Preventive Action Toolkit
Conflict Analysis Field Guidelines and Procedures
Conflict analysis is a crucial tool for the design, implementation and evaluation of peacebuilding programmes — whether for the prevention of armed conflict, attempting to bring war and violence to an end, to help societies recover in the aftermath of war, or to attain greater justice and equality. Conflict analysis is the deliberate study of the causes, actors, and dynamics of conflict. Peace practitioners engage in conflict analysis in the same way that a doctor performs a diagnosis on a patient before determining how to proceed with treatment - though conflicts are much more complex than diagnosis of a single patient, as they involve multiple actors, groups, issues and other factors. Conflict analysis helps organisations trying to address conflict to know how to promote positive changes in the situation to reduce the potential for violence and/or transform the conflict to make room for development and social justice.
The Conflict Analysis Field Guide presents guiding principles and practical guidelines for conflict analysis that civil society organisations can adapt and localise to fit their contexts and needs. The objectives of the Guide are:
- To strengthen CSOs' capacity for conflict analysis as a basis for preventive action.
- To promote self-assessment and conflict sensitivity.
- To inform programming/project planning.
Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding: A Manual
Conflict prevention is one of the most important and most difficult challenges of our time, which can only be addressed through the combined effort of many different groups, agencies and sectors. The multi-stakeholder approach proposes that such different types of groups can work together, or at least in synergy, towards a common objective. This manual explores the viability, options and experiences of multistakeholder processes from the perspective of civil society organisations (CSOs) working to prevent conflict and build peace. It is a critical assessment of the multi-stakeholder approach that seeks to answer a number of key questions; What practical considerations do CSOs need to bear in mind when they initiate or participate in such processes? How can we make these processes more efficient and productive? When is it better not to engage in such a process?
The manual Multi-Stakeholder Processes for Conflict Prevention & Peacebuilding aims to:
-
Harness the knowledge on multi-stakeholder processes of CSOs and peacebuilding practitioners in different regions in the context of conflict prevention.
-
Provide practical guidance for CSOs and their partners to initiate or engage in multi-stakeholder processes as a part of conflict prevention strategies.
-
Enable CSOs to use their conflict analysis strategically and as part of a preventive action process.