Peacebuilding and Post-Conflict
Reconstruction Checklist for Adversaries
Beyond Intractability checklists offer users involved in various conflict situations lists of things to think about, along with links to sections of Beyond Intractability that relate to each item. People involved in peacebuilding or post-conflict reconstruction efforts (as a disputant) might want to consider the following questions.
- Identify Stakeholders / Interest Groups
Have you identified the
many other interest or stakeholder groups (as well as individuals) who are
involved or are possibly affected by or involved in your efforts?
For more information about this topic, see: Parties to
Intractable Conflict, Disputants, Leaders,
Stakeholder Representatives
- Clarify Goals
Are you clear about your underlying goals and
interests? Is restoring relationships an important (or your most important)
interest?
For more information about this topic, see: Setting
Goals, Interests,
Rebuilding Relationships, Integrative
or Interest-Based Bargaining, Distributive
Bargaining, Positional
Bargaining, Creating and
Claiming Value, Underlying
Causes of Intractable Conflict, Frames, Framing and
Reframing.
- Determine the Conflict Stage
Is the conflict latent, developing,
or fully escalated? Has it become intractable? Is the conflict ripe for
resolution, or do you feel it is in your best interest to continue with the
status quo?
For more information about this topic, see: Conflict
Stages,What is Intractability?
Nature
of Intractability, Ripeness
Ripeness-Promoting Strategies
- Learn the History
Are there underlying issues, such as the
aftermath of colonialism or poverty, that are contributing to your conflict?
For more information about this topic, see:
Unmet
Human Needs, High-Stakes
Distributional Issues, Rich / Poor Conflicts,
Effects of Colonization, Development
and Conflict -- Introduction, Underlying Causes of Conflict
- Unrightable Wrongs
Does the conflict involved the history of
unrightable wrongs? Are you aware of options for transforming such
conflicts?
For more information on this topic, see: Transformation,
Apology
and Forgiveness, International
War Crimes Tribunals, Trauma
Healing, Reconciliation,
Truth
Commissions
- Misunderstandings
Do you know how much of the conflict might be
attributable to misunderstandings? If not, do you know how to setup
communication processes that might be able to answer this question? And, do
you know how to setup communication processes that might limit these
misunderstandings?
For more information on this topic, see: Misunderstandings,
Channels
of Communication, In-Depth
Communication, Cross-Cultural
Communication, Large-Scale
Communication, Interpersonal
- Small-Scale Communication
- Culture and Conflict
Are cultural misunderstandings contributing
to the conflict? Are there differences between you and the other parties such
as nationality, language, gender or age? Do you know some strategies for
overcoming cultural differences?
For more information about this
topic, see: Culture and
Conflict,
Cultural and Worldview Frames, Communication
Tools for Understanding Cultural
Differences, Culture-Based
Negotiation Styles, Cross-Cultural
Communication, Women in
Intractable Conflict
- Emotional and Psychological Dimensions
Do you know the extent to which
your responses are due to emotional and psychological dimensions such as
anger, fear or prejudice? Do you know what is causing these reactions and how
to address them?
For more information on this topic, see:
Psychological Dynamics,
Ethos of Conflict
Emotions, Prejudice, Anger, Fear,
Distrust,
Guilt and Shame,
Humiliation,
Victimhood,
Face
- Fact-Finding
Do you know how much of the conflict is
attributable to disagreements regarding the basic facts? If not, do you know
how to set up communication processes that might be able to answer this
question? And, do you know how to set up joint fact-finding processes that
might limit factual disagreements?
For more information on this
topic, see: Fact-Finding,
Factual
Disputes, Uncertainty,
Obtaining
Trustworthy Information, Distinguishing
Facts from Values
- Escalation
Do you know how much of the conflict is attributable
to escalation and polarization? Have you developed and implemented effective
steps to limit or reverse this effect?
For more information on this
topic, see: Escalation, Constructive
Escalation, Polarization,
Limiting
Escalation - De-escalation
- Response Options
Are you familiar
with different response options?
For more information on this
topic, see: Peaceful
Change Strategies, optionsConflict Transformation, Activism,
Negotiation, Nonviolent Direct Action,
Activism, Rebuilding
Relationships,Trauma Healing, Joint Projects, Drama in Conflict Resolution, Humanization,
Reconciliation
- Levels of Action
Have you thought about what level of
society you belong to? Are you part of the grassroots or the elite? Have you
thought about ways you can work effectively with other levels of
society?
For more information on this topic, see: Hierarchical
Intervention Levels, Elite Leadership,
Midlevel
Leaders, Grassroots
Leaders, Diplomacy,
Track I
Diplomacy, Track II
(Citizen) Diplomacy, Multi-Track
Diplomacy, Military
Intervention, Scale-Up
- Recognize how you fit into the "bigger
picture."
Do you understand how your efforts relate to other peacebuilding efforts and processes--such as peacekeeping, peace making, violence prevention, nation-building, and democratization?
For help with this topic, see:
Peace Processes,
Meta-Conflict Resolution, Peacebuilding,
Peacekeeping,
Peace Making,
International Violence Prevention, Nation Building,
Democratization,
Democracy and Conflict Management, Track I-Track II Cooperation
- Anticipate Stakeholder Reactions
Have you determined how other groups are likely to react to your
peacemaking efforts? Who will be your allies and supporters? Who will
be your opponents? Here it is important to recognize within-group differences
as well as between-group differences.
For more information on this topic, see: Within-Party
Differences, Moderates, Extremists -
Spoilers, Leaders and
Leadership, Conflict
Profiteers, External
Supporters
- Coalition Building / Conflict Minimization
For each of the
various stakeholder groups likely to be involved in the conflict, have you
considered ways of minimizing their opposition to your efforts while
simultaneously strengthening your network of allies and supporters?
For more information on this topic, see: Coalition
Building, Empowerment,
Power
Inequities, Networking
- Persuasion
Do you have a strategy for explaining your goals and
actions to other stakeholders? For persuading others that your goals are
reasonable and equitable?
For more information on this topic, see:
Channels
of Communication, In-Depth
Communication, Persuasion
- Trust
Have you been able to earn the trust of people who are
skeptical of your intentions and motivations?
For more information
on this topic, see: Trust and
Trust Building, Managing
Interpersonal Trust and Distrust, Limiting
Escalation - De-escalation, Humanization
of Extremists
- Power / BATNAs
Are you clear about the nature of power and how
it affects your "alternatives to a negotiated agreement?" Are you clear about
the powers available to other stakeholders? Have you been able to demonstrate
to people the powers that you are willing to use to defend your interests?
(Here you should consider legal, political, and economic power as well as the
ability to resist violent assaults.)
For more information on this
topic, see: Best
Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (BATNA), Understanding
Power, Coercive Power,
Exchange
Power, Integrative
Power, Nonviolence,
Power
Inequities, Empowerment, Capacity
Building, Sanctions, Incentives
- Media
Do you know how to use the media to your
advantage?
For more information on this topic, see: Large-Scale
Communication, Mass
Media, Media
Strategies
- Violence
If the conflict becomes violent, do you have a strategy
for de-escalating the violence? If the violence is on a small scale such as
gang violence in a school, is it possible for you to prevent the violence? If
the violence is on a national or international scale, is there anything you
can do to decrease the suffering caused by the violence even before it can be
stopped completely?
For more
information on this topic, see:
Limiting Escalation and De-Escalation
Preventing Interpersonal Violence
Preventive Diplomacy and International Violence Prevention
- Extremists
Do you have a strategy for dealing with extremist
groups such as paramilitaries or terrorists?
For more information on
this topic, see: Extremists or
Spoilers, Terrorism, Dealing
with Extremists,
Humanizing Extremists
- Complexity
If the conflict you are involved in has become overly
complex, do you understand theories of complexity and how to deal with
it?
For more information on this topic, see: Complexity, Complex
Adaptive Systems, Incrementalism
- Dispute Systems Design
Do you expect a continuing series of
similar disputes? Do you know about options for developing a system for the
handling of routine disputes?
For more information on this topic, see: Designing
New Dispute Resolution Systems
- Peace Agreements
Do you know how to design a successful peace
agreement? What sort of things you should think about and/or include?
For more information on this topic, see: Peace
Agreements, Substantive
Provisions of Peace Agreements, Addressing
Injustice, Security
Guarantees, Social
Structural Change, Reconstruction
Programs, Reintegration
of Ex-Combatants, Humanitarian
Aid and Development Assistance, Power
Sharing, Compensation
Programs, Procedural
Components of Peace Agreements, Monitoring
of Agreements, Enforcement
Mechanisms
- Envisioning the Future
Have you envisioned the end goals of the
peacebuilding process?
For more information on this topic, see:
Envisioning, Stable Peace
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