Confronting the Challenges to Democracy in the 21st Century

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Conflict Resolution, Pluralism, and Democracy: The Promise and the Challenge

• Ensure inclusiveness in peace making and democratization. To be successful, a transition to democracy requires local civil society actors who are involved in both conflict resolution and the democratic transition. Local history, culture, relationships among key players, etc. must be understood, and the principle of inclusiveness underlies both conflict resolution and democratization; it must therefore extend to obvious civil society actors, as well as to political parties and militaries. Women, in particular, must be brought into the decision-making process and should not be viewed only as victims.
• The international community, including business interests that often support the status quo and aid donors, must understand the need for fair and equitable conflict resolutions that help ensure democratic transitions. The international community should support both peace processes and democratic transitions, but external influences must be balanced by local control. International involvement, whether through aid or political intervention, should seek to right social injustices in a society in order to promote a democratic outcome. A country's selective involvement or non-involvement often mirrors its national interests and can thus exacerbate local conflicts.
• Addressing the root causes of conflict must be inherent in the conflict-resolution process. When the causes of a conflict are not addressed, the potential of its reemergence is great. A culture of tolerance, respect for diversity, inclusiveness, and reconciliation must therefore be paired with an understanding of the points of disagreement that spur the conflict, such as disputes over resources, land, ethnic identity, gender, and religion.
• Justice and accountability must both be pursued in the resolution process. Issues of justice, lack of accountability, and immunity to punishment are very real to the victims of conflict.
  
• International and local actors, at all levels, must understand that peace building and democracy should proceed hand in hand. Humanitarian action is not a substitute for political action. Citizen diplomacy or building communal bridges, both of which are conflict resolution activities, are integral to formal transactional ("Track I") activities. In fact, they often precede, and always support and help sustain, negotiated settlements. Conflict resolution and peace building are the "glue" of political settlement. Conflict resolution rests on the principle of non-violence, but protagonists often believe that a stable order, even a democratic one, can be obtained through violent means; more often, they simply reject non-violent approaches out of hand.
• Conflict resolution and democracy activists must commit themselves to the long-term investment in changing perceptions and stereotypes, teaching tolerance, and establishing the principle of inclusiveness. Civil society and international community pressures must work to generate a commitment on the part of militaries, recalcitrant governments, or armed factional leaders to that goal. Conflict resolution adherents are often seen as traitors, agitators, or sell-outs to the other side, and are thus excluded from the process or victimized. Only in a democracy is violence ruled out as a legitimate means of governance or control.
  
• The media should be a pillar of democracy and report equitably, completely, and without bias. Media coverage often undermines conflict resolution and democracy through "hate" reporting that fans the flames of conflict, selective coverage that omits certain conflicts, or coverage that is incomplete or biased.

• Integrate into the World Movement's informational network an exchange of experiences in conflict resolution and how the peace process has helped democratic transitions.
• Identify commercial and government media activities that exacerbate or escalate conflicts through inequitable and incomplete coverage or by actual "hate" reporting. This can be accomplished by highlighting Web sites and publications that demonstrate particularly destructive reporting and by reporting on conflicts not receiving international media attention.
  
• Create an index of tools and resources, both human and financial, which can be accessed by democracy advocates facing challenges of conflict resolution. The index should include resumes of trainers and experts, their contact information, available training courses, and funding sources for support of conflict resolution and peace building.
• Include references to, or modules on, conflict resolution and peace building in all World Movement materials on democracy building, support activities, and future conferences and workshops.
  
• Since women are integral to conflict resolution, peace building, and democratization, the World Movement should strengthen their role in its decision-making processes.