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.

Individuals can make a difference working for peace worldwide. That is the message of People Building Peace II, an inspiring collection of stories of how ?ordinary? men and women have played a crucial part in conflict prevention and peacebuilding.Thematic chapters, illustrated with compelling case studies, present new trends in the role of civil society in conflict transformation. The cases reflect the variety of activities initiated and sustained by a broad range of actors, including women?s groups, youth groups, and faith-based organizations. Such topics as reconciliation, dialogue, networking, and traditional methods of conflict resolution are among the topics throughly explored, as are the successful initiatives of lesser-known NGOs.The resulting rich tapestry, an outcome of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, is an invaluable compendium of best practices and lessons learned, and at the same time a stirring call to action.Paul van Tongeren is founder and executive director of the European Centre for Conflict Prevention (ECCP). Malin Brenk is project officer in the research unit at ECCP. Marte Hellema is research assistant at ECCP. Juliette Verhoeven is coordinator of the research unit at ECCP.Contents: Introduction. Reflections. Weaving the Web: Civil Society Roles in Working with Conflict and Building Peace?C. Barnes. Discourses on Peace Practices: Learning to Change by Learning from Change??C. Reimann and N. Ropers. Effective Regional Networks and Partnerships?A. Serbin. UN-Civil Society Interactions: Working Together for Peace?J. Clark. The War on Terror: Effects on Civil Society Actors in the Field of Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding?K.P. Clements. People Building Peace: Key Messages and Essential Findings?P. van Tongeren, J. Verhoeven, and J. Wake. Themes and Cases. Women: Using the Gender Lens?L. Schirch and M. Sewak. Youth: Protagonists for Peace?L.R. Carter and M. Shipler. The Media: Reaching Hearts and Minds?F. Rolt. Faith-Based Organizations: The Religious Dimensions of Peacebuilding?D. Johnston. Education That Makes a Difference?T.S. Jones. The Arts and Peacebuilding: Using Imagination and Creativity?J.P. Lederach. The Peacebuilding Potential of Local Businesses?N. Killick and C. Gunduz. Diasporas: Untapped Potential for Peacebuilding in the Homelands?A.A. Mohamoud. Civilian Peacekeepers: Creating a Safe Environment for Peacebuilding?T. Wallis and C. Samayoa. Development: No Development Without Peace, No Peace Without Development?M. Brenk and H. van de Veen. Early Warning and Early Response: Preventing Violent Conflicts?T.Z. Suifon. Traditional and Local Conflict Resolution?J. Malan. Dialogue-Based Processes: A Vehicle for Peacebuilding?E. Kaufman. Campaigning to Create Awareness: How to Influence People and Change the World?R. Peters. Civil Society: Participating in Peace Processes?C. McKeon. Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration: Not Only a Job for Soldiers?S. Faltas and W.-C. Paes. Reconciliation: Challenges, Responses, and the Role of Civil Society?H. Assefa.

Making War and Building Peace examines how well United Nations peacekeeping missions work after civil war. Statistically analyzing all civil wars since 1945, the book compares peace processes that had UN involvement to those that didn't. Michael Doyle and Nicholas Sambanis argue that each mission must be designed to fit the conflict, with the right authority and adequate resources. UN missions can be effective by supporting new actors committed to the peace, building governing institutions, and monitoring and policing implementation of peace settlements. But the UN is not good at intervening in ongoing wars. If the conflict is controlled by spoilers or if the parties are not ready to make peace, the UN cannot play an effective enforcement role. It can, however, offer its technical expertise in multidimensional peacekeeping operations that follow enforcement missions undertaken by states or regional organizations such as NATO. Finding that UN missions are most effective in the first few years after the end of war, and that economic development is the best way to decrease the risk of new fighting in the long run, the authors also argue that the UN's role in launching development projects after civil war should be expanded.

This book aims to understand the processes and outcomes that arise from frictional encounters in peacebuilding, when global and local forces meet. Building a sustainable peace after violent conflict is a process that entails competing ideas, political contestation and transformation of power relations. This volume develops the concept of ‘friction’ to better analyse the interplay between global ideas, actors, and practices, and their local counterparts. The chapters examine efforts undertaken to promote sustainable peace in a variety of locations, such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone. These case analyses provide a nuanced understanding not simply of local processes, or of the hybrid or mixed agencies, ideas, and processes that are generated, but of the complex interactions that unfold between all of these elements in the context of peacebuilding intervention. The analyses demonstrate how the ambivalent relationship between global and local actors leads to unintended and sometimes counterproductive results of peacebuilding interventions. The approach of this book, with its focus on friction as a conceptual tool, advances the peacebuilding research agenda and adds to two ongoing debates in the peacebuilding field; the debate on hybridity, and the debate on local agency and local ownership. In analysing frictional encounters this volume prepares the ground for a better understanding of the mixed impact peace initiatives have on post-conflict societies. This book will be of much interest to students of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, security studies, and international relations in general.

The author analyses the effectiveness of United Nations peacekeeping missions in building peace after civil war. The text utilizes statistical analysis of civil wars since 1945 to compare the outcomes of peace processes, including UN peacekeeping missions.

Pt. 1. Social capital as an instrument of violence -- pt. 2. Social capital as a catalyst for peace -- pt. 3. Ambiguities of social capital in peace and conflict.

Even though international peacebuilding has rapidly expanded in the last two decades to respond to more multi-faceted and complex conflicts, the field has lagged behind in documenting the impact and success of projects. To help address this gap, the Alliance for Peacebuilding, one of the leading networks in the field, has brought together 13 stories of innovative peacebuilding practices from around the world in Building Peace. While the projects covered are diverse in nature, together they demonstrate the significant impact of peacebuilding work. Contributors created new institutions to prevent and manage conflicts at the local or national levels, helped restore relationships in conflict-affected communities, and empowered citizens to work for positive change in their societies across ethnic, religious, and political divides. It’s clear that there is no quick fix for violence but this volume will go a long way in providing inspiration and practical tools for policymakers, academics and practitioners who seek to make significant and valuable contributions towards achieving peace.