 | The Acholi Traditional Approach to Justice and the War in Northern Uganda
This essay discusses the impact of the Northern Ugandan war on civilians and examines whether the traditional Acholi approach to forgiveness and reconciliation is beneficial in that extreme situation and how it relates to Western approaches to justice. |
| The Bedouins in Israel's Negev Desert: Ubiquitous yet Invisible to the Dominant Society
The Bedouins of the Negev region of Israel exist on the margins of Israeli society, culture, and law. The authors discuss the challenges facing this disenfranchised population. |
| Bottom-Up Approach: A Viable Strategy in Solving the Somali Conflict
This paper discusses the difficulties that have hampered the peace process in Somalia, and argues that a "bottom-up" peacebuilding effort -- built around the initiative of grassroots actors -- might be a more effective solution. |
| The Chilean Truth and Reconciliation Commission
The Chilean truth commission held after Pinochet lost power was not as successful as many had hoped, yet it did have significant impacts at both the individual and national level. This case study examines what the truth commission did, and what the short- and longer-term impacts were for individuals and for Chile as a whole.
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| A Civil Alternative: An Evaluation of the IOM KPC Program
This article describes and evaluates the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC), which was a defense organization designed to facilitate the demilitarization, demobilization, and reintegration of the Kosovo Liberation Army.
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| Conflict Transformation and Strategic Peacebuilding in Central Asia
This case study examines the importance of economic and social security in peacebuilding. By examining the post-Soviet societies of Central Asia (the "stans"), the author explores the hypothesis that peaceful transitions to democracy are more likely to be stable if the state economy is strong and the opportunities for personal security and well-being are high. |
| Creating a Sacred Space: Cuban Reconciliation and the Catholic Church
This essay examines the role of the Roman Catholic Church in fostering reconciliation between Cuban refugees now living in the U.S. and Cuban citizens still living in Cuba. Though hostilities between these two groups used to be strong, the church is making considerable progress in bringing families and larger communities together. |
| Cultural Anesthesia in Colombia
This short case study of the violence in Colombia asks why the population hasn't risen up against the continued violence. |
| The Darfur Peace Process: Understanding the Obstacles to Success
This article examines the history of efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the violent conflict in the Darfur region of the Sudan. The author points out ways in which attempts at peacemaking have been lacking, and makes suggestions for future endeavors. |
| The Darfur Region of the Sudan
The horror in Darfur was front-page news for months, yet the international community was unable (or unwilling) to stop the violence. Learn why the conflict in Darfur is so intractable.
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| Drought, Famine, and Conflict: A Case from the Horn of Africa
This case study examines the interplay betweeen drought, famine, and conflict; the author argues that each exacerbates the others, making all three especially difficult to solve. Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and Sudan are examined as examples.
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| The Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Process: Teetering on the Brink
This essay explains the background of the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea and examines the peace process that has been going on for the last six years. |
| Ethnic Conflict Management in Africa: A Comparative Case Study of Nigeria and South Africa
This case study examines theoretical explanations about the causes of ethnic conflict and then does a comparison of such conflict and its resolution (or not) in South Africa and Nigeria. The author examines the factors that appear to have made conflict resolution efforts in South Africa more successful than those in Nigeria.
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| The Failures of Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Sierra Leone and The Threat to Peace
This article examines why post-conflict peacebuilding and reconstruction in Sierra Leone has failed to bring stable peace and examines the lessons to be learned for other peacebuilding and reconstruction efforts. |
| Globalization
Globalization theory is so complicated that nobody understands it completely, yet it is a major source of conflict around the world. This article introduces the conflict dynamics behind globalization in hopes of clarifying a very difficult topic.
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| How a Document Determines Which Palestinian You Are
In a very personal essay, the author explains the day-to-day hardships faced by all Palestinians and explains why she believes a one-state solution is the only possible answer for the Palestinians' problem. |
| An Interactive Media: Reflections on Mega FM and Its Peacebuilding Role in Uganda
In stark contrast to the radio stations that escalated the Rwandan Genocide, Mega FM in Uganda is a strong voice for peace. This article describes their programming and how it has led to de-escalation and conflict transformation in one of the brutal rebellions in Africa. |
| Kashmir: The Clash of Identities
The conflict in Kashmir is multi-faceted and deep-rooted. This paper explores the conflict in detail, and then suggests a series of incremental goals that might be pursued in order to resolve the conflict. |
| Kurds in Turkey: Building Reconciliation and Local Administrations
This paper recounts the history of the conflict between the Turkish government and the Kurdish community living in Turkey, and proposes specific strategies that could be taken by both groups in order to resolve it. |
| Labor Conflicts: The Case of Two Supermarket Strikes
In 2003, California endured the longest supermarket strike in U.S. history. This article discusses labor conflict in the U.S. and how to avoid stalemates like the one in California. |
| Moving Beyond: Interreligious Dialogue in Lebanon
This article describes interreligious dialogue in Lebanon which, the author finds, provides a key to peacebuilding by creating space for people to be heard and accepted by "the other." The author describes her own dialogue experiences, explaining both its effects on her, and the wider effect of dialogue on the society as a whole. |
| Negotiating Peace for Darfur: An Overview of Failed Processes
This essay evaluates the various attempts at peacemaking in Darfur, examining why they have failed and what will need to change if peace is to be achieved. |
| Peacebuilding from the Grassroots: Equity Conciliation and Conflict Transformation in Colombia
Conflict resolution efforts that attempt to work in cooperation with -- rather than in opposition to or in ignorance of -- the local culture in which a conflict is occurring are much more likely to succeed. Colombian culture already contains several powerful conflict resolution mechanisms, which may hold great potential for effecting lasting change. This case study focuses particularly on a mechanism called equity conciliation. |
| Peacebuilding in Tajikistan
This essay discusses ways of building trust--and through that--peace in Tajikistan. |
| The Power and Risks of Conversation
This case study describes one of the authors' peacebuilding work in Zimbabwe, where he found that facilitating conversations was a good way to stimulate conflict transformation. The essay also includes a broader examination of the power of conversation as a peacebuilding tool.
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| The Power of Theatre in Transforming Conflicts at Kakuma Refugee Camp
The author discusses the transformative potential of stage drama and artistic dance, as exemplified by a project organized by the Amani Peoples Theatre (APT) at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Northern Kenya. |
| Reconciliation and Conflict Transformation
The conventional wisdom is that reconciliation can only begin once a peace agreement has ended the conflict (at least temporarily). However, if one adopts the perspective of conflict transformation, rather than conflict resolution, then reconciliation becomes a crucial part and parcel of conflict transformation. Along that line of thinking, this essay aims to examine how reconciliation can fit into the framework of conflict transformation. |
| Reconciliation in Bosnia
Almost everyone living in Bosnia has deep emotional scars from the war. Despite their suffering, perpetrators and victims have to learn to work together to rebuild their country.
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| Red / Blue Polarization
Across the United States, there is talk of the red/blue divide. Is this politics as usual or has the rift between Democrats and Republicans become intractable?
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| Re-Storying Canada's Past: A Case Study in the Significance of Narratives in Healing Intractable Conflict
This article explores the value of culturally-constructed narratives in the peacebuilding process. Specifically, the author discusses the part that consonant and dissonant narratives have played in the treatment of Aboriginal peoples in Canada. |
| The Role of International Publicity
Some NGOs try to utilize the threat of negative international publicity to prevent war crimes and other violations of human rights. This essay examines the methods of three NGOs who use this approach: Christian Peacemaker Teams, Peace Brigades International, and Witness for Peace. It examines their "theories of change" and the extent to which those theories lead to effective practice. |
| The Role of the Acholi Religious Leaders Peace Initiative in Uganda's Peacebuilding
Among the many NGOs working to resolve the conflict in northern Uganda, one group of diverse religious leaders is unique, and has effected significant change. This paper discusses the accomplishments of that group -- the Acholi Religious Leader Peace Initiative -- and also discusses the challenges that the group faces moving forward. |
| The Rwandan Genocide
This is the first of a series of articles that Kimberly Fornace wrote when she was taking a class Peace and Conflict Studies class based on Beyond Intractability. Living in Rwanda at the time, and being extremely perceptive, her papers were of such high quality we asked her if we could publish them here. This is the first overview of the conflict parties and issues. More papers on other aspects of the conflict and long-term prospects are forthcoming as soon as we can get them uploaded. |
| Shadowy Renditions: Reflections on the Conflict in Northern Uganda
Northern Uganda is often perceived to be a region under relentless siege by a brutal rebel militia. This perception is not inaccurate; however, the media's oversimplification of the conflict and dehumanization of the militia has increased -- not decreased -- the intractability of the situation. |
| Spreading the Culture of Peace through Family Traditions and Family Values: The Case of Mongolia
This case study is a fascinating exploration of basic Mongolian cultural values and their potential impact on Mongolia's ability to avoid ethnic tensions and war. |
| Strategic Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation: The Catholic Contribution to Peace
This essay tempers the popular idea that religion engenders violent conflict, by citing many examples in which religion (specifically the Roman Catholic Church and related entities) has worked to promote and sustain peace. |
| Women as Active Partners: Building Peace in Afghanistan
This case study shows how Afghan women are playing a part in the construction of a just and fair society, despite the continued tenuousness of their official social and political status. |
