On 10th December we held our first Conflict Ideas Forum at the Royal Commonwealth Society in London.
The forum is convened by International Alert to discuss developments in peacebuilding theory, practice and challenges, and features keynote speakers and open discussion. It brings together stakeholders, practitioners, donors and academia in order to frame topics, generate ideas and assist programming. The first forum was on the topic of peacebuilding in Europe.
On the same day as the European Union (EU) received the Nobel Peace Prize, the Conflict Ideas Forum discussed whether it is timely to scale-up peacebuilding efforts within European countries struggling in particular with the shocks and ramifications of the global financial crisis. While the EU has been a singular model of peaceful economic, political and cultural integration for over 60 years, recent developments and changes have given rise to a number of complex and arguably new forms of conflict and violence.
As Alert’s Secretary General, Dan Smith, recently posted in his blog on the issue, over the past couple of years there have been ‘different kinds of violent expressions of disaffection, from England’s riots to the monstrous massacre of young political activists in Norway that summer, through the discovery of immigrants murdered by right-wing extremists in Germany, to the anger of the anti-austerity, anti-government riots in Greece and the thin patina that stands between order and a similarly angry chaos in several other countries’. (Read Dan’s blog here.)
The forum identified two key issues for further research and action. The first one was ‘the paradox of the European peacebuilding narrative’. This paradox centres on the notion that the purpose of the EU as a peacebuilding model has to a large extent been forgotten. It is often referred to as a model for economic cooperation and growth, but its original purpose as a collaborative venture aimed at preventing a repeat of the violence of the Second World War has to a large extent been lost. Given the difficulties Europe is facing in dealing with the consequences of the current financial crisis, there is a need to revisit the nature of the contract between Europe and its citizens. If not, the very integration designed to maintain peace between countries may instead exacerbate conflict, as feelings of injustice and unfairness deepen.
The second key issue discussed during the forum was ‘voice’. Traditional mechanisms for mediating voice within societies in Europe – in the form of traditional electoral politics – are arguably inadequate for expressing the opinions of populations that are increasingly diverse and interconnected through globalisation. This is creating feelings of marginalisation – particularly amongst young people – and has led to the formation of alternative forms of voicing opinion. These alternatives (for example, the Occupy movement, gangs, and other forms of organised protest) may or may not lead to greater levels of inclusion within European societies. The forum discussed the need for more conversations around this issue and for awareness-raising amongst politicians.
The next Conflict Ideas Forum will take place in January and will explore the nature of conflict in the 21st century, and the extent to which national and global institutions are fit for managing it. There is an online discussion on the topics discussed at the first forum – follow the discussion here.
To find out more about the forum, please contact khoyer@international-alert.org
