Can particular mediation strategies be linked with successful outcomes? This chapter of the SAGE Handbook of Conflict Resolution discusses definitions of mediation, its performance, influential factors and evaluations of outcomes. Certain styles of mediation tend to be more effective in certain situations; intense conflict, for example, is likely to require directive forms of ...» more
Library
This e-library contains more than 4500 external publications on governance, social development, conflict and humanitarian issues. It includes academic and grey literature selected for its basis in good quality research and coverage of a range of perspectives. Policy-oriented summaries of each document are provided, plus links to the full text.
Harmful Traditional Practices in Three Countries of South Asia: Culture, Human Rights and Violence against Women
How can research, advocacy, and legal reform reverse social acceptance of practices that violate the human rights of women and girls? This paper by UNESCAP explores these issues through case studies from Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka and finds that harmful practices have evolved from originally non-harmful colonial, religious and cultural traditions. Combating the entrenched ...» more
Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers
What are the key strategies for closing the gender gap in agricultural production? This paper from the International Food Policy Research Institute reviews attempts to increase poor female farmers’ access to, and control of, productive resources in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Consideration of the literature of the past decade indicates that while promising new approaches ...» more
Civil Society and Peacebuilding
How can civil society most effectively work for peacebuilding? This paper presents the findings of a comparative research project which analysed the performance of civil society in regards to protection, monitoring, advocacy, socialisation, social cohesion, facilitation, and service delivery in situations of war and armed conflict. It concludes civil society can play an ...» more
The Gender Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction: The Challenges in Development Aid
What role do gender dimensions play in post-conflict reconstruction (PCR)? Policymakers have largely been slow to employ gender analysis and focus. This paper proposes a framework of three interrelated gender dimensions to help develop more effective approaches to PCR: (i)women-focused activities, (ii)gender-aware programming, and (iii)strategic attention to transforming gender ...» more
The Legacy of Four Vetting Programs: An Empirical Review
How can vetting help to improve institutions undergoing transition? This paper from the International Centre for Transitional Justice reviews evidence from four country case studies, highlighting the important distinctions between post-conflict and post-authoritarian transitions. It argues that while vetting cannot be divorced from its institutional context, proper planning and ...» more
Politics of Social Exclusion, State Reform and Security in Sri Lanka
How can the interests of the socially excluded be better addressed through state reforms in Sri Lanka? Making use of the two dimensions of capital and coercion, this article from the Bulletin of the Institute of Development Studies analyses the processes of state reform that have ensured the social exclusion of large sections of the population and set the stage for conflict. It ...» more
Violent Conflict Prevention in Latin America and the Caribbean
This case study from the Institute for Development and Peace analyses the main conflicts in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and examines the mechanisms that have been developed to prevent or resolve them. The paradigms that guide debates on the prevention of violent conflict in the region need to be changed. The causes of conflict are cumulative and so prevention should ...» more
Just Wasting Our Time? Provocative Thoughts for Peacebuilders
Whose peace are peacebuilders working for? Should peacebuilders be working to transform or reinforce the status quo? This paper from the Berghof Research Center for Constructive Conflict Management argues that the impact of the peacebuilding community has been stunted by factors including lack of clarity about values, deference towards political leaders, organisational rivalry ...» more
Indigenous Institutions, Traditional Leaders and Elite Coalitions for Development: The case of Greater Durban, South Africa
What factors facilitate inclusive political settlements and developmental coalitions within a hybrid political order? This study, building on earlier work undertaken for the Crisis States Research Centre, further developed for the Leadership, Elites and Coalitions Research Programme (LECRP) and also published by the Crisis States Research Centre, suggests that in South Africa, ...» more
Urban Labour Market Discrimination
Do caste and religion influence a graduate’s employment opportunities in India’s private sector? This paper from the Indian Institute of Dalit Studies examines the prevalence of discrimination in the job application processes of modern private sector enterprises. It finds that discriminatory processes operate even at the first stage of the application process. Caste favouritism ...» more
Can Development Prevent Conflict? Integrated Area-Based Development in the Western Balkans
How successful is the area based development approach (ABD) in contributing to conflict prevention and linking reconstruction and development? This article from Conflict, Security & Development discusses the strengths and limitations of the approach, drawing on two ABD programmes in South and Southwest Serbia. It argues that although ABD is often effective in responding to ...» more
The Role of Public Services in State- and Nation-building: Exploring Lessons from European History for Fragile States
What role can public service delivery play in state-building? This article explores lessons from Western European history to argue that the design of public services is a far more political matter than is often recognised. Rather than being a neutral process, a historical review of service provision shows that it has been used as a political tool for building state legitimacy ...» more
(Re)Imagining Coexistence: Striving for Sustainable Return, Reintegration and Reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
How can international and local actors facilitate the sustainable return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) to societies that have experienced violent inter-group conflict? What steps can be taken to renew coexistence and rebuild trust in areas of return? This article published in the International Journal of Transitional Justice explores initiatives designed ...» more
Understanding Criminality in West African Conflicts
What are the links between illicit commerce and political relationships in West Africa? How can a contexualised understanding of social relationships improve approaches to post-conflict statebuilding? This article from International Peacekeeping critiques the automatic criminalisation of armed networks, some of which have strong societal roots. It argues for a more nuanced ...» more
The Role of Private Sector Actors in Post-Conflict Recovery
What role does business play in post-conflict recovery? How can policymakers ensure private sector actors play a positive, rather than a negative, role? This article from Conflict, Security and Development argues that it is essential to differentiate between different types of business. Each type will play a different role depending on how it assesses risk and opportunity in ...» more
Responsibility to Protect in Africa: An Analysis of the African Union’s Peace and Security Architecture
What is the best way to develop ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) norms in Africa? This article from the journal Global Responsibility to Protect argues that collaborative ventures between the African Union (AU) at the continental level, the regional economic communities (RECs) at the sub-regional level and the UN at the global level are the best options for deepening R2P ...» more
Mediation and Dialogue: Official and Unofficial Strands
How effective is mediation and dialogue in protracted violent conflict? This paper explores approaches to and formats of mediation and dialogue, and the relevance and effectiveness of these strategies in the context of protracted violent conflicts, particularly in the South Caucasus. Mediation and dialogue cannot be contained in an ivory tower and need to be placed in a ...» more
Articulating the Links Between Transitional Justice and Development: Justice and Social Integration
What are the links and boundaries between transitional justice and development? What can transitional justice contribute to development? This book chapter published by the Social Science Research Council argues that transitional justice promotes social integration, and it is in this capacity that it overlaps with and may serve the interests of development. Transitional justice ...» more
Context, Timing and the Dynamics of Transitional Justice: A Historical Perspective
This article from the Human Rights Quarterly questions the presumption that trials and/or truth commissions should be an early response in initiating a transitional justice process. A multi-factorial, qualitative analysis of seven case studies suggests the need for a fuller appreciation of the dynamic system in which transitional justice interventions occur. It is important to ...» more
