Grassroots Approaches to Community-Based Peacebuilding Initiatives examines how change is affected in society by studying the experiences of community leaders involved in social activism in Winnipeg, Canada. Documenting the peace-building activities of a host of Community Based Organizations (CBOs), it explores how these activities are used strategically to impact conflict transformation related to issues such as racism, inequality, and extremism in local settings. Due to its combination of a theoretical foundation and first-hand accounts of actual peace-building projects, this book is a highly useful resource for understanding policy and praxis related to peace-building, and a significant contribution to the literature on peace and conflict studies and policy formation.
Historians often ignore the day-to-day struggles of ordinary people to improve their lives. They tend to focus on the accomplishments of illustrious leaders. Peace Education from the Grassroots tells the stories of concerned citizens, teachers, and grassroots peace activists who have struggled to counteract high levels of violence by teaching about the sources for violence and strategies for peace. The stories told here come from the grass roots meaning the educators are close to the forms of violence they are addressing. This collection of essays tells how citizens at the grassroots level developed peace education initiatives in thirteen different nations (Belgium, Canada, El Salvador, Germany, India, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, South Korea, Spain, Uganda, and the United States). A fourteenth article describes the efforts of the International Red Cross to implement a human rights curriculum to teachers on the ground in the Balkans, Iran, Senegal, and the United Sates. These chapters describe a variety of schools, colleges, peace movement organizations, community-based organizations, and international nongovernmental organizations engaged in peace education.
As developed throughout the dissertation's chapters, I combined a number of different and interconnected agendas with the overall goal being to strengthen and revitalize the field of conflict resolution and peacebuilding research in a number of ways. First, I critiqued the past and current peacebuilding literature in order to present its theoretical, methodological and substantive gaps and inadequacies. Second, I argued for a recognition of the interconnectedness of methodology, reflexivity and knowledge/power in general, and more specifically within the peacebuilding literature. Third, my theoretical and methodological framework constituted a distinctive exemplar for conflict resolution and peacebuilding that begins to ground our research questions, methodologies and discourses as situated knowledges within relations of power. Fourth, I argued academic peacebuilding discourses and practices are not neutral but inherently involved in larger social relations. Fifth, I presented the critical narratives from the locality of Indigenous and non-Indigenous grassroots activists in order to shift the spotlight of peacebuilding discourses and practices onto the transformative possibilities of grassroots community-based peace building. I continued with a reformulated theorization of grassroots community peacebuilding as alternative geographies of knowledge, place-based practices and counter-narratives, important in themselves, and as part of a glocality of bottom-up transformative change. Finally, I conclude with a call for a renewing of the field of Conflict resolution and Peacebuilding based on social justice and community-based praxis.
Local Peacebuilding and National Peace is a collection of essays that examines the effects of local peacebuilding efforts on national peace initiatives. The book looks at violent and protracted struggles in which local people have sought to make their own peace with local combatants in a variety of ways, and how such initiatives have affected and have been affected by national level strategies. Chapters on theories of local and national peacemaking are combined with chapters on recent efforts to carry out such processes in warn torn societies such as Africa, Asia, and South America, with essays contributed by experts who were actually actively involved in the peacemaking process. With its unique focus on the interaction of peacemaking at local and national levels, the book will fill a gap in the literature. It will be of interest to students and researchers in such fields as peace studies, conflict resolution, international relations, postwar recovery and development.
In a world torn by conflict, from neighborhood disputes to international wars, this groundbreaking book offers hope and practical solutions through the power of grassroots mediation. Drawing on more than 100 case studies from six continents, it demonstrates how local, community-driven peacebuilding efforts can transform societies, save lives, and foster prosperity. Discover for example how Grassroots Mediation works for peace in: · Colombia Peace Communities · Israel-Palestine Grassroots Peace Initiatives · Northern Ireland - Community Restorative Justice Programs · Philippines - Barangay Justice System · Rwanda - Community Reconciliation Efforts · Somalia Grassroots Peace Initiatives (EWERN and Peace Caravans) · South Sudan's Youth-Led Ceasefire Monitoring Mechanisms This comprehensive guide explores: · The theoretical foundations of grassroots mediation · Creative approaches using art, sports, and technology · The crucial roles of women and youth in peacebuilding · Economic initiatives that turn adversaries into partners · Cultural practices that foster reconciliation Whether you're a community leader in a conflict zone, a policymaker seeking innovative solutions, or a citizen passionate about building peace, this book provides the tools, inspiration, and evidence-based strategies to make a difference. Learn how Grassroots Mediators: · Initiate dialogue in divided communities · Build trust across ethnic, religious, and political lines · Empower marginalized voices in peace processes · Create sustainable structures for long-term peace · Adapt global best practices to your local context Featuring insights from renowned peacebuilders like Liberia's Leymah Gbowee, Kenya's Dekha Ibrahim Abdi, Guatemala's Rigoberta Menchú Tum, and Notre Dame's John Paul Lederach, this book bridges theory and practice, offering a roadmap for transforming conflicts at all levels of society. From the favelas of Rio to the villages of Afghanistan, grassroots mediators are proving that peace can be built from the ground up. Their stories challenge us to reimagine conflict resolution, showing that even in the face of severe violence, there are always seeds of hope waiting to be nurtured. As conflicts like the war in Ukraine continue to claim lives and destabilize regions, the lessons in this book become ever more urgent. It reminds us that peace is not just the absence of war, but the presence of justice, dignity, and shared prosperity. By harnessing the power of grassroots mediation, we can create ripples of peace that grow into waves of positive change. This book is a call to action for anyone who believes in the possibility of a more peaceful world. It shows that each of us, regardless of our position or background, has the power to be a mediator, a bridge-builder, a source of healing in our communities. In the words of Kenya's Wangari Maathai, "It's the little things citizens do. That's what will make the difference." This book equips you with the knowledge and inspiration to make that difference, one conversation, one community at a time. Join the global movement of grassroots peacebuilders. Discover how you can save lives, bring peace, foster economic growth, and build a healthier, happier homeland. The journey to a more peaceful world begins with you, and it begins now. To ensure broad accessibility, this book is priced affordably. It is my sincere hope that by making this resource widely available, it can have a meaningful, positive impact. If my book "Grassroots Mediation: How to Save Lives and Bring Peace, Happiness, Economic Growth in Your Homeland", can save even one life or bring a measure of happiness to a single individual, I will feel a deep sense of fulfillment and happiness myself. I will be grateful to be able to make a difference through this work. David Hoicka
In modern times, political and social reform often starts at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder; common people with ordinary lives enact change through community organization and the desire to improve their own lives and the lives of those around them. Governments that support such movements can experience great advances and achievements in the long term. Cases on Grassroots Campaigns for Community Empowerment and Social Change presents a series of real-world studies on political and social activism in the information age, focusing on how empowerment of minority or underserved populations can serve to enact sweeping reforms regionally, nationally, or globally. This book is a critical resource for political and private actors, including government agencies, community organizers, political parties, and researchers in the social sciences. This reference work features research on timely topics such as women’s empowerment, poverty, social activism and social change, community building, and empowerment of individuals in a variety of socioeconomic settings and roles.
This book seeks to examine how successful models of building 'peace from within' in the African context function. It draws emerging lessons to provide critical recommendations on policy, practice and academia - our primary audience. While there are numerous examples of failures of conflict resolution in Africa, shown by intractable conflict axes, less attention is paid to successes. While acknowledging the challenges that exist, this edited volume provides positive examples of building peace from within in fragile contexts through many forms of initiatives and actions at different levels: community-based (through individual and/or collective local peace initiatives), government (through ministries and/or departments), and regional (through external and/or multilateral infrastructure for peace). As a guiding principle the notion of building peace from within draws from the idea of community regeneration, which describes voluntary and peaceful activities of grassroots actors that reflect their broader interests of building peaceful communities and existence.
This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.
The purpose of this study is to understand how a group of grassroots peacebuilding leaders create and expand human capabilities through their local initiatives in Colombia. In a country that has borne the consequences of a protracted armed conflict, peacebuilding leadership and the expansion of human capabilities are two key concepts that can shed light on the process of making peace from the bottom-up. The peace agreement signed in 2016 in Cartagena, Colombia, between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) became a gleam of hope for many citizens. Official peace efforts are well-known nationwide due to the media coverage. Nevertheless, local and grassroots peace efforts are often overlooked because they are conducted on a small scale. However, their contributions to the peace processes are significant insofar as they mobilize people to foster the conditions that can create a peaceful society. A qualitative research design based on the Constructivist Grounded Theory perspective was chosen for conducting this study. The results of this research indicate that the grassroots peacebuilding leaders interviewed create and expand human capabilities through their local initiatives by generating the social, political, and formative conditions for peace and freedom, inspiring a sense of hope, belonging, and identity among their community members, and taking action for bringing about personal, social, and political transformation. Several implications for practice stemmed from this research: Informing practice from theory and vice versa through an open dialogue among grassroots peacebuilding leaders, practitioners and researchers; exploring the intersection between peacebuilding and human capabilities from a practice orientation; and bringing to the reams of practice and academy the experiences and voices of those leaders who carry out their peace actions at the grassroots level.
