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What's Being Done On . . . Peace Building and Democracy ?
There is a strong interconnection between the process of peace building or conflict resolution and democracy. First, conflict often emerges due to a lack of democratic political leadership or structure. Second, democratic values and principles, such as pluralism, equal representation, and participation, are vital to the process of resolving conflict. Third, in a post-conflict society, where the political infrastructure is weak or nonexistent, democratizing the political system is essential for rebuilding the society and preventing future conflict. A special section of this issue features an interview with Mr. Clayton Lillienfeldt of South Africa, a Visiting Fellow at the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, DC from October 2002 to May 2003. Mr. Lillienfeldt previously worked as a senior trainer and mediator at the Cape Town-based nongovernmental organization, Mediation Transformation Practice. His work focused on post-conflict reconstruction, HIV/AIDS, and nation building. While at NED, Mr. Lillienfeldt has been preparing a training manual on conflict management and democracy that will integrate and strengthen the work of those engaged in both peace building and democratization. This issue also contains an extensive list of online publications, including manuals and guidebooks for practitioners, journals, resource pages, and articles organized by region. At the World Movement's Second Assembly in November 2000, Mohammed Abu-Nimer of American University in Washington, D.C. and Dogu Ergil of the Turkey-based Center for Research and Social Problems organized a workshop on "Conflict Resolution, Pluralism, and Democracy." The participants discussed the critical role that conflict resolution plays during various stages of a transition to democracy. These stages include: the transactional stage (negotiation, mediation, etc.), the structural stage (capacity building and civil society building, including media, NGOs, rule-of-law institutions, human rights, etc.), and the transformational stage (dialogue, confidence building, rapprochement, reconciliation, and peace education). Some of the general recommendations formulated at the workshop emphasize the principle of inclusiveness (which is integral to both conflict resolution and democracy); encourage the international community to support local organizations in their work to eliminate injustices and promote democratic outcomes; call on the media to produce unbiased and equitable reporting; and stress the importance of long-term commitment to building a culture of tolerance, pluralism, and active civil participation, and identifying and eliminating the root causes of conflict. We encourage you to review the workshop report on "Conflict Resolution, Pluralism, and Democracy" (www.wmd.org/second_assembly/topical/w-t4.html). The World Movement would like to thank its intern, Travis Potter, for his assistance in assembling this issue. About "What's Being Done On . . . " For three months at a time, we highlight the activities of various organizations in different global regions, and links to important resources, that are focused on a particular theme or area of democracy work. Each new theme is announced via DemocracyNews, and the information from the previous installment is placed in the archives below. We hope to receive and post information about the work you or others may be doing that is focused on these issues. Send information via e-mail to the or by fax to (202) 378-9889. |
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