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Religion, Peacebuilding, and Social Cohesion in Conflict-Affected Countries

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Religion, Peacebuilding, and Social Cohesion in Conflict-Affected Countries Religion, Peacebuilding, and Social Cohesion in Conflict-affected Countries Research Report Authors Fletcher D. Cox, Catherine R. Orsborn, and Timothy D. Sisk Project Team Contacts Fletcher D. Cox, Research Fellow and Doctoral Candidate Josef Korbel School of International Studies Email: fl[email protected] Catherine R. Orsborn, Research Associate and Doctoral Candidate University of Denver-Iliff School of Theology Joint Doctoral Program Email: [email protected] Timothy D. Sisk, Professor and Associate Dean for Research Josef Korbel School of International Studies Email: [email protected] © Fletcher D. Cox, Catherine R. Orsborn, and Timothy D. Sisk. All rights reserved. This report presents case study findings from a two-year research and policy-dialogue initiative that explores how international peacemakers and development aid providers affect social cohesion in conflict-affected countries. Field research conducted by leading international scholars and global South researchers yields in-depth analyses of social cohesion and related peacebuilding efforts in Guatemala, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka. The project was coordinated by the Sié Chéou Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy at the University of Denver from 2012 - 2014, and supported by a generous grant from Henry Luce Foundation’s Initiative on Religion and International Affairs. Religion, Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding in Conflict-affected Countries: Research Report Contents Overview and Summary Findings 1. Introduction 1.1 An Era of Ethno-religious Violence ................................................................................ 2 1.2 Research Question: When do external peacebuilders foster social cohesion? ...................... 2 1.3 About this Project ..................................................................................................... 4 2. Case Study Summary Findings 2.1 Guatemala: Local Social Cohesion versus National Fragmentation .................................... 8 2.2 Insecurity, Instability, and Ethnic Identity in Modernizing Kenya ....................................... 11 2.3 Confessionalism, Consociationalism and Social Cohesion in Lebanon .............................. 13 2.4 Religion, Identity, and Conflict in Transitioning Myanmar ................................................ 16 2.5 Religion and Social Cohesion in Nigeria: Frustration, Polarization and Violence ................. 18 2.6 Nepal: Identity Politics in a Turbulent Transition ............................................................ 20 2.7 In the Eye of the Beholder: Social Cohesion and Political Discourse in Post-War Sri Lanka .... 21 3. Evaluating Social Cohesion: Principal Patterns and Summary Findings 3.1 Societal Dynamics and Social Cohesion ..................................................................... 26 3.2 Public Policy: Language, Land and Services ................................................................ 28 3.3 Political Participation: Myths and Realities of “Inclusivity” ................................................ 30 4. International Peacebuilders: Mediators or Meddlers? 4.1 Strategic Dilemmas and Trade-offs ............................................................................. 34 4.2 Engaging Religious Leaders, Institutions and Organizations ............................................. 38 4.3 Direct Approaches: Evaluating Dialogue Programs and Projects ...................................... 40 4.4 Indirect Approaches: Interdependencies for Peace ........................................................ 42 4.5 Peace Architecture and Institutional Parallelism ............................................................. 44 4.6 Cohesion…On Who’s Terms? Government Ministries of Peace and Reconciliation ............. 45 4.7 Coordination and Aid Volatility ................................................................................. 46 5. Policy-Relevant Implications 5.1 Living Together: Authentic Inclusivity in the Nation and State ........................................... 48 5.2 Engaging Religious Actors ........................................................................................ 49 5.3 Peacebuilding and Social Cohesion: Toward Complementarity ....................................... 51 Appendices Appendix 1. Cross-Case Comparison Matrix ............................................................................ 53 Appendix 2. Social Cohesion Assessment Template ................................................................... 58 i Religion, Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding in Conflict-affected Countries: Research Report Overview and Selected Findings This report presents findings from a project of the Sié Chéou Kang Center for International Security and Diplomacy at the University of Denver conducted in July 2012-November 2014 supported by a grant from the Initiative on Religion and International Affairs of the Henry Luce Foundation. The project features country-level case studies of Guatemala, Kenya, Lebanon, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, and Sri Lanka, employing the methodology of structured, focused comparison. This report provides principal findings from the case studies, and an integrative comparison that in turn leads to a final section articulating potential research-to-policy implications for peacebuilding strategy and practice aimed at fostering social cohesion. Context Incidents of violence with religious, ethnic, or sectarian dimensions appear to be on the rise in the 2010’s, reversing the overall trend of a steady decline in armed conflict more generally, and identity-based conflict in particular, that characterized the post-Cold War era. Religious- and ethnic-oriented violence in deeply divided societies continues to present grave threats to international peace and security. In 2014 alone, violence along identity lines in Iraq and Syria, the Central African Republic, Myanmar, and Ukraine grab headlines and present worrying scenarios of mass atrocities. In such settings, a once-held putative sense of “living together” evaporates when deadly violence erupts and often crystallizes along religious, sectarian, or ethnic lines. Absent partition, however, when the guns fall silent, groups in such societies are forced to continue living together in a shared, though invariably contested, state. This research explores a critical question, simply stated: In the wake of identity-based violence, what can internal and international peacebuilders do to help “deeply divided societies” rediscover a sense of living together? The principal conceptual approach places analytical priority on “social cohesion” in conflict-affected countries, or relations within society across deep divisions (horizontally) and the relationship of individuals and groups with the state (vertically). The research speaks to contemporary scholarly and policy debates on peacebuilding by development partners, international organizations, and transnational and local civil society in the wake of conflict on the application of the social cohesion concept for informing strategy and practices of peacebuilding in countries that have experienced widespread, identity-based, political violence. Overall, the project explores how development assistance policies and programs can more effectively engage diverse identity groups, with a particular emphasis on religious actors, in the pursuit of conflict-mitigating social-cohesion outcomes in countries emerging from mass violence and war. Two principal research questions guide the project: How do development actors seek to promote, directly and indirectly, social cohesion in deeply divided, conflict-affected countries? Under what conditions do externally sponsored initiatives lay the foundation for social cohesion, and under what conditions do such initiatives reinforce or even catalyze social divisions that negatively affect peacebuilding and development objectives? ii Religion, Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding in Conflict-affected Countries: Research Report Selected Findings There is often an assumption that religion speaks with one voice, and tends to drive social fragmentation and conflict. In actuality, every religious tradition expresses “multi-vocality.” As such, religion is highly “ambivalent” – it can inform social exclusion or cohesion under various conditions and within various contexts. The relationship between religion and social cohesion is deeply contextual and constantly evolving. Religion is a social arena that is highly interactive in relationship to other social cleavages. The globalization of religion and the emergence of transnational religious communities affect the dynamics of local social cohesion. Highly ethnically diverse states are not necessarily less stable than less ethnically diverse states. Social cohesion breaks down under various combinations of pressures. Social cohesion and fragmentation are constantly moving targets, especially in fragile and transitional states, and thus social cohesion functions as both an independent and dependent variable. The absence of social cohesion is often a condition for conflict and violence. At the same time, conflict and violence impact the dynamics of social cohesion and fragmentation. The ways in which external actors have interacted with religious communities in the past deeply impacts the potential for future engagement. For example, international engagement is often met with resistance within the Arab/Islamic world and other post-colonial states. There is a regional tendency toward
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