Peace is when people are anticipating and managing conflicts without violence, and are engaging in inclusive social change processes that improve the quality of their life. They are doing so without compromising the possibility of continuing to do so in the future, or compromising the possibility of others to do so.

We can recognise Peace by evidence that people are resolving conflicts and differences without violence, and also by a web of five interlocking factors in society which we believe contribute to peace:

• Power. A peaceful culture of power is critical: one which encourages people to modify the power held by their leaders, and to guide the decisions they make. The right of all people – men and women from all parts of society – to be heard, is balanced by a responsibility to contribute to society. Individuals and groups living in peaceful societies feel that their contribution is valued and they are respected.
• How people make a living. Peace also depends on a healthy and functioning economy, in which no-one is excluded from opportunities because of his or her gender, ethnicity or any other aspect of identity.
• Fair and effective laws. In a peaceful society, laws are designed and justice serves to protect human rights and reduce people’s need and ability to use or provoke violence. Everyone is equal before the law, and the systems for justice must be fair and trusted.
• Safety. For peace to be sustained, all people must be able to live without undue fear of physical or psychological threat. A society in which violence against others is commonly used to resolve personal or local conflicts is a society which legitimises and is more likely to resort to violence as a way to resolve political or other differences.
• Well-being. Peace is not an abstract idea, and it depends on people having fair and decent access to their physical and psycho-social requirements such as shelter, nutrition, education, health, clean water, social and leisure opportunities, and a decent environment.

Alert’s work helps to strengthen these factors, and we do so in collaboration with local and international partners. We believe that peacebuilding requires a tailored approach rather than off-the-shelf techniques or a standard template. We work in a number of ways, using one or more of the following methods, depending on what is most appropriate for the situation.

Dialogue – Bringing together and improving communication between people who would not normally come together.

Research – Providing evidence and analysis to assist the reframing of issues and persuade people to adopt new attitudes and approaches.

Advocacy – Changing the behaviour of institutions. Although this often focuses on formal changes to written policies, the “policy” of an institution is in fact best understood as the practical way it acts and engages with others, rather than the way it says that it acts and engages. We do advocacy with all kinds of institutions which have an impact on peace – including governments, NGOs, international organisations, and businesses.

Training – Training and learning play a key role in building the capacity of individuals, organisations and institutions to build peace, and we provide training at all levels – from the very local, right up to the level of international institutions. Our training allows us to influence the approaches and develop the skills of local and international practitioners, to build understanding, to advocate for change and to reflect on current practice.

Accompaniment - The need to ensure ownership of processes of change over time requires Alert staff to spend much of their time building and maintaining relationships. This involves working with individuals and partner organisations, as well as our advocacy targets, as a critical friend, advisor, monitor and informal capacity-builder. We aim to be available when needed, bringing in experience from other contexts, while respecting our partners’ need for space. We call this accompaniment.

All these elements are brought together in the diagram of a wheel below, which also shows how our work at different levels interacts, creating synergy and an impact greater than the sum of the parts.

International Alert works in countries and regions that are experiencing armed conflict, facing the threat of it, or trying to deal with its aftermath. Peace cannot be made on behalf of people in war-torn and war-threatened territories but work can be done to equip individuals, organisations and communities with the knowledge and skills that will radically improve their chances of avoiding violence.

We do this through bringing together in dialogue groups and people who are divided by conflict in order to improve mutual understanding and identify new solutions to persistent problems. We also accompany partner organisations in conflict zones through peace processes, building their capacities to build lasting peace through offering training, advice and support.

Our work is based on careful and continuing analysis of each situation and it is therefore part of our approach to gain an understanding of the root causes of conflict in the regions where we work by learning from those who live and work in the region. We then work to ensure that the perspectives and priorities of our local partners are represented at the highest international policy levels.

Our work in countries affected or threatened by conflict is in the Great Lakes region of Africa, West Africa, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and Asia.

Awareness of sustainable peace processes at government and international levels has grown over the past decade but decision-makers at these levels need more insight into the practical consequences of their decisions and priorities in conflict regions. The Peacebuilding Issues Programme does this by ensuring that the perspectives and priorities of our local partners are represented at the highest international levels and by providing specialist support on the ground

We take the concept of strategic peacebuilding as our starting point, a comprehensive approach which recognises that lasting peace is dependent on equitable social and economic development, accountable and transparent government, the physical security of citizens, impartial justice and genuine reconciliation.

Alert’s Peacebuilding Issues Programme focuses on issues critical to addressing the underlying causes of conflict:

Alert's new programme with Peaceworkers UK

Previously an independent NGO, Peaceworkers UK became part of International Alert in 2006, joining Alert's Peacebuilding Issues programme. It organises practical training courses for people interested in, or already working in, the prevention, management and resolution of violent conflict. It is engaged in research and development of occupational standards and assessment tools for raising the quality of this work and manages the Peaceworkers Register, a recruitment tool for employers working in this field.

More information on upcoming training courses can be found in our training section.

Click here to read Alert's statement on joining forces with Peaceworkers UK.