Introduction: From Conflict to Enduring Peace

Abstract

This chapter argues that while analyses of conflict and mediation increasingly see conflict as inherent in all political systems, contemporary peace building approaches typically treat conflict as contingent, assuming that it can be resolved through the creation of effective political and economic structures. Contemporary peace building typically follows a hybrid approach, where major state institutions are developed by large powerful actors such as the UN, with little consultation or participation, while the creation of mechanisms for participation is left to much weaker actors, such as NGOs. Thus, the primary focus is on the creation of institutions by powerful actors, using "best practice" templates, with little local input, while participation is deferred and devolved onto weaker actors. While conflict transformation strategies have been a positive step in encouraging participation, and have begun to receive greater attention and funding, they also tend to gravitate to templates and focus on transforming a single conflict, rather than building ongoing mechanisms to resolve conflict. The chapter suggests greater attention be paid to the inherency of conflict, in particular calling for analysis to focus on the full conflict cycle, rather than only the peace building phase, and on employing that analysis in the development of permanent mechanisms for managing conflict.