Structural conflict and analysis and working methods

Resources

• EN Resolving Structural Conflicts: How Violent Systems Can Be Transformed (Richard E. Rubenstein) (external link)The book analyses how certain types of social systems generate violent conflict and discusses how these systems can be transformed in order to create the conditions for positive peace. It specifically addresses the issue of violent conflicts as products of a social system that generates violent conflict as part of its normal operations. It also presents new ideas about the implications of this ‘structural turn’ for the practice of conflict resolution, emphasizing the need for conflict resolvers to embrace a new politics and to broaden their methods far beyond traditional forms of facilitation.
• EN Peace by Peaceful Means: Peace and Conflict, Development and Civilization (J. Galtung) (external link)Johan Galtung, one of the founders of modern peace studies, provides a wide-ranging panorama of the ideas, theories and assumptions on which the study of peace is based. The book is organized in four parts, each examining one of the four major theoretical approaches to peace.
• EN Building Peace Together: A Practical Resource (PDF – 18.9 MB)This Quaker Council for European Affairs report encompasses advice and guidance on peacebuilding principles, conflict sensitivity and due diligence, all necessary for any engagement. It is a practical reference for inclusive, long-term responses to today's security challenges. The report is aimed at peace practitioners, policymakers, and citizens with a commitment to more peaceful societies. The peacebuilding tools are categorised in 11 sectors resembling a government ministries such as justice, environment and education. Retrieved from: http://www.qcea.org/peace/research-project/
• EN Human Rights and Conflict Transformation: Towards a More Integrated Approach, M. Parlevilet (PDF – 743 KB)[The resource is retrieved from Berghof Foundation website - https://berghof-foundation.org/library/human-rights-and-conflict-transformation-towards-a-more-integrated-approach] The handbook article proposes that applying a perspective of human rights brings conflict transformation closer to its aims by forcing greater emphasis on structural conditions, especially the role of the state, systems of governance and issues of power. It discusses the practical demands and dilemmas of pursuing an integrated approach, focusing on asymmetric conflicts, resistance to change and clarity of roles. It offers examples from the author's own work in South Africa, Nepal and Northern Ireland.