| Author | Norbert Ropers |
| Publication | Conflict Prevention Newsletter |
| Year | vol. 1, no. 2 (Juni 1998), pp. 10-11 |
Keywords
conflict prevention and transformation ; NGOsEight Critical Statements on the Contribution of NGOs to Conflict Prevention and Transformation
The work of NGOs as well as other civil activists in the prevention and transformation of violent conflicts is, in general, highly esteemed. The increasing involvement of NGOs in this area is not, however, entirely welcomed. Critical voices point out that this expansion has its darker sides and that it gave rise to illusions about the manageability of potentially violent conflicts
The criticism initially aimed at the consequences of the 'humanitarian interventionism' as a result of the massive involvement of humanitarian aid-organisations in civil wars and 'complex emergencies'. Some of this criticism has been dealt with by the organisations concerned and led to a new policy for humanitarian aid in the sense of an 'Hippocratic Oath of Aid': Do no Harm. With regard to the considerably smaller funds for direct civic measurements in favour of conflict prevention and transformation, the debate about its possibilities and limits was, until recently, only a sideline in the discussions about 'humanitarian interventionism'. Practical experience gained in the meantime, as well as first attempts to evaluations in this field, have led to critical questions about conflict-resolution projects within the civil society. Some of these questions were raised from the outside, especially in academic circles, whereas others deal with this topic in the traditional sense - as diplomats or representatives of multilateral organisations. In the following, I will condense these questions, problems and considerations to eight points of criticism in order to determine the possibilities, limits and needs for further clarification of conflict prevention and transformation by civil activists.
1. The movement for conflict prevention and transformation tends to rule out questions about power and sovereignty and overlook that the violent escalation of conflicts could, from the viewpoint of single activists, be a highly rational and calculated policy. Whether consciously or not, the activities of NGOs have necessarily to do with power and authority. There are four ways of dealing with it. a. NGOs try to empower single or all parties to deal with the conflict constructively and/or to support them to avoid a violent outbreak. Among other things this means the monitoring and lobbying of human rights and the protection of minorities, capacity-building and protective measurements for disadvantaged or endangered groups, negotiation training for strategic activists, public relations etc. b. NGOs try to create channels and forums to balance out the influence of power-differences, power-political positions and negotiation strategies in favour of an orientation towards basic interests, the clarifying of relationships and the enabling of common problem-solutions. c. NGOs help the victims of violent conflicts regardless of interests of power and sovereignty. This well-meaning approach has been revised as a consequence of the debate about the negative sides of humanitarian interventionism. d. NGOs contribute to the civilising of conflicts by promoting skills and capabilities for a constructive conflict-management to as many individual persons as possible. This belief is not altogether wrong, but not sufficient as the one and only approach, because it doesnŐt consider enough that individual opinions and forms of behaviour only become politically powerful in the context of social movements, of organisations and institutions.
2. The fixation on prevention and/or termination of violence as well as the role of Third Party-Negotiation in conflict-management makes the movement for conflict prevention and transformation blind towards questions of justice. This criticism also dates back to an old debate - the one about the relationship between the values of peace and justice. The tension between these two cannot be solved completely. Therefore it is all the more important that in the societal debate about appropriate means of conflict management both values get considered sufficiently. This initially means to give up the idea that constructive conflict management is primarily the result of Third-Party-Mediation. Without the support of legitimate interests of disadvantaged persons and groups, without their empowerment towards capabilities for conflict, without the work of groups for the protection of human rights and minorities conflict prevention and transformation would be incomplete. Third parties, however, can have an important function in the concentration on improving the communication between the conflicting parties rather than to enforce externally developed solutions.
3. The approach of conflict prevention and transformation tends to psychologize conflicts and to treat all participants as victims. This point refers primarily to those NGOs which organise training and workshops about conflict resolution with more or less influential members of the conflicting parties, but not with the leading groups of the parties. On this level they concentrate either on the training of individual skills or work on aspects of relationships within the conflict (traumas, different patterns of behaviour and attitudes etc.). Emphasizing psychological (and spiritual) aspects of violent conflicts is a necessity. Nevertheless, some criticism rightfully points out one weakness in the conflict prevention and transformation movement so far: The underestimation of questions of organisational development and conscious activities on meso and macrosocial structures, as mentioned above. There are only few concepts and tentative approaches to overcome these weaknesses, like the creation of 'peace-constituencies', but the infrastructure for their application so far still has to be improved.
4. The concentration on activities of the civil society in many transitional and developing societies endangers the necessary strengthening of the state as an effective monopoly of power as well as of its legal control. This criticism has to be taken seriously. It illuminates that the civilisation of the conflict-potential in transitional and developing societies can never be the task of civil society alone. Not only the capacity for self-regulation of societal activists and the creation of non-party, non-ethnic loyalties is important, but also participation in the support of the other civilising dimensions. The simple contrasting of measurements for the strengthening of the state as an alternative to the strengthening of the civil society is confusing. This has its origin in the function of the civil society as a counterpart of authoritarian regimes as in Eastern Europe before the transition in 1989/90. In the same way, however, as one succeeds to democratize state structures the functions of the civil society have to change. Now it can also be important to support state-institutions to offer services as well as a legally controlled monopoly of power.
5. Because of the constant external interference of the movement for conflict prevention and transformation in critical areas there is the danger that their representatives themselves become part of the conflict, and even create the stimulus for the continuation of the conflict - albeit involuntarily. In the case of interference by external civil activists one has at first to differentiate whether it is an 'interested' attempt in favour of a disadvantaged group, a more or less neutral attempt to prevent or terminate violence or to balance interests. With 'interested' activities it is obvious to ask the question in how far an empowerment of single parties really contributes to a constructive conflict transformation. This is less obvious with activities of mediation, consulting and support from a point of view of a neutral or all-party position. The debate about 'humanitarian interventionism' has shown that withdrawal as a meaningful and ethically acceptable consequence from these difficulties is no viable option. More appropriate is a conscious consideration of the by-products of the interference to be expected. The same is true for the movement of conflict prevention and transformation. It is facing the challenge to develop a more self-critical and reflective relationship towards its work. This is helped by forums and opportunities for 'facilitated self-reflection' as well as by a growing participation of local civil activists.
6. Like with other activists within civil society, the conflict prevention and transformation-NGOs are lacking in sufficient legitimacy in regard to their (potential) influence as well as to their own internal structure. In regard to the question of 'external' legitimacy this criticism cannot be justified, because NGOs are not capable of collectively binding decisions. The questions of the 'internal' legitimacy in conflict management is more difficult. It is difficult to formulate general statements about the appropriate constitution of NGOs dealing with conflict management, because they are rooted in a highly diverse environment. This makes it all the more important to promote the process of self-understanding about standards of quality in this field. This may also be the best way to deal with the unavoidable consequences of the inner dynamic of growing organisations. We cannot emphasize enough that the main problem in this field in the foreseeable future is not the dynamics of powerful organisations but, on the contrary, the contrast between the massive needs for action on the one hand and the under-financed small organisations which are mainly feeding on idealism and self-exploitation.
7. Similar to the world of development-NGOs, the movement for conflict prevention and transformation is influenced by the distinct North-South-divide as well as the West-East-divide. This concerns the dependencies in the co-operation of NGOs as well as the application of primarily Western concepts in conflict management. Many transitional societies have traditional conflict management mechanisms and cultures, without which the changes would be even less manageable. With the growing pressure for modernisation and politicization they are, however, increasingly under strain. Given these conditions, and also because of their cultural implications, Western forms of communicative conflict management more and more meet with reservation. It is an interesting question to what extent the movement in time has managed to narrow the divide by empowering NGOs in the South and East, by creating increasingly partner-orientated structures as well as by integrating non-Western conflict management approaches. In this regard there is a number of positive indicators showing up in the diversity of the organisations. This is comparable with the development of culturally and societally orientated concepts for training. The dynamic development of the movement for conflict prevention and transformation in South-Africa and parts of Eastern Europe has furthermore resulted in more partner-orientated structures in these areas.
8. In regard to the immense challenges for the conflict prevention and transformation and their limited resources the labour-division between NGOs as well as between NGOs, the state and multilateral activists is surprisingly underdeveloped. Many practitioners in the movement would like to intensify the co-operation with local social institutions and to develop local and regional 'peace-constituencies'. These demands are frequent and very understandable, because they express the wish for increased efficiency in spite of the presumably ongoing tight financial situation. Nevertheless, it should be taken into account that co-ordination and co-operation also require energy, money and time and that they have to be assessed under a cost-benefit perspective as well. Historically the movement for conflict prevention and transformation is in its seminal stage. Its contributions to sustainable peace-building is primarily dependent on how far it succeeds to manage a successful process of self-reflection, to learn from experience and to contextualise its work in regard to other political, societal and economic influences.