Peacebuilding in the Field

Individuals and groups who are willing to work for peace need support. Therefore, it is necessary to identify actors who can serve to promote peace. This can be accomplished through the regional and sociopolitical analysis of both the overall conflict as well as the methods, interests, and objectives of the actors involved. The actors themselves should contribute effectively to interventions that seek to prevent and resolve potentially violent conflicts, and they should promote nonviolent forms of conflict resolution. In this way, local capacities for peace work can be strengthened.        

Peace work in crisis regions often takes place under highly complex sociopolitical conditions that demand a high level of political sensitivity and a keen awareness of what is politically feasible. Projects and actors often confront the task of balancing seemingly irreconcilable contradictions; thus, they must be able to shape their efforts both creatively and constructively.