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Berghof Glossary on Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding 20 Essays on Theory and Practice Berghof Glossary Berghof Berghof Glossary on Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding 20 essays on theory and practice Berghof Glossary Berghof Berghof Glossary on Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding 20 essays on theory and practice Berghof Foundation (ed.) PUBLISHED BY © Berghof Foundation Operations GmbH Lindenstrasse 34 10969 Berlin Germany Phone +49 (0)30 844154-0 Fax +49 (0)30 844154-99 www.berghof-foundation.org Twitter @BerghofFnd Facebook /BerghofFoundation ISBN 978-3-941514-36-2 2019 Berghof Foundation Operations GmbH Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 DE. Quotation permitted and welcome. Please address derivatives requests to Berghof Foundation Operations GmbH: [email protected] Acknowledgements Editorial team: Beatrix Austin, with Hans J. Giessmann, Andreas Schädel and Ali Annan Layout: Edenspiekermann, Christoph Lang Language Editing and Proofreading: Hillary Crowe, Beatrix Austin Photo selection: Astrid Fischer Contents Abbreviations Introduction 1. Addressing Social Grievances 2. Averting Humiliation: Dignity, Justice, Trust 3. Breaking Deadlocks: Peace Process Support 4. Building and Sustaining Peace 5. Dealing with the Past and Transitional Justice 6. Educating for Peace 7. Empowerment and Ownership 8. Engaging Donors 9. Establishing Infrastructures for Peace 10. Facilitating Negotiation and Dialogue 11. Fostering Human Security 12. Gender and Youth: Changing Perspective 13. Inclusivity and Participation: Working Together 14. Learning Together: Monitoring, Evaluating, Reflecting 15. Mediation and Mediation Support 16. Preventing Violence 17. Providing Conflict-Sensitive Refugee Assistance 18. Researching Conflict Transformation 19. Transforming Conflict 20. Working on Conflict Dynamics: Escalation and Radicalisation Annex About Berghof Foundation 11 Milestones Photo Credits Index Abbreviations ANC African National Congress, South Africa CPN-M Communist Party of Nepal – Maoist ETA Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna EU European Union GRIT Graduated Reciprocal Reductions in Tension ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States i4p Infrastructure(s) for Peace IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development KLA Kosovo Liberation Army M-19 Movimiento 19 de Abril, Colombia M & E Monitoring and evaluation NGO Non-governmental organisation OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD-DAC Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OSCE Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe SIPRI Stockholm International Peace Research Institute UGTT Tunisian General Labour Union (Union Générale Tunisienne du Travail) UN United Nations UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization US(A) United States (of America) USD US Dollar Introduction Introduction “People need hope and inspiration desperately. But hope and inspiration are only sustained by work.” Tarana Burke The Berghof Glossary on Conflict Transformation presents the main principles and approaches that we use in our work, which supports people and conflict parties around the world in creat- ing a more peaceful future. For a second time, the team at the Berghof Foundation has em- barked on a joint exploration in order to chart a shared under- standing of what it takes to create “space for conflict transforma- tion”. It has been seven years since we first published this small and compact booklet as a guide to our interpretation of the cor- nerstones of peacebuilding and conflict transformation (Berghof Foundation 2012). The organisation, and the world around us, has changed considerably in these seven years since 2012 (illus- trated, for example, by the Annual Reports for 2013 and 2017, and Sheriff et al. 2018). Nationally and internationally, the space for inclusive and con- structive peacebuilding has begun to shrink measurably. The use of force, polarisation and oppression are gaining ground again, despite having proven to be less effective and more costly, as is argued, for example, by Lisa Schirch. The proponents of the inclusive and constructive approach must therefore get their “ducks in a row” and their message clear. (A need underlined by a 2018 report on the topic of supporting peacebuilding in times of change). We can take courage and strength from a number of countervailing trends, such as the opening of new spaces and partnerships, and the willingness of international bodies and national governments to endorse, sometimes on paper first, a strong peacebuilding rhetoric and agenda. 7 Introduction At the Berghof Foundation, we remain convinced that conflict transformation can succeed. It will not do so, however, with- out the dedication and hard work of actors across all levels and sectors. Importantly, conflict transformation and peacebuild- ing must be led (and wanted) by the actors involved in violent conflict and escalation, who control the drivers and duration of the conflicts. Both the involved parties and their transformation- orientated supporters must also take seriously the emerging un- certainties and challenges, which require new approaches and realistic risk assessment. For peacebuilding proponents, there are numerous worrying trends which, at the time of writing, have started to point to- wards an emerging crisis of the entire international order. One visible expression of this crisis is the weakening of existing mul- tilateral regimes governing areas such as arms control, interna- tional trade and regional cooperation. Some national conflicts have become proxy wars – as in Yemen, Syria or Eastern Ukraine, to mention only a few – primarily at the expense of a suffering lo- cal population. Other conflicts have increasingly spilled violence over national boundaries, thereby creating zones of regional in- stability, particularly in parts of the Middle East and Africa. Another worrying development, related to manifold social griev- ances, is the sharpening political polarisation in a number of democratic states, which – in domestic and in international con- texts – appears to make strategies based on political paternalism and exclusion more attractive to many people than cooperative approaches. Many countries in the Global South rely on the sup- port provided by democratic donor countries. If this support is vanishing, millions of people in these countries may lose hope that building peace will benefit them at all. However, if there is one tangible lesson to be learned from the past, it is that neither power politics nor exclusion will ever lead to sustainable peace. Rather than being discouraged by the uncertainties and frictions in the international political en- 8 Introduction vironment, we take them as a call for analysis and action. We are convinced that inclusive and participatory spaces for conflict transformation have become even more important in prevent- ing fragile peace processes from losing momentum or breaking down. Credibly holding on to our values is of utmost importance in this context. We must undertake more efforts to anticipate the impli- cations of these changes for our work, to adapt to new challenges and/or to seize new opportunities in a timely and convincing manner. New political constellations – nationally and interna- tionally – may create risks but also new opportunities for com- munication and exchange. In light of this, some of the 20 notions in the previous edition of this booklet remain cornerstones of our understanding and prac- tice: we understand conflict to be a necessary and useful force for change, rather than a danger to be suppressed or managed. We strongly believe that principles of (local) ownership and respon- sibility, empowerment, non-violence, participation and inclusiv- ity must guide our work. We take guidance from those in conflict and are multipartial towards those experiencing sometimes vio- lent strife. We shape dialogue and facilitate negotiation process- es in the role of a supporting actor. We know that the legacies of a violent past must be addressed in contemporary peacebuilding processes. And we believe that human security, dignity and trust are important values to uphold. While these approaches remain central to our work, with this edition of the Glossary we are also reviewing the ways in which they needed to adjust given the new trends in our peacebuilding environment. Some notions have already gained new prominence in our under- standing and practice in response to these trends: the creation of innovative and locally designed infrastructures for peace, or the re-focusing of attention also on our home country of Germany, where our peace education team has adopted conflict-sensitive approaches to the integration of refugees. These areas highlight 9 Introduction needs and new spaces of engagement to which we enthusiasti- cally bring our curiosity and experience. From in between these notions, “the Berghof approach” or the “Berghof spirit” emerges. Like the best aspirations in life, it sometimes remains elusive, but continues to be the organisa- tional method we are aspiring to and working towards. First and foremost, the Berghof approach emphasises the importance of Relationships and long-term relationship-building Working with local partners and conflict parties Multi-faceted designs and peer learning, also and importantly from “south to south” Weaving together research and practice Allowing for the transformative power of conflict Our approach builds on the principles of multipartiality, by which we take the legitimate concerns and interests of
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