Part of what I am hoping to do with my PhD. research, is to be able to describe what Proactive Peace currently looks like in different parts of the world. Too often it seems that peace work isn’t given much attention until violence has already started. And as important as that kind of peace work … Continue reading Proactive Peace Profile: AfriNov, Turning The Tide
peace work
In Focus: Resource Scarcity and Unstable Economy
This post is an exploration of another conflict risk-factor 'type'—Resource Scarcity and Unstable Economy. I talk about what conflict risk-factors are here, but just as a quick re-fresh, they're the things which increase a community's vulnerability to violent-conflict. They don’t directly spark violence, but they’re the dry kindling that so easily catches alight. I call … Continue reading In Focus: Resource Scarcity and Unstable Economy
In Focus: Inequality of Political Access
I talk about conflict risk-factors quite a lot, because addressing them is the basis of Proactive Peace Work. So I thought it was about time that I explored these risk-factor types in more depth. In my research, I refer to 5 key types of risk-factor. Over the next few weeks, I'll discuss all of them, … Continue reading In Focus: Inequality of Political Access
What About Climate Change?
When high profile ‘climate events’ occur– be it Cop26, a particularly strong cyclone, or an especially harsh drought– we start to hear questions about how the changing, and increasingly unpredictable climate will affect our future. And when this happens, it is not uncommon to start to hear questions like: ‘will climate change make war more … Continue reading What About Climate Change?
Funding Peace
I’ve recently joined a local trust board. Their remit is to distribute funds to organisations and individuals engaged in peace work. Anyone joining this board is faced with the unavoidable question of what it means to fund peace work in the 21st century. There are two main sorts of work that we immediately think of … Continue reading Funding Peace
For those who think peace doesn’t make a good story.
Please be aware that this post contains names of deceased persons. What I would really love, is for people to know what the word ‘peace’ means with as much complexity as they know the word ‘violence’. If you ask people what violence is, they will be aware of its many different manifestations; from domestic violence … Continue reading For those who think peace doesn’t make a good story.
….And conflict sparks are?
Conflict spark is the word I use to refer to the event or events immediately before the outbreak of violent conflict that are seen as triggering it. They could include things such as an accusation of fraud during an election, the assassination of a key political figure, the unexplained death of a political activist, or … Continue reading ….And conflict sparks are?
So what are risk-factors?
If you’ve already been through a few introductory posts, you will have heard about conflict risk-factors. Simply put, they are the variety of factors that increase a community's vulnerability to violent-conflict. Of course, risk-factors do not guarantee that war, will occur, because war does not have a simple, linear cause— but they do make war … Continue reading So what are risk-factors?
Why a new word?
Why use the term Proactive Peace Work? Surely there is another word out there that can be used? Don’t get me wrong, there are lots of different terms referring to different aspects of peace work and community work out there. But I think that the word Proactive Peace fills an important gap, and here’s why. … Continue reading Why a new word?
Where does Proactive Peace exist?
The short answer is... everywhere! It exists everywhere for two main reasons. The first is that, even amongst communities with low levels of risk-factors overall, it would be rare to find a community with no risk-factors. The second, is because the reason for an absence of some risk-factors may well be because of the presence … Continue reading Where does Proactive Peace exist?