Peace

Insight on Conflict Newsletter February 2012

A monthly selection of the best new research and resources on local peacebuilding worldwide, as chosen by Insight on Conflict. This month’s edition features a collection of articles of peacebuilding in Somalia, the role of women in traditional dispute resolution in Afghanistan and more. To receive the email newsletter each month, please sign-up here or email joel@insightonconflict.org. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2012-01-30

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org. Read more >>>

Commentary Can Sudanese peace initiatives prove their worth?

Evaluation is an on-going and inherent challenge for peacebuilders, and has different roles to play. In this blog I tell how I set out to find whether Sudanese conflict prevention initiatives could “prove their worth” through evaluation. My objectives were wider, though, as I aimed to develop current understanding of the wider roles of peacebuilding evaluation, and of the environment in which peacebuilding evaluators operate. Read more >>>

From the field Observing the polls in DR Congo

November 28, 2011 was historic in the DR Congo; the first ever democratic national election organized by the Congolese themselves. Indeed it was only the second time since independence in 1960 that a multi-party electoral vote would be set to determine the presidential seat. However, this relatively undeveloped voting system left the electoral process wide open to systemic and local corruption that could erode its very legitimacy. Two years ago I visited communities affected by violence in the eastern DR Congo. So when Christian Aid offered me the opportunity to help monitor and evaluate the election, I felt compelled to return in the hope that a fair election would improve the livelihoods of the Congolese people. Read more >>>

From the field Colombia: A new chance for peace?

At the beginning of November FARC leader Alfonso Cano was killed by Colombian military forces and his death is certainly a victory for the Colombian military. Peace organisations in the country, such as Colombianas y colombianos por la paz, stress that in spite of military victory, political negotiation and social justice need to be used to establish peace and stability in Colombia. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2012-01-23

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org. Read more >>>

Commentary How much is peace worth?

There is a neglected garden overgrown and in disarray. The flowers— vibrant, multi-colored, beautiful— are smothered by refuse and weeds. The detritus must be cleared away to allow new growth. This metaphor came up in a debate a couple years back on whether Chicago should further invest in CeaseFire’s violence prevention approach or an economic revitalization schema. Read more >>>

Sudan Briefing: 2012-01-16

Following the independence of South Sudan, Insight on Conflict will be producing a weekly round-up of the news. To subscribe to receive the updates via email, please contact joel@insightonconflict.org. Read more >>>

Commentary India-Pakistan relations and SAARC

It is an ‘unusual’ occasion in the history of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that a summit is following by some positive developments in India-Pakistan relations. SAARC has long suffered from bilateral rivalry between India and Pakistan slowing its progress on a range of issues, particularly free trade in South Asia. Read more >>>

Commentary Improving peacebuilding evaluation – bringing some ideas ‘to the field’

They are rare, but every once in awhile there is a moment where the thought-practice cycle becomes real. I was recently in a room, ‘in the field’, with representatives from ten peacebuilding organizations. These were organizations doing the hard work of peacebuilding, at the grassroots level, under very difficult circumstances. On their invitation, I was sharing my thoughts on improving peacebuilding evaluation as crystallized in the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Special Report, Improving Peacebuilding Evaluation: A Whole-of-Field Approach. Read more >>>