How do local communities effectively build peace and reconciliation before, during and after open violence? This trailblazing book gives practical examples, from the Global North, the former Soviet bloc and Global South, on communities addressing conflict in divided and contested societies. The book draws on a range of critical perspectives and practitioner analyses. The diverse case studies demonstrate the considerable knowledge, skills, commitment, courage and relationships within local communities that a critical community development approach can support and encourage. Concluding with activists' perspectives on working with the challenges of violence, the book offers insights for both an understanding of the root causes of conflict and for bottom-up peacebuilding.

How do local communities effectively build peace and reconciliation before, during and after open violence? This trailblazing book gives practical examples, from the Global North, the former Soviet bloc and Global South, on communities addressing conflict in divided and contested societies. The book draws on a range of critical perspectives and practitioner analyses. The diverse case studies demonstrate the considerable knowledge, skills, commitment, courage and relationships within local communities that a critical community development approach can support and encourage. Concluding with activists’ perspectives on working with the challenges of violence, the book offers insights for both an understanding of the root causes of conflict and for bottom-up peacebuilding.

The essays link peacemaking and peace-building initiatives at the local level with national peace processes aimed at ending civil wars and secessionist conflicts.

One of the most significant challenges facing the international community today is how to stabilize and rebuild societies emerging from civil wars, and this book, which includes both theoretical discussions and empirical applications, considers the various factors of peacebuilding. As it addresses several pertinent academic debates—relating to international interventions and local ownership, international and local conceptions of gender equality, and the legal aspects of peace implementation—this account demonstrates how some postwar countries have made significant strides towards peace and democracy while others have experienced a return to war. A policy-relevant topic, Building Peace, Creating Conflict? will appeal to students and scholars of international relations and peace studies, as well as to practitioners involved in peacebuilding efforts in war-affected countries.

Post-Conflict Peacebuilding comes at a critical time for post-conflict peacebuilding. Its rapid move towards the top of the international political agenda has been accompanied by added scrutiny, as the international community seeks to meet the multi-dimensional challenges of building a just and sustainable peace in societies ravaged by war. Beyond the strictly operational dimension, there is considerable ambiguity in the concepts and terminology used to discuss post-conflict peacebuilding. This ambiguity undermines efforts to agree on common understandings of how peace can be most effectively 'built', thereby impeding swift, coherent action. Accordingly, this lexicon aims to clarify and illuminate the multiple facets of post-conflict peacebuilding, by presenting its major themes and trends from an analytical perspective. To this end, the book opens with a general introduction on the concept of post-conflict peacebuilding, followed by twenty-six essays on its key elements (including capacity-building, conflict transformation, reconciliation, recovery, rule of law, security sector reform, and transitional justice). Written by international experts from a range of disciplines, including political science and international relations, international law, economics, and sociology, these essays cover the whole spectrum of post-conflict peacebuilding. In reflecting a diversity of perspectives the lexicon sheds light on many different challenges associated with post-conflict peacebuilding. For each key concept a generic definition is proposed, which is then expanded through discussion of three main areas: the meaning and origin of the concept; its content and essential components; and its means of implementation, including lessons learned from past practice.

Violent conflicts today are complex and increasingly protracted, involving more nonstate groups and regional and international actors. It is estimated that by 2030—the horizon set by the international community for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals—more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence. Information and communication technology, population movements, and climate change are also creating shared risks that must be managed at both national and international levels. Pathways for Peace is a joint United Nations†“World Bank Group study that originates from the conviction that the international community’s attention must urgently be refocused on prevention. A scaled-up system for preventive action would save between US$5 billion and US$70 billion per year, which could be reinvested in reducing poverty and improving the well-being of populations. The study aims to improve the way in which domestic development processes interact with security, diplomacy, mediation, and other efforts to prevent conflicts from becoming violent. It stresses the importance of grievances related to exclusion—from access to power, natural resources, security and justice, for example—that are at the root of many violent conflicts today. Based on a review of cases in which prevention has been successful, the study makes recommendations for countries facing emerging risks of violent conflict as well as for the international community. Development policies and programs must be a core part of preventive efforts; when risks are high or building up, inclusive solutions through dialogue, adapted macroeconomic policies, institutional reform, and redistributive policies are required. Inclusion is key, and preventive action needs to adopt a more people-centered approach that includes mainstreaming citizen engagement. Enhancing the participation of women and youth in decision making is fundamental to sustaining peace, as well as long-term policies to address the aspirations of women and young people.

This volume provides an overview of the costs, benefits, consequences, and prospects for rebuilding nations emerging from violent conflict. The rationale for this comes from the growing realization that, in the post-Cold War era and in the aftermath of 9/11, our understanding of conflict and conflict resolution has to include consideration of the conditions conducive to sustaining the peace in nations torn by civil war or interstate conflict. The chapters analyze the prospects for building a sustainable peace from a number of different perspectives, examining: the role of economic development democratization respect for human rights the potential for renewal of conflict the United Nations and other critical topics. In an age when 'nation-building' is once again on the international agenda, and scholars as well as policy makers realize both the tremendous costs and benefits in fostering developed, democratic, peaceful and secure nations, the time has truly come for a book that integrates all the facets of this important subject. Conflict Prevention and Peace-building in Post-War Societies will appeal to students and scholars of peace studies, international relations, security studies and conflict resolution as well as policy makers and analysts.

We typically define and talk about wars using the language of politics, but what happens when you bring in a doctor’s perspective on conflict? Can war be diagnosed like an illness? Can health professionals participate in its mitigation and prevention? The contributors to Peace through Health: How Health Professionals Can Work for a Less Violent World engage with these ground-breaking ideas and describe tools that can further peace once war is understood as a public health problem. The idea of working for peace through the health sector has sparked many innovative programs, described here by over 30 experts familiar with the theory and practice of Peace through Health. They cover topics such as prevention and therapy, program evaluations, medical ethics, activism, medical journals, human rights, and the uses of epidemiology. Those considering careers in medicine and other health and humanitarian disciplines as well as those concerned about the growing presence of militarized violence in the world will value the book’s many insights Other Contributors: Will Boyce, Caecilie Buhmann, Anne BundeBirouste, Kenneth Bush, Helen Caldicott, Rob Chase, Khagendra Dahal, Hamit Dardagan, Ann Duggan, Lowell Ewert, Paul Farmer, Norbert Goldfield, Paula Gutlove, Katherine Kaufer Christoffel, Maria Kett, John Last, Barry S. Levy, Tarek Loubani, Evan Lyon, Graeme MacQueen, Ian Maddocks, Ambrogio Manenti, Klaus Melf, Viet Nguyen-Gillham, Wendy Orr, Andrew D. Pinto, Alex Rosen, Simon Rushton, Hana Saab, Victor W. Sidel, Sonal Singh, John Sloboda, Karen Trollope-Kumar, Marshall Wallace, Jim Yong Kim, Anthony Zwi.

This volume critically examines what happens when war formally ends, the difficult and complex challenges and opportunities for winning the peace and reconciling divided communities. By reviewing a case study of the West African state of Sierra Leone, potential lessons for other parts of the world can be gained. Sierra Leone has emerged as a 'successful' model of liberal peacebuilding that is now popularly advertised and promoted by the international community as a powerful example of a country that they finally got right. Concerns about how successful a model Sierra Leone actually is, are outlined in this project. As such this volume: -

An exploration of how the theory and practice of integrated peacebuilding can be applied across diverse disciplines