Conflict Society: Understanding the Role of Civil Society in Conflict (original) (raw)
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Civil Society, Conflict and Violence
2012
This book looks at the role that civil society organizations play in dealing with conflict and violence. The authors argue that in most of the prevalent conceptualizations the conflict dimension of civil society is either downplayed or inadequately addressed. They contend that the ability to deal with conflict is at the heart of organized civil society; in the political process, one of civil society's key functions is to express and mediate between different interests, thus contributing to political decision-making. The chapters draw on detailed, empirical data from the CIVICUS Civil Society Index - a unique comparative data-set drawn from 25 countries, which has not previously been made publicly available. It examines the different ways violence has been manifested in civil societies, the meaning of violent protest and the impact of security legislation that might hinder the mediating efforts of civil society. The book offers a sophisticated comparison between conflict and post...
With civilian deaths estimated to account for approximately 75 percent of war-related casualties, ordinary people are increasingly mobilising to respond to the challenge of conflict. While some of these responses originate in “global civil society”, many of the most creative and effective attempts to address the causes of conflict and to help resolve it peacefully are undertaken by people from the conflict affected communities themselves. As largely home grown initiatives – albeit sometimes receiving various forms of external support – they are not a product of the security-development nexus of Western directed international peace operations. Yet their roles are poorly understood by international policymakers and these operations too often undermine them. Civil society can play roles at every point in the development of conflict and its resolution: from bringing situations of injustice to the surface to preventing violence, from creating conditions conducive to peace talks to mediating a settlement and working to ensure it is consolidated, from setting a policy agenda to healing war-scarred psyches. After briefly situating civil society peacebuilding roles in the policy context and highlighting several critiques, this article concentrates on exploring why they can be key to these tasks and charts the specific functions they can play, focusing on initiatives by civil society from a conflict zone and their external supporters. It concludes identifying several recommendations and areas in need of further research.
Civil Society in Peace Processes At A Glance
This Briefing Note is based on results from the “Civil Society and Peacebuilding” research project, led by Dr. Thania Paffenholz at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland, between 2006 and 2011, with a team of 19 researchers from 16 institutions. The project investigated whether, how, when and under what circumstances civil society can fulfil a peace supporting role. It analysed in thirteen in-depth qualitative country case studies, the performance of civil society with regards to seven peacebuilding functions in four phases of conflict and peace processes.
Civil Society, Conflicts, and the Politicization of Human Rights
Civil Society, Conflicts and the Politicization of Human Rights explores violent conflict and peace. The contributors examine how violence is generated, managed, exploited and eradicated in ethno-political conflicts, and how societies can be dragged out of conflict onto the transition towards peace. The usual take on these phenomena focuses on the role of governmental actors, both national and international. While official actors remain important, Civil Society, Conflicts and the Politicization of Human Rights examines the other side of the coin: the non-governmental component in ethno-political conflicts. Civil society actors, or as they are defined in this book, “conflict society organizations” (CoSOs), are increasingly central in view of the high degree of complexity of contemporary ethno-political conflicts. CoSOs have become key players in ethno-political conflicts, both as violators and as promoters of human rights. Nevertheless, the precise relationships underpinning the human rights–civil society–conflict nexus have not been fully examined. This volume analyses the impact of civil society on ethno-political conflicts through their human rights-related activities, and identifies the means to strengthen the complementarity between civil society and international governmental actors in promoting peace. These aims are addressed by examining four case studies in the European neighbourhood: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Turkey’s Kurdish question and Israel–Palestine. “In an era where the certainties of the liberal peacebuilding consensus are heavily contested, it is refreshing to see a selection of essays which offer such innovative interpretations of how civil society actors and human rights are developing in real post-conflict contexts.” Oliver Richmond, Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, School of International Relations, University of St Andrews “Students of social movements, human rights, and peace and conflict studies will profit significantly from this book’s contributions.” Sidney Tarrow, Maxwell Upson Professor of Government, Department of Government, Cornell University “An outstanding analysis of the civil society’s human rights-related activities and their impact on conflict in multi-ethnic societies. This book is a timely contribution to our understanding of the emerging intrastate ethno-political conflicts in this rapidly globalizing and democratizing world.” Shabbir Cheema, Director, Asia-Pacific Governance and Democracy Initiative, East-West Center, Honolulu, Hawaii