian border regionJanet Adama MohammedLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Citizen action
Between September 2013 and February 2016, Conciliation Resources and Saferworld implemented the ‘Capacities for Peace’ project in 32 conflict-affected contexts around the world. The project involved working with local actors to enhance the effectiveness of local analysis, early warning and early action. This report seeks to reflect on the experiences and achievements of the ‘Capacities for Peace’ work that was implemented in the Ivorian-Liberian border regions.
The project sought to strengthen local ownership of peace initiatives in the Ivorian-Liberian border region by supporting the empowerment and capacity building of community-based peacebuilding actors. These actors were mobilised into District Platforms for Dialogue (DPDs) working to promote dialogue as an effective and non-violent means of redress. In total, four new DPDs were formed; Danané and Toulépléu in Côte d’Ivoire and Loguatou and Toetown in Liberia.
The project provided the space and linkages for the DPDs and the wider border population to engage more effectively with local and national authorities. The DPDs were supported to undertake participatory research into the drivers of insecurities in their communities, which they used to sensitise duty bearers. The collaborative and non-accusatory engagement approach that they used ensured that duty bearers were largely receptive and responsive to the findings. These engagements created an appetite amongst government officials from both countries to participate in a bilateral dialogue process.
https://www.c-r.org/resource/capacities-peace-lessons-ivorian-liberian-border-regionSierra Leone, Liberia
Local Peacebuilding: What Works And Why Phil Vernon Locally-led, peacebuilding, youth, gender, WPS, early warningThis report argues that more support for local peacebuilding is needed, and highlights examples of effective local initiatives in support of this claim. To counter the scepticism some decision‑makers express about the impact of local peacebuilding, the report is confined to examples that have been objectively assessed by external evaluators or researchers.https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/afp-publications/local-peacebuilding-what-6-2019Worldwide
Preventing Armed Conflict in LesothoElliot ShortDialogue, Peacekeeping, ElectionsThe Southern African Development Committee Preventive Mission in Lesotho helped to maintain stability during a period of severe political crisis in Lesotho, preventing an armed conflict from erupting in 2017.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-lesotho/Lesotho
Towards full spectrum conflict prevention: the international peace and prosperity project in Guinea-BissauEvan HoffmanConflict Prevention and Early Warning, Failed StatesThe author analyzes the results of a pilot project (2004 – 2009) focused on conflict prevention and early warning in Guinea Bissau by the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation. Guinea Bissau was considered at risk of violent armed and as a result an early warning and crisis management process was initiated. The article focuses on the results and lessons learned of that process. The stages of the process—crisis management, violence prevention, and the development of a National Plan of Action for Peace and Prosperity in Guinea Bissau—are analyzed within the context of a failing state. In addition, the article explores to what degree, over five years, an outside-driven effort to prevent political violence was effective. While the project was never able to reach the ambitious and robust goal of political conflict being resolved nonviolently, there were many small successes along the way that can be learned from, including building trust and meeting local needs, local project leadership, and integrated efforts. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12711Guinea-Bissau
Ending The Armed Conflict In India (Bodoland)Elliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Ceasefire, Armed Non-State Actors
The armed conflict between Bodo armed groups and Indian security services in Assam was finally ended in 2020 after several attempts to find a negotiated settlement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-india-assam/India
National Dialogues: A Tool for Conflict Transformation?Susan Stigant; Elizabeth MurrayDialogue, Peace Processes: Strategies, FacilitationNational dialogue is an increasingly popular tool for conflict resolution and political transformation. It can broaden debate regarding a country’s trajectory beyond the usual elite decision makers; however, it can also be misused and manipulated by leaders to consolidate their power. This brief includes principles to strengthen national dialogue processes and considerations for international actors seeking to support these processes.
https://www.usip.org/publications/2015/10/national-dialogues-tool-conflict-transformationWorldwide
Resolving the Militarised Territorial Dispute between Bahrain and QatarElliot ShortDiplomacy, ArbitrationThe longstanding militarised territorial dispute between Bahrain and Qatar regarding the Hawar Islands was prevented by the diplomatic intervention of the Government of Saudi Arabia and resolved by the International Court of Justice in 2001.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-bahrain-and-qatar/Bahrain
Preventing Armed Conflict in MalawiElliot ShortDialogue, Facilitation, Preventive DiplomacyA timely diplomatic intervention by the UN helped to prevent an ongoing political crisis in Malawi from escalating into armed conflict in 2011.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-malawi/Malawi
Preventing Armed Conflict In Fyr Macedonia (1993-1999)Elliot ShortMediation, Referenda: Independence, PeacekeepingA timely diplomatic intervention by a range of international organisations and the deployment of a preventive peacekeeping mission helped the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to avoid armed conflict during the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-fyr-macedonia/North Macedonia
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Ecuador And PeruElliot ShortDiplomacy, Mediation, Peace Processes: ImplementationA return to armed conflict on the volatile border was prevented and the territorial dispute that had caused so many wars over the centuries was resolved.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-ecuador-and-peru/Ecuador, Peru
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Bosnia And HerzegovinaElliot ShortRule of Law, Peace Agreement, PeacekeepingThe legal prosecution of political and military leaders who posed a threat to peace, the deployment of NATO and later EU peacekeepers, and the work of Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and EU advisory and monitoring missions has helped to prevent a conflict relapse in Bosnia and Herzegovina.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-bosnia-and-herzegovina/Bosnia and Herzegovina
What Transformation Takes: Evidence of Responsible INGO Transitions to Locally Led Development Around the WorldPeace Direct, CDA Collaborative Learning and Search for Common Ground, USAID.financial sustainability, local, effectivenessWhat Transformation Takes: Evidence of Responsible INGO Transitions to Locally Led Development Around the World takes readers on a journey to examine responsible transitions from international non-governmental organizations to locally led entities. The book is a compilation of the 19 case studies from the three-year program, Stopping As Success: Transitioning to locally led development (SAS), led by Peace Direct, CDA Collaborative Learning and Search for Common Ground, with funding from USAID. The case studies are organized by various themes including partnerships and financial sustainability, with additional insight from the SAS program, including practical lessons for how shifts in international development paradigms can lead to more sustainable, effective and culture- and conflict-sensitive partnerships, contributing to increased local leadership.https://www.peacedirect.org/us/publications/what-transformation-takes/Worldwide
Conflict Data DashboardNGO SafetyConflict DataUpdated weekly, this dashboard presents all recorded security incidents by date, location, type, perpetrator and the impact on civilians.
https://ngosafety.org/conflict-data-dashboard/Worldwide
Parallel Tracks or Connected Pieces?: UN Peace Operations, Local Mediation, and Peace ProcessesArthur Boutellis,mediation, local, peace processes, United NationsThis paper considers how local mediation fits into the broader political strategies of UN peace operations. Building on a series of country case studies published by IPI and the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs’ Mediation Support Unit, it provides preliminary answers to whether, when, where, and how the UN can engage in local mediation efforts. It explores what capacities the UN would need to increase its engagement in local mediation, what role it can play, and how it could better configure itself and engage in partnerships. While this paper does not advocate for UN peace operations to engage more or less in local mediation processes, it concludes that missions ought to assess whether, when, and how short-term investments in local mediation can contribute to longer-term, sustainable conflict resolution. In each case, they should tailor their role based on informed strategic decisions and appropriate partnerships and as part of a broader effort to strengthen and foster greater coherence in national peace processes.https://www.ipinst.org/2020/12/parallel-tracks-or-connected-pieces-un-peace-operations-local-mediation-and-peace-processesWorldwide
Promoting Conflict-Sensitive Business Activity during PeacebuildingJolyon FordBusiness and peace, Private sector and peacebuilding, Governance and regulationThis paper considers aspects of the relationship between policies promoting private sector investment and growth, and policies consolidating peace. It covers post-conflict transitions where external authorities play a major role. A core contemporary peacebuilding policy assumption is that stimulating economic recovery is vital to sustaining political settlements and social cohesion. Yet how do we respond when policies to stimulate investment and imperatives to consolidate peace lead to contradictory choices? The paper considers framing investment-promotion activities as quasi-regulatory in nature, given that external actors are shaping and influencing private sector impacts on peacebuilding. It reflects on ideas of ‘transitionalism’ as a distinctive policy mindset during exceptional recovery periods. It addresses three questions: (1) what is distinctive about transitional approaches to influencing the ways that business actors may impact peacebuilding (compared with ‘routine’ developmental settings)? (2) What is distinctive about promoting conflict-sensitive business activity and investment, and how might this require different priorities? (3) What is the proper balance in transitional policymaking between attracting investment to capital-starved settings,and requiring investment to be responsible?https://www.swisspeace.ch/publications/working-papers/Worldwide
Ending The Interstate Conflict Between Ecuador And PeruElliot ShortDiplomacy: Track 1, Peace Processes: Implementation, Monitoring/Verification: Regional OrganizationThe mediation of four regional governments (the Guarantors of the Rio De Janeiro Protocol) led by Brazil ended the interstate conflict between Ecuador and Peru in 1995 after just over one month of fighting.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-interstate-conflict-between-ecuador-and-peru/Ecuador
Some Credible Evidence: Perceptions about the Evidence Base in the Peacebuilding FieldConor SeyleSarah HeyborneJessica Baumgardner-ZuzikShaziya DeYoungPeacebuilding"This report presents the result of a survey conducted by One Earth Future and Alliance for Peacebuilding asking peacebuilders and researchers about their perception of what kind of evidence exists and what kind is needed to improve work in the peacebuilding field.

The discussion around “evidence based practice” in peacebuilding has included debates over what kinds of information counts as evidence, what kinds of methods are appropriate for generating this information, and what kinds of evidence are needed to support effective peacebuilding. These debates may create the impression that the field as a whole doesn’t have a strong shared understanding of what kind of evidence exists or what matters. This survey represents an attempt to determine if the field has a shared understanding of what kind of evidence is needed and where that evidence exists."
https://oneearthfuture.org/research-analysis/some-credible-evidence-perceptions-about-evidence-base-peacebuilding-fieldWorldwide
Final Evaluation of the PBF project “Overcoming barriers to strengthen the voices of all women in Rakhine State for social cohesion and peace”Joanna Brooks, Aye Myat ThuGender, Rule of Law, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)
This evaluation is a final evaluation of the UNDP and UNFPA implemented Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) project in Rakhine State and covers the full implementation period of the project from April 2018 – September 2019. The evaluation team found that despite the overly ambitious design of the project given the local context, and short 18-month implementation period, the project managed to achieve some impressive results and successfully addressed the identified drivers of conflict - a lack of women’s empowerment and access to justice. It contributed to the peacebuilding process by working with different communities and had considerable catalytic impact on both UNDP and UNFPA’s programming. Key results were identified in terms of expanding the capacities of the project’s implementing partners and empowering women and girls as well as boys and men in raising their awareness on gender-based violence (GBV) and strengthening their access to justice through the provision of legal advice, counselling and representationhttps://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/2020_04_09_rakhine_rol_final_evaluation.pdfMyanmar
Localising Responses to Conflict and Crisis in Arab–Muslim ContextsSultan Barakat, Mohammad AbunimerConflict Resolution, Humanitarian Response, Localization"The set of articles in this special issue examines specific cases in which outside entities carry out their interventions in Muslim conflict and humanitarian crisis contexts. These interventions vary in their intentions, design, scope, and results. However, these cases all point toward the need for further and more serious consideration of the voices, needs, and values of local actors and communities. "https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1542316620941766Middle East
Cost of Conflict: Core Dimensions of the Georgian-South Ossetian ContextDina Alborova, Susan Allen, Nino KalandarishviliCost of conflict, ViolenceWe, as editors of this volume, have gathered this set of articles in order to provide a range of materials for discussion of the Costs of Conflict in the Georgian-South Ossetian context. From the theoretical perspective, Costs of Conflict can be assessed in many ways, drawing on many different scholarly approaches. The loss of human life is a measure of one of the gravest types of destruction caused by war. When we see the numbers of dead after a war, it is clear that irreversible destruction has changed families who lost loved ones. Another measure is migration. Populations uprooted by fighting or the threat of violence may never return. Or, significant efforts will be required to ease repatriation for those that wish to return once the fighting has ended. These humanitarian measures of death and migration provide a stark picture of the immediate human costs of conflict. However, as we look at the August 2008 war, and the previous fighting in 1989 and the early 1990s, we see that there are other costs to conflict, too, even beyond the tragic loss of life and the uprooted families.http://activity.scar.gmu.edu/sites/default/files/Cost%20of%20Conflict%20English.pdfGeorgia-South Ossetia
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Papua New Guinea (Bougainville)Elliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peacekeeping, Inclusive PeacebuildingA series of international peacekeeping missions helped to ensure Bougainville did not relapse into conflict and created a stable and secure environment for the new administration to govern the region.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-papua-new-guinea-bougainville/Papua New Guinea
Ending The Armed Conflict In Nigeria (Kaduna State)Elliot ShortNatural Resources and Conflict, Facilitation, DialogueThe efforts of local people and organisations, the local administration, and the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue helped to bring 29 communities affected by armed conflict together and create a peace agreement and an infrastructure to support and monitor implementation.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-nigeria-kaduna-state/Nigeria
Preventing Armed Conflict In The GambiaElliot ShortGovernance: Transition, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Elections
The deployment of an Economic Community of West African States peacekeeping force has helped The Gambia to prevent a constitutional crisis that from escalating into an armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-the-gambia_2-2/Gambia
Preventing Armed Conflict In Russia (Dagestan)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Governance: Power Sharing, Inclusive Peacebuilding
Traditional methods of political organisation have helped prevent armed conflict in the Republic of Dagestan during the unrest and instability that has marked life in much of the Caucasus in the post-Soviet period.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-russia-dagestan/Russia
Sustainable peace cannot be achieved without womenBigombe, BettyGender, Peacebuilidinghttps://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2020/10/31/sustainable-peace-cannot-be-achieved-without-women/Worldwide
Preventing Interstate Conflict Between Belize And GuatemalaElliot ShortRule of Law, Facilitation, NegotiationA diplomatic intervention by the Organisation of American States helped to prevent an interstate conflict between Belize and Guatemala in 1999-2000.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-interstate-conflict-between-belize-and-guatemala/Belize, Guatemela
Ending The Armed Conflict In SurinameElliot ShortGovernance: Reforms, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: Regional OrganizationThe mediation of a peace agreement and the deployment of a monitoring mission to verify implementation of its terms by the Organisation of American States ended the armed conflict in Suriname.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-suriname/Suriname
Ending The Armed Conflict In Nicaragua (Fn 3-80)Elliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Peace Processes: Implementation
The Frente Norte 3-80 insurgency was ended in Nicaragua by a peace agreement and its personnel were disarmed.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-nicaragua-fn-3-80/Nicaragua
Ending The Armed Conflict Between Communities In Ethiopia And KenyaElliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Dialogue, Problem-Solving WorkshopThe 2005-2009 conflict between the Gabra and Borana communities on the Ethiopia/Kenya border was ended, stabilising the frontier, and reducing the likelihood of further conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-between-communities-in-ethiopia-and-kenya/Kenya
Preventing a Conflict Relapse in CroatiaElliot ShortPeacekeeping, Transition, MonitoringThe United Nations Confidence Restoration Operation, United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka, and United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja, and Western Sirmium helped to prevent a conflict relapse in Croatia.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-croatia/Croatia
Preventing a Conflict Relapse in KyrgyzstanElliot ShortLocally-led peacemaking initiatives, DiplomacyThe measures taken by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Kyrgyzstani people and organisations helped to prevent political crises and social unrest from escalating into armed conflict in 2010.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-kyrgyzstan/Kyrgystan
Keeping the Peace in CyprusElliot ShortPeacekeepingThe United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus has worked to keep the peace between the Turkish-held north and the rest of Cyprus since 1964.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/keeping-the-peace-on-cyprus/Cyprus
DDR and Peacebuilding: Thematic review of DDR contributions to peacebuilding and the role of the Peacebuilding FundUnited Nations Peacebuilding Support OfficeDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, TrainingThis report reviews the contributions of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) to peacebuilding. The review draws on the experiences of three case studies: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal and focuses specifically on the projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The recommendations of the review aim to help the DDR and peacebuilding communities, and the PBF in particular, strategically and programmatically position their support to DDR (-related) initiatives for more lasting and promising peacebuilding results. The review works on identifying lessons that contribute to a greater understanding of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of DDR programmes to peacebuilding, added-value and comparative advantage of PBF’s funding arrangements, and promising practices that can be used to shape future programming. The review approaches the interlinkages of peacebuilding and DDR through the latter’s role in promoting the peace process, provision of basic security, peace dividends (including economic revitalization, restoring social fabrics and civic responsibility) as well as addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Firstly, explores the policy relationship and interlink- ages of DDR programmes and peacebuilding and the practical implications of this interrelationship on the ground. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the funding structure of the PBF and provides a summary of each of the three case studies. Thirdly, it explores the results of the three case studies horizontally, highlighting overall trends, contextual differences, lessons, and challenges across the cases. It finally highlights the main findings and expresses recommendations that contain specific action points aimed toward PBF efforts and contributions to achieving sustainable peacebuilding results. https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/ddr_pbf_thematic_review.pdfCentral African Republic
Humanitarian Aid ContributionsUN OCHAHumanitarian DataFTS is a centralized source of curated, continuously updated, fully downloadable data and information on humanitarian funding flows. Government donors, UN-administered funds, UN agencies, NGOs and other humanitarian actors and partners exchange data and information with FTS in order to provide:

visibility of their financial contributions to humanitarian activities
a timely and continuously updated picture of funding flows between donors (government and private) and operational humanitarian actors (UN agencies, the Red Cross Movement, NGOs and CSOs)
timely monitoring of funding progress against humanitarian response plan (HRP) and appeal requirements.
https://fts.unocha.org/Worldwide
Subsist or Persist? Assessing Drivers of Migration and Effects of Foreign Assistance Programs on Migration from the Northern TriangleMercy CorpsMigration and conflict, Northern TriangleThis report aims to identify solutions rooted in evidence and research, examining who migrates, why they are migrating, and whether development programs can curb the flow of migration. The report finds that foreign assistance programs are alleviating violence and increasing economic opportunity, economic hardships—including the effects of climate change on agricultural livelihoods—and violence are key drivers of migration, and that people migrate out of desperation. The report finds that the evidence that they do have demonstrates that U.S.-funded initiatives are improving lives in the Northern Triangle and these programs likely do contribute to curbing migration by addressing its root causes.https://www.mercycorps.org/research-resources/subsist-or-persistGuatemala
The Role of Civil Society in Peace Processes – A Case Study of Guatemala: Ethical ReflectionsWenche Iren HaugeLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Citizen action, Peace Process

​The Guatemalan peace process from 1990 to 1996 represents an early example of the inclusion of civil society in a negotiation process. However, once included, what role could civil society play – and in this case what role was it allowed to play? Clearly, civil society had an influence on the negotiations between the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), but on some sensitive and critical issues civil society was prevented from exerting pressure on the parties. This case brief looks at the ethical implications of this situation.
https://www.prio.org/publications/12985Guatemala
Strengthening local and national infrastructures for peace in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho and South SudanNontobeko Zondi, Wandile LangaConflict Management, peacebuilding, conflict preventionIn 2016, ACCORD outlined its 2017–2021 Six-Pillar Strategy, which seeks to contribute to sustainable peace, security and development in Africa by mitigating conflict. One of the critical pillars of the Strategy is Pillar 2, which focuses on strengthening local and national infrastructures for peace. This Policy and Practice Brief aims to reflect on the practical experiences, challenges and lessons of ACCORD in advancing the concept of local and national capacity for peace, in the period 2018 to 2019. The preliminary reflections are drawn from ACCORD’s work in four countries, namely, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho and South Sudan.https://www.accord.org.za/publication/strengthening-local-and-national-infrastructures-for-peace-in-burundi-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-lesotho-and-south-sudan/South Sudan
From Conflict to Coping: Evidence from Southern Ethiopia on the contributions of peacebuilding to drought resilience among pastoralist groupsJon Kurtz, Greg ScarboroughConflict Resolution, Project EvaluationThis evaluation report assess the impact of Mercy Corps peaebuilding programs in Southern Ethiopia. In particular, the evaluation reports looks at the effects of the Strengthening Institutions for Peace and Development (SIPED) projecthttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db70e83fc0a966cf4cc42ea/t/5f3d8d985b5b1a594513029e/1597869466741/0595.pdfEthiopia
STOPPING WAR: 101 SUCCESSFUL EFFORTS TO REDUCE ARMED CONFLICTElliott ShortConflict Management and Resolution, Peacemaking and PeacebuildingThis data set highlights and provides a synopsis of 101 peacebuilding successes. The goals is to provide evidence that peacebuilding can be effective and what works both in preventing wars and stopping political violence that has already erupted. The review of the cases concludes that intervention by governmental organizations was cited more than 7 times as often as activities by INGOs or local organizations. This report suggests a number of lines of inquiry and raises the question as to how to make interventions more effective and how to get governmental organizations to intervene to stop political violence more often.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12169Worldwide
Evaluating Peacebuilding: Not Yet All It Could BeCheyanne Scharbatke ChurchProject Evaluation, Design, Monitoring and EvaluationThis handbook assesses the quality of peacebuilding evaluation work being undertaken in a rapidly professionalizing field. The author gives several examples of good and bad practice and suggests that current evaluation practice is failing to foster accountability and learning quite as well as it could. She explores reasons why evaluation may fall short of established quality standards or stray from its explicitly stated purpose, offering recommendations for improvement to researchers, practitioners and donors alike.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/evaluating-peacebuilding-not-yet-all-it-could-beWorldwide
Integrating masculinities in peacebuilding: shifting harmful norms and transforming relationshipsSiad Darwish, Sophia CloseGender, Violence Prevention, Locally-led Peacemaking InitiativesThe integration of gender into peacebuilding programmes is still mostly synonymous with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. And while women’s meaningful inclusion and participation in peace processes is essential to building sustainable peace, women’s rights organisations and some peacebuilding organisations have long realised that the connection between masculinities, violence and militarism also needs to be addressed to reduce violence in all its forms. This practice paper is based on a review of Conciliation Resources’ work on masculinities and peacebuilding over the last three years, with a focus on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kashmir, Nigeria and the Pacific Region. This paper reflects on the challenges experienced when we integrated a focus on masculinities into our gender, peace and security programming, and offers some practical lessons for peacebuilders to address militarised and violent masculinities.https://www.c-r.org/learning-hub/integrating-masculinities-peacebuilding-shifting-harmful-norms-and-transformingWorldwide
DDR and Peacebuilding: Thematic review of DDR contributions to peacebuilding and the role of the Peacebuilding FundUnited Nations Peacebuilding Support OfficeDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, TrainingThis report reviews the contributions of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) to peacebuilding. The review draws on the experiences of three case studies: Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Nepal and focuses specifically on the projects supported by the Peacebuilding Fund (PBF). The recommendations of the review aim to help the DDR and peacebuilding communities, and the PBF in particular, strategically and programmatically position their support to DDR (-related) initiatives for more lasting and promising peacebuilding results. The review works on identifying lessons that contribute to a greater understanding of the effectiveness and strategic relevance of DDR programmes to peacebuilding, added-value and comparative advantage of PBF’s funding arrangements, and promising practices that can be used to shape future programming. The review approaches the interlinkages of peacebuilding and DDR through the latter’s role in promoting the peace process, provision of basic security, peace dividends (including economic revitalization, restoring social fabrics and civic responsibility) as well as addressing the root causes and drivers of conflict. Firstly, explores the policy relationship and interlink- ages of DDR programmes and peacebuilding and the practical implications of this interrelationship on the ground. Secondly, it provides an introduction to the funding structure of the PBF and provides a summary of each of the three case studies. Thirdly, it explores the results of the three case studies horizontally, highlighting overall trends, contextual differences, lessons, and challenges across the cases. It finally highlights the main findings and expresses recommendations that contain specific action points aimed toward PBF efforts and contributions to achieving sustainable peacebuilding results. https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/ddr_pbf_thematic_review.pdfNepal
ACAPS Risk ListACAPSRisk DataThe dataset contains risks identified by ACAPS analysts in their daily monitoring and analysis of more than 100 humanitarian crises worldwide
https://crisisinsight.acaps.org/risklistWorldwide
Ending the Armed Conflict in MozambiqueElliot ShortMediation, PeacemakingNegotiations hosted by the Community of Sant’Egidio in Rome concluded with the signing of the General Peace Agreement, which ended the armed conflict in Mozambique after three decades of near-continuous war.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-mozambique/Mozambique
Global Militarisation IndexBonn International Centre for Conflict StudiesMilitarisation DataWith its Global Militarisation Index (GMI), BICC is able to objectively depict worldwide militarisation for the first time. The GMI compares, for example, a country’s military expenditure with its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and its health expenditure. It contrasts the total number of military and paramilitary forces in a country with the number of physicians. Finally, it studies the number of heavy weapons available to a country’s armed forces. These and other indicators are used to determine a country’s ranking, which in turn makes it possible to measure the respective level of militarisation in comparison to other countries.
https://www.bicc.de/publications/publicationpage/publication/global-militarisation-index-2021-1140/Worldwide
USIP CM-CRT Dataset USIP Non-Violent Action ProgramNon Violent Social Mobilization DataThe data, collected at the event level, provides a detailed look at how mobilization changes in the aftermath of successful nonviolent action campaigns and how those changes in mobilization interact with crucial secondary factors like government repression, dialogue and negotiation processes, and institutional change. Each event includes information on over 100 variables, capturing dozens of distinct concepts such as inclusivity, size, repression and foreign support. https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/usip.nonviolent.action.program/viz/USIPCM-CRTDataset/Civic-MobilizationEventsWorldwide
Strategic thinking and conflict transformation: A reflection on and from the Basque CountryUrko Aiartza AzurtzaConflict Management and Resolution, Peacebuilding and PeacemakingThe disarmament and dissolution of the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, better known under its acronym ETA, is a unique example of a creative and unilateral transition to end armed conflict. After the collapse of the negotiation process between the Spanish government and ETA in 2006, an internal debate within the Basque pro-independence movement led to a change of strategy. The new direction eventually resulted in the disarmament and dissolution of ETA in May 2018. How did it come about and what lessons can be drawn from this case for other conflicts? This report looks at these questions in detail, based on in-depth interviews with actors who took part in this democratic transition process as well as on the direct involvement and experiences of the author himself.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/strategic-thinking-and-conflict-transformation-a-reflection-on-and-from-the-basque-countrySpain
Identifying Pathways to Peace: How International Support Can Help Prevent Conflict RecurrenceKarina Mross, Charlotte Fiedler, Jörn GrävingholtPeacekeeping, Governance, Economics and ConflictThis article provides new evidence on how the international community can effectively foster peace after civil war. It expands the current literature’s narrow focus on either peacekeeping or aggregated aid flows, adopting a comprehensive, yet disaggregated, view on international peacebuilding efforts. We distinguish five areas of peacebuilding support (peacekeeping, nonmilitary security support, support for politics and governance, for socioeconomic development, and for societal conflict transformation) and analyze which types or combinations are particularly effective and in which context. Applying configurational analysis (qualitative comparative analysis) to all thirty-six post-civil war peace episodes between 1990 and 2014, we find that (1) peacekeeping is only one important component of effective post-conflict support, (2) the largest share of peaceful cases can be explained by support for politics and governance, (3) only combined international efforts across all types of support can address difficult contexts, and (4) countries neglected by the international community are highly prone to experiencing conflict recurrence. Three case studies shed light on underlying causal mechanismshttps://doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqab091Worldwide
Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding: A ManualJenny AulinPeace Processes: Strategies, Facilitation, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
The manual specifically explores the multi-stakeholder approach from the perspective of civil society organisations (CSOs). CSOs can take part in multi-stakeholder processes in many different capacities, as original convenor or as an invited participant. To set up an MSP, a civil society organisation will often have to form a partnership with other key actors so that they will have the leverage to invite the right people and agencies to the table. Building on the vast experiences of practitioners and case studies from a diverse set of contexts, the manual has been developed for GPPAC members and other CSOs that are or seek to get involved in MSPs. It also provides guidance on good practice for other actors, such as International NonGovernmental Organisations (INGOs), governments, donors, regional or global intergovernmental organisations that seek to engage civil society in processes that they convene.https://www.cdacollaborative.org/publication/multi-stakeholder-processes-for-conflict-prevention-and-peacebuilding-a-manual/Worldwide
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Costa Rica And NicaraguaElliot ShortPreventive Diplomacy, Rule of Law, DialogueA diplomatic intervention by the Organisation of American States prevented an armed conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua from erupting in 2010 and the International Court of Justice peacefully resolved the dispute in 2018.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-costa-rica-and-nicaragua/Costa Rica, Nicaragua
Atrocity Prevention through Persuasion and DeterrenceJonas ClaesEarly Warning, Human Rights, Conflict PreventionThis Peace Brief describes the key findings and conclusions from a working session organized by USIP on April 5, 2012. The participants included 25 leading policymakers, scholars, and NGO leaders with a focus on conflict management and atrocity prevention. The brief serves as input for the U.N. secretary-general's report in advance of the U.N. General Assembly's interactive dialogue on timely and decisive responses to prevent and halt genocide, ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity in accordance with the Responsibility to Protect principle.https://www.usip.org/publications/2012/06/atrocity-prevention-through-persuasion-and-deterrenceWorldwide
Building Peace from the Margins: Borderlands, Brokers and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka and NepalJonathan Goodhand, Markus Mayer, Oliver WaltonWar-peace transitions, Borderland brokersThis policy brief draws on findings from a two-year collaborative research project on the role of borderland regions in war to peace transitions in Sri Lanka and Nepal. The research examines political and economic changes in ‘post-war’ transition from the perspective of state margins, and, by doing so, it inverts the top-down, centrist orientation that informs post-war peacebuilding and development policy.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/building-peace-margins/Nepal
Ending the Armed Conflict in El SalvadorElliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementAfter 12 years of devastating civil war, the armed conflict in El Salvador was finally ended after negotiations mediated by the UN culminated with the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords in 1992.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-el-salvador/El Salvador
Societal Dynamics & Fragility : Engaging Societies in Responding to Fragile SituationsWorld BankFragilityExtreme fragile situations are now home to at least a quarter of the worlds people. In the worst cases, where fragility has given way to open violence - people are more than twice as likely to be malnourished, more than three times as likely to be unable to send their children to school, twice as likely to see their children die before age five, and more than twice as likely to lack clean water. It is unsurprising that not a single low-income country in these circumstances has been able to achieve even one Millennium Development Goal (World Bank 2011). In addition, many fragile situations generate spillover effects such as trafficking in illegal goods and persons, and corruption, which threaten the stability of neighboring countries (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD 2005, 2010). This study views fragility as not only a problem of state capacity, but also of relationships in society. That is, while some elements of fragility emanate from the state, others are deeply rooted in societal dynamics, the way individuals and groups interact and the relationships that form out of these interactions.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12768Worldwide
Preventing Renewed Interstate Conflict Between Israel and Jordan Elliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementThe mediation efforts of the Government of USA ended the state of war between Israel and Jordan that had existed for 46 years, greatly reducing the risk of further interstate conflict and stabilising the region.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-renewed-interstate-conflict-between-israel-and-jordan/Israel
Lessons for “Partnership Peacekeeping” from the African Union Mission in SomaliaPaul D. Williams peacekeeping, stabilization, security reform, partnerships, locally-led, financial sustainabilityDeployed to Mogadishu in March 2007, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) operates through a complicated and extensive system of partnerships. This has been referred to as the “AMISOM model” of “partnership peacekeeping.” While this specific configuration of forces and mechanisms is unlikely to be repeated, AMISOM remains the longest-standing case of a peace enforcement operation built on such international partnerships. This report summarizes the main operational-level lessons across seven themes: force generation, logistics, security sector reform, protection of civilians, strategic communications, stabilization, and exit strategy. Many of these lessons have not been truly learned, internalized, and acted upon by the actors and organizations in question.https://www.ipinst.org/2019/10/lessons-partnership-peacekeeping-amisomSomalia
Second Generation Disarmament, Demobilization And Reintegration (Ddr) Practices In Peace Operations- A Contribution To The New Horizon Discussion On Challenges And Opportunities For Un PeacekeepingUnited Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations _x000D_Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peacemaking, TrainingThis report is an initiated study by member States in a policy dialogue on the challenges and opportunities of peacekeeping, the Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) Section of the Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions (OROLSI) of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to document the innovative programmes to provide policymakers and practitioners with sophisticated skills and tools to negotiate the local dynamics on the ground. Many ideas and practices highlighted have been implemented through a scholar-practitioner and security orientation, moving away from top-down implementations of a Security Council mandate. With the increasing deployment of UN operations diverse preconditions, the guidance provided in the Integrated DDR Standards needs to be complemented with practical measures that address these new contexts — by using Second Generation measures. The study underscores that DDR practice has evolved over the last several decades demanding institutional change, as well as reflecting the broader change in UN peacekeeping. The report is primarily based on four field studies: Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire, Haiti, and Liberia. It also compares traditional DDR and Second Generation programmes, as one implements relevant provisions for peacebuilding, while the other uses an evidence-based approach. Taking into account key internal challenges and its forefront role in UN integration efforts, the study explores several key aspects of planning and implementation of Second Generation DDR programmes and then goes on to describe key policy options. Moreover, it inquires through the categorization of Second Generation measures in three broad parts: Post-conflict stabilization measures; targeting specific groups with different approaches and incentives; alternative approaches to addressing disarmament and unregulated weapons.https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/2gddr_eng_with_cover.pdfWorldwide
Environmental Performance IndexYale University and Columbia University in collaboration with the World Economic ForumEnvironmental Policy DataUsing 32 performance indicators across 11 issue categories, the EPI ranks 180 countries on environmental health and ecosystem vitality. These indicators provide a gauge at a national scale of how close countries are to established environmental policy targets. The EPI offers a scorecard that highlights leaders and laggards in environmental performance and provides practical guidance for countries that aspire to move toward a sustainable future.https://epi.yale.edu/Worldwide
Ending the Armed Conflict in TajikistanElliot ShortPeacekeeping, Mediation, Peace AgreementA series of multilateral peacekeeping and monitoring missions and the mediation efforts of the UN and the Inter-Tajik Dialogue helped to bring an end to the intrastate armed conflict in Tajikistan in 1997. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-tajikistan/Tajikistan
The United States and R2P: From Words to Action Madeleine K. Albright; Richard S. WilliamsonEarly Warning, Conflict Prevention, Rule of LawFormer secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright and former presidential special envoy to Sudan Richard S. Williamson cochaired the Working Group on the Responsibility to Protect, which includes former government officials, academics, foreign policy experts, political consultants, and media professionals. Jointly organized by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and the Brookings Institution, the Working Group seeks to increase understanding of the responsibility to protect (R2P), assess how the concept has worked in relevant cases, and identify concrete steps to bolster the will and capacity of U.S. decision makers to respond in a timely manner to threats of genocide, crimes against humanity, and other mass atrocities. The Working Group has met formally six times but has also consulted informally with a wide variety of government officials, scholars, and other policy experts. The authors are grateful for the assistance of the members of the Working Group and the three sponsoring institutions in preparing the report. They would also like to thank the staff of the Museum and USIP for their assistance in preparing the report, especially Cameron Hudson, Sara Weisman, Eric Eggleston, and Jonas Claes, as well as Bill Woodward from the Albright Stonebridge Group and the four individuals who prepared background papers for the group’s consideration: Cliff Bernath, Naomi Kikoler, Bruce Jentleson, and Jonas Claes.https://www.usip.org/publications/2013/07/united-states-and-r2p-words-actionUnited States
Building Peace from the Margins: Borderlands, Brokers and Peacebuilding in Sri Lanka and NepalJonathan Goodhand, Markus Mayer, Oliver WaltonWar-peace transitions, Borderland brokersThis policy brief draws on findings from a two-year collaborative research project on the role of borderland regions in war to peace transitions in Sri Lanka and Nepal. The research examines political and economic changes in ‘post-war’ transition from the perspective of state margins, and, by doing so, it inverts the top-down, centrist orientation that informs post-war peacebuilding and development policy.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/building-peace-margins/Sri Lanka
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Kenya (Wajir)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Citizen action, Dialogue,
Conflict relapses in Wajir County were prevented and armed conflict in the area has been significantly reduced thanks to the maintenance of a peace infrastructure.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-kenya-wajir/Kenya
Creating Spaces for Effective CVE ApproachesGeorge HolmerViolent Extremism, Training, YouthUnlike other counterterrorism strategies, countering violent extremism (CVE) focuses on preventing individuals from being recruited into or joining violent extremist groups. CVE is a complex endeavor, largely because the reasons individuals become involved in extremist violence are in themselves complex and the dynamics are unique to each conflict. Using Kenya as an example, and drawing on observations from a recent visit, the author explores how promoting a more nuanced understanding of radicalization can help reach those who are at risk of being pushed and pulled into extremist violence.
https://www.usip.org/publications/2014/09/creating-spaces-effective-cve-approachesKenya
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Honduras And NicaraguaElliot ShortDiplomacy: Track 1, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Rule of LawThe Organisation of American States helped to prevent a territorial dispute between Honduras and Nicaragua from escalating into armed conflict while the International Court of Justice investigated the case and resolved the dispute peacefully.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-honduras-and-nicaragua/Honduras, Nicaragua
Ending The Armed Conflict In The Philippines (Cordillera)Elliot ShortCeasefire, Governance: Power Sharing, Monitoring/Verification: LocalThe peace process between the Government of the Philippines and the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army that began in 1986 reached a formal peace agreement in 2011 which continues to be implemented with oversight from a monitoring committee.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-the-philippines-cordillera/Philippines
Containing the armed conflict in Georgia (Abkhazia)Elliot ShortPeacekeeping, Monitoring/Verification: Regional OrganizationA series of international and regional peacekeeping missions have helped to contain the armed conflict in Abkhazia, preventing a conflict relapse that could have sparked much broader regional confrontations.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-georgia-abkhazia/Georgia
Incorporating Gender into UN Senior Leadership TrainingLesley Connolly, Sarah TaylorGender, Inclusive Peacebuilding, FacilitationA gender perspective provides the possibility of strengthening and nurturing the effectiveness of peacekeeping. Senior mission leadership teams can greatly benefit from training on gender policies and frameworks, as well as how to apply them in planning and field operations. Gender-sensitive training can guide senior leadership to ensure the preparedness and efficacy of peace operations, taking into account the multiple challenges and crises that such operations might bring. A gender perspective in the context of UN peace operations entails a relevance for senior leaders to effectively implement mission mandates. There are existing gender-related training and preparation techniques that can be increasingly included in the understanding and analysis of missions, which can broaden the traditionally male-dominated models of decision-making. A better grasp on gender considerations at a practical level can better inform, as well as reflect an essential factor in the approaches to senior leadership training. https://www.ipinst.org/2019/04/incorporating-gender-into-un-senior-leadership-trainingWorldwide
Preventing An Interstate Conflict During The Diplomatic Crisis With IranElliot ShortSanctions, Diplomacy, Monitoring/Verification: Third Party
Ongoing international dialogue with the Government of Iran and the diplomatic initiatives of the EU3 and P5+1 helped to prevent the ongoing Iranian diplomatic crisis from escalating into an interstate armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-an-interstate-conflict-during-the-diplomatic-crisis-with-iran/Iran
Preventing Armed Conflict In Guinea-BissauElliot ShortGovernance: Transition, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), MediationA diplomatic intervention led by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the deployment of the ECOWAS Mission in Guinea-Bissau helped to prevent armed conflict in Guinea-Bissau in 2012.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-guinea-bissau/Guinea-Bissau
UN DDR in an Era of Violent Extremism: Is It Fit for Purpose?James Cockayne, Siobhan O'NeilDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peacekeeping, TrainingThis short collection of studies examines the challenges to effective United Nations (UN) disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) programming posed by today’s conflict environment. The collection, and the larger research initiative of which it is a part, aim to generate debate about how to best address the legal, operational, ethical, and strategic challenges facing DDR programme staff in the field.https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/un_ddr_in_an_era_of_violent_extremism.pdfWorldwide
Untangling Conflict: Local Peace Agreements in Contemporary Armed ViolenceJan Pospisil, Laura Wise, Christine BellPeace Agreement, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Problem-Solving Workshop
This article seeks to understand the proliferation of local and sub-national peace agreements negotiated and signed in recent years. While such agreements are not a new phenomenon, local negotiations in violent conflict seem to be becoming increasingly better documented and formalized. This development may be caused by the comparably easy availability of electronic means of documentation and communication, even in remote areas. Local peace processes and resultant agreements have also gained more attention from national, regional, and international actors, in part due to their increased visibility. Interest in local agreements is also driven by the changing dynamics of conflict and peace. Structural shifts at the international have often resulted in a decreasing likelihood of comprehensive peace processes at the national level. The model of the traditional ‘peace process’ at the national level assumes the existence of a state actor who is internationally recognized, and one (or more) armed opposition groups. Often, however, conflicts are more complex. Some conflicts may be understood as contests about the control of the central state and others evolve from a complex interrelation between the national level and a variety of localized conflict settings that are largely based on context-dependent fault lines. In other cases, local agreements seem to play an important role across diverse conflict, in ‘untangling’ forms of conflict, that often operate as complex local-national-transnational-international conflict systems. This report presents the finding of two workshops focused on local peace agreements, their negotiation, the actors involved, and their impact and modes of implementation. Compared to national-level agreements, local peace agreements are considerably shorter and issue-centered. They deal with a wide variety of contextualized topics around the predominant aim of managing local patterns of armed conflict and violence. In their variety, local peace agreements represent the diversity but also the splintered nature and patchiness of what is contemporary armed conflict. Key conclusions are that local peace agreements cannot succeed where negotiations at the national level fail. They can even weaken motivations and incentives for power-sharing deals and provide pathways for contested regimes to sustain their rule. Armed non-state actors engage in such processes based on their strategic political interests. As in peace negotiations at the national level, parties continue aiming to reach their goals through peace talks. The negotiation of local peace agreements will usually reconfigure power relationships and may also undermine and, in some instances, even disrupt ongoing armed conflicts in ways that build confidence for wider peacemaking efforts. Such agreements provide a glimpse into what might be local agendas for peace and the management of conflicts, local forms of deliberation over power-relations, and how civilian and military actors come to an agreement. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12904Worldwide
Climate-Related Security Risks and Peacebuiliding in MaliFarah Hegazi, Florian Krampe, Elizabeth Seymour SmithClimate and peacebuiliding, Climate change, Climate-related risksClimate-related security risks are transforming the security landscape in which multilateral peacebuilding efforts are taking place. Following a similar assessment of Somalia conducted in 2019, this study offers another glimpse into the future of peacebuilding in the time of climate change by providing an in-depth assessment of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). To help future peacebuilding efforts become more climate sensitive, the study aims to produce practical knowledge on: (a) how climate change in Mali is challenging the successful implementation of MINUSMA’s mandate; and (b) how MINUSMA has taken the challenges stemming from climate change into account in its ongoing operations. Mali is experiencing a multidimensional crisis, triggered by a rebellion in the north of the country in 2012. The northern and central regions are currently the most affected by violence and insecurity. Socio-economic exclusion, poor governance in peripheral areas and competition over natural resources are among the complex set of root causes of the current conflict. Combined with weak governance, climate change is further undermining people’s human security. The dependence on natural resources for livelihoods makes large segments of the population in Mali vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, which are reshaping the social, political and economic context, and thereby potentially amplifying local grievances and marginalization.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/sipri-policy-papers/climate-related-security-risks-and-peacebuilding-maliMali
Preventing A Conflict Relapse Between Iraq And KuwaitElliot ShortPeacekeeping, Conflict Prevention, Monitoring/Verification: United NationsUN peacekeepers helped to prevent further hostilities between Kuwait and Iraq after the First Gulf War.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-between-iraq-and-kuwait/Iraq / Kuwait
Breaking the Silos: Pragmatic National Approaches to PreventionPaige Arthur, Céline MonnierEarly Warning, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Inclusive Peacebuilding
Through the twin resolutions on sustaining peace, member states have agreed on the relevance of a cross-pillar approach to prevention. Now the challenge lies in implementation. One place to look for positive examples is at country level, where governments tend to have a more pragmatic and less “siloed” approach to prevention, addressing the different risk factors simultaneously. In this policy briefing, we draw on examples from Côte d’Ivoire and Timor-Leste to illustrate how countries have developed integrated actions on prevention that cut across sectors, including security, development, and human rights. We then highlight options for the UN to better support these strategies
through cross-pillar approaches and identify practical ways forward for
governments implementing prevention approaches.
https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/pragmatic_national_approaches_to_prevention_final_august_31_web.pdfTimor-Leste
Peace Agreements Database United NationsPeace Agreements DataThe database is a reference tool providing peacemaking professionals with close to 800 documents that can be understood broadly as peace agreements and related material. Users can access the full texts of the agreements in different languages and can use different search criteria, including searching by a number of different thematic issues.https://peacemaker.un.org/document-searchWorldwide
Building Just Societies: Reconciliation in Transitional SettingsEnrique Sánchez and Sylvia RognvikReconciliation, Citizen Action, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)
Reconciliation is a key objective in building sustainable peace and preventing a relapse into conflict. It is about (re) building relationships among people and groups in society and between the state and its citizens. The process is highly context sensitive, and each society has to tailor its approach to the nature of the conflict and the character of the transition. The reconciliation workshop held in Accra, Ghana in June 2012 gathered practitioners and experts from past and current reconciliation processes to share experiences in a practitioner dialogue and to inform future strategies and actions on reconciliation. It was a collaboration between the UN Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO), the Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre (NOREF) and the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC), and focused on lessons learned and good practices in thematic areas within reconciliation such as healing; the relation- ship between truth, justice and reconciliation; reparation; reconciliation efforts at different levels and how they are connected to one another; and the role of the international community.https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/12-58492_feb13.pdfGhana
Peace Processes and Their AgreementsChristine Bell, Laura WisePeace Process, Multi-Track Diplomacy, Inclusive Peacebuilding
This chapter in Contemporary Peacemaking: Peace Processes, Peacebuilding and Conflict sets out how peace processes unfold and agreements are reached, drawing on a major quantitative and qualitative review of peace agreements in the post-Cold War era. It explores the function that formalized agreement plays in providing an exit from conflict, understanding how different types of agreements addressing diverse issues are used to move forward at various stages of a peace process, and at different levels of conflict. We argue that practices established in 1990 are now at a crossroads pointing to a new global realignment that affects who intervenes, why and to what end, and new forms of conflict. All of these factors challenge established peace process practices and the assumptions that underpin them. We point to “complex conflict systems” requiring multilevel peace processes across inter-related geopolitical, national and local conflicts, and suggest forms of adaptive management which are required to deal with the interactions between these levels.
https://peacerep.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Bell-Wise2022_Chapter_PeaceProcessesAndTheirAgreemen.pdfWorldwide
USHMM Early Warning Project Statistical Risk AssessmentValentino, Ulfelder and Hazlett, Center for Prevention of Genocide, USHMMGenocide and Attrocity Risk DataGenocide and mass atrocities are devastating crimes in their scale and scope, in their enduring psychic scars for survivors, and in the long-term trauma they cause in societies where they occur. Despite past efforts to address systematic killing, and a body of law formed after the Holocaust to prevent and punish perpetrators, such crimes persist.

The dataset uses quantitative and qualitative methods to spotlight countries where mass atrocities have not begun, but where the risk for such violence is high.

USHMM strives to improve this early warning system for mass atrocities by using a variety of publicly available data and forecasting methods.
https://earlywarningproject.ushmm.org/Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In South SudanElliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Peace Agreement
The mediation efforts of a wide range of international actors and the protestations of the Pope helped to end the armed conflict in South Sudan in 2018.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-south-sudan/South Sudan
Breaking the Silos: Pragmatic National Approaches to PreventionPaige Arthur, Céline MonnierEarly Warning, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Inclusive Peacebuilding
Through the twin resolutions on sustaining peace, member states have agreed on the relevance of a cross-pillar approach to prevention. Now the challenge lies in implementation. One place to look for positive examples is at country level, where governments tend to have a more pragmatic and less “siloed” approach to prevention, addressing the different risk factors simultaneously. In this policy briefing, we draw on examples from Côte d’Ivoire and Timor-Leste to illustrate how countries have developed integrated actions on prevention that cut across sectors, including security, development, and human rights. We then highlight options for the UN to better support these strategies
through cross-pillar approaches and identify practical ways forward for
governments implementing prevention approaches.
https://cic.nyu.edu/sites/default/files/pragmatic_national_approaches_to_prevention_final_august_31_web.pdfCote D'Ivoire
Local agreements as a process: the example of local talks in Homs in SyriaRim TurkmaniLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Peace Agreement, NegotiationsThis article sets out why it is important to conceptualise local agreements as a process of talks that have a value in their own right rather than as a discrete event reached on a particular date. Throughout this process the terms of intermittently negotiated agreements are continuously shaped by two competing logics, the logic of violence and peace. Based on detailed empirical evidence covering six years of local talks in the city of Homs and its Al-Waer suburb, the article shows that even if an agreement is not reached, the mere process of local talks could lead to a steep reduction in the level of violence, fatalities and an improvement in the standard of living at a time when talks at higher level fail to deliver such results. The article also challenges the main methods of gathering empirical evidence about local peace agreements and discussed potential policy implications.
https://peacerep.org/publication/local-agreements-as-a-process-local-talks-in-homs-syria/Syria
Ending The Conflict In Sudan (South Sudan)Elliot ShortReferenda: Independence, Governance: Power Sharing, NegotiationsThe 50-year conflict between northern and southern Sudan was ended by the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which paved the way for South Sudanese independence.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-conflict-in-sudan-south-sudan/Sudan
Nigeria's State Peacebuilding Institutions: Early Success and Continuing Challenges Darren KewLocal Peace Initiatives, Land Tenure, Dialogue, Mediation, Early WarningThis report examines the progress of peace agencies or commissions in three Nigerian states since 2016. It finds that their convening powers and civil society networks offer important opportunities for fostering peace, as does their ability to support the peace architecture of local governments. Over the past five years, three states in Nigeria’s Middle Belt— Plateau, Kaduna, and Adamawa— have created peace agencies or commissions that are tasked with addressing long-standing ethno-religious and other divisions in their host states through direct mediation and other peace interventions; building early warning and early response systems for local conflicts; and, in conjunction with local governments and traditional institutions, developing grassroots conflict resolution infrastructure such as mediation and restorative justice units and processes. All three institutions possess important convening powers to initiate dialogue and larger peace processes. Although the young institutions have faced difficult challenges, they have nonetheless exhibited early promise for stemming violence and insecurity across Nigeria, and their experiences provide important lessons for other states considering similar institutions. Based on more than fifty interviews conducted between 2018 and 2021, the report was supported by the Africa Center at the United States Institute of Peace and the Bureau for Conflict Stabilization Operations at the US Department of State. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12719Nigeria
Preventing an Armed Conflict in HaitiElliot ShortPeacekeeping The United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti helped to prevent armed conflict from erupting in Haiti in 2004 after a severe constitutional crisis.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-haiti/Haiti
Mitigating The Impact of Armed Conflict on Civilians in the Philippines Elliot ShortLocal Action, PeacebuildingBy creating and maintaining zones of peace, local people and organisations reduced the impact of armed conflict on the civilian population.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/mitigating-the-impact-of-armed-conflict-on-civilians-in-the-philippines/Philippines
Final Evaluation of Project: Promoting Locally – Driven Transformation and Collaborative Action in BurundiSylvestre BigirimanaMediation, Project EvaluationThis evaluation report showcases evidence of what works in terms of conflict mitigation considering refugees returns, and how media and broadcasting activities can play a role in building transparency and communication between local communities and national representatives. The evaluation report features useful indicators that could be of value for organizations looking to implement similar projects.

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5db70e83fc0a966cf4cc42ea/t/5f36e3bcab3dc4397cf750b2/1597432766591/0369.pdfBurundi
Strengthening local and national infrastructures for peace in Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lesotho and South SudanNontobeko Zondi, Wandile LangaConflict Management, peacebuilding, conflict preventionIn 2016, ACCORD outlined its 2017–2021 Six-Pillar Strategy, which seeks to contribute to sustainable peace, security and development in Africa by mitigating conflict. One of the critical pillars of the Strategy is Pillar 2, which focuses on strengthening local and national infrastructures for peace. This Policy and Practice Brief aims to reflect on the practical experiences, challenges and lessons of ACCORD in advancing the concept of local and national capacity for peace, in the period 2018 to 2019. The preliminary reflections are drawn from ACCORD’s work in four countries, namely, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho and South Sudan.https://www.accord.org.za/publication/strengthening-local-and-national-infrastructures-for-peace-in-burundi-the-democratic-republic-of-the-congo-lesotho-and-south-sudan/Democratic Republic of the Congo
25 Spheres Of Digital Peacebuilding And PeaceTech Lisa SchirchDigital security, technology, peacebuilding, conflict preventionThis policy brief outlines twenty-five spheres where technology can contribute to peacebuilding goals and describes five generations of thinking related to the evolution of technology’s impact on peacebuilding. Digital peacebuilding contributes to democratic deliberation, violence prevention, social cohesion, civic engagement, and improved human security. Digital peacebuilding contributes to the wider field of digital citizenship and “tech for good.” The policy brief concludes with seven recommendations to build social cohesion, civic engagement, and improved human security, which emerged out of a recent Peace Direct global consultation and a Toda Peace Institute workshop.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12785Worldwide
VDEM Egalitarian Democracy IndexVDEM Institute (Staffan I. Lindberg) Department of Political Science, University of GothenburgDemocracy DataVarieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is an unique approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. We provide a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond the simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between five high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, and egalitarian, and collects data to measure these principles.
https://www.v-dem.net/Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In NigerElliot ShortClimate and Conflict, Armed Non-State Actors, Governance: ReformsThe 1991-1997 Tuareg rebellion in Niger was ended by a series of peace agreements, heralding a decade of relative peace in the country.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-niger/Niger
Ending The Armed Conflict In BangladeshElliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Mediation, Peace Agreement
The Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord brought an end to two decades of armed conflict and formally recognised the special status of the indigenous population.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-bangladesh/Bangladesh
Safe Havens Amidst the Jihadist Storm: How Leaders Spare Some Regions from Terrorist Violence in the Sahel Mathieu BereConflict Prevention, Locally-led Peacemaking: Youth-led, Locally-led Peacemaking: Interreligious
This study identifies what has helped the people of Amataltal in Niger and Dori in Burkina Faso maintain a relatively satisfactory level of peace and security amidst the jihadist storm that has been sweeping across the Sahara-Sahel region since 2011. To that end, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 36 key local actors selected through purposeful sampling techniques, with the help of local partner organizations, in Amataltal, Agadez, and Niamey in Niger, and Dori in Burkina Faso during the summer of 2021. The respondents were from different ethnic and religious backgrounds, including men, women, and youth leaders. One of the major findings is that the relative peace and security enjoyed by Dori, Amataltal, and the larger Agadez region resulted from a set of initiatives taken by local actors who understood that peace cannot be obtained only through military means, but also requires local solutions, involving local leaders and the whole population, to satisfactorily address security, development, and governance issues. The peace activism of local leaders, the commitment of the population to peace and social cohesion, the establishment of local infrastructures for peace (especially local peace committees), the vocational training and provision of economic opportunities to youth, and a more visible, positive presence of the government, have made a critical difference in terms of peace and security between Dori, Amataltal, and Agadez, and other localities affected by jihadist terrorism in Niger and Burkina Faso. There have been some significant obstacles and challenges: the lack of adequate financial and logistical resources to conduct their activities; difficulties of communicating, traveling, and mobilizing people; and the difficult relationships that local civil society actors and international partners often had with government officials whenever they took a critical stance. This study calls attention to the fact that local people are not only recipients of peacebuilding. They are, and can be, change agents and key actors for violence prevention and peacebuilding in their societies. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12982?show=fullBurkina Faso
People’s Perceptions of Peace Accord Implementation in Colombia: Comparing Attitudes among the Conflict-Affected PopulationHelga Malmin BinningsbøPeace Agreement, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)
​November 2021 marked the fifth year of the 15-year implementation period of the Colombian peace accord. The ambitious accord aims to end violence, reduce poverty, and increase the well-being of the rural population through the establishment of 16 regions targeted for peace accord implementation (Programas de Desarrollo con Enfoque Territorial, PDETs). To succeed, peacebuilding in Colombia must bring tangible benefits to the people in the PDETs and ensure their continued support. This policy brief presents preliminary results from two survey waves of 12,000 respondents in the PDETs, examining whether the most conflict-affected populations think the implementation of the accord is achieving its aims.
https://www.prio.org/publications/12879Colombia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Senegal (Casamance)Elliot ShortMediation, Peace Processes: Implementation, Armed Non-State Actors
Although a final settlement to the conflict is yet to be negotiated, ongoing negotiations hosted by organisations such as the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Community of Sant’Egidio have helped to strengthen a 2014 ceasefire and end the fighting in the Casamance region of Senegal.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-senegal-casamance/Senegal
USIP Report On Dialogue Projects And TransferNike Carstaphen, Ilana ShapiroDialogue, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Conflict PreventionThis study focused on advancing understandings of dialogue ‘transfer’ processes and effects - or how dialogue effects on participants is spread or transmitted beyond that group to influence other groups, practices or policies, and make broader changes in society. It also examined changes in USIP grant-supported dialogue projects over time and assessed the relative success of different dialogue approaches. The goal was to provide an evidence base to help strengthen the design, implementation and evaluation of USIP grant supported dialogue projects and link lessons learned to strategic programmatic decision-making that improves the impact of peacebuilding initiatives. This report provides a review of the literature on dialogue processes and transfer in peacebuilding, and presents the research methods, results, lessons learned and recommendations for the United States Institute of Peace as it plans for future dialogue grant making.https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/USIP-Dialogue-Grant-Meta-Review-Full-Evaluation-Report-10.2016.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In BurundiElliot ShortGovernance: Transition, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Ratification: Peace Agreement

International mediation efforts led by South African President Nelson Mandela and the deployment of African Union and UN peacekeepers helped to end the war in Burundi after 13 years of armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-burundi/Burundi
Uses of digital technologies in managing and preventing conflictLuke KellyEarly Warning, Conflict Prevention, TechnologyInformation Communication Technologies (ICTs) are increasingly prevalent across the developing world and as such are being used in a variety of ways to prevent, prevent or address violence conflict. ICTs can be defined as ‘electronic equipment and applications that are used to find, analyse, create, communicate, disseminate and use information’ (HD, 2019). The ICTs surveyed in this paper include mobile phones, the internet, social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Facebook and Twitter, satellites, and GIS mapping applications, and the crowdsourcing of information through these platforms. A large number of applications have been developed to gather, map and disseminate data on peace and conflict. ICTs can help gather a large volumes of information on peace and conflict that can be used to track violence and its causes. ICTs also have applications in preventing conflict through information or positive messaginghttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5d0cecb640f0b62006e1f4ef/600_ICTs_in_conflict.pdfWorldwide
Preventing Political Violence: Towards a Model for Catalytic Action--Lessons Learned from Guinea-Bissau
Conflict Prevention and Early WarningThis monograph lays out new ways the political violence that arises in failing states can be prevented and stability strengthened. This is essentially an interim report of the ‘Reducing Political Violence Action Group (RPVAG)’ that initiated an onsite case study in Guinea-Bissau, known as the ‘International Peace and Prosperity Project’. The aim was to set out a ‘Basic Concept’ for Violence Prevention, to try it out in a specific country, develop ‘Lessons Learned’ from that experience, and then to work towards a ‘New Approach to Violence Prevention’ and if possible a new ‘Model’ for similar work elsewhere. The monograph lays out the goals of the project and how it was implemented in Guinea Bissau. It discusses the basis of early warning indicators that guided the project on how and where to create a violence prevention initiative. The overall plan based around trust building and working with local leaders is presented as are the challenges and changes that were made to the plan during initial implementation in order to respond to changing circumstance The initial lessons learned and alterations to the plan itself are presented as recommendations about how to move the project in Guinea-Bissau forward as well as recommendations for similar conflict prevention projects.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12712Guinea-Bissau
Peacebuilding Architecture Review: Matrix of Recommendations NYU Center on International Cooperation Peace and Security DataAcross 2020, the United Nations (UN) invited contributions to its Peacebuilding Architecture Review (PBAR). On paper, a consultative process is a good idea. But in practice, participants can come out of it frustrated. The PBAR was no exception. Most contributors looked at the secretary-general’s report in the hope of seeing their recommendations reflected—but apart from general statements with which few could disagree, the report focused mainly on providing examples of UN’s successful activities. Contributors were left to wonder if their inputs benefitted from enough attention to justify the hours and resources invested in the process.

To rescue these efforts from oblivion, CIC undertook—with the support of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office—a daunting task: extracting the recommendations from the more than 70 papers that were submitted for the PBAR. Close to 800 recommendations from the UN, member states, civil society organizations, Independent Eminent Persons, and Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) consultations were consolidated in a matrix..
https://cic.nyu.edu/Peacebuilding-Architecture-Review-MatrixWorldwide
Ukraine Recovery and Peacebuiding Assessment : Analysis of Crisis Impacts and Needs in Eastern Ukraine, Volume 1. Synthesis ReportWorld Bank, European Union, United NationsFragility, Internally Displaced Persons/RefugeesIn mid-2014, the Government of Ukraine (GoU) requested technical assistance and financial support from the inter¬national community to assess and plan priority recovery and peacebuilding efforts in the conflict-affected regions of eastern Ukraine. Following these requests, and within the framework of the 2008 Joint Declaration on Post-Crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning, the EU, UN, and WBG agreed to support the government in undertaking a Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPA). This assessment follows the Post-Conflict Needs Assessment (PCNA) methodology. In view of the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine, it was decided to undertake an initial rapid assess¬ment as a first phase of activity, which would provide an analytical and programmatic baseline for recovery efforts to inform urgent interventions and provide a basis for scaling up recovery plan¬ning and responses as the situation and needs evolve on the ground. This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of the first phase of the RPA, which was undertaken in the period November 2014 to February 2015. In light of the dynamic and fluid nature of the situation in eastern Ukraine, these findings should be considered as a snapshot in time. In particular, the assessment of infrastructure damage is limited to the damage that occurred on or before November 2014. Furthermore, the number of registered internally displaced persons (IDPs), utilized as a reference to estimate the needs of this affected population, corresponds to the official government estimates as of February 2015.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12753Ukraine
The Correlates of War ProjectCorrelates of War ProjectConflict DataCOW seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Key principles of the project include a commitment to standard scientific principles of replication, data reliability, documentation, review, and the transparency of data collection procedures. More specifically, we are committed to the free public release of data sets to the research community, to release data in a timely manner after data collection is completed, to provide version numbers for data set and replication tracking, to provide appropriate dataset documentation, and to attempt to update, document, and distribute follow-on versions of datasets where possible. https://correlatesofwar.org/Worldwide
Transitional Justice: What Do the People Want? Views from the ground in Guatemala, Nepal, and Northern IrelandKarin Dyrstad, Helga Malmin Binningsbø, Thandeka Brigham, Kristin M. BakkeHuman Rights: Transitional Justice, Rule of Law, Citizen action​The Guatemalan peace process from 1990 to 1996 represents an early example of the inclusion of civil society in a negotiation process. However, once included, what role could civil society play – and in this case what role was it allowed to play? Clearly, civil society had an influence on the negotiations between the government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG), but on some sensitive and critical issues civil society was prevented from exerting pressure on the parties. This case brief looks at the ethical implications of this situation.
https://www.prio.org/publications/11155Worldwide
At the Gates to Peace: Mediators as GatekeepersJørgen Jensehaugen, Kristoffer Lidén, Isabel BramsenMediation, Inclusive Peacebuilding, Peace Process
Limiting the number of parties Brief Points and reducing external interference in peace mediation used to be considered the recipe for success. Yet, this logic of exclusion has been countered by an ever-growing expectation of inclusivity to create a just and sustainable peace. This policy brief explores how attempts to balance exclusion and inclusion affects the roles and responsibilities of peace mediators.https://www.prio.org/publications/13059Worldwide
Preventing Interstate Conflict Between Djibouti And EritreaElliot ShortDiplomacy: Track 1, Monitoring/Verification: Third Party, Ratification: Peace Agreement
A low-intensity interstate conflict between Djibouti and Eritrea was prevented from escalating into a major war thanks to the mediation efforts of the Government of Qatar and the deployment of a Qatari peacekeeping mission.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-interstate-conflict-between-djibouti-and-eritrea/Djibouti, Eritrea
ENSURING CONFLICT SENSITIVITY IN PROMOTING THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLESBureau for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Conflict prevention, indigenous rights, integration.The real or perceived inequitable distribution of aid can increase tensions among neighboring communities, governments, or private industries. The PRO-IP Policy highlights examples of conflict and violence sparked by development actors’ inappropriate engagements with Indigenous Peoples. These conflicts feature insecure land tenure rights and natural resource management, displacement, exploitative or unsupportive actions of private industry and local government, legal marginalization, political violence, and well-intentioned, but potentially harmful, donor-funded initiatives.https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Conflict-Sensitivity-in-PRO-IP-Technical-Guidance.pdfDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Preventing Armed Conflict In Burkina FasoElliot ShortCitizen Action, Governance: Transition, MediationPreventive diplomacy by the African Union and locally led mediation efforts helped to prevent a war in Burkina Faso following a military coup d’état.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-burkina-faso/Burkina Faso
Creating Stability through Prevention: a Locally Driven Ebola Prevention Campaign in LiberiaPurdue Peace ProjectPublic health, EbolaIn 2014, a decade after a prolonged civil war conflict, Liberia faced the greatest Ebola outbreak in its history. Over the course of the outbreak, more than 10,500 cases were recorded in the country and the total death toll equaled more than 4,500 individuals. The Ebola crisis posed not only a public health challenge, but also a political challenge in a country where post-war peace is still tenuous. To prevent the further spread of Ebola in their country, the Pen-Pen Peace Network (PPPN) – a peace committee of local Liberian citizens convened by the Purdue Peace Project (PPP) – designed, organized, and implemented what they called the Ebola Prevention Campaign. The PPPN conducted their Ebola Prevention Campaign with the support of the PPP and Women Movement for Sustainable Development Liberia (WOMSUD-Liberia). This report highlights the objectives, strategies, challenges, and impacts of the Ebola Prevention Campaign. The report is based on findings produced from data collected at multiple points in time between September 2014 and January 2015 during the Ebola Prevention Campaign.
https://cla.purdue.edu/ppp/documents/publications/Creating.pdfLiberia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Mali (Second Tuareg Rebellion)Elliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, War PreventionMediation by the Government of Algeria resulted in a ceasefire, allowing local people and organisations in Mali to participate in a peace process which ended the Second Tuareg Rebellion in the early 1990s.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-mali-second-tuareg-rebellion/Mali
DME for Peace Website Search for Common Ground Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation DataDME for Peace was created to provide professionals in the peacebuilding, development and humanitarian sectors with a platform to share tools, methodologies and findings among the community to help them identify and demonstrate what works, what does not and why. DME for Peace is a consortium and network of practitioners, evaluators and academics that share best and emerging practices on how to design, monitor and evaluate peacebuilding programs. The site has more than 1,000 resources focused on design, monitoring and evaluation that are shared and posted by the community in order to promote greater collaboration and transparency as well as increase the effectiveness of the peacebuilding field. https://www.dmeforpeace.org/Worldwide
National Election Response Groups as infrastructures for peace Reuben J.B. Lewiselection violence, state-building, locally-ledIn West Africa, National Elections Response Groups (NERGs) are being developed as response structures to mitigate election-related conflict, and their operationalisation is proving to be successful in a number of countries that have held elections – including, most recently, in Sierra Leone. NERGs are designed as infrastructures for peace, and serve as platforms for peaceful dialogue and shuttle diplomacy with political parties during national elections. NERGs also respond to incidences of harassment, intimidation and violence; work towards keeping communities calm and organised; and engage with all political groups to keep the peace. This article discusses the development and operationalisation of NERGs as an infrastructure for peace during recent elections in some West African countries.https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/national-election-response-groups-as-infrastructures-for-peace/Liberia
Peace Education Mari Fitzduff; Isabella JeanDesign, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Training, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
This report is a result of an initiative to reflect on developments, contributions, and prospects in specific areas where USIP grantmaking has been concentrated. The authors were commissioned to review the state of the field, to identify the lessons learned, and to contemplate future directions of work in the area of peace education, with reference to USIP grantmaking.https://www.usip.org/publications/2011/11/peace-educationWorldwide
Preventing an interstate conflict between Colombia, Ecuador, and VenezuelaElliot ShortDiplomacyA war between Colombia and Ecuador, which was likely to have drawn in Venezuela as well, was avoided with the help of a diplomatic intervention from the Organisation of American States and the Rio Group.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-interstate-conflict-between-colombia-and-ecuador-and-venezuela/Ecuador
Risks, Dangers, and Threat Models: Evaluating Security Analysis for Conflict PractitionersMichael Loadenthal, Peyton Nielsen, Devin McCarthySecurity, Conflict Resolution, PeacemakerThe risks to conflict practitioners, peacemakers, humanitarian aid workers, and others serving ‘in the field’ are diverse, deeply contextual, and ever-changing. While ample literature exists focused around documenting and evaluating the history of these dangers, far fewer resources have been authored to promote a comprehensive, proactive, and agile framework for predicting, observing, and understanding risks and threats to one's safety and security. While it is true that many organizations provide their employees with carefully-written guides containing security ‘dos and don’ts,’ what are practitioners meant to do when the conditions on the ground change? Instead of providing fixed solutions to emergent problems, this paper argues for a flexible framework to understand security and risk, and as a result, facilitates the development of a sustained, adaptable security posture and risk balance.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12716Worldwide
Crisis in Mali: Root Causes and Long-Term SolutionsHannah ArmstrongGovernance: Power Sharing, Violent ExtremismAfter a downfall into statelessness and a loss of control of two-thirds of the territory in 2012, Mali has been in the process of recovery since the French-led intervention. There has been a national consensus that decentralization is the key to enhancing the political power of marginalized localities and improving security in the high-risk northern zone. Decentralization is a long-term strategy that furthers political agency, benefiting both the government and the local collectives, including the northern regions. The strategy’s development and the restoration of legitimate state leadership can protect the fragile state against destabilizing blowback. Yet, it is essential to understand and address the root causes in order to achieve solutions for the long term. For instance, the international focus on counterterrorism and regime change in Mali risks obscuring the long-term political root causes of the current crisis. Peacebuilding efforts must be carefully considered, not only due to the instability and challenges but also because of the increasing politicization of ethnic divisions that might be examined by looking at the root causes. https://www.usip.org/publications/2013/05/crisis-mali-root-causes-and-long-term-solutionsMali
Regional Economic Communities and Peacebuilding in Africa Lessons from ECOWAS and IGADVictor Adetula, Redie Bereketeab, Cyril ObiPeacebuilding, EconomicsThis book outlines challenges to the effective operation of regional economic communities (RECs) with regards to peacebuilding in Africa. Critically examining these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective, with a focus on comparative analysis of the status, role, and performances of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), it examines particular constraints to their effective participation in regional initiatives. Focussing on inadequate technical capabilities, the complicity of state and non-state actors in conflicts within a region, the domestic politics of member states, it additionally addresses related theories and practices of peacekeeping, security, development, and the peacebuilding nexus. It also engages provisioning, regionalism, and regional peacekeeping interventions, the legal and institutional framework of RECs, and civil society and peacebuilding. Fundamentally, the book asks how effective the alliances and partnerships are in promoting regional peace and security and how much they are compromised by the intervention of external powers and actors, exploring new ideas and actions that may strengthen capacities to address the peacebuilding challenges on the continent effectively. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of African politics and studies, peace and security studies, regionalism studies, policy practitioners in the field of African peacebuilding, and more broadly to international relations.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12175Africa
Human Development IndexWorld BankHealth and Standard of Living DataThe HDI was created to emphasize that people and their capabilities should be the ultimate criteria for assessing the development of a country, not economic growth alone. The HDI can also be used to question national policy choices, asking how two countries with the same level of GNI per capita can end up with different human development outcomes. These contrasts can stimulate debate about government policy priorities.
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a summary measure of average achievement in key dimensions of human development: a long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and have a decent standard of living. The HDI is the geometric mean of normalized indices for each of the three dimensions.
https://hdr.undp.org/en/dataWorldwide
Why Does Timor-Leste Remain Fragile? Takashi Daimon-SatoDevelopment, Fragility,State-buildingThis article focuses on the concept of “fragility,” which gained prominence in literature on conflict-driven countries and serves as an analytical tool for policy analysis. Using this concept, this article provides a review of Timor-Leste since its independence in 2002. The country has achieved high economic growth, though the economy has remained fragile in terms of its high dependence on external factors, namely oil revenues. This study suggests that foreign aid and investments do not automatically improve fragility in resource-dependent economies unless they help diversify the monoculture economy, based upon democratic consensus-building among stakeholders. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12720Timor-Leste
Preventing Armed Conflict in NigeriaElliot ShortProblem-Solving Workshop, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations
The National Peace Committee helped to guide Nigeria through its first peaceful elections in history amidst a tense a political climate, preventing an armed conflict.  https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-nigeria/Nigeria
Stopping The Armed Conflict In The Central African Republic For Four YearsElliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: United Nations, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Ratification: Peace Agreement
The conflict in the Central African Republic was stopped for four years by a diplomatic intervention by regional governments and the deployment of a monitoring mission followed by a UN peacekeeping missionhttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/stopping-the-armed-conflict-in-the-central-african-republic-for-four-years/Central African Republic
World Inequality DatabaseWorld Inequality LabIncome Inequality DataThe World Inequality Database (WID.world) aims to provide open and convenient access to the most extensive available database on the historical evolution of the world distribution of income and wealth, both within countries and between countries.
https://wid.world/Worldwide
Containing The Armed Conflict In Nagorno-KarabakhElliot ShortDiplomacy, Peacekeeping
The armed conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan, has been contained since 1994 by the ongoing diplomatic efforts of the Minsk Group, preventing the eruption of a much larger confrontation.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-nagorno-karabakh/Russia
Reducing Armed Conflict In The Horn Of Africa With Peace InfrastructureElliot ShortEarly Warning, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Conflict Prevention

The Conflict Early Warning and Response Mechanism established by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development has used data, technology, and a decentralised network of people and organisations to build an effective early warning system that has demonstrably reduced armed conflict across the Horn of Africa.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-the-horn-of-africa-with-peace-infrastructure/Horn of Africa
Preventing Armed Conflict In TunisiaElliot ShortCitizen Action, Governance: Constitutions, MediationThe National Dialogue Quartet, a consortium of four major Tunisian civil society organisations, helped to prevent armed conflict and guide their country on a peaceful course in the wake of the 2011 Jasmine Revolution.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-tunisia/Tunisia
Elections and Violent Conflict in Kenya: Making Prevention StickClaire Elder; Susan Stigant; Jonas ClaesElection, Dialogue, Human RightsThis report aims to complement existing postelection analysis by examining local experiences of Kenya’s 2013 general elections, evaluating the various factors that worked to prevent widespread violent conflict and assessing the sustainability of the “relative calm” achieved during the electoral period. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and its partners, the Constitutional Reform and Education Consortium (CRECO) and the Interparty Youth Forum (IPYF), convened citizen dialogues and conducted key informant interviews to evaluate preventive efforts around the March 2013 general elections in Kenya. Through qualitative research, USIP and its partners collected original data from November to mid-December 2013 in ten carefully selected counties across Kenya— Marsabit, Embu, Nyeri, Nakuru, Uasin Gishu, Bungoma, Kisumu, Nyamira, Mombasa, and Nairobi. The citizen views collected offer valuable insights into popular attitudes and the factors that influenced behavior during the electoral process. This report is part of USIP’s broader commitment to peace in the Horn of Africa and thematic focus on preventing electoral violence. https://www.usip.org/publications/2014/11/elections-and-violent-conflict-kenya-making-prevention-stick Kenya
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Chad And LibyaElliot ShortMediation, Rule of Law, Monitoring/Verification: United NationsFollowing the International Court of Justice’s judgement of the dispute, the United Nations Aouzou Strip Observer Group monitored the withdrawal of Libyan troops from the area and helped ensure that the handover of the disputed territory to Chad went ahead peacefully.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-chad-and-libya/Chad, Libya
Operationalizing the Sustaining Peace Agenda: Lessons from Burkina Faso, Liberia, and Papua New GuineaAgathe SarfatiOperations management, implementation, policy, sustained peaceThe twin resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace adopted by the General Assembly and Security Council in 2016 made a breakthrough in the UN’s conception of peacebuilding. Significant work has since been undertaken to reconfigure the UN system to work toward the implementation of these resolutions, and the UN Peacebuilding Commission has launched a comprehensive review of the peacebuilding architecture to be completed in 2020. To inform this review, this issue brief synthesizes findings related to the operationalization of the peacebuilding and sustaining peace resolutions at the country level. The paper concludes that much of the focus to date has been on improving the effectiveness of how the UN delivers its mandates on peacebuilding and sustaining peace. To fully realize the vision of the sustaining peace agenda, its operationalization must increasingly focus on the impact of these efforts. This requires questioning and testing the theory of change underpinning these operational reforms to ensure the UN is effectively helping societies build the foundation for sustaining peace.https://www.ipinst.org/2020/06/operationalizing-sustaining-peace-agenda-burkina-faso-liberia-papua-new-guineaPapua New Guinea
Ending the Armed Conflict in ColombiaElliot ShortDiplomacy, MediationThe armed conflict in Colombia was finally ended after 52 years by the signing of a peace agreement during negotiations mediated by a host of national governments and intergovernmental organisations.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-colombia/Colombia
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Mozambique (2013 – 2018)Elliot ShortNegotiations, Ceasefire, Armed Non-State ActorsTalks mediated by the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the Government of Switzerland helped to prevent a conflict relapse in Mozambique more than two decades after the devastating civil war there had ended.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-mozambique-2013-2018/Mozambique
Containing The Armed Conflict In Western SaharaElliot ShortPeacekeeping,Governance: Transition, Monitoring/Verification: United NationsThe United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara has helped to prevent renewed armed conflict in Western Sahara since 1991. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-western-sahara/Western Sahara
On Hybrid Political Orders and Emerging States: State Formation in the Context of ‘Fragility’ Volker Boege, Anne Brown, Kevin Clements, Anna NolanFragility, Governance, Locally-led Peacemaking InitiativesThis article examines the rationale and underlying assumptions of the mainstream discourse on fragile states. The authors argue that the conventional perception of so-called fragile states as an obstacle to the maintenance of peace and development can be far too short-sighted, as is its corollary, the promotion of conventional state-building along the lines of the western OECD state model as the best means of sustainable development and peace within all societies. Too often, state fragility research and analysis as well as state-building policies are oriented towards the western-style Weberian/Westphalian state. Yet this form of statehood hardly exists in reality beyond the OECD world. Many of the countries in the ‘rest’ of the world are political entities that do not resemble the model western state. This article proposes that these states should not be considered from the perspective of being ‘not yet properly built’ or having ‘already failed again’. Rather than thinking in terms of fragile or failed states, it might be theoretically and practically more fruitful to think in terms of hybrid political orders. Such a re-conceptualization opens new options for conflict prevention and development, as well as for a new type of state-building. Drawing on the examples of East Timor, Bougainville and Somaliland, the report points out the shortcomings of external state-building, and presents some innovative approaches to state-building. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12899Worldwide
Corporate Strategies to Assist Post-Conflict Peacebuilding in ColombiaAngelika Rettberg, Daniel Medina, Jason MiklianPrivate Sector and Peacebuilding, Economics and Conflict, Fragility​Colombia’s transition to a post-conflict country has brought security gains and economic benefits to many parts of the country. However, this transition has come amidst political polarization, state weakness, and continuing illicit economies. In this brief, we discuss how the private sector has reacted to this changing political and economic environment. We present lessons learned from our research, confirming that the “logic of the firm” takes different shapes in transition from conflict to peace. We recommend that policies to promote business participation in post-conflict peacebuilding should include the identification of specific business opportunities and potential markets in the regions and economic sectors considered most promising.
https://www.prio.org/publications/11205Colombia
Cognitive-Affective Mapping and Digital PeacebuildingEvan HoffmanConflict Analysis, Cognitive MappingIdeologies play a fundamental role in the emergence, escalation and resolution of conflict by underpinning divergent narratives and worldviews. These ideologies are often developed and sustained through a combination of interrelated and deeply-held core beliefs, values and emotions which have been acquired over the course of a lifetime and become reinforced through several cognitive processes and biases. Thus, it can be very difficult to alter or change ideologies once they have been formed. Yet, despite their central importance to conflict resolution, practitioners still need the proper tools to adequately visualise these complex ideologies in individuals and/or groups. Practitioners also have very few examples of ways to work with these divergent ideologies as part of a larger peacebuilding process. This policy brief presents a technique for visualising ideologies using a new software tool called Valence that enables technology-assisted Cognitive Affective Mapping (CAM). It then offers lessons from a recent online conflict resolution exercise in which multiple stakeholders used this tool in an ongoing water conflict in Canada via a series of facilitated Zoom sessions held in 2020.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12709Worldwide
The Environment in Warfare-Related Policy Making: The case in UkraineHook, Kristina and Marcantonio, RichardEnvironment and conflictIn the chaotic reality of wars and armed conflicts, environmental issues are often downgraded in long lists of policy priorities. We suggest that this reality is partially driven by the simmering and subterraneous aspect of environmental risks; the long-term possibility of environmental degradation may not seize the attention of political decision-makers as intuitively as ongoing violence spikes or political turmoil. However, we also view the policy demotion of environmental risks in warzones as partially predicated on a present lack of empirically-based frameworks that rapidly-but-accurately organize the information saturation of complex crises. Taking into account the need for transferability across various geographic areas, political contexts, and case studies, we have developed a four-part assessment tool to analyze various risks by distinguishing between the environment 1) as a trigger, 2) as degraded, 3) as neglected, or 4) as a mechanism of control. While based on established scholarly findings, we introduce this tool as fulfilling an unmet, foundational policy need. To demonstrate how this tool can rapidly contextualize environmental risks, we also share previously unpublished data on Ukraine’s war-driven ongoing environmental crisis. With 11,000 people killed, 2 million internally displaced persons, and 4.4 million people in dire need of emergency humanitarian assistance (UN OCHA, 2018; UNIAN, 2018b), we conclude that environmental risks pose just as urgent a threat as the ongoing direct violence. Particularly worrying, our framework’s results illustrate how warfare in highly industrialized areas may leave harmful ecological and human security legacies for decades after active warfare concludes.https://smallwarsjournal.com/jrnl/art/environment-warfare-related-policy-making-case-ukraineUkraine
Forced Displacement in Europe and Central AsiaDe Berry, Joanna P. and Petrini, BenjaminInternally Displaced Persons/RefugeesThis paper describes forced displacement in the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) and the vulnerabilities associated with being a displaced person. It analyzes the development challenges of forced displacement particularly protracted displacement in the region and the prospects for durable solutions. Displaced persons face challenges related to recovery of or access to housing and land, employment and livelihoods, access to services and public goods including health, education, and infrastructure, and accountable and responsive governance.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12769Europe
Preventing Armed Conflict in GhanaElliot ShortElections, Citizen Action, Locally-led Peacemaking InitiativesGhanaian people and organisations worked alongside the government and security services to ensure that the 2008 elections did not spark an armed conflict in Ghana.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-ghana/Ghana
Pursuing disaster risk reduction on fractured foundations: the case of ChadKatie Peters, Anne-Lise Dewulf, Veronique Barbelet, Colette Benoudji, Virginie Le MassonClimate and Conflict, Food Insecurity, GovernanceConventional disaster risk reduction (DRR) efforts tend to focus on mitigating risk related to short-term, extreme events associated with high-visibility catastrophes such as earthquakes, floods and landslides. However, some of the most neglected and unreported humanitarian crises around the world are caused by long-term conditions such as drought.

The effects of slow-onset disasters are particularly devastating when compounded by conflict, fragility and violence, but this aspect of DRR has generally been neglected in mainstream thinking and practice.

Known for its vulnerability to drought and food insecurity, Chad illustrates how conflict can undermine the foundations of development and economic growth. This case study challenges conventional thinking on how to promote DRR in a situation of conflict and poor governance. Instead of pushing forward with recommendations for more financial resources and technical capacity, the research questions whether an alternative, more politically astute approach could be taken to ensure systematic integration of risk into development decisions.

Simply put, this framing would employ a ‘networking’ strategy applied through a conflict lens. Starting with what already exists, it would recognise where political traction could provide a viable entry point to advance progress on DRR and disaster risk governance as part of overall efforts to adapt to climate change and promote sustainable development.
https://odi.org/en/publications/pursuing-disaster-risk-reduction-on-fractured-foundations-the-case-of-chad/Chad
Peacemaking and Constitutional Change: Negotiating Power-sharing Arrangements and Identity Issues: The Republic of (North) Macedonia and The Ohrid Framework AgreementBoshko StankovskiDemocracy and Governance, Conflict PreventionThis study looks at the case of the Republic of Macedonia and the Ohrid Framework Agreement (OFA) of 2001, which averted a full-blown civil war, the resulting constitution making process, and the implementation of the constitution. The study highlights the OFA as an important example of a peace agreement that incorporated a policy of multiculturalism at the constitutional level and established a complex power-sharing mechanism between the concerned communities. The Agreement was not only brokered by the international community, but also signed by the EU and the US as its guarantors, therefore classifying the OFA as a type of a hybrid, internationalized and ultimately successful peace agreement. The study analyzes some key aspects of the OFA, such as the dual track approach and the interplay between the political and security component; institutionalization of the process; the role of experts in the negotiations/mediation; and challenges of terminology and constructive ambiguity.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/peacemaking-and-constitutional-change-negotiating-power-sharing-arrangements-and-identity-issues-the-republic-of-north-macedonia-and-the-ohrid-framework-agreementNorth Macedonia
WJP Rule of Law IndexJuan Carlos Botero, Mark David Agrast, and Alejandro Ponce, World Justice ProjectRule of Law DataThe World Justice Project Rule of Law Index® is the world’s leading source for original, independent data on the rule of law. Covering 139 countries and jurisdictions, the Index relies on national surveys of more than 138,000 households and 4,200 legal practitioners and experts to measure how the rule of law is experienced and perceived worldwide. https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/wjp-rule-law-index-2021Worldwide
Sustaining Peace in Papua New Guinea: Prevention in PracticeLesley Connolly and Laurie Mincieliconflict prevention, partnerships, operations management, processesThis paper examines the implementation of the UN’s peacebuilding and sustaining peace framework in Papua New Guinea, looking at what has been done and what is still needed. It focuses on the four issue areas highlighted in the secretary-general’s 2018 report on peacebuilding and sustaining peace: operational and policy coherence; leadership at the UN country level; partnerships with local and regional actors; and international support.https://www.ipinst.org/2019/09/sustaining-peace-in-papua-new-guinea-prevention-in-practicePapua New Guinea
The six principles of Adaptive Peacebuilding ACCORDAdaptive peacebuilding, fragile states, locally-led, theory of changeAdaptive peacebuilding is an approach that can help navigate this delicate balance between international support and local self-organisation. Peacebuilders, together with the communities and people affected by the conflict, actively engage in a structured process to sustain peace by employing an iterative process of learning and adaptation. The adaptive peacebuilding approach is aimed at supporting societies to develop the resilience and robustness they need to cope with and adapt to change by developing greater levels of complexity in their social institutions.https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/the-six-principles-of-adaptive-peacebuilding/Central African Republic
On the Significance of Religion in Conflict and Conflict ResolutionChristine Schliesser, S. Ayse Kadayifci-Orellana, Pauline KollontaiReligion, Conflict ResolutionIn this ground-breaking volume, the authors analyze the role of religion in conflict and conflict resolution. They do so from the perspectives of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, while bringing different disciplines into play, including peace and conflict studies, religious studies, theology, and ethics. With much of current academic, political, and public attention focusing on the conflictive dimensions of religion, this book also explores the constructive resources of religion for conflict resolution and reconciliation. Analyzing the specific contributions of religious actors in this field, their potentials and possible problems connected with them, this book sheds light on the concrete contours of the oftentimes vague “religious factor” in processes of social change. Case studies in current and former settings of violent conflict such as Israel, post-genocide Rwanda, and Pakistan provide “real-life” contexts for discussion. Combining cutting-edge research with case studies and concrete implications for academics, policy makers, and practitioners, this concise and easily accessible volume helps to build bridges between these oftentimes separated spheres of engagement.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12172Worldwide
Development Assistance for PeacebuildingRachel M. GisselquistDevelopment, PeacebuildingDevelopment assistance to fragile states and conflict-affected areas can be a core component of peacebuilding, providing support for the restoration of government functions, delivery of basic services, the rule of law, and economic revitalization. What has worked, why it has worked, and what is scalable and transferable, are key questions for both development practice and research into how peace is built and the interactive role of domestic and international processes therein. Despite a wealth of research into these questions, significant gaps remain. This volume speaks to these gaps through new analysis of a selected set of well-regarded aid interventions. Drawing on diverse scholarly and policy expertise, eight case study chapters span multiple domains and regions to analyse Afghanistan’s National Solidarity Programme, the Yemen Social Fund for Development, public financial management reform in Sierra Leone, Finn Church Aid’s assistance in Somalia, Liberia’s gender-sensitive police reform, the judicial facilitators programme in Nicaragua, UNICEF’s education projects in Somalia, and World Bank health projects in Timor-Leste. Analysis illustrates the significance of three broad factors in understanding why some aid interventions work better than others: the area of intervention and related degree of engagement with state institutions; local contextual factors such as windows of opportunity and the degree of local support; and programme design and management.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12176Worldwide
Peoples Under ThreatMinority Rights Group InternationalGenocide and Attrocity Risk DataThe Peoples under Threat ranking highlights countries most at risk of genocide and mass killing. The ranking is created by compiling data on the known antecedents to genocide or mass political killing.https://peoplesunderthreat.org/Worldwide
Peace Accords Matrix University of Notre Dame, Kroc InstitutePeace Accords DataThe PAM database is a unique source of qualitative and quantitative longitudinal data on the implementation of 34 Comprehensive Peace Agreements (CPAs) negotiated between 1989 and 2012. Drawing on this world class, peer-reviewed database, PAM researchers have developed a quantitative methodology to track the progress of peace accord implementation. The PAM database serves as a valuable tool for analysis, which the Kroc Institute uses to support the negotiation and implementation of peace accords, including the implementation of the Colombian peace accord.
https://peaceaccords.nd.edu/Worldwide
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Djibouti And EritreaElliot ShortPreventive Diplomacy, Ratification: Peace Agreement, SanctionsThe militarised territorial dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea was prevented from escalating in 2017 by the timely diplomatic intervention of the African Union and was ultimately resolved after the Government of Saudi Arabia mediated a peace agreement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-djibouti-and-eritrea/Djibouti, Eritrea
Stabilizing Northeast Nigeria After Boko HaramSaskia BrechenmacherInstability, governance, locally-led, conflict-preventionThis paper provides an overview of these local-level efforts and the theories of change that undergird them.3 It highlights initial lessons learned by donors and implementers, as well as persistent tensions between local-level program objectives and higher-level political and conflict dynamics. Most stabilization programs were designed with the assumption that the security situation in northeastern Nigeria would continue to improve, thereby facilitating the gradual return of displaced populations and local government. Yet in practice, Nigeria’s overstretched, under-resourced, and corruption-plagued military has struggled to consolidate its gains. Civilians in many parts of the northeast face ongoing threats from both insurgent attacks as well as counterterrorism operations. Rampant corruption and ineffective coordination have hampered the Nigerian government’s civilian response to the crisis, with various federal, state, and local elites benefiting from the continuation of the crisis. Moreover, while international partners stress the need for a regional response to the crisis, the region lacks an effective political infrastructure, and cooperation has been primarily externally driven.

The Nigerian case thus exemplifies the difficulties of implementing effective local-level stabilization efforts while working with a host government that lacks political commitment, transparency, and coordination. While local-level programs have shown positive impacts in various areas, they have struggled to gain wider traction—particularly since donors are often working through or dependent on the government to operate.
https://carnegieendowment.org/2019/05/03/stabilizing-northeast-nigeria-after-boko-haram-pub-79042Nigeria
Evaluating Peacebuilding Activities in Settings of Conflict and FragilityOECDFragility, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Conflict PreventionEvaluating Peacebuilding Activities in Settings of Conflict and Fragility was developed by the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to help improve program design and management and strengthen the use of evaluation in order to enhance the quality of conflict prevention and peacebuilding work. It seeks to guide policy makers and country partners, field and program officers, evaluators and other stakeholders engaged in settings of conflict and fragility by supporting a better, shared understanding of the role and utility of evaluations, outlining key dimensions of planning for them, setting them up, and carrying them out. The central principles and concepts include conflict sensitivity and the importance of understanding and testing underlying theories about what is being done and why. The report describes the convergence of the concepts of peacebuilding, statebuilding and conflict prevention and addresses the emerging international consensus that such contexts require specific, adapted approaches. It considers the principles for engagement in fragile states as the backdrop to evaluating such engagement and outlines the preconditions for evaluability, which should be handled by those designing and managing such programs. Such conditions include setting clear, measurable objectives for peace-related activities, collecting baselines data and monitoring activities. The report analyzes challenges of evaluating in fragile, conflicted-affected societies, the importance of understanding the conflict context; conflict sensitivity and theories of change; and examples of evaluations at work. The report concludes that actionable recommendations based on the conclusions should be presented as opportunities for learning and commissioning institutions should ensure systematic response to the findings. Such an approach will increase receptivity and the chances that findings will be fed back into program design and decision-making. In these ways, more and better evaluation will contribute to identifying strategies and programs that progress towards “peace writ large”. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12883?show=fullWorldwide
Enhancing Peacekeeping Training Through Cooperation: Lessons from Latin AmericaIgarapé Instituteeffectiveness, peacekeeping, cooperation, inclusive, There is growing recognition at the UN and among member states that peacekeeping must be made more effective, especially in face of major budget cuts and wavering leadership by traditional actors. Against this backdrop, how can member states improve the quality of pre-deployment and mission preparation for UN peacekeeping? This policy brief focuses on one area in which innovation has become more urgent than ever: enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping through better training. More specifically, we analyze the emerging configurations, innovations, and challenges of international cooperation for peacekeeping training centers (PTCs), drawing on the case of Latin America.https://igarape.org.br/en/enhancing-peacekeeping-training-through-cooperation/Argentina
Enhancing Peacekeeping Training Through Cooperation: Lessons from Latin AmericaIgarapé Instituteeffectiveness, peacekeeping, cooperation, inclusive, There is growing recognition at the UN and among member states that peacekeeping must be made more effective, especially in face of major budget cuts and wavering leadership by traditional actors. Against this backdrop, how can member states improve the quality of pre-deployment and mission preparation for UN peacekeeping? This policy brief focuses on one area in which innovation has become more urgent than ever: enhancing the effectiveness of peacekeeping through better training. More specifically, we analyze the emerging configurations, innovations, and challenges of international cooperation for peacekeeping training centers (PTCs), drawing on the case of Latin America.https://igarape.org.br/en/enhancing-peacekeeping-training-through-cooperation/Chile
Ending The Armed Conflict In NicaraguaElliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, Mediation A series of peace agreements mediated by regional governments and the deployment of the United Nations Observer Group in Central America helped to end the armed conflict in Nicaragua in 1990.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-nicaragua/Nicaragua
The Dynamics of Conflict, Development Assistance and Peace-Building : Sri Lanka 2000-05World BankDiplomacy, Development, Peace Processes: Implementation
Significant transformations in the socio-political and economic landscape of Sri Lanka in recent years encouraged five development partners-World Bank, Asia Foundation, and the governments of the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Sweden to collaborate on a conflict assessment in 2005. This reflects a growing trend in the development partner community of combining efforts, pooling resources, and taking advantage of comparative strengths to engage in conflict analysis exercises. The multi-donor conflict assessment revisits the underlying structures of conflict, identified in the previous conflict assessment, and explores the current dynamics of conflict factors with a particular focus on the peace process and international engagement. This note presents key findings of the assessment, in particular, the approaches supported by development partners in Sri Lanka. While this is drawn solely from the Sri Lanka experience, it is likely to have a broad relevance to many such countries. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12779Sri-Lanka
Reducing Conflict And Building Stability On The Burundi-Tanzania BorderElliot ShortTraining, Internally Displaced Persons/Refugees, Alternative Dispute ResolutionThe UN has helped to manage conflict and instability along the international border between Burundi and Tanzania, reducing the likelihood of armed conflict between communities and minimising the risk of an interstate conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-conflict-and-building-stability-on-the-burundi-tanzania-border/Burundi, Tanzania
Youth, Peace and Security: A Programming HandbookTammy SmithYouth, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Inclusive PeacebuildingThis handbook seeks to contribute to the operational readiness and capacity of United Nations practitioners to implement the youth, peace and security (YPS) agenda. The handbook is intended to be used by country, regional and global teams in the United Nations system, but it can also provide insights and guidance to field practitioners beyond the United Nations, including other international or regional organizations, national counterparts, youth-led and youth-focused organizations, movements and networks, and peacebuilding organizations. It priorities youth-inclusive and youth-sensitive peace and security programming, as a core element of more sustainable and long-lasting peacebuilding efforts. The handbook offers strategic guidance and practical advice on its operational implementation: directions to ensure meaningful youth participation; tools and operational steps for undertaking a youth-sensitive and youth-inclusive conflict analysis; approaches for developing YPS strategic priorities and theories of change; the formulation of YPS outcome statements and indicators; guidance for monitoring YPS projects; exploration on how to evaluate the impact – and not just direct outputs and outcomes – of YPS programming and meaningful youth inclusion; and finally, proposes a series of YPS programming entry points, illustrated by concrete project examples. The handbook is a tool to successfully carry out projects and programmes that are informed by a full understanding of how young people experience and participate in their societies and their interaction with peace and security matters. https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/yps_programming_handbook.pdf Worldwide
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Dispute Between Qatar And Saudi ArabiaElliot ShortMediation, Ratification: Peace Agreement, Monitoring/Verification: Third Party
The territorial dispute between Qatar and Saudi was resolved, preventing an interstate conflict from erupting over the contested territory.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-qatar-and-saudi-arabia/Qatar, Saudi Arabia
The Role of Development Aid in Conflict Transformation: Facilitating Empowerment Processes and Community BuildingMarcie MerskyEconomics and Conflict, Humanitarian Engagement, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives
This article examines both the theoretical assumptions and expectations, as well as the practical experiences, of empowerment approaches within the field of development aid, with a particular focus their potential for conflict transformation. The authors build upon the recent discourse in development policy that discusses the extent to which development cooperation can effectively contribute towards crisis prevention and conflict transformation. It attempts to analyze and build from three inter-related approaches: The do-no-harm approach which primarily aims to avoid doing more harm than good, and is vitally concerned with the unintended negative impacts of development aid, which too often tends to aggravate conflict rather than contribute to its resolution; the local capacities for peace approach which seeks to identify potential entry points for conflict transformation through development aid, and recommends that external donor agencies should focus on supporting local capacities for peace; and the discourse on peace and conflict impact assessment approach which stresses the need for a thorough analysis of the conflict context. The article examines these approaches through the practical experience of traditional relief and development projects working on complex emergencies in the field of community development. The authors explore the nexus between conflict transformation on the one hand and participatory and empowerment approaches on the other. They critically assess the potential of common empowerment approaches within community building not only to avoid doing harm but also to make a substantive contribution to conflict transformation at the local level. The empirical base of the chapter lies within participatory research and in the experiences of bilateral and multilateral development cooperation in the war-torn areas of Sri Lanka. The authors explore some common participatory and empowerment approaches within the field of community development, as well as constraints, dilemmas and ambivalences for the facilitation of empowerment processes through development aid within complex emergencies. The authors conclude with future prospects on the potentials, constraints and ambivalence of empowerment approaches and recommend a more political role for development aid in complex emergencies as it engages in more inclusive community building through processes of empowerment and recognition.http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12900Sri Lanka
Preventing Armed Conflict In GuineaElliot ShortNegotiations, Elections, Governance: Transition
Thanks to timely diplomatic action by the African Union, Economic Community of West African States, and the UN, a violent political crisis in Guinea was prevented from escalating into armed conflict in 2009.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-guinea/Guinea
Partners and Competitors: Forces Operating in Parallel to UN Peace OperationsAlexandra Novosseloff and Lisa SharlandOperations management, monitoring and reporting, peacekeeping, This report examines the missions that have operated in parallel to UN peace operations to identify how to strengthen these partnerships in the future. It analyzes and categorizes the types of parallel forces that have been deployed and examines the rationales for deploying them. It also looks at strategic and operational challenges, including the challenges unique to peace operations operating alongside a counterterrorism force. Finally, drawing on lessons from past and current parallel deployments, it offers recommendations for member states, the Security Council, and the UN Secretariathttps://www.ipinst.org/2019/11/partners-and-competitors-forces-operating-in-parallel-to-un-peace-operationsWorldwide
Humanitarian Data ExchangeUN OCHA Centre for Humanitarian DataHumanitarian DataThe Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) is an open platform for sharing data across crises and organisations. Launched in July 2014, the goal of HDX is to make humanitarian data easy to find and use for analysis.https://data.humdata.org/datasetWorldwide
Ensuring That The Collapse Of The Soviet Union Remained PeacefulElliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Post-Conflict Peacebuilding, Preventive DiplomacyA potentially volatile collapse of the Soviet Union took place peacefully thanks to the measured response of the Soviet leadership and the presence of international mechanisms that prevented instability and uncertainty from escalating into armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ensuring-that-the-collapse-of-the-soviet-union-remained-peaceful/Russia
The Role of the EU and Other Third Parties in Promoting the Gender, Peace and Security Agenda in Mediation and Dialogue ProcessesPamela Urrutia, Maria Villellas, Ana VillellasMediation, Dialogue, GenderThis report analyses lessons learned and good practices in introducing a gender perspective to peace processes in order to strengthen the EU’s capabilities in this area. The document reflects on various practical experiences by the EU and other third parties in the area of gender and multi-track diplomacy in two specific spheres. Firstly, the gender dimension in EU’s role as a mediator/facilitator. This report analyses issues like challenges and dilemmas of mediation from a gender perspective; complementarity and coordination in multi-track diplomacy from a gender perspective and the availability of gender-responsive mediators. Secondly, the report focuses on EU’s actions via other types of engagement (promoting, supporting, leveraging and funding), like political support for women’s involvement in peace processes, financial and technical support to empower women and strengthen local women’s organizations and financial support for capabilities in the area of gender and third-party mediation.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12747Europe
Guiding Steps For Peacebuilding Design, Monitoring, & Evaluation Jessica Baumgardner-Zuzik & Sharon Morris theories of change, design, monitoring, and evaluation (DM&E), networksGood evaluation can only happen if we think about learning and evidence at the start of a program. This document, Guiding Steps for Peacebuilding Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation, details seven steps, outlined below, that are the minimum set of steps every peacebuilding program must adhere to in order to contribute to robust evidence and learning in the peacebuilding field. In the document that follows, each step is explained and the critical elements and their importance are outlined. We also provide an initial list of key resources for each step. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12783Worldwide
Global Internal Displacement Database (GIDD)Internal Displacement Monitoring CentreHumanitarian DataThe Displacement Data tab is a portal through which you can view the published figures from our annual flagship reports. These are the figures that have been able to validate through internal quality assurance and external peer review.
The Global Displacement Risk Model is a tool for exploring and visualising disaster-related displacement risk metrics such as how many people are likely to be displaced per country per year, or over five- or ten-year period. It also enables users to assess the likelihood of the occurrence of specific displacement events, for instance a cyclone that displaces 100,000 people or an earthquake that displaces 50,000 people.
https://www.internal-displacement.org/databaseWorldwide
Nine Years of Nonviolent Peaceforce in Sri Lanka Lessons Learned in Implementing Unarmed Civilian PeacekeepingChristine SchweitzerLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Peacekeeping, Dialogue, Early Warning
This report evaluates the work that Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) in Sri Lanka and the lessons that can be drawn from their experience in developing the tool of unarmed civilian peacekeeping. Nonviolence Peaceforce worked on the protection of children, IDP protection, facilitating dialogue and cooperation between communities, grass roots early warning systems, and building the capacity of local actors to engage in violence prevention. The report highlights the importance of good processes and planning, building relationships and trust amongst different parties involved, and the critical need for impartiality and non-partisanship when acting as a third-party. The report examines how unarmed civilian peacemaking goes beyond simply an unarmed version of military peacemaking and provides recommendations for future projects utilizing this approach to resolving conflicts. https://nonviolentpeaceforce.org/images/publications/9yearsNPSL-Implementing_UCP-final.pdfSri Lanka
Women, Peace and Security IndexGeorgetown Institute for Women Peace and Security IndexWomen Inclusion & Security DataThe third edition of the global Women Peace and Security Index (WPS Index) draws on recognized data sources to measure women’s inclusion, justice, and security in 170 countries.
Trends in the WPS Index show that the global advance of women’s status has slowed and disparities have widened across countries.

The WPS Index is published by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security and the PRIO Centre on Gender, Peace and Security with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
https://giwps.georgetown.edu/the-index/Worldwide
Peace Dividends And Beyond: Contributions Of Administrative And Social Services To PeacebuildingErin McCandlessPost-Conflict Peacebuilding, Governance: Reforms, Inclusive PeacebuildingIn all societies – especially those emerging from violence – where administrative and social services are lacking or provided inequitably, the resulting void or imbalance is a common driver of conflict. In post-conflict settings, services can be controlled and manipulated, creating or exacerbating horizontal inequalities and fuelling discontent rather than offering a means to foster trust and better relations between state and society. Whether it is by national or international actors, by design or accident, administrative and social services can be delivered in ways that undermine peacebuilding efforts. Infrastructure and delivery systems are often severely damaged during violent conflict – systems that constitute very real, immediate needs for local people. As such, they are priorities that cannot be ignored in terms of the direct contributions they can make to peacebuilding and the early statebuilding efforts that underpin them. The report argues that there is significant evidence to include administrative and social services amongst the menu of choices available to directly support peacebuilding in any given context. Finding the appropriate balance among the many peacebuilding priorities in any setting should ultimately be a country-driven exercise – one that is inclusive of a wide range of stakeholders at different levels, especially historically marginalized groups.https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/peace_dividends.pdfWorldwide
Preventing Renewed Interstate Conflict Between Israel and Jordan Elliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementThe mediation efforts of the Government of USA ended the state of war between Israel and Jordan that had existed for 46 years, greatly reducing the risk of further interstate conflict and stabilising the region.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-renewed-interstate-conflict-between-israel-and-jordan/Jordan
Crime and Conflict: The New Challenge for PeacebuilidingJessie BanfieldOrganized crime, Fragility, Armed conflict, Drug traffickingThis report is offered as a contribution to the growing effort to understand the nexus between organised crime, armed violence and fragility, and to design effective responses. At the heart of the document is the hypothesis that an application of the approaches and overall lens of peacebuilding can enrich broader efforts to reduce and transform contemporary armed violence and fragility linked to organised crime. This approach has not been widely tested in practice, but when it has the results are promising.https://www.international-alert.org/publications/crime-and-conflict/Worldwide
Peace Process Support in Times of Crises: The National Dialogue Support Programme in Yemen 2014-16Oliver Wils, Sonja NeuweilerConflict Management and Resolution, DialogueThis report details the work of the National Dialogue Support Programme (NDSP) in Yemen during the period of 2014-16. It provides the analysis from the perspective of the Berghof Foundation which was Originally set up in 2012, the NDSP provided process, facilitation and logistical support, negotiation and dialogue trainings, as well as analysis papers, coaching and public education materials to the National Dialogue Conference (NDC). The NDSP was actually run by the Berghof Foundation in collaboration with Political Development Forum Yemen. The National Dialogue Support Programme's aim was to strengthen and protect the political transition process by supporting locally-owned and inclusive structures and mechanisms for political dialogue, informed decision-making and trust- and consensus-building. Yet, at the same time it had to respond to the political dynamics in Yemen which changed dramatically - and at times very quickly- between February 2014 and December 2016. This report presents many of the lessons learned, particularly about the coordination of a dialogue facilitation process in conjunction with a high-level political process. It also explores how the dialogue process incorporated informal dialogues and local level peacebuilding.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/peace-process-support-in-times-of-crises-the-national-dialogue-support-programme-in-yemen-2014-16Yemen
Preventing Armed Conflict On The Ethiopia-Somalia BorderElliot ShortNatural Resources and Conflict, Land Tenure, ReparationsThe Government of Puntland ended the pervasive armed conflict on the Ethiopia/Somalia border, minimising the risk of an interstate conflict in future.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-on-the-ethiopia-somalia-border/Ethiopia, Somalia
The Role of Inclusive Multi-stakeholder Partnerships in Enhancing Conflict Transformation in the Great Lakes Bernard Okok Obuogaconflict management, effectiveness, cyclical conflictThe Great Lakes Project (GLP), a collaborative initiative by the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and the Nairobi Peace Initiative – Africa (NPI-Africa) – developed a three-year project in 2012, titled “Consolidating Peacebuilding in the Great Lakes of Africa”. The overall purpose of the project was to ensure that local communities were mobilised to engage with, and address, conflict factors through grassroots civil society organisations (CSOs). While undertaking its mandate, the GLP identified various challenges and policy gaps, which included the lack of strategic approaches to prevent conflict relapse. This paper illustrates and interrogates the dynamics of these shortcomings, and defines the role of inclusive, multi-stakeholder partnerships to address these.https://www.accord.org.za/publication/role-inclusive-multi-stakeholder-partnerships-enhancing-conflict-transformation-great-lakes/Africa
Ceasefire monitoring: Developments and complexitiesCate Buchanan, Govinda Clayton, Alexander RamsbothamPeace Agreement, Ceasefire, Monitoring/Verification
Ceasefire monitoring can make a crucial contribution to transitions from war to peace. Yet significant variation in the characteristics of ceasefires and monitoring approaches, and the differences across contexts in which they occur, limit attempts at comprehensive analysis and development of standardised guidance on ‘what works’. To support critical reflection, Conciliation Resources convened a set of four joint analysis workshops in October 2020, which brought together practitioners, policymakers, donors, conflict parties, civil society leaders and researchers to reflect on some of the challenges and recent developments in ceasefire monitoring. This Accord Spotlight is not a definitive guide to ceasefires or monitoring missions, but a presentation of some of key reflections that emerged from the workshops, intended to inspire fresh thinking and further contemplation for those attempting to provide more effective support for ceasefire implementation processes.https://www.politicalsettlements.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Ceasefire-monitoring-Developments-and-complexities.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In SloveniaElliot ShortNegotiations, Ceasefire, Monitoring/Verification: Regional OrganizationThe mediation efforts of the European Community and the deployment of the European Community Monitoring Mission helped to end the armed conflict in Slovenia after ten days of fighting, preventing a much larger conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-slovenia/Slovenia
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In Sierra LeoneElliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Peace Processes: Implementation, PeacekeepingThe United Nations Mission to Sierra Leone disarmed over 70,000 combatants, oversaw a peaceful election, and helped to strengthen the Sierra Leonean state, preventing a conflict relapse.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-sierra-leone/Sierra Leone
Designing for Results: Integrating Monitoring and Evaluation in Conflict Transformation ProgramsCheyanne Church and Mark RogersProject Evaluation, Conflict ResolutionThis manual, produced by Search for Common Ground in partnership with the United States Institute of Peace and the Alliance for Peacebuilding, focuses on the challenges faced by conflict transformation practitioners in their attempts to measure and increase the effectiveness of their work with practical tips and examples from around the world. As an introductory volume and one of the first to focus on the practical application of integrated design, monitoring and evaluation, it seeks to introduce peacebuilding practitioners to the concepts, tools, and methods needed to incorporate better design, monitoring, and evaluation practices into peacebuilding programming.https://www.dmeforpeace.org/resource/designing-for-results-integrating-monitoring-and-evaluation-in-conflict-transformation-activities/Worldwide
Reducing Armed Conflict In MaliElliot ShortMediation, Peace Processes: Implementation, Monitoring/Verification: Third Party

The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue has facilitated a series of successful peace processes between communities in Mali, helping them to negotiate peace agreements and build mechanisms to prevent further conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-in-mali/Mali
Translating Mediation Guidance into Practice: Commentary on the UN Guidance for Effective Mediation by the Mediation Support NetworkMiguel Alvarez, Sabina Avasiloae, Roxana Cristecu, Paul Dziatkowiec, Sara Hellmueller, Lars Kirchhoff, Anne Isabel Kraus, Simon Mason, Martha Mutisi, Nathan Stock, Bargara Unger, Zahbia YousufMediation, Inclusive Peace Process, Peace AgreementThis is a short monograph that summarizes a series of meetings of the Mediation Support Network (MSN), a network of primarily non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that support mediation in peace negotiations. Specifically, MSN members discussed and reflected on the “UN Guidance for Effective Mediation” and specifically focused on how to translate the UN Guidance into practice. Rather than being a comprehensive commentary, this document therefore focuses on certain issues and cases that seem pertinent from the MSN perspective. The discussions focused on numerous case studies that illustrate the challenges of mediation, and how they were dealt with. The aim of these case studies – some of them specifically focusing on the NGO role in mediation – is to help translate the UN Guidance into effective practice. A few key themes about mediation were featured: preparedness; consent; impartiality; inclusivity; national ownership; international law and a normative framework; coherence, coordination, and complementarity; and quality peace agreements. Conclusions included the need for mediation to be professionalized and that careful analysis is needed before any mediation action. Such analysis and strategizing requires the long-term development of institutional and human capacity. There is a strong and legitimate call for making mediation processes more inclusive, with regard to the inclusion of a range of actors (e.g., marginalized groups, women, religious actors, etc.) and with regard to the content of a peace agreement. However, mediators often face pressure to reach a minimum agreement quickly, especially when hostilities are ongoing. This can make it particularly difficult to reach more inclusive, and thus more complex, agreements. Inclusivity also entails efforts, outside the formal mediation process, to support dialogue between actors, so that they can better influence formal processes and sustain peace agreements once they are signed. Coordination of mediators benefits from the inclusion of civil society: Local mediators are often forgotten, even if they have many comparative advantages and play a key role before, during and after formal peace processes. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12757Worldwide
Conflict and Development : Lessons from South AsiaEjaz Ghani, Lakshmi IyerEconomics and Conflict, Climate and Conflict, GovernanceSouth Asia is the second most violent place on earth after Iraq. Conflicts in Afghanistan and Pakistan have attracted global attention. Parts of India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal have experienced long-running conflict. Conflicts result in death, misery, social trauma, destruction of infrastructure, and have huge spillover effects. What is conflict? Where is it concentrated? Is conflict a problem for development, or a failure of development? And what should policy makers do?https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/10157Asia
Ending the Kurdish Civil War in IraqElliot ShortMediation, Peace AgreementThe Washington Agreement ended a four-year armed conflict between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan in Iraqi Kurdistan during the 1990s.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-kurdish-civil-war-in-iraq/Iraq
Berghof Glossary on Conflict Transformation: 20 Notions for Theory and PracticeBerghof FoundationConflict Resolution, Inclusive Peace ProcessesThis is a study developed by the Berghof Foundation team that explores what it takes to create “space(s) for conflict transformation”. The study emphasizes that inclusive and participatory spaces for conflict transformation have become even more important in preventing fragile peace processes from losing momentum or breaking down. The essays in the study promotes principles of local ownership and responsibility, empowerment, non-violence, participation and inclusivity. It discusses how to shape dialogue and facilitate negotiation processes in the role of a supporting actor. There is also an exploration of how to adjust to new trends in the current peacebuilding environment, including increased focus on innovative and locally designed infrastructures for peace.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/berghof-glossaryWorldwide
Early Warning / Early Response Mechanisms in Northern NigeriaHoracio R. TrujilloEarly Warning, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E), Citizen ActionThis report presents the summative findings of the quasi-experimental evaluation of SFCG’s project to strengthen mechanisms for Early Warning and Early Response in the Nigerian states of Adamawa and Borno. The project encompassed a number of SFCG initiatives to convene and train community leaders to engage in dialogue processes at the local and state levels (Community Security Architecture Dialogues (CSADs) and Peace Architecture Dialogues (PADs), respectively) in order to promote increased collaboration among community members, civil society organizations and government agencies and improved capacity of and greater confidence in governmental and nongovernmental security structures in insecure areas. The aspiration of the project was to allow these communities to benefit from early warning of and early response to potential violence in order to effectively mitigate these threats.
Among the most notable effects of the project, which developed later in its implementation but nonetheless demonstrates significant sustainability, is the advancement of the role of women in these societies more broadly.
Among the lessons to be learned from the project and accompanying recommendations, a primary one is that while this evaluation has been able to collect various evidence to suggest that the project has been effective – the assessment of similar projects can be much stronger if attention is given to evaluation at the time of design of the projects
https://www.sfcg.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Final_Evaluation_Early_Warning_Early_Response_Mechanisms_in_Northern_Nigeria_October_2019.pdfNigeria
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In El SalvadorElliot ShortPeace Agreement, Ceasefire, Governance: Transition
The United Nations Observer Group in El Salvador and the United Nations Mission in El Salvador verified the implementation of a ceasefire, contributed to stabilising the country, and strengthened the fragile institutions, preventing a conflict relapse in El Salvadorhttps://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-comoros/El Salvador
Forced Displacement in Europe and Central AsiaDe Berry, Joanna P. and Petrini, BenjaminInternally Displaced Persons/RefugeesThis paper describes forced displacement in the Europe and Central Asia Region (ECA) and the vulnerabilities associated with being a displaced person. It analyzes the development challenges of forced displacement particularly protracted displacement in the region and the prospects for durable solutions. Displaced persons face challenges related to recovery of or access to housing and land, employment and livelihoods, access to services and public goods including health, education, and infrastructure, and accountable and responsive governance.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12769Asia
Sharing the Burden: Lessons from the European Return to Multidimensional PeacekeepingArthur Boutellis, Michael BearyEuropean engagement, peacekeeping, task forceSince 2013, after years of near absence from the continent, a number of European countries, along with Canada, have again deployed to UN peacekeeping missions in Africa. The European presence in UN peacekeeping in Africa is now nearly at its largest since the mid-1990s. These countries provide much-needed high-end capabilities, as well as political and financial capital, to UN peacekeeping operations. Nonetheless, securing and sustaining European contributions to these types of peacekeeping operations remains an uphill battle for the UN. This paper draws lessons from this renewed engagement by European countries and Canada, both from their point of view, as well as from that of the UN Secretariat, UN field missions, and other troop contributors. It aims to explore how these bodies and other countries can best work together in a collective endeavor to improve UN peacekeeping’s efficiency and effectiveness. Toward this end, the paper recommends a number of actions to the UN Secretariathttps://www.ipinst.org/2020/01/lessons-from-the-european-return-to-multidimensional-peacekeepingEurope
Reducing Armed Conflict On The Côte d’Ivoire-Liberia BorderElliot ShortArmed Non-State Actors, Preventive Diplomacy, PeacekeepingArmed conflict has been reduced in the relatively unstable borderlands between Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia and bilateral relations have also improved.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-on-the-cote-divoire-liberia-border/Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia
Ending Armed Conflict In CambodiaElliot ShortMediation, Peace Agreement, Governance: Power SharingAn October 1991 peace agreement formally ended the armed conflict in Cambodia after decades of devastation, war, and genocide.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-armed-conflict-in-cambodia/Cambodia
Corruption Perceptions IndexTransparency InternationalCorruption DataThe Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is the most widely-used global corruption ranking in the world. It measures how corrupt each country’s public sector is perceived to be, according to experts and businesspeople.
https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021Worldwide
Preventing Armed Conflict In France (New Caledonia)Elliot ShortMediation, Governance: Transition, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations
A series of peace agreements mediated by the French government and the ongoing supervision of the UN Special Committee on Decolonisation has ensured that the debate over the future of New Caledonia has not escalated into armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-france-new-caledonia/France
Violence Reduction Subsector Review & Evidence Evaluation Jessica Baumgardner-Zuzik & Emily Myerstheories of change, design, monitoring, and evaluation (DM&E), networksWith levels of global violent conflict at a 25-year peak, the need for effective and impactful peacebuilding programming could not be more pressing. The peacebuilding field has shown immense commitment to understanding, preventing, and mitigating the impact of violent conflict, but has struggled to aggregate evidence across efforts to analyze, understand, and advocate for what works to reduce violence. If the peacebuilding field identifies where its programming has directly correlated to reduced levels of violence, then it will be better able to ground program design, monitoring, and evaluation (DM&E) in evidence, and leverage evidence to advocate for the necessity and utility of the field – making the case for peace. This evidence evaluation and subsector review analyzes data from twenty-two cases. Six macro-level violence reduction Theories of Change (ToC) were developed across three approaches from an analysis of the peacebuilding cases and the strength of evidence for each was assessed.https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/afp-publications/violence-reduction-subsector-4-2019Worldwide
Gender Dimensions of Disaster Risk and Resilience : Existing EvidenceErman, Alvina; De Vries Robbe, Sophie Anne; Thies, Stephan Fabian; Kabir, Kayenat; Maruo, Mirai. Gender, Youth, Design, Monitoring and Evaluation (DM&E)
Men and women, boys and girls have different experiences of disasters. Gender dynamics impact both the way they are affected by disasters and their capacity to withstand and recover from them. Gender inequalities can result in gender-differentiated disaster impact, and differentiated impacts can influence gender dynamics, which in turn affect future resilience to shocks. Disaster risk management policies are designed to maximize results, taking local conditions - including gender dynamics - as fixed. When women and men are affected differently by disasters, practitioners and policy makers have a responsibility to use the tools available for mitigating disaster impacts to close gender gaps in outcome. An improved understanding of the gender dynamics of disaster risk and resilience also allows for better policy and program design, which benefits all stakeholders. https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12777Worldwide
Conflict Prevention In Fragile ContextsHarsh DesaiFragility, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, War Prevention
Prevention is better than cure. The prevention of violent conflict in fragile contexts is cost-effective, it works and it should matter – to Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members and the broader international community – for sustaining peace. The challenge is in translating recent policy commitments to prevention into practice in fragile contexts. Using the OECD multidimensional fragility framework and insights from the International Network on Conflict and Fragility (INCAF), this paper presents lessons on preventing violent conflict that are rooted in a risk and resilience approach and that prioritise country-led and owned responses. It offers DAC members insights on how they can best support conflict prevention in fragile contexts, and it is one of ten working papers contributing to States of Fragility 2020.https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/041cbaf0-en.pdf?expires=1651770739&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=B6CDB21DEBC10BC2C9A6B63E6B080257Worldwide
Local engagement with armed groups in the midst of violenceSophia Haspeslagh, Zahbia YousufDialogue, Armed Non-State ActorsThis report moves beyond the question of whether or not to engage in dialogue with an armed group and explores the spaces in which armed groups operate and their relationships with the people who live there. While local populations are not just passive actors in conflict zones, simply coerced by armed actors, it is equally true that armed groups do not merely exploit or abuse communities in areas in which they operate. Three in-depth case studies from Colombia, northern Uganda and Syria, as well as a shorter analysis from Northern Ireland, illustrate how communities have tried to influence the behavior of armed groups away from violence, and the factors that have affected their interactions – most of which took place in advance of more formal negotiations and often in situations of intense violence and embedded conflict. These local “spaces in between” fighting and talking shed light on the possibilities for more upstream engagement with armed groups and the variety of peace efforts involved in shaping their decisions. The case studies illustrate that reaching out to armed groups does not have to legitimate their tactics or even ambitions. They also show how active community engagement with armed groups can make an important contribution to local human security and peacebuilding. The experiences documented confirm that local peace actors face huge security risks – unprotected by diplomatic immunity or the security of the state. Armed groups often have a blatant disregard for civilian security, or worse, purposefully target populations. Local populations also face security threats from the state, which often views communities close to armed groups as complicit. Active contact by a community with an armed group risks exacerbating perceptions of association.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12750Worldwide
Resolving the Militarised Territorial Dispute between Cambodia and Thailand Elliot ShortDiplomacy, Arbitration, Monitoring and VerificationRegional diplomacy led by ASEAN and arbitration by the ICJ resolved the militarised territorial dispute between Cambodia and Thailand which threatened to escalate into a major interstate conflict following border clashes in 2011.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-dispute-between-cambodia-and-thailand/Thailand
Adding Up to Peace: The Cumulative Impacts of Peace InitiativesDiana Chigas and Peter Woodrow Peace Initiatives, Impact Assessments, Case StudiesThis book aims to identify how cumulative impacts in peace practice operate at all levels, in order to provide practical lessons for policymakers, donors and practitioners to develop more effective strategies for greater progress towards peace. This book builds on CDA’s Reflecting on Peace Practice Project (RPP), launched to answer the question: What works—and what doesn’t work—in peacebuilding? It seeks to deepen our understanding of how multiple peacebuilding initiatives in a conflict zone interacted and added up (or didn’t), to result in progress towards larger societal level peace, or Peace Writ Large. The findings are a product of sixteen case studies conducted between 2007 and 2012, gathering the perceptions of both local and international stakeholders.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12748Worldwide
War Prevention Works: 50 Stories Of People Resolving ConflictDylan MathewsTraining, Locally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Dialogue The editors of this book have brought together a collection of stories about how local communities participate in transforming conflicts that have been destroying the lifeways of their society. Offering concrete evidence of what is possible, these stories need to be read and pondered by politicians, civic activists and policy makers.
Each story is unique, yet common threads appear in the pattern of the activities described. They include the following: the creation of special listening spaces, whether by national leaders or by local activists, women's groups, faith groups or elders, spaces where stories of suffering are shared with the feared or hated ‘other’; the rediscovery of traditional patterns of restitution and reconciliation, with women's groups and elders often playing key roles; helpful training in the skills of dialogue by friendly outsiders, and accompanying mobilization of the community's learning and service resources; networking among an ever-widening circle of affected communities, and careful involvement of locals with regional and national leaders and elites.
https://www.peacedirect.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2011/01/War-Prevention-Works.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Indonesia (Central Sulawesi)Elliot ShortReligion and Conflict, Peacekeeping, NegotiationsThe intercommunal violence in Central Sulawesi was ended by an Indonesian military deployment and the mediation of a peace agreement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-indonesia-central-sulawesi/Indonesia
Preventing Armed Conflict In GuyanaElliot ShortDialogue, Violence Prevention, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization
The UN Social Cohesion Program and the deployment of international observers from a range of intergovernmental organisations helped to ensure that the 2006 elections in Guyana did not spark an armed conflict.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-guyana/Guyana
Containing The Armed Conflict In Russia (East Prigorodny)Elliot ShortInterventionThe deployment of Russian forces ended the fighting in East Prigorodny after six days.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-russia-east-prigorodny/Russia
Ending The Armed Conflict In Sierra LeoneElliot ShortDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Rule of Law, CeasefireThe war in Sierra Leone was ended and constitutional rule was re-established by a British military intervention in support of a UN peacekeeping mission after over a decade of conflict and devastation.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-sierra-leone/Sierra Leone
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In West Africa With Legal ProsecutionsElliot ShortReconciliation, Human Rights, Rule of LawBy removing powerful figures with a history of employing violence and armed conflict from the political environment, establishing a historical record of events leading up to and during the war, and bringing the perpetrators of war crimes to justice, a series of transitional justice mechanisms helped to prevent a conflict relapse in West Africa.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-west-africa-with-legal-prosecutions/West Africa
DDR Support to Mediation United Nations Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) SectionMediation, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Monitoring/Verification: United NationsThis document provides an overview of the use of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) in support of the United Nations efforts to reducing violence. The report places an emphasis on the use cases of DDR and community violence reduction (CVR) in the pursuit of peace processes. The document prepared by the UN Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration section includes use cases of DDR mechanisms in Mali, Darfur, Colombia, Yemen, Central African Republic, The Republic of Congo. The report touches on how DDR (and CVR) supports mediation efforts and what are potential risks from those approaches. The report identifies how DDR can support direct mediation, capacity building efforts, in addition to conflict analysis and mapping of the relevant stakeholders. Finally, the report explains the mechanisms by which DDR officers are deployed to support mediation efforts lead by the various United Nations missions and their partners. https://peacekeeping.un.org/sites/default/files/ddr_support_to_mediation_process_2018.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Indonesia (Maluku)Elliot ShortViolence Prevention, Peacekeeping, CeasefireThe armed conflict in Maluku was ended by an Indonesian military operation and the mediation of a peace agreement.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-indonesia-maluku/Indonesia
Ending The Armed Conflict In DjiboutiElliot ShortCivil War, Ceasefire, Governance: ConstitutionsA series of peace agreements mediated by the Government of France ended the armed conflict in Djibouti and French peacekeepers helped to verify implementation.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-djibouti/Djibouti
Ending the Armed Conflict in Papua New Guinea (Bougainville)Elliot ShortPeacekeeping, Monitoring, MediationThe armed conflict in Bougainville was ended after a decade of fighting by the deployment of a series of regionally led peacekeeping missions and negotiations.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-papua-new-guinea-bougainville/Papua New Guinea
New Technology and the Prevention of Violence and ConflictFrancesco ManciniTechnology, Private Sector and Peacebuilding, Early WarningThis report explores the ways in which ICTs and the data they generate can assist international actors, governments, and civil society organizations to more effectively prevent violence and conflict. It examines the contributions that cell phones, social media, crowdsourcing, crisis mapping, blogging, and big data analytics can make to short-term efforts to forestall crises and to long-term initiatives to address the root causes of violence. Five case studies assess the use of such tools in a variety of regions (Africa, Asia, Latin America) experiencing different types of violence (criminal violence, election-related violence, armed conflict, shortterm crisis) in different political contexts (restrictive and collaborative governments). The cases demonstrate clearly that employing new technologies for conflict prevention can produce very different results depending on the context in which they are applied and whether or not those using the technology take that context into account. This is particularly true in light of the dramatic changes underway in the landscapes of violence and conflict on a global level. As such, instead of focusing on supply-driven technical fixes, those undertaking prevention initiatives should let the context inform what kind of technology is needed and what kind of approach will work best.https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/ipi-e-pub-nw-technology-conflict-prevention-advance.pdfWorldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict In Philipinnes (Mindanao – Mnlf)Elliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Inclusive PeacebuildingNegotiations mediated by the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) and the governments of Indonesia and Libya, and supported by an OIC Joint Ceasefire Commission, ended the armed conflict between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-philipinnes-mindanao-mnlf/Philippines
Transitional Justice and Reconciliation: Theory and Practice Martina FischerTransitional Justice, Reconciliation, Conflict Prevention
This article explores the concept of transitional justice and its role in debates on democratization, nation-building and state reconstruction and its relation to reconciliation, both of which have become increasingly popular. Many researchers and practitioners see reconciliation as a necessary requirement for lasting peace, assuming that once a top-down political settlement has been reached, a bottom-up process should take place, in which unresolved issues of the conflict will be handled in order to prevent questioning of the settlement and a return to violence. In this context, coming to terms with the past is considered a precondition for building peace and future relationships. This chapter reviews the debates on transitional justice and reconciliation in order to assess the practical approaches that stem from these concepts in terms of their relevance for conflict transformation and peacebuilding. It also analyzes the state of research on international criminal justice and truth commissions and highlights the strengths and limits of these approaches. The author also notes that the debates on transitional justice and reconciliation, although they overlap, are not identical, and she outlines the need to see reconciliation as a multi-level process alongside conflict transformation. The chapter concludes by highlighting diverse challenges for research and practice, including a need to focus on the interaction of different actors, levels and mechanisms and to listen to the voices of affected populations. http://hdl.handle.net/1920/12901Worldwide
Preventing Armed Conflict In Ghana (Kingdom Of Dagbon)Elliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking Initiatives, Identity and Conflict, Governance: Power Sharing
A war between rival claimants to the throne of the Kingdom of Dagbon in Northern Ghana was prevented by a Ghanaian military intervention and the mediation of a peace agreement after sixteen years of talks.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-armed-conflict-in-ghana-kingdom-of-dagbonauto/Ghana
The World Food Programme’s Contribution to Improving the Prospects for Peace in LebanonKristina TschunkertCorruption and Conflict, Economics and Conflict, Internally Displaced Persons/Refugees
This report aims to provide a better understanding of the World Food Programme’s (WFP) contribution to improving the prospects for peace in Lebanon. Specifically, the report investigates where and how WFP’s cash-based transfer (CBT) interventions in the country make potential peace contributions and looks at how these contributions could be further developed.

The findings are based on a review of programme documents, in-depth interviews with a range of stakeholders and field visits to project sites in Lebanon in 2021. The findings suggest that WFP’s CBT interventions can—and do—positively contribute to improving the prospects for peace in Lebanon. However, the conflict and peacebuilding environment in Lebanon is extremely complex and rife with uncertainties. With this in mind, the report emphasizes the importance of taking conflict sensitivity concerns into account and provides 13 recommendations on how WFP’s contribution to peace in Lebanon could be enhanced.

https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/other-publications/world-food-programmes-contribution-improving-prospects-peace-lebanonLebanon
Negotiating Disarmament – The Gender Dimension: Barriers to the Inclusion of Women in Disarmament NegotiationsDavid Felipe Gómez, Ida Rødningen, Nicholas Marsh, Júlia Palik Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), Gender, NegotiationsDisarmament is seen as a key means of preventing conflict recurrence. Women are disproportionately affected by weapons: small arms and light weapons used during conflict are often used post-conflict to commit gender-based violence, and explosive weapons in populated areas can severely limit women’s access to public spaces. Women are involved both as part of armed groups, and as the leaders of campaigns against weapons. Despite these experiences, women are routinely excluded from disarmament negotiations. This brief examines three sets of barriers to women’s meaningful participation in disarmament negotiations across five peace processes: Colombia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Sudan and Sri Lanka.https://www.prio.org/publications/13064Worldwide
Ending The Armed Conflict Between Georgia And RussiaElliot ShortCeasefire, Monitoring/Verification: Regional Organization, Peace Agreement
Negotiations hosted by the EU ended the 2008 interstate conflict between Georgia and Russia in five days.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-between-georgia-and-russia/Georgia
Resolving The Militarised Territorial Disputes Between Cameroon And NigeriaElliot ShortMediation, Negotiations, Diplomacy: Track 1
A militarised territorial dispute between Cameroon and Nigeria was resolved by the International Court of Justice, the Organisation of African Unity, and the UN helped to ensure the peaceful withdrawal of Nigerian forces from the contested area.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/resolving-the-militarised-territorial-disputes-between-cameroon-and-nigeria/Cameroon, Nigeria
Fund for Peace Fragile States IndexFund for PeaceFragility DataThe Fragile States Index (FSI) produced by The Fund for Peace (FFP), is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are outweighing a states’ capacity to manage those pressures. By highlighting pertinent vulnerabilities which contribute to the risk of state fragility, the Index — and the social science framework and the data analysis tools upon which it is built — makes political risk assessment and early warning of conflict accessible to policy-makers and the public at large.

The strength of the FSI is its ability to distill millions of pieces of information into a form that is relevant as well as easily digestible and informative. Daily, FFP collects thousands of reports and information from around the world, detailing the existing social, economic and political pressures faced by each of the 178 countries that we analyze.
https://fragilestatesindex.org/Worldwide
Non-state Justice System ProgrammingBarry Walsh, Eric BartzJustice, guidance, institutions, community-level, democracy, nonstate. This guide is intended to assist USAID Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Officers and other practitioners in designing, implementing, and monitoring rule of law programs that include support for community-level non-state justice systems (NSJSs). It aims to provide a digest of techniques used by donors in supporting such NSJSs and offers guidance on best practices and lessons learned, including a sample scope of work (SOW) that may be used as a starting point for future support programs. The observations and conclusions herein may also be useful for programmatic support to other types of NSJSs.https://www.usaid.gov/sites/default/files/documents/1866/Guide-to-NSJS-Jun-19.pdfWorldwide
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In CambodiaElliot ShortMonitoring/Verification: United Nations, Governance: Transition, Demobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR)
The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia maintained peace and stability in post-conflict Cambodia until a national government was formed in 1993.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-cambodia/Cambodia
The six principles of Adaptive Peacebuilding ACCORDAdaptive peacebuilding, fragile states, locally-led, theory of changeAdaptive peacebuilding is an approach that can help navigate this delicate balance between international support and local self-organisation. Peacebuilders, together with the communities and people affected by the conflict, actively engage in a structured process to sustain peace by employing an iterative process of learning and adaptation. The adaptive peacebuilding approach is aimed at supporting societies to develop the resilience and robustness they need to cope with and adapt to change by developing greater levels of complexity in their social institutions.https://www.accord.org.za/conflict-trends/the-six-principles-of-adaptive-peacebuilding/South Sudan
Uppsala Conflict Data ProgramUppsalaConflict DataThe Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is the world’s main provider of data on organized violence and the oldest ongoing data collection project for civil war, with a history of almost 40 years. Its definition of armed conflict has become the global standard of how conflicts are systematically defined and studied.
https://ucdp.uu.se/Worldwide
If Victims Become Perpetrators: Factors Contributing to Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Central SahelLuca RaineriViolent extremism, Central SahelThis study focuses on young Fulani people in the regions of Mopti (Mali), Sahel (Burkina Faso) and Tillabéri (Niger), and analyses the factors contributing to community vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism. One of the key findings of this research is the assertion that violent extremism in the central Sahel is primarily a response to local conflicts, and that the link with international jihadism is more rhetoric than reality. This study shows that the most determining factor contributing to vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism is the experience (or perception) of abuse and violation by government authorities. On the other hand, the study shows that strengthening social cohesion, supporting young men’s and women’s role in their communities, and mitigating social and gender exclusion could strengthen community resilience. The research also identifies strategies to deploy to curb violent extremism in the central Sahel. To restore trust between marginalised citizens and their governments, international partners need to prioritise efforts aimed at supporting state accountability towards its citizens; improve access to justice, especially transitional justice, and ensure inclusive governance; improve supervision of the armed forces; and promote youth employment, including through migration.https://www.international-alert.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sahel-Violent-Extremism-Vulnerability-Resilience-EN-2018.pdfMali
Reflecting on Peace Practice (RPP) Basics: A Resource Manual CDA Collaborative Learning Projects Peacebuilding, Training, FacilitationBuilding on this cumulative impact work, CDA has developed specific approaches to systems thinking and peacebuilding, including systemic conflict analysis, systems mapping, and the identification of leverage points for change as another means of expanding the peacebuilding effectiveness field.The experience and lessons gained through the years of RPP’s operation are the foundation of CDA’s current Peacebuilding Effectiveness practice area, which continues to promote learning in this field. CDA offers practical answers to the core questions about relevance and effectiveness in the peacebuilding field. This resource manual is helpful to guide macro-level decision-making on peacebuilding priorities within and across different agencies. It can be used at various levels - to guide the development of new peacebuilding strategies, programs, and projects and to help review existing initiatives. The RPP Basic Resource Manual includes various hints and tips for facilitators, relevant for those seeking practical guidance on how to use the RPP materials in workshop settings, in trainings, working with program teams etc. It also includes practical guidance on how to present the materials, as well as practical examples for workshop settings and work with multi-stakeholder groups. The resource is divided in six modules and combines background information with practical how guidance and exercise examples.https://www.cdacollaborative.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Reflecting-on-Peace-Practice-RPP-Basics-A-Resource-Manual.pdfWorldwide
Gender Mainstreaming in Ceasefires: Comparative Data and Examples Forster Robert, Bell ChristinePeace Agreement, Ceasefire, Gender
This Spotlight addresses the question of whether and how ceasefire agreements in armed conflict address the specific needs and interests of women. It also provides examples of agreements that have integrated gender equality issues and addressed women’s participation. The Spotlight aims to provide both data and examples from past practice for women and gender equality advocates to draw on when seeking to influence ceasefire negotiations. Ceasefires may be agreed in stand-alone documents for example, to create an environment for peace talks, or occur within other peace agreements as a broader peace process unfolds. The authors begin by providing a general overview of ceasefire agreements, followed by an assessment of why it is important that ceasefires should include gender sensitive provisions. Based on their review of what ceasefires tend to include, the authors then set out when and how women have been addressed in ceasefire agreements to-date, and conclude by noting some strategies that have been used by women and gender equality advocates to influence ceasefire agreement provisions.https://www.politicalsettlements.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/PA-X-Spotlight-Ceasefires-Digital.pdfWorldwide
Preventing Renewed Interstate Conflict Between Israel And SyriaElliot ShortCeasefire, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, PeacekeepingThe United Nations Disengagement Observer Force has helped to prevent renewed war between Israel and Syria since 1974.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-renewed-interstate-conflict-between-israel-and-syria/Syria, Israel
Ending The Armed Conflict In Ethiopia (Somali Region)Elliot ShortGovernance: Power Sharing, Mediation, Facilitation
The long-running armed conflict in the Somali Region of Ethiopia was ended by a peace agreement mediated with support from Conciliation Resources.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-ethiopia-somali-region/Ethiopia
Preventing A Conflict Relapse In GuatemalaElliot ShortPeace Processes: Implementation, Governance: Reforms, Human RightsThe United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala ensured the ceasefire held and disarmed combatants, in addition to guaranteeing a relatively safe and secure environment for elections to take place alongside EU and Organisation of American States observers, preventing a conflict relapse in Guatemala.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-a-conflict-relapse-in-guatemala/Guatemala
Ending The Armed Conflict In South AfricaElliot ShortLocally-led Peacemaking: Interreligious, Governance: Transition, DialogueThe armed conflict between the African National Congress (ANC) and the Government of South Africa was ended and the risk of a larger war was minimised.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/ending-the-armed-conflict-in-south-africa/South Africa
If Victims Become Perpetrators: Factors Contributing to Vulnerability and Resilience to Violent Extremism in the Central SahelLuca RaineriViolent extremism, Central SahelThis study focuses on young Fulani people in the regions of Mopti (Mali), Sahel (Burkina Faso) and Tillabéri (Niger), and analyses the factors contributing to community vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism. One of the key findings of this research is the assertion that violent extremism in the central Sahel is primarily a response to local conflicts, and that the link with international jihadism is more rhetoric than reality. This study shows that the most determining factor contributing to vulnerability or resilience to violent extremism is the experience (or perception) of abuse and violation by government authorities. On the other hand, the study shows that strengthening social cohesion, supporting young men’s and women’s role in their communities, and mitigating social and gender exclusion could strengthen community resilience. The research also identifies strategies to deploy to curb violent extremism in the central Sahel. To restore trust between marginalised citizens and their governments, international partners need to prioritise efforts aimed at supporting state accountability towards its citizens; improve access to justice, especially transitional justice, and ensure inclusive governance; improve supervision of the armed forces; and promote youth employment, including through migration.https://www.international-alert.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Sahel-Violent-Extremism-Vulnerability-Resilience-EN-2018.pdfNiger
Elections and Conflict Prevention: A Guide to Analysis, Planning and Programming UNDP Democratic Governance GroupConflict Prevention, Early Warning, Conflict Mapping, ElectionsThis guide is designed as a knowledge product for practitioners in the field of governance and electoral assistance. It identifies strategic approaches and forms of programming that can help to anticipate and prevent the types of violent conflict that frequently accompany elections and set back development in emerging democracies or post-war societies. The Guide provides readers with practical options and tools for programming design, early warning and conflict tracking. It presents valuable lessons learned from the previous, extensive experience of UNDP and its partner organizations in the field. The information provided in the Guide reflects UNDP best practice as it relates to the broader framework for UN engagement in electoral assistance. Throughout the Guide, the knowledge gained from research and analysis is paired with perspectives of leading practitioners to show how electoral assistance programming can be adapted to mitigate conflict. The Guide also puts electoral assistance into the broader context of UNDP’s emphasis on democratic governance and conflict prevention, whereby the legitimate, accountable and effective exercise of state authority contributes to the constructive management of social change.https://mars.gmu.edu/handle/1920/12713Worldwide
Negotiating Disarmament: Lessons Learnt from Colombia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sri LankaNicholas Marsh, Julia PalikDemobilization, Disarmament, Reintegration (DDR), ​Disarmament is often characterized as a necessary condition for peace to prevail in the aftermath of civil conflicts. Yet implementation is contingent on what has been negotiated behind closed doors, a process that so far has received little attention.Without knowledge of the positions, motivations, and interests of parties involved in disarmament negotiations, our understanding of particular disarmament outcomes remains incomplete. To fill this gap, we examined negotiations on disarmament in Colombia, Nepal, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Sri Lanka. Our findings focus on the degree of inclusivity in the negotiations, the symbolic relevance of disarmament, and the various roles of external parties in disarmament negotiations.
https://www.prio.org/publications/12869Worldwide
Trends in World Military Expenditure, 2020Diego Lopes da Silva, Nan Tian, Alexandra MarksteinerMilitary spendingWorld military expenditure in 2020 is estimated to have been $1981 billion, the highest level since 1988—the earliest year for which SIPRI has a consist­ent estimate for total global military spending. World military expenditure in 2020 was 2.6 per cent higher in real terms than in 2019 and 9.3 per cent higher than in 2011 (see figure 1). The global military burden—world military expenditure as a share of global gross domestic product (GDP)—rose by 0.2 percentage points in 2020, to 2.4 per cent. This increase was largely due to the fact that most countries in the world experienced severe economic down­turns in 2020 related to the Covid 19 pandemic, while military expenditure continued to rise overall.https://www.sipri.org/publications/2021/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-world-military-expenditure-2020Worldwide
Preventing an interstate conflict between Colombia, Ecuador, and VenezuelaElliot ShortDiplomacyA war between Colombia and Ecuador, which was likely to have drawn in Venezuela as well, was avoided with the help of a diplomatic intervention from the Organisation of American States and the Rio Group.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/preventing-interstate-conflict-between-colombia-and-ecuador-and-venezuela/Colombia
The Security Council And Conflict Prevention: Entry Points For Diplomatic ActionRichard GowanPreventive Diplomacy, Monitoring/Verification: United Nations, Governance: ReformsThis paper explores how members of the Security Council can design and implement preventive diplomatic strategies in response to emerging, escalating and acute crises. The Council’s behaviour in crisis situations is often reactive and far from strategic. Council members regularly struggle with (i) uncertainty over conflict dynamics; (ii) divergent national interests; and (iii) the lack of clear policy options for managing a situation. These limitations reflect not only the inherently chancy nature of conflict prevention – which is always an uncertain business – but also the political limitations of the Council as a factious intergovernmental body. These limits mean that the Council is often only a supporting player, or not a player at all, in preventive efforts led by States or regional organizations.

The paper provides options for building a degree of diplomatic coherence around a set of goals within the Council and with other actors, and how the Council can engage directly with actors in a conflict.
https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:7963/UNSC_ConflictPrevention.pdfWorldwide
Key Themes From Digital Workshop On Building Evidence Based Practice In Peacebuilding Jessica Baumgardner-Zuzik, Saurav Upadhyay evidence-based practice, WPS, The Alliance for Peacebuilding, Better Evidence Project, and One Earth Future organized a Digital Workshop to promote collaboration among global peacebuilding practitioners on advancing the field’s evidence-based practice. Alliance for Peacebuilding’s Jessica Baumgardner-Zuzik and One Earth Future’s Conor Seyle presented findings from their recently released report: Some Credible Evidence: Perceptions about the Evidence Base in the Peacebuilding Field.https://www.allianceforpeacebuilding.org/afp-publications/key-themes-buidling-evidence-based-practiceWorldwide
Containing The Armed Conflict In Moldova (Transnistria)Elliot ShortPeacekeeping, MediationThe peacekeeping efforts of the Joint Control Commission and ongoing talks mediated by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe has helped to prevent renewed conflict between the Government of Moldova and the administration of the breakaway republic in Transnistria.https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/containing-the-armed-conflict-in-moldova-transnistria/Moldova
Reducing Armed Conflict On The Ethiopia-Kenya BorderElliot ShortCitizen Action, Early Warning, Monitoring/Verification: LocalArmed conflict between communities living near the Ethiopia-Kenya border was reduced and the risk of interstate conflict was significantly reduced. https://bep.carterschool.gmu.edu/reducing-armed-conflict-on-the-ethiopia-kenya-border/Ethiopia, Kenya
The Imperative of Constitutionalizing Peace AgreementsLaurie NathanDemocracy and GovernanceThe study seeks to contribute to an understanding of the relationship between comprehensive peace agreements (CPAs) and post-conflict constitutions (PCCs). It defines a PCC as a new or revised constitution enacted as part of efforts to end a violent intra-state conflict and prevent its recurrence. This definition focuses on the purpose and not the timing of the constitutional reform. It encompasses constitutional reform that precedes, follows or takes the place of a CPA in an intended transition from intra-state conflict to sustainable peace.https://berghof-foundation.org/library/the-imperative-of-constitutionalizing-peace-agreementsWorldwide
INFORM Risk IndexUN Inter-Agency Standing Comm. Ref. Group on Risk, Early Warning & Preparedness & European Comm.Humanitarian DataThe INFORM Risk Index is a global, open-source risk assessment for humanitarian crises and disasters. It can support decisions about prevention, preparedness and response.https://drmkc.jrc.ec.europa.eu/inform-index/INFORM-RiskWorldwide