Peacebuilder and Practitioner Reflections
- Dignity Over Violence: A Unified Civic Response - A supplement to Newsletter 388, with a more extensive set of quotes from Braver Angel's convening of twelve leaders from "bridging" organizations shortly after and in response to the Charlie Kirk killing.
- Intervention at Home in America - An essay by James Adams, a retired peacebuilder, on the lessons he learned through decades of peace work in in conflict zones overseas, all of which apply to the United States today.
- A Personal Reflection on Children's Role in Peacebuilding and Governance in Sierra Leone - The author of this reflection, Chernor Bah, was one of the founders of The Children's Forum Network, which was the first national children's organization in Sierra Leone. It was officially recognized and supported by both the government and its major partners, including the United Nations.
- A Personal Struggle to Balance Khmer Nationalism and Peacebuilding A deeply personal, yet historical reflection on the contradictions and challenges of nationalism and peacebuilding in Cambodia.
- Catholic Strategic Peacebuilding: The Unique Role of the Laity This article examines the Catholic Church's involvement in peacebuilding and how it must engage its strongest asset, the laity, more intentionally in order to influence the world's culture towards peace.
- Global Justice! The 2010 ICC Review Conference and the Future of International Justice in Africa This article describes the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to date and looks at the issues that will need to be considered at the May 2010 ICC review conference in Kampala Uganda if the ICC is going to become a successful provider of real justice for all, not just for some.
- How a Document Determines Which Palestinian You Are In a very personal essay, the author explains the day-to-day hardships faced by all Palestinians and explains why she believes a one-state solution is the only possible answer for the Palestinians' problem.
- The Imact of Peace on Girls' Education in Afghanistan - The author of this reflection, Razma Dostyar, is an educator in Afghanistan, focused on providing more and better education for girls in that country. She fears the current peace negotiations actually threaten gains made and urges for the protection and advancement of girls' education in Afghanistan.
- Last Words: Reflections on the African Traditional Conflict Resolution: Mato Opwut Among the Acholi in Northern Uganda This is a very personal account of a conversation between the author and his dying grandfather, in which the author learned much about the Acholi tradition of Mato Opwut and other Acholi approaches to conflict and its transformation.
- LGBT Rights and Conflict Transformation: Views from a Former Serbian State Secretary This paper, written by a former State Secretary for Human and Minority Rights of Serbia, is a reflection on the events, actors, and conflicts with regard to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) rights in Serbia from 2008 to 2010. The first part of the paper describes these events, actors, and conflicts. The second part evaluates them through four major conflict transformation dimensions: personal, relational, structural, and cultural. The paper ends with the conclusion of lessons learned.
- My Neighbor Is A Terrorist: Peacebuilding, Drones, and America's Presence in Yemen In this cross between a case study and a personal reflection, Allyson Mitchell reflects on the impact of US drone attacks in Yemen. Looking at the assassination of Anwar al-Awlaki in particular, and other attacks that have involved civilian casualties, Mitchell concludes that peacebuilding in Yemen cannot succeed if US drone strikes continue.
- Peacebuilding Around World War II: An Approach To Emotional Healing And Social Change This article describes a reconciliation workshop that took place in Germany, involving German Holocaust survivors and their descendants, perpetrators' descendants, and others who are still affected by the history of World War II. The workshop helped the participants to reach a better understanding of their shared humanity, and to become reconciled with each other and with themselves.
- Peace Needs Compromise in Afghanistan; It Won’t Come in the Form of Surrender - written by an expert on strategic threats in the Office of the National Security Council for the Government of Afghanistan, this article, written in the spring of 2017, advocates internal, bilateral, and multilateral talks among Afghan and international parties to develop a compromise that will finally bring a stable peace to the country.
- Personal Reflections on the Bangsamoro Struggle Edilwasif Baddiri discusses the history behind the conflict between the Bangsamoro and Filipino populations in the Philippines, and shares insights that he has gained into the situation as a lawyer and legislator involved in healing the rift between the two sides.
- Rebuilding Relationships Through Good Neighborliness Seminars in the Rift Valley, Kenya This case study describes a variety of local reconciliation, peacebuilding, and violence prevention programs undertaken after the 1992-93 post-election violence in Kenya by the Community Peacebuilding and Reconciliation Project of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), of which the author was a member.
- Shadowy Renditions: Reflections on the Conflict in Northern Uganda Northern Uganda is often perceived to be a region under relentless siege by a brutal rebel militia. This perception is not inaccurate; however, the media's oversimplification of the conflict and dehumanization of the militia has increased -- not decreased -- the intractability of the situation.
- Spreading the Culture of Peace through Family Traditions and Family Values: The Case of Mongolia This personal reflection is a fascinating exploration of basic Mongolian cultural values and their potential impact on Mongolia's ability to avoid ethnic tensions and war.
- The Bedouins in Israel's Negev Desert: Ubiquitous yet Invisible to the Dominant Society The Bedouins of the Negev region of Israel exist on the margins of Israeli society, culture, and law. The authors discuss the challenges facing this disenfranchised population.
- The Orange Revolution in Ukraine Taras Mazyar's recounting of the history-making events that took place in Ukraine during late 2004.
- The Power of Storytelling: Personal Reflections On Ododo Wa, a Storytelling Project of War-affected Women in Northern Uganda - This essay is a reflection of the author's peacebuilding experience in Uganda, particularly coordinating Ododo wa--a storytelling project for women affected by the war in northern Uganda.
- The Question of Cultural Genocide and Racism: Personal Reflections on the Case of Northern Cyprus In addition to the tensions between Greeks and Turks on Cyprus, Ulas also explains that there is significant tension between Turks and Turkish Cypriots. In this piece, Ulas suggests that Turks are slowly destroying the Turkish Cypriot culture in an act that he suggests could be considered "cultural genocide".
- The Role of Iraqi Refugees and Expatriates in Peacebuilding through Governance This article describes the plight of Iraqi refugees who have not been able to return home to Iraq, yet have not been able to make successful lives for themselves in their host countries. The author considers what needs to happen to allow the refugees successful return to Iraq.
- Ugandan Peacemaking: The Loss of Traditional Approaches James Wagooli discusses how conflict intervention has changed in Uganda since his childhood.
