Although theories and strategies on conflict prevention are well-developed, institutionalised practice remains limited, especially at the national level. The literature contains some descriptions of individual projects set up mainly by international NGOs which their sponsors have claimed to be successful, at least at local levels. However, these are not necessarily sponsored by the governments of those countries.
Thus, while there is a lot of information on what third party actors have done to prevent intra-state conflicts from occurring, there is not yet much literature about work by national government in devising their own strategies for conflict prevention. Preventive efforts are moving away from specially dedicated activities to incorporating conflict-sensitive development into countrywide development strategies such as PRSPs and the UN’s Common Country Assessment (CCA) and Development Assistance Framework (DAF). Conflict and peace-building criteria are increasingly being ‘mainstreamed’ into all development sectors and into the full programming cycle. However, there is also a growing call for the establishment of dedicated ministries and departments of peace in governments around the world.
Nevertheless, the literature and experts consulted highlighted a number of examples of country (national and sub-national) strategies on preventing conflict and building a culture of peace. A number of theses are highlighted in this report.
As well as the frameworks used at the country-level, there are also strategic tools available to assist policy-makers in designing and implementing conflict prevention strategies. Many experts note that both the theoretical and the country-specific frameworks can be adapted and used by national governments.
