May 2014 Review

TransConflict is pleased to present a selection of articles published during May, plus updates from the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation

 Suggested Reading Conflict Background GCCT

1) Winners and losers in the Balkans wars – lessons for Ukraine and the Levant

Matthew Parish – Absent genuine geopolitical interest in another country’s conflicts, the West should stay out of others’ civil wars lest it risks exacerbating them and contributing to chaos through elicitation of false hopes. Read on…

2) Kosova/o – uneven competition

David B. Kanin – As there is no indication that any EU member will block Serbia from getting into the EU without recognizing Kosova, Kosova’s – and Washington’s – main goal should be to lead to the condition that neither contestant can get into the club unless they both do. Read on…

3) The Ukrainian lesson – challenges for a new European peace movement

Gert Röhrborn – To use this chance means to define the tasks of a renewed, truly Pan-European peace movement; an integral movement reviving the best ideas of former Central European dissidents for healing human interaction on the political, personal and eschatological level and applying them to the Common European Home in its entirety, in both Eastern and Western Europe. Read on…

4) Marc Ndarigendane – a Burundian peace maker

Karoline Caesar – Burundi has been hit by several cycles of violence since its independence in 1962, with 1965, 1972, 1988 and 1993 associated with massacres and a civil war between Hutus and Tutsis. Last month the Burundian parliament adopted a law on a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which could be the beginning of a long due official process of uncovering the truth about the crimes of the past. The perspective of a Burundian brick layer and peace maker, Marc Ndarigendane, provides a personal record of Burundian history. Read on…

5) Local elections in Turkey – on the verge of polarization and cohesion

Derya Yüksek – In Turkey, large scale citizen mobilization in defense of votes in the recent local elections shows the government’s loss of credibility and trust in the eyes of the majority of citizens. It also shows the decisiveness of public in their ongoing struggle for democracy and clean politics. Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as his statements get ever aggressive and polarizing, may be doing more good than harm in terms of unification of citizens under one umbrella; certainly against himself. The public seems to be winning as they are defeated and defeated again. Read on…

6) Stop making war business

Kirthi Jayakumar – Peace journalism is key for ensuring that conflict is accurately and appropriately reported, with its genesis and circumstances fully explained, and that local peacebuilding ideas and solutions get the visibility they deserve. Read on…

7) Indian exceptionalism – the Armed Forces Special Power Act

Pfokrelo Kapesa – The impunity granted to the Indian army by the Armed Forces Special Power Act (AFSPA) in areas such as the Northeast and Kashmir continues to compromise the human rights of people living in these respective regions. Read on…

8) Basque Country – experiences of the Social Forum to invigorate peace

Paul Rios – The Basque process has had to be innovative, mainly because of the very limited contact between ETA and the Spanish or French governments. Much of Basque society understands it as a peace process, but the Spanish government does not want to be a partner in this and many issues that Basque society sees as vital to progress are not being addressed. Read on…

9) Peace education in post-genocide Rwanda

Jean de Dieu Basabose – As a contribution to preventing violence on the continent, the participants of the African Alliance for Peace summit formulated the ‘Kigali Declaration’ in order to call on all African countries to invest in educating its people for peace. Read on…

10) The role of technology in the 2014 Afghan elections

Eugenia Lee – Impassion Afghanistan plays a role in the elections by contributing to the development of technology in the country, and producing trained citizen journalists using social media to report from the field. Read on…

Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation

1) Never again – a reality or dream for Rwanda?

Ingvild Gundersen – The Rwandan youth – who represent the majority of the population – are actively involved in preserving peace and prosperity in their nation. Through participating in Never Again Rwanda’s commemoration activities where their voice is heard, appreciated and taken into account, NAR fights to always make never again a reality. Read on…

2) Maidan and Armenian political perspectives

Edgar Khachatryan – Armenia has gone from negotiating an Association Agreement with the EU to expressing a desire to join the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia; a decision that threatens to fundamentally undermine the country’s reform prospects, particularly following recent developments in Ukraine. Read on…

3) Never Again Rwanda from Rwanda

TransConflict is pleased to present the profile of Never Again Rwanda from Rwanda, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation. Read on…

4) Reflecting nature in project design and implementation

TransConflict is pleased to present a two-part paper by the Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation from Zimbabwe, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, exploring how the design and implementation of peacebuilding projects should reflect nature. Read on…

5) Reflecting nature in project design and implementation – part two

TransConflict is pleased to present the second part of a paper by the Centre for Conflict Management and Transformation from Zimbabwe, a member of the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, exploring how the design and implementation of peacebuilding projects should reflect nature. Read on…

6) New members of the GCCT

TransConflict welcomed two new members to the Global Coalition for Conflict Transformation, from Libya and South Sudan, respectively. The Horiyat Group for Development and Human Rights (Libya) engages in peacebuilding projects in post-war areas which have been exposed to the adverse effects of conflict. Horiyat provides training programs on dialogue and mediation and conflict transformation, supporting the transformation by working with the respective conflicting parties. The Smile Again Africa Development Organization (South Sudan), established in 2011, is an indigenous South Sudanese humanitarian organization that aims to eradicate poverty, mitigate conflict and improve the living standard of the people of South Sudan and the region. Read on…

What are the principles of conflict transformation?

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