Abstract
Since its independence in 1966, the landlocked Sub-Saharan African nation of Lesotho has struggled with political violence. Political conflicts between rival parties have resulted in direct interventions, as well as external mediation efforts by neighboring countries, most notably the Southern African Development Community (SADC). This chapter explores the role of third-party, faith-based mediators in Lesotho’s peacebuilding process during hostilities that occurred between 2007 and 2011. The prominent role of the Christian Council of Lesotho (CCL) through the Heads of Churches, as well as the efforts of the Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu are spotlighted through detailed documentation of the mediation process. In addition to exploring the role of churches in civil society-led mediation, the broader objectives of the volume are analyzed, where religious organizations are found to be pivotal in the generation of social capital, and building social cohesion through high levels of trust from broader Basotho society.
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Cogan, M.S. (2022). Mediation as Peacebuilding: Faith-Based Mediators in Lesotho’s Peacebuilding Process. In: Cogan, M.S., Sakai, H. (eds) Alternative Perspectives on Peacebuilding. Rethinking Peace and Conflict Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-05756-4_9
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