Leadership at the Grassroots Level
The aim of the "Circus of Peace" in Mozambique was to deal innovatively with the conflict and violence facing the youth of local communities. Like a circus, the project was organized as a traveling show that wove drama and the arts into its exploration of the nature of war and conflict. The show discussed conflict-resolution skills, illustrated possibilities of moving toward peace and reconciliation, and helped people to grieve the losses they had suffered.
This is a prime example of a grassroots approach to peace building.
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Leadership at the grassroots level represents the masses, those ordinary citizens who form the base of a society. In settings of protracted and violent conflict, life at this level is largely characterized by a survival mentality.[1] People struggle daily to find adequate food, water, shelter, and safety.
Grassroots leaders include people involved in local communities, members of indigenous nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) carrying out local relief projects, health officials, and refugee camp leaders.[2] These leaders understand the fear and suffering experienced by the people, but also have extensive knowledge of local politics, and know the local leaders of government and their adversaries.
In many cases, what goes on at the local level is simply a microcosm of the larger conflict. Lines of identity often cut through local communities, splitting them into hostile groups.[3] The population typically experiences the violence and trauma associated with war with great immediacy, and must live in close proximity and interdependency with those they regard as enemies.[4] While leaders at the higher levels are typically removed from these tensions, grassroots leaders witness the deep-rooted hatred every day.
Approaches to Peacebuilding
Grassroots leaders face different challenges from those confronted by elite and middle-range leaders. In part, this is because there are many people at the grassroots level. Leaders working at the local level may find it relatively easy to establish points of contact with the masses, but developing a comprehensive program that effectively reaches the general population is far more difficult. In addition, many people at this level are engaged in a daily struggle to meet their basic human needs, and may view conflict-resolution efforts as an "unaffordable luxury."[5]
Nevertheless, important peacebuilding strategies can be employed at the grassroots level. The bottom-up approach to peace features several approaches targeted to the general population. In fact, many transitions toward peace are driven largely by pressure for change coming from the grassroots level.[6] One example is the case of Somalia in the 1990s:
- The Somali approach began with local peace conferences, which brought together elders of various sub-clans in an effort to move toward peace agreements. The meetings typically involved the creation of a forum of elders, and lengthy oral deliberations.
- These conferences not only dealt with immediate issues, but also helped local leaders to take responsibility for inter-clan fighting and identified the rightful representatives of the clans' concerns.[7]
- Once an initial agreement was reached, the same process was repeated at a higher level with a broader set of clans.
In Somalia, this approach was necessary because the formal political infrastructure of the country had collapsed.[8] Relying instead on clan and sub-clan structures and mechanisms to deal with conflict helped Somalia to establish a framework for peace.
Promoting peacebuilding at the grassroots level might also be advanced through programmatic peace efforts. These efforts might be launched either before or after formal peace structures have been implemented.[9] In Mozambique, for example, the Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) initiated a program that brought church representatives from all of the provinces together for a national seminar.[10] These representatives were then assigned the task of implementing local seminars, which discussed topics such as religious perspectives on war and peace, family involvement in conflict resolution, land reform, public health, human rights, and the impact of war on children. Seminars typically involved 30 to 50 participants, included pastors and lay people, and lasted for two weeks. Several of the seminars were held in refugee camps, and over the course of 16 months, more than 700 people participated.[11]
Conflict-resolution approaches can also be integrated into broader community and public-health programs for dealing with postwar trauma. Integration might include training in dealing with community conflict and violence, and workshops aimed at reducing prejudice. In many cases, such workshops are conducted as part of a country's health-delivery system, and draw on resource teams made up of conflict-resolution trainers, public-health officials, and psychiatrists.[12]
These approaches enable grassroots leaders to work at the community or village level on issues of peace and conflict resolution. Programs often work through existing networks, such as churches or health associations, and attempt to deal with the trauma brought about by war. This is not a matter of political accommodation among elites, but rather a matter of repairing the interdependent relationships in the daily lives of ordinary people. Action taken at the grassroots level is crucial to reducing a conflict's destructiveness.
[1] John Paul Lederach, Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1997), 42.
[2] Lederach, 42.
[3] Lederach, 43.
[4] Lederach, 55.
[5] Lederach, 52.
[6] Lederach, 52.
[7i] Lederach, 53.
[8] Lederach, 52.
[9] Lederach, 53.
[10] Lederach, 54.
[11] Lederach, 54.
[12] Lederach, 54-55.
Use the following to cite this article:
Maiese, Michelle. "Grassroots Actors." Beyond Intractability. Eds. Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess. Conflict Research Consortium, University of Colorado, Boulder. Posted: October 2003 <http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/grassroots/>.
Sources of Additional, In-depth Information on this Topic
Additional Explanations of the Underlying Concepts:
Online (Web) Sources
"Grassroots Good News." , 1900
Available at: http://www.dieschwelle.de/.
"Grassroots Good News" (GGN), a monthly free digest for NGOs working for conflict resolution, environment commitment and citizen diplomacy (distributed to 1700+ organizations and people worldwide), online at www.dieschwelle.de
Carl, Andy. "Women Weaving Bougainville Together: A Contextual Case Study on the Leitana Nehan Women's Development Agency Buka, Bougainville Province, Papua New Guinea." , 2000
Available at: Click here for more info.
This case study documents the important role women played in initiating both civil society peace initiatives and the peace negoiation process in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea.
Offline (Print) Sources
Lederach, John Paul. "Structure: Lenses for the Big Picture." In Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. Herndon, VA: USIP Press, December 1997. Pages: 37-61.
In chapter four, Lederach discusses the hierarchical structure of populations affected by conflict and suggests that we view this hierarchy in terms of a pyramid. At the base of this pyramid is the grassroots level, led by local community leaders, refugee camp leaders, and members of indigenous NGOs. These leaders not only understand the fear and suffering experienced by the bulk of the population, but also have extensive knowledge of local politics. Click here for more info.
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Examples Illustrating this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
"Black Mesa Weavers for Life and Land." , 1900
Available at: http://www.blackmesaweavers.org/.
This page tells the story of the Black Mesa Weavers, a non-profit organization of the Dine (Navajo) people that works to sell their handmade wool and weavings for fair market prices, in an attempt to help this indigenous tribe to preserve their culture, way of life, and their land and water.
Bridge Builders: Leading from Between. 2004.
Available at: http://www.aworldofpossibilities.com/details.cfm?id=137.
An interview with Julie Cajune, Calvin Head, Victor Mkhize, Otton Solis, and Freddye Webb-Petett. Global leaders you've never heard of but with wisdom worth hearing gather from all corners of the globe to transcend boundaries of geography, ethnicity and culture to forge common cause to address challenges none can handle alone.
Wilmer, Franke. "Domination and Resistance, Exclusion and Inclusion: Indigenous Peoples Quest for Peace and Justice." , June 1996
Available at: http://www.gmu.edu/academic/pcs/wilmer.htm.
In this article the author briefly reviews recent developments related to indigenous resistance, and then analyzes that resistance within the socio-historical context of the emergence of a world society over the past several centuries with most of the emphasis on contemporary issues, struggles and configurations of power. The framework employed derives from theoretical work on the issue of moral exclusion, which the author utilizes as a way of understanding the intergroup, intercultural conflicts which attend political community formation. The author then examines what the phenomenon of indigenous activism suggests about the present state of our world, and how the entrance of indigenous peoples into global discourses has altered those same discourses.
Carlsen, Laura. "Self-Determination and Autonomy in Latin America: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back." Foreign Policy in Focus , 2002
Available at: http://selfdetermine.irc-online.org/regions/indigrights.html.
This article discusses the acceptance of the autonomy and rights of indigenous peoples, primarily in Latin America. It analyzes the effects of various documents which work towards the interests of indigenous people.
Demichelis, Julia. The Success of Small Grassroots Programs in Divided Communities: The Case of Gornji Vakuf. United States Institute of Peace.
Available at: http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/early/BosniaNGO.
This USIP article charts the success of a community center in Bosnia that is jointly run by the multi-ethnic community it serves.
Offline (Print) Sources
Oberschall, Anthony. "Social Movements and the Transition to Democracy." Democratization 7:3, 2000.
This article discusses the role of opposition groups and social movements in the transition from authoritarian or communist role to democracy, focusing on the issues seen in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Pfaff, Steven. "The Politics of Peace in the GDR: The Independent Peace Movement Church, and the Origins of the East German Opposition." Peace and Change 26:3, July 1, 2001.
This article discusses the development of an underground peace movement in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) in the late 1980s. Because state repression was rampant, much of the movement developed within the church, one of few non-state dominated entities.
Bray, John. "Tibet, Democracy and the Internet Bazaar." Democratization 7:1, 2000.
This article discusses the role of the Internet in Tibet. It notes the ability of Tibetan supporters to be able to communicate more effectively and quickly, but surmises that more usage inside of China and Tibet, which the Chinese government restricts, is needed for the medium to have its greatest impact.
Matthews, Dylan. War Prevention Works: 50 Stories of People Resolving Conflict. Oxford: Oxford Research Group, 2001.
This book offers concise descriptions of half a dozen joint projects from around the world. Notable examples include the coalition government that was formed in order to rally voters and vote out Slobodan Milosevic. Instead of competing with one another and potentially splitting the vote among themselves, they chose to join together in support of one candidate to oppose Milosevic. Another good example is the rebuilding of homes by joint Hutu and Tutsi groups in Burundi. Click here for more info.
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Audiovisual Materials on this Topic:
Online (Web) Sources
San Francisco's 'Sleeping Giant' Awakes School Policy Spurs Asian-American Activism. NPR. September 10, 2002.
Available at: Click here for more info.
This audio clip discusses the controversy over school integration in San Francisco that has spurred the city's normally apolitical Asian-American community to action. The issue shows just how powerful this constituency has become in California.
Offline (Print) Sources
A Narmada Diary . Directed and/or Produced by: Patwardhan, Anand and Simantini Dhuru. First Run Icarus Films. 1995.
This film documents a grassroots movement against the development of a dam in India that highlights the issue of development versus environment. Click here for more info.
Four Voices . Directed and/or Produced by: Yates, Pamela. First Run Icarus Films. 1988.
This film looks at the grass roots activities that are being done in an effort to improve four of America's poorest communities: the Assiniboine/Sioux Indian Reservation in Montana; the Black Belt area of Alabama; the Appalachian Mountain region of Tennessee; and the South Bronx section of New York. Click here for more info.
People Power. Directed and/or Produced by: Ziv, Ilan. First Run Icarus Films. 1989.
This film takes an in depth look at non-violent grassroots social movements that have taken place around the world.
Click here for more info.
The Shattered Pearl. Directed and/or Produced by: Nimal, dir. and Ranjani Mendis. First Run Icarus Films. 1991.
This film describes how a number of women's groups in Sri Lanka joined together to help stop the violence that was raging around their country. Click here for more info.
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