United States 

Institute of Pe a c e

Training to Pro m o t e

Conflict Management

USIP-Assisted Training Pro j e c t s

Edited by D avid Smock
Peaceworks No. 29. First published July 1999.

The views expressed in this report are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily

reflect views of the United States Institute of Peace

UN I T E D ST A T E S IN S T I T U T E O F PE A C E

1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20036-3011

Phone: 202-457-1700

Fax: 202-429-6063

E-mail: usip_requests@usip.org

Web: www.usip.org
C o n t e n t s

I n t ro d u c t i o n 1

Part I: Training in Relation to Institutional

D eve l o p m e n t 6

1. Developing Negotiation and Mediation Skills Within

the Context of the OAU by Elizabeth McClintock 6

2. Health Bridges for Peace: Integrating Health Care with

Conflict Prevention and Community Reconciliation

by Paula Gutlove 11

Part II: Training of Tra i n e rs to A d d re s s

S p e c i fic Conflicts 1 7

3. Training to Train: Reflections on Southeastern Europe

by Jean F. Freymond and Brook Boyer 17

4. Ecumenical Community Building and Conflict

Resolution Training in the Balkans by David A. Steele 22

5. Women’s Work Is Peace: Lessons from Training Projects

in the Horn of Africa by Hibaaq Osman 28

6. Training for Interethnic/Religious Conflict Resolution in

Nigeria by Ernest E. Uwazie 32

Part III: Training in Conflict Management 3 6

7. The Training and Assessment of UN Peacekeepers with

Distance-Education Pedagogy by Harvey J. Langholtz 36

8. International Online Training Program on Intractable

Conflict by Guy Burgess, Heidi Burgess, and Paul Wehr 44

9. SANCoM: A Joint Sino-American Negotiation and

Conflict Management Curriculum Development

Project by Otto Koester and Dennis O’Donnell 50

N o t e s 55

About the Au t h o rs 57

About the Institute 59

3
I n t ro d u c t i o n

Th ro u gh its Training Progra m , the Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace seeks to en h a n ce

the skills of profe s s i onals who are direct ly en ga ged in preven ting or re s ponding to

con f l i ct , and of t h i rd parties who may serve as med i a tors or con tri bute to con f l i ct

m a n a gem ent in some other capac i ty. In this way, the In s ti tute hopes to have an impact

wh en seminar participants leave the training to re sume making dec i s i ons abo ut con f l i ct

s i tu a ti on s . For ex a m p l e , in 1998 In s ti tute staff provi ded training to Ko s ovar Al b a n i a n

l e aders , to field pers on n el of the Un i ted Na ti ons Hi gh Com m i s s i on er for Ref u gees stati on ed in va rious con f l i ct areas around the gl obe , and to the Un i ted Na ti ons (UN) civi lian po l i ce force in Bo s n i a .

The goal of the training is to en h a n ce parti c i p a n t s’ u n derstanding of working in conf l i ct situ a ti on s , to improve probl em - s o lving skill s , to provi de a bet ter grasp of the too l s

ava i l a ble to prevent or miti ga te con f l i ct , and to build prof i c i ency in using those too l s .

S pec i f i c a lly, the training focuses on improving practical skills in con f l i ct analys i s , con f l i ct

preven ti on ,n ego ti a ti on ,t h i rd - p a rty med i a ti on , and coa l i ti on bu i l d i n g. Training in nego tia ti on examines su ccessful practi ces in the pren ego ti a ti on ,n ego ti a ti on , and implem en t ati on ph a s e s .

The In s ti tute’s ex ten s ive re s e a rch and policy work gives the training staff broad acce s s

to ac ademic theorists and practi ti on ers , both inside and out s i de govern m en t , and to the

most current ideas abo ut con f l i ct ,a ll of wh i ch serve to broaden the deb a te . Training activi ties also draw on the ex ten s ive re s e a rch carri ed out under other In s ti tute progra m s . Th e

In s ti tute’s gra n t , fell ows h i p, and re s e a rch and studies programs have earn ed worl dwi de

ren own . Re s e a rch ers assoc i a ted with In s ti tute initi a tives in the rule of l aw, tra n s i ti onal ju sti ce ,c ro s s - c u l tu ral nego ti a ti on s , and rel i gi on , et h i c s , and human ri ghts parti c i p a te reg ul a rly in training progra m s . From these re s o u rce s — i n cluding abo ut a dozen disti n g u i s h ed

s en i or fell ows from around the world who perform re s e a rch at the In s ti tute each ye a r —

the training staff p u lls toget h er the most appropri a te training team for each work s h op.

One of the main goals is that participants leave the training programs with a hei gh ten ed

c a p ac i ty to con s i der the many opti ons for dealing with a con f l i ct . As In s ti tute boa rd ch a i rman Ch e s ter A . Crocker likes to say, the In s ti tute wants practi ti on ers to understand that

bet ween doing nothing and sending in the troop s , a wi de ra n ge of ch oi ces is ava i l a ble to

t h em .

To augm ent the Training Progra m , wh i ch trains pri m a ri ly official actors , the In s ti tute

also makes grants to other or ga n i z a ti ons to con du ct tra i n i n g. Over the past dec ade the Ins ti tute has made ei gh ty - four su ch gra n t s , most of t h em to civil soc i ety gro u p s . Du ri n g

1 9 9 8 , In s ti tute grants su pported con f l i ct re s o luti on training programs foc u s ed on Bo s n i a ,

Ca m bod i a , Cen tral As i a , Cypru s ,E a s tern Eu rope ,L i beri a , Si erra Leon e , and Uk ra i n e .

This publ i c a ti on high l i ghts some of the training programs su pported by In s ti tute

grants in recent ye a rs and shares lessons gl e a n ed from these proj ect s . The training proj ect s

de s c ri bed in this report took place in Ch i n a , co u n tries of the form er Yu go s l avi a , Et h i op i a , 1
Ni geri a , Som a l i a / Som a l i l a n d , and sout h e a s tern Eu rope ; t wo other proj ects had worl dwi de

s cope .

These proj ects had a va ri ety of p u rposes and used training to ach i eve several differen t

en d s . Two proj ects used training to build or stren g t h en insti tuti ons devo ted to con f l i ct

m a n a gem en t . A proj ect in the co u n tries of the form er Yu go s l avia hel ped form an or ga n iz a ti on of m edical pers on n el call ed Health Bri d ges for Pe ace devo ted to recon s tru cti on and

recon c i l i a ti on . A proj ect in Et h i opia tra i n ed staff of the Orga n i z a ti on of Af rican Un i ty

( OAU) and Af rican diplomats assign ed to the OAU to build the or ga n i z a ti on’s con f l i ct

m a n a gem ent capac i ty.

Four other proj ects tra i n ed tra i n ers who in tu rn wi ll train others in a wi de ra n ge of l ocal insti tuti ons in the met h ods of con f l i ct managem en t . A proj ect in sout h e a s tern Eu rope

tra i n ed tra i n ers who in tu rn tra i n ed journalists in Macedonia and non govern m ental orga n i z a ti on (NGO) leaders in Serbi a , of fered training in ref u gee camps in Serbi a , and or gan i zed con f l i ct re s o luti on aw a reness sem i n a rs for el em en t a ry sch ool stu dents and te ach ers

in Macedon i a . Le aders of wom en’s NGOs in Somalia and Somaliland tra i n ed others wh o

in tu rn nego ti a ted the release of kidnap vi cti m s ,m ed i a ted bet ween clans at war with each

o t h er, and hel ped bri d ge the Green Line, wh i ch sep a ra tes rival facti ons and divi des nort h

and south Mogad i s hu . A training program in Ni geria hel ped sti mu l a te and dissem i n a te

programs for interethnic and Ch ri s ti a n / Muslim dialogue in that co u n try. A training program for rel i gious leaders in Bosnia and the other co u n tries of the form er Yu go s l avi a

h el ped prom o te interfaith dialogue and the dissem i n a ti on of con f l i ct managem ent skill s

within the rel i gious com mu n i ti e s . This later led to the cre a ti on of a Bosnian or ga n i z a ti on

ded i c a ted to interrel i gious dialogue and tra i n i n g.

Th ree other proj ects had broader agen d a s . A grant to the Un i ted Na ti ons In s ti tute for

Training and Re s e a rch (UNITAR) launch ed a program of corre s pon den ce instru cti on to

prep a re pe ace keepers to serve in UN pe ace keeping mission s . In 1998, 2,000 pers ons from

62 nati ons were en ro ll ed in at least one of these UNITAR co u rs e s .With In s ti tute financial

a s s i s t a n ce , the Un ivers i ty of Co l orado has establ i s h ed the In tern a ti onal Online Tra i n i n g

Program on In tract a ble Con f l i ct ava i l a ble worl dwi de thro u gh the In tern et , with the opti on of regi s tering for co u rse credit from the Un ivers i ty of Co l orado. With In s ti tute assist a n ce , Beij i n g’s Forei gn Af f a i rs Co ll ege and the Un ivers i ty of Montana joi n t ly devel oped a

c u rri c u lum to be used in training Chinese and Am erican diplomats and forei gn affairs

s pecialists in nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem en t ,p l acing particular em phasis on U. S . -

China rel a ti on s .

Le s s ons gl e a n ed from these proj ects have wi de app l i c a ti on . These lessons wi ll inform

the futu re programs of the or ga n i z a ti ons de s c ri bed here , and by sharing these lesson s ,t h e

In s ti tute hopes they wi ll have broader uti l i ty.

One of the rec u rrent cri ticisms of an earl i er gen era ti on of i n tern a ti onal training in

con f l i ct managem ent is that it depen ded too heavi ly on U. S .m odels and ex peri en ce ,

s h owing little sen s i tivi ty to local needs and re a l i ti e s . Some tra i n ers were cri ti c i zed for parachuting in to new places for bri ef peri ods wi t h o ut taking the time to make local ad a pt ati on s . But it is clear from the proj ects reported here that the best of the current gen era ti on

of tra i n ers are very sen s i tive to these earl i er failings .

2 Introduction
From her work with health profe s s i onals in the form er Yu go s l avi a , Paula Gut l ove ass erts that on ly local people can iden tify the crucial needs of t h eir com mu n i ti e s .“ Moreover,” she wri te s ,“ i m portant re s o u rces for understanding and tra n s forming con f l i ct can

be found within the cultu re from wh i ch the con f l i ct has em er ged .” In wri ting abo ut a joi n t

Ch i n e s e / Am erican training progra m , Ot to Koe s ter and Dennis O’ Don n ell note that “To a

l a r ge ex ten t , the goals of the proj ect were accom p l i s h ed because of the em phasis on a co ll a bora tive planning process and open dialog u e .” D avid Steele em ph a s i zes the import a n ce

of f l ex i bi l i ty.

Si m i l a rly, the con tent of the training needs to be gen era ted from and ad a pted to the local envi ron m en t . Wri ting abo ut Som a l i a , Hibaaq Osman says ,“The CSIW [Cen tre for the

S tra tegic In i ti a tives of Wom en] work s h ops su cceeded largely because they foc u s ed on el i ci ting wom en’s skill s . In this sen s e ,c a lling them ‘tra i n i n g’work s h ops is som ething of a misn om er. By def a u l t , Somali wom en had alre ady devel oped many skills in pe acebu i l d i n g ;t h e

work s h ops simply hel ped them to recogn i ze this.” Koe s ter and O’ Don n ell note that the

Am ericans in their proj ect had to recogn i ze that they had mu ch to learn from the Ch in e s e . Moreover, the Am ericans had to apprec i a te that there is not a single Chinese nego tia ting style and that “ i den ti f ying the beh avi or of a ny particular nego ti a tor as bei n g

repre s en t a tive of a ‘n a ti on a l ’ or ‘of f i c i a l ’s tyle is ri s ky.” Koe s ter and O’ Don n ell say that bo t h

the Am erican and Chinese participants in the proj ect re a l i zed that they had to spend a

great deal of time to en su re that “a com m on def i n i ti onal basis for key words exists on bo t h

s i de s .”

An earl i er gen era ti on of i n tern a ti onal training programs also of ten failed to establ i s h

explicit goals being pursu ed and even more of ten failed to re ach con s en sus with tra i n ee s

in iden ti f ying goals and purpo s e s . These failu res led to con f u s i on rega rding the measu re s

of a su ccessful outcom e . The training programs de s c ri bed here were all sen s i tive to this

and of ten en ga ged the participants in set ting goals and mod i f ying ex pect a ti ons as the program progre s s ed .As Elizabeth Mc Cl i n tock points out in her discussion of the OAU tra i ni n g, i n i tial skepticism among tra i n ees can of ten be overcome as a program progre s s e s .

In em phasizing the import a n ce of the or ga n i zers , tra i n ers ,p a rti c i p a n t s , and don ors being in full accord on the purpose of a tra i n i n g, Jean Freym ond and Brook Boyer also note

the particular import a n ce of h aving re a l i s tic and ach i eva ble goals in order to avoid seri o u s

d i s a ppoi n tm en t . Mc Cl i n tock points out that a clear statem ent of p u rpose should shape

the ch a racter of the training work s h op. Gut l ove states that the gre a ter the own ership loc a l

groups have of a training progra m ,the gre a ter the likel i h ood that they wi ll find ways to

use it and to sustain it. While initial ex pect a ti ons need to be re a l i s tic and well arti c u l a ted ,

Ha rvey Langholtz also points out that “a program must have a plan and a vi s i on that wi ll

accom m od a te managed growt h .”

Koe s ter and O’ Don n ell note that before implem en t a ti on , it is important to field te s t

n ew curricular materials with target audien ce s . Both form a tive and su m m a tive eva lu ati ons help en su re corrective steps and ulti m a te su cce s s .L a n gholtz wri te s ,“S t a rt with a

clear vi s i on and mission statem en t , but be prep a red to cri ti c a lly eva lu a te ad d i ti onal need s

and opportu n i ties that may devel op.”

Several aut h ors con clu de that training must invo lve mu ch more than introducing a few

n ew tech n i qu e s . Liz Mc Cl i n tock points to the need for a broad - ga u ged and broadly ex peIntroduction 3
ri en ced training te a m . The training team en ga ged for the OAU proj ect inclu ded a spec i a list on the natu re and sources of con f l i ct and another with ex ten s ive practical field ex perien ce in managing con f l i ct , com bi n ed with the Con f l i ct Ma n a gem ent Gro u p’s ex peri en ce

in building con f l i ct managem ent skills of n ego ti a tors worl dwi de . In devel oping the Ch in e s e / Am erican curri c u lu m , Koe s ter and O’ Don n ell found that it “requ i red a more compreh en s ive ,i n tegra ted approach that also incorpora tes needs assessmen t , eva lu a ti on ,

rel a ti on s h i p - bu i l d i n g, i m p l em en t a ti on , and fo ll ow - u p.”

To en h a n ce the qu a l i ty of the training and en su re that the sessions con s ti tute a laboratory for improved interethnic rel a ti on s ,d iverse ethnic repre s en t a ti on is essen ti a l .E rn e s t

Uwazie wri tes that interethnic and interfaith fac i l i t a ted dialogue “a ll ows the parties to ven t

t h eir anger and com mu n i c a te their fru s tra ti ons and preju d i ces in an open proce s s , wh i ch

can lead to new unders t a n d i n gs thro u gh the sharing and mutual va l i d a ti on of e ach other ’s

feel i n gs and intere s t s .”Osman notes that CSIW saw its work s h ops as tools in building a

con s ti tu ency for pe ace thro u gh divers i ty, with the participants ref l ecting the soc i ety ’s divers i ty.“CSIW work s h ops were important steps in cre a ting the kind of human interdepen dency that Somalia has lacked .”While Steele accepts the va lue of rel i gi o u s ly divers e

training session s , he has also discovered that some goals can be more ef fectively ach i eved

in singl e - con fe s s i onal session s .

An o t h er major theme of these pre s en t a ti ons is the import a n ce of the insti tuti onal setting as a determinant of su ccess for the tra i n i n g. Gut l ove wri tes that for training to have a

l on g - term impact , it must be em bed ded in a stru ctu re that can su pport and con ti nue the

program long after the tra i n ers are gon e . Freym ond and Boyer say that the training mu s t

h elp local or ga n i z a ti ons grow.“Al t h o u gh our immed i a te aim was to train indivi du a l s ,i ns ti tuti on building was also an essen tial ingred i ent linked to our overa ll obj ective .”Moreover, con ti nu i ty over time needs to be en su red , and both or ga n i zers and financial partn ers

n eed to commit them s elves to a lon g - term progra m .

S teele is helping to establish a Bosnian or ga n i z a ti on that can con ti nue to con du ct the

kind of training he introdu ced . Gut l ove also points out that set ting up ch a n n els for on going com mu n i c a ti on and inform a ti on exch a n ge helps pre s erve the gains made at tra i n i n g

s e s s i on s . Fac i l i t a ting linkages to other insti tuti ons can help en h a n ce wi der impact and su st a i n a bi l i ty. L a n gholtz points out that the new distance edu c a ti on program for pe ace keepers could be ef fective on ly if it was coord i n a ted with or ga n i z a ti ons su ch as the UN

Dep a rtm ent of Pe ace keeping Opera ti ons and linked to other or ga n i z a ti ons with similar

obj ective s .

4 Introduction
Introduction 5

Aut h ors also cited these final lesson s :

1 .Most training should aim to motiva te tra i n ees to actively en ga ge in con f l i ct managem ent and to share their newly acqu i red skills with others .( Boyer / Freym on d )

2 .O r ga n i z a ti ons providing training need to recogn i ze the po ten tial and actual role of

wom en as pe acem a kers and to ro uti n ely inclu de them in training progra m s .

( O s m a n )

3 . Training programs need to stress interacti on and el i c i t a ti on , using case stu d i e s , exerc i s e s ,s i mu l a ti on s , and discussion . ( Koe s ter / O’ Don n ell )
Part I: Training in Relation to

Institutional Dev e l o p m e n t

6

Chapter 1

D eveloping Negotiation and Mediation Skills

within the Context of the OAU

As po l i ti c a l , com mu n i ty, and business leaders in Af rica work to guide their soc ieties into a ra p i dly ch a n ging worl d ,t h ey are con f ron ted by both age-old and

n ewly em er gent po l i ti c a l , tri b a l , et h n i c , econ om i c , and social con f l i cts that

t h re a ten the devel opm en t , and in some cases the very ex i s ten ce , of t h eir nati on s . Wh i l e

war con ti nues to deva s t a te the con ti n en t , the need for more ef fective means of com p l ex

s ocial probl em - s o lving and rel a ti onship managem ent has become incre a s i n gly urgen t . In

l i ght of t h i s , the Con f l i ct Ma n a gem ent Gro u p, In c .(CMG) has devel oped and ad a pted

m et h ods of i n tere s t - b a s ed joint probl em - s o lving to va rious Af rican envi ron m ents wi t h

p a rtn ers and cl i ents from the po l i ti c a l ,d i p l om a ti c , and business sectors . These tech n i qu e s

ju x t a pose the ri ch history of rel a ti on s h i p - b a s ed con f l i ct managem ent practi ces from

m a ny parts of Af rica with newer, i n tere s t - b a s ed nego ti a ti on models and tech n o l ogi e s

f rom the We s t .

One cl i ent to wh om CMG has bro u ght these new met h ods is the Orga n i z a ti on for

Af rican Un i ty (OAU ) . The OAU has begun to redefine itsel f as a con f l i ct re s o luti on en ti ty

a n d , in devel oping a lon g - term stra tegic plan for fully el a bora ting the role of the Spec i a l

O r ga n ,the Con f l i ct Ma n a gem ent Divi s i on has em er ged as one mechanism thro u gh

wh i ch the OAU might best be able to influ en ce and ef fect ch a n ge in Af ri c a .

Wo rk s h o p

In Novem ber 1996, with the su pport of the Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace (USIP) and

the Ca rter Cen ter, CMG was asked to con du ct a work s h op en ti t l ed Devel oping Nego ti ati on and Med i a ti on Sk i lls within the Con text of the OAU Mechanism for Con f l i ct Preventi on , Ma n a gem en t , and Re s o luti on for a group of s i x ty Af rican diplom a tic repre s en t a tive s

f rom va rious mem ber states of the OAU, as well as the staff of its Con f l i ct Ma n a gem en t

Divi s i on . The goal of the five - d ay work s h op was two - fo l d : to acquaint participants and

the OAU Con f l i ct Ma n a gem ent Divi s i on with a new set of practical skills and tools for ana ly z i n g, preven ti n g, and managing con f l i ct , and to fac i l i t a te informal dialogue bet ween

the va rious participants on the shared interests and obj ectives of the OAU ’s Con f l i ct Ma na gem ent Divi s i on and the Af rican Di p l om a tic Corp s .G iven the past em phasis on more

a b s tract ,t h eory - b a s ed training initi a tive s , the program staff and key OAU repre s en t a tive s

b y

E l i z a b e t h

M c C l i n t o c k
a greed that this work s h op would focus on non t h eoreti c a l , practical skills that indivi du a l s

and teams could actu a lly use in po ten tial or real con f l i ct situ a ti on s .

Over the co u rse of the five days ,p a rticipants ex a m i n ed their assu m pti ons abo ut conf l i ct and nego ti a ti on , devel oped their indivi dual skill set s , and then app l i ed those lesson s

to a broader inqu i ry into the role of t h i rd parties in joint probl em - s o lvi n g. The work s h op

con clu ded with a con c rete analysis of the ch a ll en ges facing Af rican leaders tod ay and the

role the OAU ’s Con f l i ct Ma n a gem ent Divi s i on might play in ad d ressing them .

CMG em ph a s i zed an ex peri en tial learning envi ron m ent for the work s h op, com bi n i n g

t h eory pre s en t a ti ons with nego ti a ti on simu l a ti on s , case stu dy ex a m i n a ti on s , and work i n g

group discussion s . The stru ctu re of the program moved from the micro level to the mac ro

l evel ,f rom the cre a ti on of a produ ctive working envi ron m ent bet ween participants to a

focus on building indivi dual skill s , and finally en ded with an analysis of the ch a ll en ge s

that face Af rican leaders tod ay.At each stage , the group was able to draw upon sign i f i c a n t

ex pertise as the training team com pri s ed practi ti on ers from the fields of tra i n i n g, con f l i ct

m a n a gem en t , and human ri gh t s .

The training met h odo l ogy used du ring the program seem ed to be qu i te new to the

p a rti c i p a n t s . Ra t h er than delving immed i a tely into discussions abo ut current con f l i cts in

Af ri c a ,p a rticipants were asked to qu e s ti on their own assu m pti ons abo ut the nego ti a ti on

process and the role they might play in that proce s s .In ad d i ti on ,p a rticipants did not begin by ad d ressing real con f l i cts but inste ad were asked to nego ti a te re a l i s ti c , but ficti ti o u s ,

c a s e s . While the team ex peri en ced some initial skepticism from the participants with rega rd to met h odo l ogy,the participants were soon persu aded that it perm i t ted them to focus on skill building ra t h er than on probl em - s o lvi n g. As a re su l t , at the end of the wee k

wh en participants analy zed current con f l i cts in Af ri c a ,t h ey seem ed able to gen era te a far

ri ch er list of both causes and po s s i ble ways of dealing with the con f l i ct s .

O u t c o m e s

The work s h op provi ded a ri ch learning envi ron m ent at many level s . Pa rticipants fo u n d

the Seven Elem ent nego ti a ti on fra m ework1 to be a useful tool for devel oping and arti c ul a ting their pers onal nego ti a ti on stra tegies and, using their ex peri en ce in the nego ti a ti on

s i mu l a ti on s ,t h ey gen era ted guidelines for con du cting an ef fective nego ti a ti on in the

Af rican con tex t . In the co u rse of that discussion ,p a rticipants con tra s ted the de adl ock produ ced by an advers a rial and unilateral advoc acy approach with the ef fectiveness of bo t h

s tra tegic inqu i ry and active listen i n g, em phasizing that a su ccessful nego ti a ti on proce s s

com bines su b s t a n tive probl em - s o lving and ef fective com mu n i c a ti on .

In ad d i ti on to their indivi dual ex peri en ce s ,p a rticipants came toget h er in the plen a ry

for a “f i s h bowl ”exercise in wh i ch va rious med i a tors practi ced their med i a ti on skills in

f ront of the large gro u p. Pa rticipants seem ed to feel that this hands-on opportu n i ty to

practi ce and cri ti que nego ti a ti on skills was ex trem ely usef u l .As med i a tors and analys t s ,

the participants discussed how a simple and pra gm a tic model su ch as the Seven Elem en t

Fra m ework could bet ter en a ble them to analy ze ,f ac i l i t a te ,a n d , wh ere nece s s a ry, g u i de a

n ego ti a ti on ra t h er than re act to unanti c i p a ted events in an ad hoc manner.

Du ring the final two days of the work s h op, the lessons gen era ted by the parti c i p a n t s

were app l i ed to a con c rete analysis of the con f l i ct and stru ctu ral ch a ll en ges facing Af ri c a n

Training in Relation to Institutional Development 7
l e aders tod ay. Fi rs t ,f ac i l i t a tors and participants discussed similari ties and differen ces bet ween the OAU and the ex peri en ces of o t h er regi onal or ga n i z a ti on s . In parti c u l a r, C M G

f ac i l i t a tors shared their ex peri en ce working with the Orga n i z a ti on for Sec u ri ty and Coopera ti on in Eu rope (OSCE) in de s i gning an inter govern m ental or ga n i z a ti on that could be s t

ad d ress ethnic con f l i ct in Eu rope de s p i te limited re s o u rces and a re s tri ctive mandate . Th i s

convers a ti on bro u ght to light the fact that, l i ke the OAU, o t h er regi onal or ga n i z a ti ons have

f aced con s traints within their ch a rters — su ch as maintaining requ i rem ents of m em bers t a te con s en sus for all acti on s — wh i ch have po ten ti a lly preven ted or ga n i z a ti ons from enga ging in ef fective preven tive diplom acy activi ti e s .

The participants analy zed the kinds of s tru ctu res the OAU might devel op to meet the

ch a ll en ges they face . Two examples are the OSCE’s Hi gh Com m i s s i on er on Na ti onal Min ori ti e s , who has played an ef fective role in fore s t a lling and managing con f l i ct in a nu mber of i n s t a n ces in Eu rope in recent ye a rs , and the “m i s s i ons of l ong du ra ti on ,” wh i ch

con ti nue to play a su s t a i n ed med i a tory role in a nu m ber of co u n tries in Eu rope . A nu mber of p a rticipants felt that the models devel oped by other regi onal or ga n i z a ti ons co u l d

prove promising if m od i f i ed for the Af rican con tex t .

Fo ll owing the discussion abo ut other regi onal or ga n i z a ti on s ,p a rticipants were introdu ced to the “four qu ad rant too l ,” a tool that stru ctu res stra tegic planning and ef fective

group probl em - s o lvi n g. Pa rticipants were asked to app ly the tool to the probl em of developing an ef fective role for the OAU in preven ti n g, m a n a gi n g, and re s o lving con f l i cts in

Af ri c a . Pa rticipants bro ke into small working groups to analy ze the barri ers for the OAU

and to bra i n s torm some po s s i ble means for overcoming those barri ers . Am ong the barriers men ti on ed were :

the need for con s en sus among mem ber state s ,e s pec i a lly given their relu ct a n ce to

to l era te invo lvem ent in their internal affairs ;

the lack of devel oped civil soc i ety in many Af rican co u n tri e s ; and 

the lack of an ef f i c i ent means of ga t h ering ti m ely and acc u ra te inform a ti on abo ut

a reas of po ten tial con f l i ct .

Working groups then reported back to the plen a ry session on po s s i ble gen eral stra tegies and su gge s ti ons for devel oping an ef fective con f l i ct re s o luti on role for the OAU. Me asu res put forw a rd inclu ded :

e s t a blish gre a ter links bet ween the OAU and civil soc i ety, perhaps providing con f l i ct

re s o luti on training for indigenous NGOs;

i n c rease coord i n a ti on with su bregi onal or ga n i z a ti on s ;

maintain ef forts to build an ef fective com mu n i c a ti ons infra s tru ctu re at the OAU ;

en co u ra ge gre a ter on - t h e - ground OAU pre s en ce at crisis spo t s ;

s tren g t h en the Com m i s s i on on Human and Peop l e’s Ri gh t s ; a n d

i n s ti tuti on a l i ze in-co u n try con f l i ct re s o luti on mission s .

8 Training in Relation to Institutional Development
Going Fo r wa rd

In re s ponse to the OAU ’s interest in a fo ll ow-up session , CMG has devel oped a capac i ty -

building program and partn ership with the OAU that ad d resses the needs of the Mech an i s m , ack n owl ed ges the Mech a n i s m’s wi de - ra n ging levels of re adiness and prep a red n e s s ,

and provi des the Mechanism with usable tools in a ti m ely manner. To take adva n t a ge of

the latest devel opm ents in con f l i ct re s o luti on theories and proce s s e s , CMG wi ll partn er

with the Af rican Cen tre for the Con s tru ctive Re s o luti on of Di s p utes (AC C O R D, Du rb a n ,

So uth Af rica) to com p l ete the de s i gn and implem en t a ti on of the first phase of this two -

phase progra m . Two important aspects of this program are the focus on re a l - time conf l i cts and the invo lvem ent of su bregi onal or ga n i z a ti ons in devel oping and implem en ti n g

con f l i ct managem ent stra tegi e s .

Lessons Learned

This work s h op or ga n i zed for the OAU of fered several take - aw ays . While they are cert a i nly specific to the or ga n i z a ti on of this particular work s h op, s everal gen era l i z a ti ons can be

d rawn .

Le s son One

Met h odo l ogy. As men ti on ed above ,the met h odo l ogy used by CMG was met with skepticism by the parti c i p a n t s ,i n cluding diplom a t s . The focus on indivi dual skills seem ed to

t h em to be an unre a l i s tic and simplistic way of a pproaching intern a ti onal con f l i ct . The effectiveness of the fra m ework and the su ccess of the accom p a nying exerc i s e s ,h owever,

dem on s tra ted the va lue of qu e s ti oning indivi dual assu m pti ons abo ut proce s s ,n ego ti ati on , and con f l i ct managem ent and the impact that those assu m pti ons can have on the

su ccessful outcome of a ny nego ti a ti on proce s s . These lessons would have been lost had

the training team not rem a i n ed true to its purpo s e — acqu a i n ting participants with a new

s et of practical skills for the preven ti on and managem ent of con f l i ct at all level s .

Le s son Two

Com po s i ti on of training tea m. The training team com pri s ed repre s en t a tives of t h ree different or ga n i z a ti on s ,e ach of wh om bro u ght a specific skill set or ex peri en ce to the mix.

CMG of fered the pers pective of con f l i ct re s o luti on practi ti on ers with ex ten s ive ex peri en ce

working to build the con f l i ct managem ent skills of n ego ti a tors worl dwi de . Ei l een Ba bbi t t

of USIP provi ded a cri tical understanding of the natu re and sources of con f l i ct , in ad d iti on to a broader pers pective on the role of training in pe acebuilding activi ti e s .And fin a lly, the Ca rter Cen ter repre s en t a tives bro u ght with them ex ten s ive practical ex peri en ce

f rom the fiel d . This broad ra n ge of ex peri en ce and ex pertise provi ded an incred i bly ri ch

re s o u rce to the parti c i p a n t s .CMG wi ll seek a similar mix of s k i lls and ex peri en ce in futu re

work or ga n i zed with the OAU, a l t h o u gh the size of the training team wi ll be limited as the

p l et h ora of voi ces som etimes put the cl a ri ty of the message at ri s k .

Training in Relation to Institutional Development 9
Le s son Th re e

Training as an instru m ent to prom o te pea ce. Training indivi duals in adva n ced nego ti ati on and con f l i ct managem ent skills should be con s i dered as a nece s s a ry and va lu a ble inve s tm ent in laying the pathw ays to pe ace . Wh en training is provi ded to a wi de ra n ge of

actors , the lack of eva lu a tive mechanisms som etimes makes it difficult to discern the imm ed i a te impact the training wi ll have , ei t h er on the participants as indivi duals or on the

con f l i cts they discussed in the work s h op s . The va lue of the training lies in its edu c a tive

p u rpo s e . The larger the nu m ber of dec i s i on - m a kers within the OAU who recogn i ze the

va lue of equ i pping the OAU ’s Con f l i ct Ma n a gem ent Cen tre and its staff with the skills to

a n a ly ze and manage con f l i ct , the gre a ter the ch a n ces that re s o u rces wi ll be all oc a ted for

that purpo s e . The divi dend of su ch an inve s tm ent in practical skills and tools is the inc re a s ed capac i ty of the or ga n i z a ti ons to prom o te the pe aceful re s o luti on of con f l i ct s .

In ad d i ti on , the purpose of the training and the ex pect a ti ons of p a rticipants with rega rd to that purpose must be clear in order to en su re ach i evem ent of training goa l s . Th e

work s h op of fered to the OAU in Novem ber 1996 was meant to raise the aw a reness of a

wi de ra n ge of actors within the OAU stru ctu re abo ut the nego ti a ti on proce s s . Su b s equ en t

work s h ops wi ll be directed differen t ly. In the next two phases of the progra m , a small er,

m ore targeted group has been iden ti f i ed to receive tra i n i n g.These actors play a sign i f i c a n t

role in the de s i gn and implem en t a ti on of OAU con f l i ct managem ent stra tegi e s .As a resu l t , the impact that these su b s equ ent tra i n i n gs have on prom o ting pe ace in the regi on

wi ll be more measu ra bl e .

Al t h o u gh We s tern powers and OAU mem ber co u n tries are all oc a ting re s o u rces and

pers on n el to devel op regi onal capac i ty for military pe ace opera ti on s ,t h ey also need to ensu re the para ll el devel opm ent of i n d i genous diplom a tic capac i ty at the stra tegic level to

m a n a ge su ch a com p l ex re s o u rce . The analytic and diplom a tic skills devel oped thro u gh

training programs wi ll serve the OAU in nu m erous ways , con tri buting to the perform a n ce

of e ach of the missions of the Mechanism for the Preven ti on , Ma n a gem en t , and Re s o luti on of Con f l i ct . The OAU has made great stri des in advancing the freedom and pro s peri ty of the Af rican peop l e s .As the OAU redefines itsel f , tod ay ’s interpret a ti on of t h e

preven tive diplom acy mandate and the devel opm ent of its Mechanism wi ll shape the futu re of Af rican sec u ri ty for gen era ti on s . If Af rica is to re a l i ze this vi s i on a ry mandate and

s ave her ch i l d ren from the sco u r ge of w a r, the OAU must con ti nue to increase its inve s tm ent in capac i ty - building activi ti e s .

1 0 Training in Relation to Institutional Development
Chapter 2

Health Bridges for Peace: Integrating Health

C a re with Conflict Prevention and

Community Reconciliat i o n

On the eve of the nine-day war that began wh en Sl ovenia decl a red indepen den ce

f rom the Yu go s l av Federa ti on in Ju ly 1991, a Sl ovene physician asked her med i c a l

co ll e a g u e , Paula Gut l ove of the In s ti tute for Re s o u rce and Sec u ri ty Stu d i e s

( I R S S ) , for hel p. She wanted to introdu ce con cepts of con f l i ct managem ent to peop l e

who were in a po s i ti on to use them to make a differen ce in the regi on . Within wee k s ,

similar requests came from indivi duals and groups in Serbia and Croa tia who were concern ed abo ut the vi o l ent co u rse they saw their co u n tries taking. Thus began IRSS’s lon g -

term com m i tm ent to the form er Yu go s l avi a .

Working with people from Serbi a , Croa ti a , Sl oven i a , Macedon i a , Mon ten egro, a n d

Bo s n i a - Her zegovi n a ,IRSS has conven ed nu m erous dialogue and training work s h ops for a

ra n ge of profe s s i onal gro u p s ,i n cluding po l i ti c i a n s , edu c a tors , rel i gious leaders , ref u gee

workers , and health care provi ders . Gradu a lly the work came to focus on the unique and

c rucial role that health care profe s s i on a l s , pri m a ri ly phys i c i a n s , can play, not on ly in

m ending the physical and psych o l ogical wounds of i n d ivi duals but also in rebu i l d i n g

s tru ctu res for public health care and in cre a ting bri d ges for com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on .

D rawing from its broad ex peri en ce in the form er Yu go s l avia and in re s ponse to requests from medical profe s s i onals in the regi on ,IRSS launch ed the Health Bri d ges for

Pe ace proj ect in 1996. The proj ect uses a shared con cern ,n a m ely the re s tora ti on of p u bl i c

h e a l t h , as a veh i cle to conven e , en ga ge , and train health care profe s s i onals in con f l i ct mana gem ent and com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on tech n i qu e s . Al s o, a f ter training the profe s s i on a l s ,

the proj ect helps them de s i gn and implem ent intercom munal activi ties that then integra te

com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on and con f l i ct preven ti on stra tegies into health care del ivery.Th e

f i rst field program in the Health Bri d ges for Pe ace proj ect has opera ted in the form er Yugo s l avia since 1996.

With the su pport of a grant from the Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace and other U. S .

and Eu ropean funders ,IRSS has been working cl o s ely with a group of m edical profe s s i onals repre s en ting all parts of the form er Yu go s l avi a . This Health Bri d ges program has taken

the form of a Medical Net work for Social Recon s tru cti on , wh i ch con n ects all parts of t h e

form er Yu go s l avi a . Thus far, IRSS has fac i l i t a ted five larger meeti n gs and nu m ero u s

s m a ll er meeti n gs conven ed by the Net work . The first larger meeting took place in Gra z ,

Au s tri a , in April 1997; the second in Bl ed , Sl oven i a , in Novem ber 1997; the third in Sa raj evo in April 1998; the fo u rth in Lju bl ja n a , Sl oven i a , in Novem ber 1998; and the fifth in

O h ri d , Macedon i a , in May 1999.

At the first meeti n g, over 60 health care provi ders from all parts of the form er Yugo s l avia conven ed in Gra z .Close to 90 percent of the participants were phys i c i a n s ,i n clu d- 1 1

b y

Paula Gutlove
ing cl i n i c i a n s , govern m ent health of f i c i a l s , health ad m i n i s tra tors , and ac adem i c i a n s . Th e

rest were clinical psych o l ogi s t s , health care ad m i n i s tra tors , and social scien ti s t s . The meeting foc u s ed on the provi s i on of p s ych o s ocial su pport to po s t - con f l i ct com mu n i ti e s .

At the meeti n g, IRSS fac i l i t a ted work s h ops to prom o te discussion of the role of h e a l t h

c a re provi ders in both social recon s tru cti on , wh i ch invo lves building social infra s tru ctu re

and fulfilling the psych o s ocial needs of a com mu n i ty, and com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on ,

wh i ch invo lves re s toring human rel a ti onships and building tru s t ,h ope , and mutu a l i ty.

Pa rticipants were intri g u ed and exc i ted by the idea that medical profe s s i onals have a special role to play in the recon c i l i a ti on of w a r- d ivi ded com mu n i ti e s .The work s h ops inclu ded training in com mu n i c a ti on skills and basic con f l i ct managem ent tech n i qu e s ,

wh i ch were important because the majori ty of the group bel i eved from previous ex perien ce that com mu n i c a ti on ac ross con f l i ct divi des was typ i c a lly unprodu ctive ,i f not outri ght con ten ti o u s . For many parti c i p a n t s , the work s h ops provi ded a unique opportu n i ty

to en ga ge in “s a fe” d i a l ogue with “the en emy.”

Pa rticipants em braced this opportu n i ty for dialogue and re ad i ly accepted the idea of a

s pecial role for the medical profe s s i on .At the close of the meeti n g, t h ey unanimously est a bl i s h ed the Medical Net work for Social Recon s tru cti on in the form er Yu go s l avi a . Th ey

def i n ed the or ga n i z a ti on as a “l oose net work of health care provi ders or ga n i zed to reconcile ex i s ting con f l i cts and prevent root causes of n ew con f l i cts in the form er Yu go s l avi a .”

The stated goals of the Net work were “to prom o te dialog u e , coopera ti on , pers onal cont act s , the ren ewal of rel a ti on s h i p s , and practical soluti ons to re s tore the phys i c a l ,p s ych ol ogi c a l , and social health of the regi on .” 1

To ex ped i te its work , the Net work form ed a Con t act Group to implem ent Net work dec i s i ons and plan futu re progra m s . The Con t act Group was de s i gn ed to inclu de two peop l e

f rom each form er Yu go s l av Rep u bl i c , but this was flex i bly en forced to ref l ect the geopo l i tical re a l i ties of the regi on .The first meeting of the 24-mem ber Con t act Group was held in

Bl ed , Sl oven i a , in Novem ber 1997, h o s ted by the Sl ovene Fo u n d a ti on of L ju bl ja n a . Th e

ga t h ering provi ded an opportu n i ty to revi ew the status of health care del ivery and soc i a l

recon s tru cti on in the form er Yu go s l avi a , provi de training on the role of health profe s s i onals in social recon s tru cti on and com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on , and furt h er the or ga n i z a ti on a l

devel opm ent of the Net work .

A meeting of the full Net work took place in Sa ra j evo in April 1998. This meeting foc u s ed on the role of health profe s s i onals in recon c i l i a ti on ,s ocial recon s tru cti on , and conf l i ct preven ti on . Word of the Net work had spre ad thro u gh o ut the regi on , and more than

100 people from twelve co u n tries atten ded the meeti n g. Approx i m a tely 90 percent of

those pre s ent came from the form er Yu go s l avi a , and all parts of this regi on were repres en ted . The meeting aimed to examine and adva n ce the role of health profe s s i onals in recon c i l i a ti on , recon s tru cti on , and con f l i ct preven ti on in the form er Yu go s l avi a . It com bi n ed

a su b s t a n tive exch a n ge of vi ews on a wi de ra n ge of p u blic health issues with training in

con f l i ct managem en t . Moreover, the meeting provi ded opportu n i ties for significant or gan i z a ti onal devel opm ent of the Net work .The Net work cre a ted an acti on stra tegy to expand its mem bership and to increase the scope and impact of its progra m s .

Ma ny participants stated that the training work s h ops that IRSS fac i l i t a ted at the meeting provi ded important skills that proved essen tial to the Net work’s or ga n i z a ti on a l

1 2 Training in Relation to Institutional Development
devel opm en t . This fact was dra m a ti c a lly borne out wh en the group was discussing membership in its governing body, the Con t act Gro u p. Pa rticipants had re ach ed an impasse,

s ome arguing that mem bership should be apporti on ed along ethnic lines, o t h ers that it

should be based on a functi onal divi s i on of re s pon s i bi l i ti e s . Ten s i on in the room bec a m e

p a l p a bl e . One participant stood up and announced that if m em bership were based on

ethnic lines, t h en “ we have learn ed nothing. Those who would rob us of our abi l i ty to

trust each other have won .” She went on to argue that the Net work could su cceed in its

m i s s i on on ly if e ach pers on would try to trust each other as a full and re s pon s i ble member. In s t a n t ly, the ten s i on in the room dissolved , and the group re ad i ly agreed to a functi onal divi s i on of re s pon s i bi l i ti e s . The two mem bers who had been the focus of t h e

et h n i c i ty argument stood up and cro s s ed the room to clasp each other around the shoulders and discuss a functi onal divi s i on of re s pon s i bi l i ti e s .An o t h er participant stood and

s a i d ,“This we have learn ed to te ach to others , but this we must not for get ours elve s .”

Outlook for the Medical Netwo rk in the Former Yu g o s l av i a

De s p i te con ti nuing vi o l en ce in the form er Yu go s l avi a ,the out l ook for the Medical Network is bri gh t . The small group that came toget h er in spite of en ormous difficulties has

n ow grown into an or ga n i zed Net work of m ore than 100 divers e ,i n f lu en tial medical profe s s i on a l s . The Net work has devel oped a com mu n i c a ti ons forum thro u gh e-mail and fax

that spans all parts of the form er Yu go s l avia and functi ons de s p i te the dra m a tic flu ctu ati ons in po l i tical cl i m a te in the regi on . Con c rete health care del ivery programs have been

or ga n i zed ac ross “en emy lines.” For ex a m p l e , Mu s l i m , Croa t , and Serb oph t h a l m o l ogi s t s

received training in a spec i a l i zed su r gical tech n i que and now functi on as a mixed - et h n i c

team in all parts of Bo s n i a - Her zegovi n a .A spec i a l i zed ped i a tric medical fac i l i ty in Monten egro has of fered lon g - term care to child war- vi ctims from the Mu s l i m - Croat Federati on and from Rep u blika Srp s k a . Wh en vi o l en ce eru pted in Ko s ovo in mid-1998, t h e

Net work issu ed a non p a rtisan decl a ra ti on . The decl a ra ti on urgen t ly asked all the parti e s

to the con f l i ct and the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty to “recogn i ze that the situ a ti on must not

proceed to war, wh i ch would deva s t a te the public health interests of a ll parties and be a

c rime against hu m a n i ty.”2 Sadly, this statem ent of s a n i ty and solidari ty went unheeded .

The Net work con ti nues its progra m m a tic and or ga n i z a ti onal devel opm en t . A meeti n g

of the Con t act Group was held in Novem ber 1998 in Sl oven i a , and a meeting of the larger

Net work was sch edu l ed for Macedonia in spring 1999. This meeting took place in Ohri d ,

Macedon i a ,May 26–30, 1 9 9 9 , and was com bi n ed with a training progra m , conven ed and

s t a f fed by the Net work ,for psych o s ocial assistance in trauma recovery. Pa rticipants in the

training program were health care profe s s i onals from the Ko s ovar Albanian ref u gee and

Macedonian com mu n i ti e s . IRSS fac i l i t a ted the part of the training program aimed at the

i n tegra ti on of con f l i ct managem ent and trauma recovery. The Net work is curren t ly working on a web s i te for or ga n i z a ti onal and medical inform a ti on exch a n ge ,p u blishing ann o u n cem ents of the Net work’s mission in regi onal medical profe s s i onal journ a l s ,a n d

devel oping a coord i n a ted public health su rvey to eva lu a te the impact of vi o l en ce on public health in all parts of the form er Yu go s l avi a .

In ad d i ti on to expanding and deepening con t acts among participants from the form er

Yu go s l avi a , the Net work is broadening its co ll a bora tive and su pportive ties with sym p aTraining in Relation to Institutional Development 1 3
t h etic intern a ti onal or ga n i z a ti ons su ch as the World Health Orga n i z a ti on , the Eu rope a n

Com m i s s i on , the Eu ropean Un i on , Medecins sans Fron ti er, and Catholic Rel i ef Servi ce s .

The Net work also is actively working to re ach out to physicians in other war- torn are a s

to spre ad the Health Bri d ges con cept . For ex a m p l e , a physician from Ch ech nya came to

the Sa ra j evo con feren ce as a guest of the Net work . Af ter the meeti n g, she requ e s ted assist a n ce in or ganizing a similar medical net work in Ch ech nya that would bring toget h er

Ch ech en , In g u s h ,O s s eti a n , and Russian health profe s s i on a l s . IRSS and mem bers of t h e

Net work are actively invo lved in this proj ect and travel ed to the nort h ern Ca u c a sus in October 1998 to fac i l i t a te the first meeting of Ch ech en - a rea health profe s s i on a l s .

Health Bridges Strat e gy

Pe ace keep i n g,famine rel i ef ,p u blic health, and other hu m a n i t a rian programs have alw ays

i nvo lved some degree of con f l i ct managem ent work . However, this work has of ten been

done on an ad hoc basis, wi t h o ut specific planning or training of pers on n el in con f l i ct

m a n a gem en t .I R S S’s Health Bri d ges for Pe ace proj ect del i bera tely integra tes con f l i ct mana gem ent with other hu m a n i t a rian ef forts in an “ i n tegra ted acti on”progra m . Th ro u gh integra ted acti on , con f l i cting parties are bro u ght toget h er to work on a hu m a n i t a rian or

devel opm ent program that invo lves su perord i n a te goa l s , and are provi ded with sign i f ic a n t , con c rete incen tives for coopera ti on .At the same ti m e , the hu m a n i t a rian program receives the ben efit of con f l i ct managem ent training ex perti s e .

Medical profe s s i onals have a special role to play in healing vi o l en ce - rava ged com mu n iti e s . Health care provi ders have an inti m a te assoc i a ti on with the people who have su f fered

m en t a lly and phys i c a lly from arm ed con f l i ct s ,a re of ten well edu c a ted , and have statu re

and access to a wi de ra n ge of com mu n i ty gro u p s . Health care provi ders can cre a te a

bri d ge of pe ace bet ween con f l i cting com mu n i ti e s ,wh ereby del ivery of health care can become a com m on obj ective and a binding com m i tm ent for con ti nu ed coopera ti on . Th e

i nvo lvem ent of m edical profe s s i onals from different sides of a con f l i ct in the del ivery of

health care can be a model for co ll a bora tive acti on and can cre a te the lon g - term com mun i ty invo lvem ent essen tial for su s t a i n a ble pe ace .

The Health Bri d ges program in the form er Yu go s l avia has opti m i zed the assets of t h e

m edical profe s s i on to prom o te a sys tem a tic integra ti on of p u blic health with social recons tru cti on and com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on . IRSS hel ped medical pers on n el who were locked

in po l a ri zed , tense situ a ti ons to en ga ge in ef fective dialogue abo ut their past, t h eir pre s en t ,

and their po ten tial shared futu re . Th ro u gh this dialog u e ,t h ey were able to iden tify comm on health care needs that they could ad d ress more ef fectively thro u gh a coopera tive approach . Some areas of com m on en de avor inclu de integra ting war- a f fected peop l e ,

re s ettling ref u gees and displaced pers on s ,recon s tru cting health care del ivery sys tem s , providing civic edu c a ti on for human ri ghts pro tecti on , and devel oping su s t a i n a ble proce s s e s

for managing com mu n i ty con f l i ct .

1 4 Training in Relation to Institutional Development
Lessons Learned

Ex peri en ce in the form er Yu go s l avia has dem on s tra ted essen tial principles for integra ti n g

health initi a tives with com mu n i ty recon c i l i a ti on in a sys tem a tic and su s t a i n a ble manner.

Le s son One

A broadly repre s en t a tive group of i n d i genous pers on n el should guide a Health Bri d ge s

progra m .O n ly the local people can iden tify the crucial health needs of t h eir com mu n i ti e s .

Moreover, i m portant re s o u rces for understanding and tra n s forming con f l i ct can be fo u n d

within the cultu re from wh i ch the con f l i ct has em er ged . Wh erever po s s i bl e ,p a rti c i p a n t s

in our work s h ops hel ped to devel op their own training progra m s . As practi ti on ers prep a red to use in their com mu n i ty what they had learn ed in the work s h op s ,t h ey worked

toget h er to ad a pt rel evant aspects of the training to improve its usefulness in local commu n i ti e s .

Le s son Two

The more own ership local groups have of a training progra m ,the more likely they are to

use and sustain it.

Le s son Th re e

To have a lon g - term impact , training must be em bed ded in a stru ctu re that has the po tential for lon g - term su s t a i n a bi l i ty. Thu s ,the or ga n i z a ti onal devel opm ent of the Med i c a l

Net work was crucial to the su ccess of the proj ect .This devel opm ent invo lved helping the

Net work to plan, conven e , and fac i l i t a te meeti n gs . It has also en t a i l ed iden ti f ying pers onn el and re s o u rces that can be com m i t ted to the Net work for an ex ten ded peri od .

Le s son Fou r

To pre s erve the gains made at meeti n gs and training session s , ch a n n els must be set up for

on going com mu n i c a ti on and the exch a n ge of i n form a ti on among a ra n ge of p a rti e s . For

ex a m p l e , at times wh en direct com mu n i c a ti ons were impo s s i bl e ,m em bers of the Med i c a l

Net work cre a tively sent messages and medical aid thro u gh third parti e s . These sym bo l i c

and su b s t a n tive acts were crucial to maintaining the gains in trust and human con n ecti on

that each meeting of the Net work had ach i eved , and ulti m a tely, to the su rvival of the Network .

Le s son Five

A Health Bri d ges program is not su s t a i n a ble or maximally ef fective unless it rel a tes to

o t h er or ga n i z a ti ons and actors . Thu s ,the Medical Net work was able to grow and ga i n

s t a bi l i ty by maintaining com mu n i c a ti on links with a ra n ge of rel evant hu m a n i t a rian and

devel opm ent agen c i e s ,n on govern m ental or ga n i z a ti on s , and govern m ent and inter govern m ental agen c i e s .

Training in Relation to Institutional Development 1 5
Le s son Si x

O n going program eva lu a ti on and the abi l i ty to ch a n ge in re s ponse to cri tical eva lu a ti on

a re essen tial to the ef f i c i ency and su s t a i n a bi l i ty of a ny training progra m . Al s o,the program must be able to ad a pt to a ch a n ging po l i tical landscape . For ex a m p l e , vi o l en ce

eru pted in Ko s ovo du ring the Net work’s April 1998 meeting in Sa ra j evo. Pa rti c i p a n t s

f rom Ko s ovo, con cern ed that they might not be able to retu rn to their families, dec i ded

to leave the meeting one day early. The meeting agenda and the training program were

reworked on the spot to high l i ght discussion of the situ a ti on in Ko s ovo and the appropria te Net work re s pon s e , and to accom m od a te the Ko s ova rs’ ch a n ged sch edu l e . More recen t ly, in May 1999 the Net work altered its planned annual con feren ce ,s ch edu l ed to take

p l ace in Macedon i a , and conven ed a training program to help health profe s s i onals de a l

with the crisis of the war in Yu go s l avi a . The training program was staffed by Net work

health care provi ders from Croa ti a , Bo s n i a , Sl oven i a , and Macedonia who were eager to

s h a re what they had learn ed from previous war trauma ex peri en ce with their co ll e a g u e s .

By working and training toget h er, health profe s s i onals are building “health bri d ges for

pe ace ,”giving their com mu n i ties a sym bol for hope and a re a s on to bel i eve that the

promise of t h eir shared futu re can shine bri gh t ly en o u gh to start healing the painful

m em ories of t h eir shared past.

1 6 Training in Relation to Institutional Development
Part II: Training of Trainers to

Address Specific Conflicts

1 7

Chapter 3

Training to Train: Reflections on

Southeastern Euro p e

The vi o l en ce and warf a re assoc i a ted with the break-up of the form er Yu go s l avi a

and the gen eral po l i tical and ethnic instabi l i ty of s o ut h e a s tern Eu rope produ ced

an unpreceden ted re s ponse by non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons (NGOs) to contri bute to pe acemaking ef forts in the regi on . While many or ga n i z a ti ons qu i ck ly en ga ged

in hu m a n i t a rian rel i ef to help all evi a te the difficult con d i ti ons of w a r, o t h er NGOs

worked to prevent con f l i ct from eru pting or escalating in other parts of the regi on . Ma ny

of these latter activi ties began in the early 1990s and took the form of training work s h op s

de s i gn ed to build capac i ty and em power indivi duals at the com mu n i ty level . Al t h o u gh

programs va ri ed in met h odo l ogy, t h ey gen era lly em ph a s i zed the causes and phases of

con f l i ct and provi ded con f l i ct managem ent skills and know - h ow su ch as nego ti a ti on and

m ed i a ti on .

An eva lu a ti on of these early initi a tives reve a l ed a strong need to train participants to

train others in con f l i ct managem en t . Pa rticipants left training programs with mu ch ent hu s i a s m , but they lacked the capac i ty to de s i gn and or ga n i ze programs and activi ties of

t h eir own . Wi t h o ut su ch capac i ty, training would be limited to a small ,s el ect group of

p a rti c i p a n t s , and futu re programs would depend on the initi a tive and invo lvem ent of

tra i n ers from out s i de the regi on . To gen era te a su s t a i n a ble and spill over ef fect ,p a rti c ipants needed skills that went beyond standard nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct re s o luti on

tra i n i n g.

Af ter having run programs in nego ti a ti on , con f l i ct managem en t , and com mu n i ty

building for participants from most co u n tries in southeast Eu rope , in early 1994 the Centre for App l i ed Studies in In tern a ti onal Nego ti a ti ons (CASIN) de s i gn ed a pilot progra m

in Macedonia to train tra i n ers in con f l i ct managem en t .E m phasis was placed not on ly on

tra n s ferring skills and tech n i qu e s , but also on understanding how to em p l oy them in organizing programs to edu c a te others . In many re s pect s , this program te s ted a new con cept

that would have significant and en du ring ef fect s .

While the 1994 program led to en co u ra ging re su l t s , a po s t - program assessment indic a ted a need to go a step furt h er. Not on ly do participants requ i re training in the or ga n i z ati on of su ch progra m s ,t h ey need con ti nuous su pport and directi on in order to ef fectively

i m p l em ent con f l i ct managem ent activi ti e s . Thu s , in early 1995 CASIN devel oped a second tra i n - t h e - tra i n ers progra m , wh i ch was or ga n i zed in close coopera ti on with the Et hnic Con f l i ct Re s o luti on Proj ect (ECRP) at the Fac u l ty of P h i l o s ophy of the Sts. Cyril and

b y

Jean F.

F re y m o n d

a n d

B rook Boyer
Met h od ius Un ivers i ty in Skopje and the East-East Program of the Open Soc i ety Fo u n d ati ons of Yu go s l avia and Macedon i a .

The pri m a ry obj ective of the proj ect was to train tra i n ers in con f l i ct managem ent so

t h ey could devel op and implem ent con f l i ct managem ent activi ties of t h eir own . Th e

proj ect aimed to stren g t h en the non govern m ental sector, build net works of i n d ivi du a l s ,

su pport and en co u ra ge the devel opm ent of l ocal con f l i ct mech a n i s m s , and prom o te furt h er understanding of con f l i ct and ways it can be managed pe acef u lly.

Approx i m a tely 20 participants from Serbi a , Ko s ovo, and Macedonia took part in the

progra m . Th ey were sel ected in close coopera ti on with CASIN’s partn ers , and equal repre s en t a ti on of the diverse ethnic back grounds was maintained .As most of the parti c i p a n t s

h ad alre ady been ex po s ed to some degree of con f l i ct managem ent tra i n i n g, or ga n i zers

could focus more atten ti on on adva n ced con cepts of con f l i ct and con f l i ct managem en t

proce s s e s .

The proj ect was based on two important prem i s e s .F i rs t ,i rre s pective of the evo luti on of

the form er Yu go s l avi a ,the ethnic com mu n i ties of s o ut h e a s tern Eu rope are de s ti n ed to live

toget h er. The people of this regi on must them s elves devel op coopera tive rel a ti ons as well

as formal and informal mechanisms capable of m a n a ging these rel a ti on s . Fu rt h erm ore ,

not on ly state s , but also non s t a te actors ,i n cluding NGOs, s ch oo l s ,u n ivers i ti e s , and the

press and med i a ,must coopera te . Secon d , coopera tive rel a ti ons in the regi on cannot be

i m po s ed from abroad . The com mu n i ties them s elves must take an active part in ree s t a blishing pe ace and ref l ecting on their futu re . While out s i de assistance may and should be

m o tiva ti n g, it should not be con s training or impo s i n g. In other word s ,o ut s i de assist a n ce — be it govern m ental or non govern m ental—should serve as an impetus to mobi l i ze

and sti mu l a te the local capac i ty for pe ace .

Training Pro g ra m

The 1995 program was stru ctu red in two part s . The first con s i s ted of t h ree on e - wee k

training modu l e s . Module one revi ewed con cepts and tech n i ques of con f l i ct managem en t

and foc u s ed on assessing con f l i ctual situ a ti ons and iden ti f ying their sources thro u gh bo t h

obj ective and su bj ective len s e s . The module then ex a m i n ed different ways to manage and

even tu a lly re s o lve an escalating con f l i ct . Tra i n ers gave specific atten ti on to probl em -

s o lving and process managem ent skills of n ego ti a ti on ,f ac i l i t a ti on , and med i a ti on .

In the second modu l e ,p a rticipants app l i ed con f l i ct managem ent con cepts and skills to

com mu n i ty - b a s ed situ a ti ons in sout h e a s tern Eu rope . An a lysis of t h eir cases reve a l ed that

the percepti on of con f l i ct va ri ed among people from different areas of the regi on . Di s c u ss i on also uncovered that the direct and indirect sources of the con f l i cts of ten spre ad ac ro s s

d i f ferent levels of s oc i ety. The participants ex a m i n ed va rious con f l i ct managem ent mechanisms specific to the regi on , but several rem a rked that the legi ti m acy of these mech anisms had largely bro ken down with the po l i tical uph e aval and ethnic ten s i ons in the are a .

The third module introdu ced participants to the con cept and mechanics of edu c a ti on

programs in con f l i ct managem en t , em phasizing both or ga n i z a ti onal and logi s tical el em ents of programs as well as the ped a gogical and te aching aspect s . Tra i n ers taught parti cipants how to stru ctu re programs and tailor them to meet the specific ch a racteri s tics and

n eeds of a u d i en ce s . The participants prep a red , con du cted , and debri efed ro l e - p l aying ex1 8 Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts
ercises under the direct su pervi s i on of the tra i n ers . The week en ded with working gro u p

a s s i gn m ents de s i gn ed to lay the fo u n d a ti ons for the fo ll ow-up progra m s , wh i ch would be

or ga n i zed and implem en ted by the parti c i p a n t s .

CASIN con ceived each of the three modules to inclu de a wi de va ri ety of ped a gogi c a l

too l s . Te aching met h ods su ch as lectu re s ,a s s e s s m en t s , working group assign m en t s , ro l e -

p l aying exerc i s e s , and case studies were used to fo s ter interacti on and dialogue among the

p a rti c i p a n t s . Exercises drew on cases of con f l i ct occ u rring out s i de the Balkan regi on to

avoid unnece s s a ry and perhaps vo l a tile po l i tical deb a te among participants from differen t

ethnic back gro u n d s . In con du cting the exerc i s e s ,h owever, p a rticipants saw a mirror ima ge of m a ny of t h eir own situ a ti on s , but they con cen tra ted on learning how to manage

the proce s s . Tra i n ers thus sought to tra n s fer skills ra t h er than discuss the su b s t a n tive aspects of con f l i ct s . However, the causes and managem ent processes of l oc a l , com mu n i ty

con f l i cts in the regi on were inform a lly discussed .

Activities Organized and Implemented by the Pa r t i c i p a n t s

The second part of the proj ect con s i s ted of a series of fo ll ow-up activi ti e s . Pa rticipants orga n i zed and implem en ted va rious proj ects that took place in the months fo ll owing the

t h ree training modu l e s . Fo ll ow-up proj ects inclu ded :

a con f l i ct managem ent work s h op for journalists in Macedon i a ;

a con f l i ct analysis and NGO em powerm ent seminar in Serbi a ;

t wo su m m er camps on envi ron m ental con f l i ct managem ent in Serbi a ;

visits to ref u gee camps in Serbia to familiari ze ref u gees with noti ons of con f l i ct

m a n a gem en t ; a n d

a series of on e - d ay con f l i ct re s o luti on aw a reness sem i n a rs for el em en t a ry sch ool students and te ach ers in Macedon i a .

At the end of our proj ect ,p a rticipants were in the process of ei t h er con ti nuing thei r

programs or planning new activi ti e s . Several participants from Macedonia also bega n

working and devel oping con f l i ct managem ent proj ects with ECRP and Se a rch for Comm on Ground in Macedon i a , te s ti f ying to their intere s t ,m o tiva ti on , and en t husiasm to

p u rsue work in the fiel d .

The overa ll obj ective of the proj ect was to train a group of i n d ivi duals to or ga n i ze and

con du ct edu c a ti on activi ties in con f l i ct managem en t . The or ga n i z a ti on and implem en t ati on of the va rious fo ll ow-up proj ects indicate ach i evem ent of the short - term goals of o u r

proj ect . The “tra i n ed ” tra i n ers used different approaches and new learning tech n i ques in

t h eir activi ti e s , repre s en ting skills they did not possess at the out s et of the proj ect . Ot h er

obj ectives inclu ded stren g t h ening aw a reness of con f l i ct managem ent as well as con tri buting to the cre a ti on of a con f l i ct managem ent cultu re in sout h e a s tern Eu rope . CASIN bel i eves these obj ectives were met .

The proj ect also en h a n ced the non govern m ental sector by sti mu l a ting new people to

become invo lved in tra i n i n g, edu c a ti on , and com mu n i ty - s ervi ce activi ti e s . The proj ect led

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 1 9
to the devel opm ent of profe s s i onal con t acts thro u gh o ut the regi on , not to men ti on the

m a ny fri endships that now cross po l i tical and ethnic bo u n d a ri e s .

Lessons Learned

Several important lessons have been learn ed from this proj ect .

Le s son One

Con f l i ct managem ent training is a nece s s a ry con d i ti on to tra n s form war- torn soc i eti e s

and rebuild pe aceful com mu n i ty rel a ti on s . The re sults of tra i n - t h e - tra i n ers work s h op s

n eed not nece s s a ri ly lead to iden tical or similar progra m s .The main goal is to motiva te

tra i n ees to begin en ga ging in a wi de ra n ge of con f l i ct managem ent activi ti e s , wh i ch spill

over to other audien ce s .

Le s son Two

Training and edu c a ti on con du cted by “o ut s i ders”must con tri bute to en a bling local or gan i z a ti onal growt h . Al t h o u gh our immed i a te aim was to train indivi du a l s ,i n s ti tuti on

building was also an essen tial ingred i ent linked to our overa ll obj ective . For this re a s on ,

con f l i ct managem ent activi ties initi a ted by NGOs from out s i de the regi on must be developed and implem en ted in close coopera ti on with local partn ers . Si n ce CASIN bega n

working in sout h e a s tern Eu rope in the early 1990s, a ll of its programs have been developed with local partn ers . Local partn ers ,h owever, of ten are weak as they lack human and

financial re s o u rces as well as some of the needed know - h ow. Th ey of ten depend on singl e

i n d ivi duals who may pursue different goals and have many agen d a s . In s ti tuti on bu i l d i n g

is thus essen tial if one intends to en su re con ti nu i ty.

Le s son Th re e

All crises provo ke a mu l ti tu de of re s ponses by intern a ti onal NGOs who all , in one way or

a n o t h er, would like to con tri bute to pe acem a k i n g. This mu l ti p l i c i ty of re s ponses may not

a lw ays be po s i tive . Local partn ers lack the capac i ty to coopera te in so many proj ect s ,e s pec i a lly as many of t h em are differen t ,i f not con trad i ctory, in natu re and approach e s . More

tro u bl e s ome is the fact that some proj ects are not profe s s i onal en o u gh and not alw ays well

received by the local pop u l a ti on .

Le s son Fou r

Ma ny proj ects also take place on ly on ce or twi ce , and are then abandon ed ei t h er for lack

of funding or interest by the ex ternal or dom e s tic partn ers . Con ti nu i ty over a nu m ber of

ye a rs is needed . Similar progra m s , even tra i n - t h e - tra i n ers progra m s ,should be repe a ted

s everal times in order to cre a te a cri tical mass of ava i l a ble tra i n ers .

Le s son Five

Ex pect a ti ons of both or ga n i zers and spon s ors must remain re a l i s ti c . Un fortu n a tely, s om e

con f l i ct managem ent activi ties or ga n i zed after the three training modules have proven

2 0 Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts
difficult to sustain because their financial spon s ors of ten seek immed i a te gains in term s

of po s i tive press covera ge and pra i s e .Rebuilding war- torn soc i eties is an evo luti on a ry

process and not revo luti on a ry like the de s tru ctive forces of w a r. The seeds of ch a n ge of ten

t a ke more time to germ i n a te than ex pected . Proj ect or ga n i zers and financial partn ers thu s

must work as codevel opers and commit them s elves to lon g - term activi ti e s ,s ome of wh i ch

m ay not nece s s a ri ly provi de immed i a te and clear outcomes in the short term .

Le s son Si x

Pe acebuilding is a stop - a n d - go proce s s , as dem on s tra ted in many parts of the worl d . Po l i tical and other isolated events wi ll inevi t a bly interru pt pe acebuilding activi ties in sout h e a s t

Eu rope , and fo ll ow-up programs by NGOs wi ll likely su f fer as a re su l t . The dec i s i on by the

Su preme Co u rt of Serbia to wi t h d raw the Soros Fo u n d a ti on’s regi s tra ti on bl ocked the devel opm ent and implem en t a ti on of s everal con f l i ct edu c a ti on and com mu n i ty - rel a ted activi ties in Serbi a .L i kewi s e , the war in Ko s ovo wi ll hinder coopera ti on ,p a rti c u l a rly

bet ween Serbs and ethnic Al b a n i a n s . Al t h o u gh at times the or ga n i z a ti on of events may

prove difficult, i f not impo s s i bl e ,c ivil soc i ety should not lose its motiva ti on and determ in a ti on to con ti nue working to ree s t a blish pe aceful rel a ti on s .

C o n c l u s i o n s

Prom o ting a cultu re of con f l i ct managem ent in sout h e a s tern Eu rope nece s s i t a tes that

s t a te s ,i n ter govern m ental or ga n i z a ti on s , and NGOs from out s i de the regi on con ti nue to

devel op and su pport va rious types of activi ties in the ye a rs to com e . Th ey must rei n force

and stren g t h en local non govern m ental stru ctu res as Catholic Rel i ef Servi ces did, for exa m p l e , wh en it cre a ted a new local NGO in Macedon i a , the Cen tre for Mu l ti c u l tu ral Understanding and Coopera ti on . Se a rch for Com m on Ground in Macedonia has also made

i m portant con tri buti ons by including local staff in the de s i gn , or ga n i z a ti on , and implem en t a ti on of va rious kinds of con f l i ct - m a n a gem en t - rel a ted proj ect s . However, the pre sen ce of NGOs from out s i de the regi on must not overwh elm or inhibit the devel opm en t

of l ocal civil soc i ety. Both Catholic Rel i ef Servi ces and Se a rch for Com m on Ground repres ent models of the usefulness and com m i tm ent of or ga n i z a ti ons providing links bet ween

the local envi ron m ents and out s i de partn ers .

C A S I N ’s proj ect attem pted to sti mu l a te the devel opm ent and implem en t a ti on of conf l i ct managem ent edu c a ti on activi ties by a group of i n d ivi duals native to sout h e a s tern Europe . By training pro s pective tra i n ers , the proj ect re su l ted in a series of fo ll ow-up even t s

de s i gn ed to prom o te a con f l i ct managem ent cultu re in the regi on . The obj ectives were

m et . However, to prom o te a con f l i ct managem ent cultu re in any com mu n i ty implies a

l on g - term ef fort and funding over many ye a rs .CASIN was invo lved in southeast Eu rope ,

and parti c u l a rly in Macedon i a , for a nu m ber of ye a rs , but in the end not long en o u gh .

The need for lon g - term com m i tm ent is cert a i n ly one of the main lessons learn ed from

what has been a very con s tru ctive and innova tive en de avor.

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 2 1
Chapter 4

Ecumenical Community Building and Conflict

Resolution Training in the Balkans

For the past four ye a rs , the Cen ter for Stra tegic and In tern a ti onal Studies (CSIS) in

Wa s h i n g ton has spon s ored a proj ect on con f l i ct re s o luti on training for repre s en t atives of the va rious faith com mu n i ties from the form er Yu go s l avi a . The purpose of

the proj ect has been to em power rel i gious com mu n i ties in Yu go s l avi a , Croa ti a ,a n d

Bo s n i a - Her zegovina to take the initi a tive in pursuing a va ri ety of pe acebuilding activi ti e s ,

i n cluding but not limited to nego ti a ti on and med i a ti on . Devel oping a cri tical mass of

su pport for su ch activi ties among faith com mu n i ties is essen tial to overcoming the stra ngl ehold of ethnic divi s i on on both the indivi dual and co ll ective spiri t .

To accomplish this goa l , the CSIS staff f i rst or ga n i zed a series of s em i n a rs de s i gn ed prim a ri ly for gra s s roots and middl e-l evel cl er gy and laity. E ach seminar has ga t h ered from

f i f teen to fifty repre s en t a tives of the va rious chu rches and rel i gious com mu n i ties in a

given local regi on . As of Decem ber 1998, CSIS has held twen ty - t wo sem i n a rs invo lvi n g

a pprox i m a tely 300 peop l e . This arti cle examines what may be learn ed from this tra i n i n g

proce s s .

Secon d ,CSIS has made a con certed ef fort to build indigenous insti tuti onal capac i ty

that can adequ a tely em power rel i gious people to be pe acem a kers . O n going su pport at the

l ocal level is cri tical in order to rei n force some aspects of tra i n i n g, provi de access to tra i ning that was missed , and en co u ra ge the initi a ti on of proj ects that can influ en ce a broader

s egm ent of s oc i ety. As of O ctober 1998, we su cce s s f u lly tra n s ferred re s pon s i bi l i ty for the

Croa tian part of our proj ect to the Cen tre for Pe ace , Nonvi o l en ce , and Human Ri ghts in

O s ij e k ,h aving hel ped them , over ei gh teen mon t h s , to establish a new program on rel i gi on

and con f l i ct re s o luti on within their or ga n i z a ti on . Over the next three ye a rs , we plan to

assist com p l etely new non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons (NGOs) in both Yu go s l avia and

Bo s n i a - Her zegovi n a ,to take re s pon s i bi l i ty for initi a ti n g, p l a n n i n g, and implem en ting the

proj ect within each co u n try. At the beginning of our proj ect ,h owever, we began with a

l oose net work of l ocal con sultants and co s pon s oring insti tuti ons that hel ped immen s ely

with devel oping net work s , planning sem i n a rs , and initi a ting fo ll ow - u p. Ma ny of the consultants have now assu m ed staff po s i ti ons within the indigenous or ga n i z a ti on s , and som e

of the insti tuti ons have con ti nu ed in a su pportive ro l e . Du ring the tra n s i ti on process in

Croa ti a ,minimal provi s i on was made for staff training and insti tuti onal devel opm en t .

In the next three ye a rs , mu ch more training in these areas wi ll be made ava i l a ble for

s t a f f and other high ly com m i t ted people in all three co u n tri e s . Su ch attem pts at capac i ty

building should alw ays be among the aims of po l i c y - m a kers and intern a ti onal NGOs providing training in con f l i ct re s o luti on in forei gn con tex t s . We hope our proj ect wi ll hel p

o t h er sch o l a rs and practi ti on ers to devel op models for su ch tra n s i ti on peri od s .

2 2

b y

David A. Steele
Principal Findings: Th e o retical and Pra c t i c a l

This proj ect high l i ghts the va lue of working with a group that is not trad i ti on a lly assoc ia ted with diplom ac y. S ch o l a rs and po l i c y - m a kers ,even more than practi ti on ers ,h ave

ten ded to ei t h er ign ore rel i gious people and insti tuti ons or see them as con tri butors to the

e s c a l a ti on , ra t h er than preven ti on orre s o luti on , of ethnic con f l i ct . While not wishing to

m i n i m i ze the po ten tial for unhealthy rel a ti onships bet ween rel i gi on and nati on a l i s m ,t h i s

proj ect dem on s tra tes that rel i gious com mu n i ti e s , even ones that have to some degree

com prom i s ed them s elves on this score ,a re capable of gen era ting con s tru ctive initi a tive s

in recon c i l i a ti on and pe acem a k i n g. In case after case, s i n cere and honest dialogue on very

painful issues has taken place and fri endships have devel oped ac ross ethnic and rel i gi o u s

d ivi de s . In some cases, con c rete initi a tives have em er ged , su ch as biwee k ly ec u m en i c a l

prayers in Osij e k ;m ed i a ti on training at a chu rch in Za greb ;l ectu res on con f l i ct re s o luti on

to po l i tical parties in Sa ra j evo ; cl er gy leadership in a ref u gee re s et t l em ent program in Foj n i c a , Bo s n i a ; and spon s orship of nu m erous interrel i gious sem i n a rs by two Serbian Ort h odox bi s h op s .

A couple of ch a racteri s tics make rel i gious com mu n i ties well su i ted for con f l i ct re s o luti on training ef fort s . F i rs t ,t h eir spiri tu a l / m oral ch a racter bri n gs with it a long trad i ti on of

te ach i n gs based on nei gh borly con cern . Even if the predominant ex pre s s i on of a given

gro u p’s rel i gi o s i ty has been distorted by exce s s ive nati on a l i s m ,the core of its trad i ti on remains the same. Con s equ en t ly, one can of ten find strong dissen ting voi ces that ch a ll en ge

s ect a rianism from within the trad i ti on . Vi ewed nega tively, the ex i s ten ce of this ambival en ce is seen as hypoc ri s y. Vi ewed po s i tively, it is an opportu n i ty to uti l i ze the inheren t

cogn i tive disson a n ce to move people within the trad i ti on to a gre a ter degree of s el f - aw a ren e s s . For ex a m p l e , one could simply dismiss as manipulative po s tu ring an attem pt by a

Serbian Ort h odox priest to both espouse nati onalist ideo l ogy and call for humane tre a tm ent of Muslims and Croa t s . Or one could understand the influ en ce of the apo s tolic trad i ti on of the Ort h odox Chu rch on him and, t h erefore ,recogn i ze the pri e s t’s stru ggle wi t h

u n recon c i l ed parts of h i m s el f . Secon d ,l ocal rel i gious leaders frequ en t ly hold a place of e steem , and therefore influ en ce , at the gra s s roots level in a soc i ety. Th ere are many ex a mples of priests and imams in the form er Yu go s l avia who have great cred i bi l i ty with thei r

people based on lon g - term rel a ti onships and a long history of d i s s i den ce against com mun i s m . Th erefore ,t h ey can po ten ti a lly become key players in an attem pt to cre a te the altern a tive stru ctu res that can under gi rd civil soc i ety.

Seminar Type and Methodology

Fo ll owing the first two sem i n a rs — h eld in Osij e k , Croa ti a , and Sa ra j evo, Bo s n i a , in early

1 9 9 5 — we con clu ded that we would not be abl e , in most instance s , to ef fectively train people in con f l i ct re s o luti on skills du ring an initial sem i n a r. This proved espec i a lly true the

cl o s er one got to ex peri en ces of war tra u m a . Most people were simply unable to undert a ke a task of j oint probl em - s o lving with people they could not trust and with wh om they

h ad not establ i s h ed some degree of s o l i d a ri ty. At a later poi n t , we became aw a re of a no t h er shortcoming in our training progra m ,n a m ely the need to su pport local initi a tive s

that can po ten ti a lly have gre a ter impact on the broad con tex t ,i n cluding the social stru ctu res that feed the con f l i ct .

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 2 3
As a re sult of both these con cern s , we have now devel oped a three - ti ered approach to

con f l i ct re s o luti on tra i n i n g. The three levels of s em i n a rs in our basic program rel a te to

t h ree dimen s i ons of con f l i ct — peop l e , probl em s , and sys tem s — e ach of wh i ch pre s ents a

ch a ll en ge to overcom e :f i rs t , the rel a ti onal ch a ll en ge of building trust thro u gh intra pers on a l ,i n terpers on a l , and inter group recon c i l i a ti on ;s econ d ,the issu e - ori en ted ch a ll en ge of

i m p a rting the probl em - s o lving skills nece s s a ry to help people re s o lve particular local disp ute s ; and third , the sys temic ch a ll en ge of i den ti f ying and re s ponding to the sources of

con f l i ct that lie out s i de the immed i a te dispute and within the social stru ctu re s . E ach of

these dimen s i ons en compasses a large array of i s su e s , en o u gh to provi de ample materi a l

for nu m erous sem i n a rs or work s h op s . De s p i te the fact that many seminar alumni have

a t ten ded several sem i n a rs of e ach level , we are well aw a re that what we have of fered has

m erely provi ded an introdu cti on to the com p l ex issues inherent within each top i c . Th erefore , what fo ll ows is a model that, h opef u lly, wi ll furt h er sti mu l a te analysts and broaden

the pers pective of po l i c y - m a kers rega rding both goals and stra tegi e s . Tra i n ers wi ll want to

ad a pt any ideas to the situ a ti ons in wh i ch they work , taking into account the degree of

con f l i ct escalati on , the pri m a ry needs and re adiness of the specific target audien ce ,a n d

the capac i ty for on - t h e - ground fo ll ow - u p. All three levels should note the need to ex p a n d

beyond the trad i ti onal probl em - s o lving parad i gm . In parti c u l a r, po l i c y - m a kers should

ad d ress the people probl ems and not dismiss these rel a ti onal issues as too sof t , and tra i ners need to incorpora te the stru ctu ral level ,m oving beyond the interpers onal and intergroup levels in wh i ch they are more com fort a ble work i n g.

The firs t - l evel sem i n a rs serve a local con s ti tu ency and are foc u s ed on interrel i gious and

i n terethnic com mu n i ty bu i l d i n g. The devel opm ent of trust and solidari ty, c ri tical to rel ati onship building in any con tex t , is espec i a lly so in situ a ti ons of war and post-war tra u m a ,

wh ere one must first learn some way of coming to terms with the vi o l ent past and then

find a way to cre a tively face the ch a ll en ges of the pre s ent and futu re . Repe a tedly we have

ex peri en ced the va lue of beginning a seminar by giving participants the opportu n i ty to

ex press and ack n owl ed ge gri eva n ce s . By starting with the com m on ex peri en ce of su f fering and de s i gning an envi ron m ent in wh i ch each group can discover that others take its

hu rts seri o u s ly, tra i n ers begin to see cro s s c ut ting bonds devel op. People do not have to

a gree on diagn o s e s ,a i m s , or stra tegi e s , but simply give com p a s s i on a te atten ti on . In ters pers ed with the storytell i n g, we have also provi ded interpretive inform a ti on on the gri ef

proce s s ,d rawn from both Old Te s t a m ent lament forms and con tem pora ry theorists su ch

as Elizabeth Ku bl er- Ro s s . The Old Te s t a m ent lamen t , in fact , could provi de mu ch intere s ting material on this topic for both sch o l a rs and tra i n ers . Its met h od of h a n dling gri eva n ce is to ri tu a l i ze the ex pre s s i on of complaint within a com mu n i ty fra m ework in a way

that en su res that the vi ctim has been heard and that limits any vi n d i ctive re s pon s e .

1 Th e

use of the lament moti f , co u p l ed with ex a m i n a ti on of the stages of gri ef ,n a tu ra lly leads to

the second step in ad d ressing the past—ex a m i n a ti on of the cyclical rel a ti onship bet ween

vi cti m h ood and aggre s s i on . As Serb s , Croa t s , and Muslims recogn i ze that tod ay ’s aggre ss ors are of ten ye s terd ay ’s vi cti m s ,t h ey also start to reeva lu a te the role their own peop l e

h ave played in both the near and distant past. This “walk thro u gh history,”in tu rn ,c a n

l e ad to asto u n d i n gly open discussions abo ut con fe s s i on of the sins of on e’s peop l e ,t h e

t h i rd step in ad d ressing the past. Su ch discussion needs to be approach ed caref u lly, m i n d2 4 Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts
ful of the sins of a ll sides (while not assuming equal guilt), conscious of peop l e’s need to

pro tect group iden ti ty by refusing to accept false guilt, and distinguishing bet ween ad m i ss i on of co ll ective guilt and feel i n gs of pers onal re s pon s i bi l i ty. We aving toget h er the expre s s i on of both gri ef and apo l ogy has been rei n forced thro u gh o ut our sem i n a rs by

t h eo l ogical ref l ecti on , as well as ex a m i n a ti on of p s ych o l ogical and soc i o l ogical dy n a m i c s .

For ex a m p l e ,p a rticipants in one of the Serbian sem i n a rs open ed up to a profound exch a n ge abo ut Serbian re s pon s i bi l i ty for the war in Bosnia after discussing how the lamen t

m o ti f in its final stage of devel opm en t , as found in the Old Te s t a m ent proph et s ,s pec i f ic a lly incorpora tes the con fe s s i on of sin into the gri ef proce s s . O rt h odox priests took the

l e ad in ex pressing sel f - c ri tical hon e s ty by ack n owl ed ging the evil perform ed even by som e

of t h eir own chu rch peop l e . F i n a lly, for giveness con s ti tutes another crucial step on the

w ay from vi cti m h ood to wh o l en e s s . Its focus is not to ch a n ge the aggre s s or, but to heal

the vi cti m . Its purpose is to en a ble the vi cti m , not to for get but to let go of h a tred , the des i re for reven ge , and the need to ch a n ge the past. With the act of for givi n g, on e’s life enters the pre s ent and futu re . The ju s ti ce one seeks takes on a re s tora tive ra t h er than a

retri butive ch a racter. Moving caref u lly with people from ack n owl ed gem ent of t h eir gri eva n ces thro u gh an understanding of the com p l ex vi cti m h ood / a ggre s s i on cycle to aw a reness of both their acco u n t a bi l i ty and their need to for give prep a res the way for devel op i n g

a cre a tive approach to pre s ent atti tu des and futu re po s s i bi l i ties in the rel a ti on s h i p.

Ex a m i n a ti on of the pre s ent and futu re states of a ny rel a ti onship inevi t a bly invo lves altering on e’s pers pective . Con f l i ct alw ays invo lves some degree of m i su n derstanding and,

t h erefore , the need to cl a rify percepti on s , a factor well - k n own alre ady in this fiel d . In

cases of i n tense con f l i ct , the ex peri en ce of vi cti m i z a ti on usu a lly has con tri buted to su ch a

t h re a ten ed sense of i den ti ty that bias and stereo typing begin to functi on as a gro u p - su rvival mech a n i s m . In light of t h i s ,we have found it hel pf u l , fo ll owing the ex a m i n a ti on of

past dynamics in a rel a ti on s h i p, to en ga ge participants in an exercise in wh i ch people step

i n to the shoes of a n o t h er et h n i c , rel i gi o u s ,or nati onal gro u p. Wh en a Croat is asked to

de s c ri be the probl ems or ten s i ons as unders tood by a Muslim or a Serb, and then is given

feed b ack from a mem ber of the appropri a te gro u p, his aw a reness of the need for atti tu de

ch a n ge usu a lly increases and som etimes his beh avi or becomes more inclu s ive . Ad m i s s i on

of u n h e a l t hy bias is simply part of con fessing sinful atti tu de s , the dominant type of confe s s i on found in the proph etic lamen t . Fu rt h erm ore , the lament iden tifies corpora te sin

pri m a ri ly in terms of a t ti tudinal issu e s . Aga i n ,u n derstanding the rel i gious trad i ti on that

u n der gi rds each of the Abrahamic faiths can help rel i gious indivi duals to accept that thei r

own atti tu des are con t a m i n a ted by su btle cultu ral and su bc u l tu ral bi a s e s .

The secon d - l evel sem i n a rs have con cen tra ted on devel oping skills in com mu n i c a ti on ,

probl em - s o lvi n g, and med i a ti on . This practical training has led to the devel opm ent of

s everal local med i a ti on training programs in chu rch e s . Some of our participants have

h el ped to nego ti a te local disputes and, occ a s i on a lly, of fered back - ch a n n el com mu n i c a ti on

for formal nego ti a ti on s , ef forts that need mu ch more recogn i ti on and su pport from po li c y - m a kers . Du ring the actual training proce s s , we rel i ed pri m a ri ly on exercises comm on ly used by practi ti on ers in the fiel d ,i n cluding para ph rasing and formu l a ti n g

“n on bl a m e”s t a tem ents (com mu n i c a ti on skill s ) ;m a pping parti e s’n eeds or fe a rs and

bra i n s torming tech n i ques that ref rame the con f l i ct and help cre a te altern a tive opti ons for

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 2 5
s o luti on (probl em - s o lvi n g ) ; and ro l e - p l aying the va rious stages of the med i a ti on proce s s .

These skill exercises depend for their su ccess on the level of trust and solidari ty establ i s h ed

in the level - one sem i n a rs , but they also deepen it. The very goal is to tra n s form the dynamics of a con f l i ct situ a ti on from an “a t t ack and defen d ”p a t tern that at best re sults in

com promise to a partn ership parad i gm that searches for mutu a lly ben eficial soluti on s , a

p a rad i gm wh i ch po l i c y - m a kers would do well to use more frequ en t ly in track - one and

track - t wo nego ti a ti on s . The va rious rel i gious trad i ti on s ,a ga i n , provi de re s o u rces that can

both motiva te and inform seminar participants rega rding these skill s . For ex a m p l e , a

Muslim imam from Sa ra j evo shared , du ring an exercise in mapping the con f l i ct ,t h a t

m ed i t a ti on had hel ped him to understand and accept that Serbian fe a rs and needs for

su rvival lie beneath their acti on s . His moving de s c ri pti on of the way God open ed his

eye s , de s p i te the terri ble stru ggle of his own people for su rviva l , was in itsel f a powerf u l

c re a tor of trust and solidari ty. It was also a good illu s tra ti on of t h eo l ogy ’s abi l i ty to

broaden on e’s understanding of n eeds or interests to the level of com m on , or at least

com p a ti bl e , on e s . Bi blical material can also be used to illu s tra te and su pport va ri o u s

s k i ll s . One can find both bra i n s torming and med i a ti on processes in St. Pa u l ’s let ter to the

s l ave own er, P h i l em on , on beh a l f of the ru n - aw ay slave ,O n e s i mu s .

The third - l evel sem i n a rs are de s i gn ed to help rel i gious com mu n i ties devel op sel f - genera ting local programming that can ad d ress the stru ctu ral issues underlying the con f l i ct .

Th ey focus on iden ti f ying specific cre a tive roles for rel i gious com mu n i ties in the proce s s

of s ocial ch a n ge ,k n owing wh ere and how to motiva te the ri ght indivi duals or stru ctu re s ,

and building com peten ce in com mu n i ty or ganizing skill s . Thus far, our on ly level - t h ree

s eminar was de s i gn ed to ad d ress the pre s ent and po ten tial role of the Croa tian chu rch e s

in curri c u lum devel opm ent and met h odo l ogy of pe ace edu c a ti on . Ad d ressing these qu e sti ons abo ut the role of rel i gious com mu n i ties in prom o ting any kind of s tru ctu ral ch a n ge ,

wh et h er foc u s ed around edu c a ti on ,m ed i a , po l i tical parti e s , or other insti tuti on s , is important for all who en ga ge in this fiel d . S ch o l a rs need to furt h er devel op the ra ti on a l e ;

tra i n ers and po l i c y - m a kers need to give more atten ti on to implem en t a ti on . Our growi n g

aw a reness of the need to su pport su ch initi a tives has ari s en from an eva lu a ti on that our

past and pre s ent ef forts are insu f f i c i ent to ef fect major ch a n ge in the soc i ety. Cre a tive entry points into the stru ctu re s , both eccl e s i a s tical and sec u l a r, n eed to be discovered and approach ed in ways that can ef fectively influ en ce their dec i s i on - m a k i n g.

In ad d i ti on to this three - ti ered approach , we have recen t ly re a l i zed a need for two ad d iti onal types of s em i n a rs . One of these invo lves a major focus on group iden ti ty and the

p l ace of a given rel i gious com mu n i ty within the soc i ety. How rel i gious iden ti ty interf ace s

with ethnic iden ti ty, h ow a group forms its va lues and understands its history, h ow able it

is to balance assertiveness with honest sel f - c ri ti c i s m ,h ow it vi ews its role in rel a ti on to

o t h er social insti tuti ons and other rel i gious com mu n i ti e s , and how it handles intern a l

con f l i ct — a ll these qu e s ti ons must be faced by each rel i gious com mu n i ty in order to sort

o ut the com p l ex dynamics inherent within a form erly mu l ti - et h n i c , but incre a s i n gly stra ti f i ed ,s oc i ety. Ma ny peop l e , and som etimes whole rel i gious com mu n i ti e s ,a re not able to

ad d ress these issues adequ a tely in the con text of i n terfaith ga t h eri n gs . Having learn ed

t h ro u gh perceptive seminar participants to be sen s i tive to this re a l i ty, we have held three

of these singl e - con fe s s i onal sem i n a rs to date , as well as one fo ll ow-up sem i n a r, bri n gi n g

2 6 Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts
toget h er Serbian Ort h odox and Croa tian Catholics in Eastern Croa tia for joint ex p l ora ti on of i den ti ty, percepti on s , for given e s s , and ack n owl ed gm ent of wron gdoi n g. If

i den ti ty issues are ad d re s s ed with an aw a reness of the twin dangers of a s s i m i l a ti on and

exclu s ivi ty, t h en the process can actu a lly en h a n ce the fe a s i bi l i ty of both coopera tive ,i n terfaith ef forts and con s tru ctive social influ en ce . The key, in this case, is to help devel op an

i den ti ty form a ti on process that cre a tes sel f - def i n i ti on wi t h o ut con tri buting to the

den i gra ti on or dem on i z a ti on of a n o t h er gro u p.

The second ad d i ti onal type of s eminar has foc u s ed on leadership tra i n i n g. Thus far,

we have held on ly one su ch event for the training of s m a ll group fac i l i t a tors from all

t h ree co u n tries in wh i ch we work . Futu re leadership sem i n a rs wi ll inclu de more tra i n i n g

in group fac i l i t a ti on , as well as other percepti on and com mu n i c a ti on skill s , ex peri en ti a l

l e a rning tech n i qu e s ,pers onal assessment proce s s e s , and approaches to spiri tual ref l ecti on ,

m a n a gem ent tra i n i n g / or ga n i z a ti onal devel opm en t , and futu re planning/envi s i on i n g.

As can be seen in all of the above sem i n a rs , our overa ll training approach invo lve s

co ll a bora tive planning, ex peri en ce - b a s ed met h odo l ogy, and a fo ll ow-up de s i gn ed to

em power. These cri teria are com m on ly accepted among many tra i n ers ,t h o u gh our

a pproach , de s i gn ed for a very specific target audien ce ,m ay lend some new insigh t s .

In cl o s i n g, it is important to note that, t h ro u gh o ut the proj ect , we have learn ed to be

ex trem ely flex i bl e . Approaches that work in one place do not alw ays work in the nex t ,

t hus producing an ever- evo lving modus opera n d i .

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 2 7
Chapter 5

Wo m e n ’s Wo rk Is Peace: Lessons fro m

Training Projects in the Horn of A f r i c a

Si n ce 1991, wh en military dict a tor Si ad Ba rre fled Somalia and the co u n try eru pted

i n to a pro tracted civil war co s ting hu n d reds of thousands of l ive s , n ei t h er Som a l i a

n or Somaliland (a nort h ern provi n ce that asserted its indepen den ce from Som a l i a

in 1991) has had a recogn i zed cen tral govern m en t .Amid this po l i tical instabi l i ty, hu m a n

ri ghts abuses con ti nue in certain are a s , with hu n d reds of c ivilians kill ed , ra ped , and hel d

h o s t a ge every ye a r. By the end of 1 9 9 7 , 1.5 mill i on of Som a l i a’s esti m a ted 9 mill i on people were in exile and half a mill i on were intern a lly displaced . And while facti onal figh ti n g

was the lowest in 1998 of a ny year since the civil war started , a rm ed con f l i ct has not

en ded . Ma ny in Somalia and Somaliland now re a l i ze that pe ace is the on ly soluti on to the

regi on’s nu m erous nati onal and devel opm ental ch a ll en ge s .G et ting to pe ace is the large s t

ch a ll en ge of a ll , but Somali wom en , at the heart of the regi on’s bu r geoning pe ace movem en t ,a re making progre s s .

The CSIW Wo m e n ’s Project 

The mission of the Cen tre for the Stra tegic In i ti a tives of Wom en (CSIW) is to work in

p a rtn ership with Horn - b a s ed gra s s roots wom en’s or ga n i z a ti ons to prom o te pe ace ,

dem oc rac y, and human ri gh t s . This mission guided CSIW’s approach to providing su pport for the bu r geoning wom en’s pe ace movem ent in Som a l i a . The wom en parti c i p a ti n g

in the three - phase progra m , wh i ch com m en ced in 1994, def i n ed the training agen d a

t h ro u gh arti c u l a ting the skills they needed to be more ef fective pe acebu i l ders . The firs t

training foc u s ed on iden ti f ying and ad d ressing the specific insti tuti onal and leaders h i p

n eeds of wom en’s or ga n i z a ti ons in Somalia and Som a l i l a n d . From the out s et , work s h op

p a rticipants dem on s tra ted unw avering com m i tm ent to the proce s s . Ma ny left their ch i ld ren behind to travel long distances on foo t , of ten under arm ed guard .

This unw avering com m i tm ent bro u ght fifteen Somali wom en leaders to So uth Af ri c a

for the second phase of the progra m , an inten s ive con f l i ct managem ent training for tra i ners in Ju ly 1995. Coming out of this program as con f l i ct managem ent tra i n ers ,t h e s e

wom en worked with CSIW to devel op and implem ent the third phase of the program in

1 9 9 6 , a series of con f l i ct managem ent work s h ops thro u gh o ut Somalia and Som a l i l a n d .

Th ey devel oped their own con f l i ct managem ent training manu a l , using it to en h a n ce thei r

own training capabi l i ties while at the same time tra n s ferring con f l i ct managem ent skills to

o t h er wom en . Close to forty wom en parti c i p a ted in each of the five seven - d ay work s h op s

t h ro u gh o ut Somalia and Som a l i l a n d .In to t a l ,n e a rly 300 wom en from diverse com mu n ities and back grounds were introdu ced to tech n i ques of n ego ti a ti on ,m ed i a ti on ,l e aders h i p

s k i ll s ,a n d , most import a n t , the need and opportu n i ty for their parti c i p a ti on in local and

2 8

b y

H i b a a q

O s m a n
n a ti onal pe acebu i l d i n g.This training en a bles them to build net works and thus to be

gre a ter than the sum of t h eir indivi dual ef fort s .

The tra i n ee s ,i n depen dent of CSIW su pport ,h ave con ti nu ed the proj ect ,s h a ring the

tech n i ques they learn ed with other wom en in their or ga n i z a ti ons and con ti nuing to of fer

work s h ops on their own . And more importa n t ,t h ey are coord i n a ting ef forts to prom o te

pe ace , dem oc rac y, and human ri ghts in the Horn . Fo ll owing the CSIW- s pon s ored con f l i ct

re s o luti on work s h ops in 1994 and 1995, Somali participants joi n ed toget h er to form the

Coa l i ti on for Gra s s roots Wom en’s Orga n i z a ti ons (COG WO ) , a major player in con s o l id a ting and stren g t h ening pe ace ef fort s . Now actively nego ti a ting and med i a ting amon g

f acti on leaders ,the coa l i ti on has produ ced its own con f l i ct managem ent manu a l , contri buting to the tools ava i l a ble for defusing and re s o lving crises in the regi on .Wom en in

Somaliland have also form ed an umbrella coa l i ti on call ed NAG A A D, wh i ch means pe ace

and stabi l i ty in Som a l i . The coa l i ti on unites many interests and groups and serves as a focal point of l ocal stra tegies for coopera ti on and coord i n a ti on in pe ace and recon s tru cti on

ef fort s .

CSIW is con tri buting to the ef fort among its partn er wom en’s groups to build stra tegi c

a ll i a n ces among the sectors of Somali soc i ety — i n cluding el ders , rel i gious leaders , wom en ,

and yo ut h — to mobi l i ze their capabi l i ties and stren g t h en their voi ces in building an incipi ent civil soc i ety.

In partn ership with CSIW, C OG WO, and NAGAAD are con ti nuing the pe ace initi atives set in moti on thro u gh the con f l i ct managem ent tra i n i n gs by establishing pe ace centers in Somalia and Som a l i l a n d . The cen ters were fully opera ti onal by 1999. Provi d i n g

training in con f l i ct managem ent and pe acebu i l d i n g, m ed i a ti on re s o u rce s , and co u n s el i n g,

t h ey also bring diverse com mu n i ties toget h er around com mu n i ty devel opm ent initi a tive s .

Somali wom en’s or ga n i z a ti ons provi de leadership for the cen ters .

The Results 

Pa rticipants in the con f l i ct managem ent and pe acebuilding work s h ops have em p l oyed

t h eir skills in nu m erous vi brant and powerful ways . Several work s h op participants su cce s s f u lly nego ti a ted the release of a woman who had been kidnapped by a clan ga n g. Pa rticipants from Merca placed them s elves bet ween clashing clan mem bers and ef fectively

s topped the figh ti n g. Pa rticipants from another group held a “pe ace fast” for wom en from

both sides of Mogad i s hu’s Green Line—the divi de bet ween warring cl a n s — a f ter they effectively nego ti a ted an end to figh ting bet ween two cl a n s . Wom en from Mogad i s hu report

that they now cross the Green Line at night to discuss pe ace initi a tives with each other.

An o t h er group of tra i n ees has alre ady begun en ga ging in con su l t a ti ons with the governm ent of Somaliland to advoc a te for the ra ti f i c a ti on of the Conven ti on on the Ri ghts of t h e

Ch i l d .The govern m ent has agreed to initi a te the process of ra ti f i c a ti on with assistance

f rom CSIW and UNICEF (the Un i ted Na ti ons Ch i l d ren’s Fu n d ) , a move that wi ll have

wi de implicati ons for legi s l a ti on , po l i c y, and practi ce in the areas of the ri ghts of the gi rl

child and pe ace edu c a ti on in Som a l i l a n d .

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 2 9
Lessons Learned

Le s son One

While it is true that civil war of ten mutes wom en’s voi ces and undermines their con tri buti on to com mu n i ty well - bei n g, wom en are also uniqu ely situ a ted to work for pe ace .F i rs t ,

wom en bear the brunt of the bu rdens of w a r,making them more likely than men to oppose war. Si n ce wom en in the Horn of Af ri c a ,l i ke many wom en around the worl d ,a re soc i a l i zed from bi rth to pro tect their families, t h ey see war as de s tru ctive of t h eir pri m a ry

goa l s . Second ,c u l tu ra lly Somali wom en also have an ad d i ti onal adva n t a ge . Si n ce they

l e ave their families and homes to marry stra n gers (exoga my ) ,t h ey are acc u s tom ed to

bri d ging differen ce s . Th ey have alre ady devel oped con c rete skills in advoc a ting for pe ace

in their own families. In a real sen s e , as one work s h op participant put it,“ wom en have no

cl a n” :t h eir sons bel ong to on e ,t h eir fathers to another, and so their all egi a n ces are mu l tip l e . Th i rd , Somali wom en are pro tected by trad i ti onal warf a re practi ce s , giving them a

gre a ter abi l i ty to cross bo u n d a ries to nego ti a te .F i n a lly, war can be a wi n dow of opportun i ty for wom en , who are left behind to become heads of f a m i l i e s .“War has actu a lly empowered wom en ,” said a parti c i p a n t .“We have had to do so mu ch to su rvive .” Th e

con f l i ct in Somalia has also provi ded a wi n dow of opportu n i ty for wom en wh o, in the abs en ce of m en ,h ave assu m ed leadership roles in building civil soc i ety and building pe ace .

While many pe ace initi a tives focus on male po l i tical leaders ,C S I W ’s work su ggests that

a more gra s s roots ef fort , one that starts with wom en , wi ll have a lon ger- term ch a n ce for

su cce s s . As one participant noted ,“We are the pe ace prom o ters .”

Le s son Two 

The CSIW work s h ops su cceeded largely because they foc u s ed on el i c i ting wom en’s skill s .

In this sen s e ,c a lling them “tra i n i n g”work s h ops is som ething of a misnom er. By def a u l t ,

Somali wom en had alre ady devel oped many skills in pe acebu i l d i n g ; the work s h ops simply

h el ped them to recogn i ze this. Bri n ging wom en from warring facti ons into one room was

C S I W ’s bi ggest con tri buti on .O n ce toget h er, the wom en learn ed from each other that in

tra gedy they were equ a l . Having lost family mem bers and livel i h ood s ,t h ey had the room

to dec i de that it would be bet ter to be equal in pe ace ; that is, t h eir natu ral talent at commu n i c a ti on ,n ego ti a ti on , and re aching soluti ons found a means for ex pre s s i on .C S I W ’s

role was to fac i l i t a te the wom en’s meeting (a logi s tical accom p l i s h m ent in and of i t s el f)

and their careful work to bro ker pe ace among them s elves and in their com mu n i ti e s . Th i s

a pproach su ggests that fac i l i t a ting initi a tive s , ra t h er than directing them , can lead to mu ch

m ore powerful and su s t a i n a ble outcom e s .

Le s son Th re e

CSIW saw the work s h ops as a tool in building a con s ti tu ency for pe ace thro u gh divers i ty.

To build this con s ti tu en c y, s everal work s h op con d i ti ons were essen ti a l .The wom en were

bro u ght from their homes to com fort a ble and safe su rro u n d i n gs , a hotel that for many

was qu i te lu x u ri o u s . Wom en from different facti ons slept in the same room ,a te from the

same plate ,d a n ced to the same mu s i c , and wept toget h er at the same terri ble stories of

w a r. Su ch bonding could not have been accom p l i s h ed in on e - d ay work s h ops in thei r

3 0 Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts
h ome envi ron m en t s . Th ey needed a pe acef u l ,s erene place . Tre a ted with dign i ty, l i s ten ed

to as equ a l s ,t h ey re s pon ded to each other in kind. The pro l i fera ti on of wom en’s gro u p s

f rom the work s h ops su ggests that work s h ops de s i gn ed to build rel a ti onships among people can have lon ger- term ef fects than can work s h ops with short - term focus on imparti n g

con f l i ct managem ent skills alon e . No work s h op is an autom a tic guara n tor of pe ace , but

the CSIW work s h ops were important steps in cre a ting the kind of human interdependency that Somalia has lacked .

Le s son Fou r

The CSIW work s h ops bro u ght to light an important principle in wom en’s pe ace and advoc acy work . In s te ad of making pe ace and dem oc racy gen der issu e s , the parti c i p a ti n g

wom en recogn i zed the need to form stra tegic all i a n ces with rel i gious leaders ,l ocal facti on s , the militi a , and other gro u p s , en ga ging a diverse con s ti tu ency in tra n s forming soc iety. These all i a n ces have stren g t h en ed wom en’s voi ces and bro u ght these voi ces into the

m a i n s tre a m . In ad d i ti on , the wom en learn ed that su pport for gen der con cerns is best ga rn ered wh en these con cerns are integra ted into dialogue on gen eral issues of con cern to the

com mu n i ty, ra t h er than more narrowly focusing on con cerns of pri m a ry interest on ly to

wom en .S tra tegi c a lly, this is the most ef fective way to focus the atten ti on of a ll Som a l i s ,

not on ly wom en , on the ef fect that com mu n i ty dec i s i ons have on wom en and families.

Le s son Five

The type of power po l i tics used du ring the rei gn of Si ad Ba rre cannot contain con f l i ct

a m ong cl a n s . In deed , su ch coerc ive measu res make con f l i ct fe s ter. Tod ay the legacy of

power po l i tics con ti nues even wi t h o ut a strong cen tra l i zed govern m en t . Wa rring cl a n

l e aders con ti nue to bl i n dly bel i eve that oppon ents wi ll ref rain from vi o l en ce on ly under

t h reat of ret a l i a ti on . The recen t ly establ i s h ed pe ace cen ters belie that assu m pti on . Th ei r

ex i s ten ce is a constant rem i n der that local insti tuti ons must be re s pon s ive to the needs of

i n d ivi duals and their iden ti ty gro u p s . The pe ace cen ters form the nu cl eus of po l i ti c a lly

con cern ed social aggrega ti on s . Th ey en a ble indivi duals to arti c u l a te their needs and to

s eek sati s f acti on thro u gh pe aceful means. This is the very essen ce of p a rti c i p a tory govern a n ce .

C o n c l u s i o n s

In six short work s h op s ,CSIW managed to make a con tri buti on that has had a lasting effect in Somalia and Som a l i l a n d . By su pporting wom en leaders from all walks of l i fe ,

CSIW has been an agent for con f l i ct managem en t . While many out s i ders con ti nue to concen tra te on the atroc i ties of w a r,CSIW con cen tra tes on stren g t h ening civil soc i ety, f u rt h ering dem oc rac y, and ending human ri ghts abu s e s ,a ll by su pporting wom en’s activi ti e s .

Con ti nuing con f l i ct managem ent at the gra s s roots level is essen tial to regaining and maintaining pe ace in Somalia and Som a l i l a n d .

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 3 1
Chapter 6

Training for Intere t h n i c / R e l i gious Conflict

Resolution in Nigeria

The need for this proj ect on interethnic and rel i gious con f l i ct re s o luti on in Ni geri a

grew out of the pers i s tent interethnic and rel i gious con f l i cts among the co u n try ’s

m ore than 250 ethnic groups and Mo s l em and Ch ri s tian rel i gi on s . Si n ce 1982, for

ex a m p l e , the co u n try has ex peri en ced over ten major et h n i c / rel i gious clashes in five

m a j or cities in nort h ern and sout h ern parts of Ni geri a . These riots have caused losses of

m i ll i ons of do ll a rs in property and over ten thousand live s . While mu ch has been wri t ten

a bo ut these con f l i ct s , little or nothing is known abo ut practical ways to manage them and

con n ect theory and practi ce . The con f l i cts of ten occur in urban areas with diverse cultu res and rel i gi on s , and they con ti nue to pose serious probl ems for the co u n try ’s soc i oecon omic devel opm ent programs as well as nati on - building ef fort s .

With funding from the Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace , the Ca l i fornia State Un ivers i ty

at Sac ra m en to’s (CSUS) Cen ter for Af rican Pe ace and Con f l i ct Re s o luti on (CAPCR) co ll a bora ted with the Ni gerian In s ti tute of Adva n ced Legal Stu d i e s ,L a go s , on this proj ect ,

con du cted bet ween June 1996 and Novem ber 1997.

The proj ect was de s i gn ed to devel op and prom o te mechanisms for understanding and

m a n a ging ethnic and rel i gious con f l i cts in Ni geri a’s mu l ti c u l tu ral soc i ety. The overa ll obj ective was to devel op internal capac i ty within Ni gerian indigenous urban com mu n i ty

groups and non govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons (NGOs) for preven ti n g, m a n a gi n g, and res o lving ethnic and rel i gious con f l i cts in the co u n try.

P roject Goals and A c t i v i t i e s

The basic ph i l o s ophy of the proj ect was the cri tical need to edu c a te and train urban commu n i ty (ethnic and rel i gious) leaders in Ni geria in pe acebuilding and con f l i ct re s o luti on

tech n i qu e s , so that these tra i n ers would ulti m a tely de s i gn their own programs in their res pective com mu n i ties and or ga n i z a ti on s .

S pec i f i c a lly, the proj ect was de s i gn ed to :

1 .provi de training on con f l i ct managem ent for com mu n i ty leaders from the Ha u s a -

Fu l a n i , Ig bo, Yoru b a , and other ethnic gro u p s ,p lus Ch ri s tians and Mo s l ems from

the nort h ern and sout h ern parts of Ni geri a ;

2 .or ga n i ze sem i n a rs and focus group discussions with diverse audien ces in Ni geri a ;

3 2

b y

E rnest E.

U w a z i e
3 .produ ce a con f l i ct managem ent manual for po s t - training activi ties in Ni geri a ; and 

4 .assist our Ni gerian partn ers and tra i n ers in establishing a su pport net work — wi t h

the aim of c re a ting insti tuti onal capac i ty building for et h n i c / rel i gious con f l i ct re s oluti on and pe acebuilding in Ni geri a .

The focus group discussions invo lved abo ut sixty participants from five Ni gerian et hnic groups as well as Ch ri s tians and Mo s l em s . The intervi ews were con du cted for fo u r

d ays in Ja nu a ry 1997 in Lago s , Ni geri a’s form er nati onal capital and most populous city of

n e a rly 10 mill i on peop l e . Du ring the focus group session s ,p a rticipants discussed thei r

k n owl ed ge of o t h er gro u p s ,t h eir atti tu des and stereo types tow a rd them , and their pers onal ex peri en ces with indivi duals from the iden ti f i ed ethnic and rel i gious gro u p s . Som e

of the participants ex peri en ced the Ni gerian Civil Wa r, 1 9 6 7 – 7 0 , and some had ex perien ced or been vi ctims of m a ny et h n i c / rel i gious riots and hosti l i ty in the nort h ern Ni gerian cities of Kano and Kaduna as well as in Lago s .One of the high l i ghts of the discussion s

occ u rred wh en several participants shared their pers onal ex peri en ces of the et h n i c / rel igious riots that occ u rred at va rious times in Kano and Lagos bet ween 1982 and 1995.

Some were inju red ; lost their hom e s , property, and other va lu a ble po s s e s s i on s ; or fled du ring the ri o t s .

The sessions reve a l ed the parti c i p a n t s’ l i m i ted knowl ed ge of o t h er ethnic groups and

rel i gi on s , and how their ex peri en ces with mem bers of these groups con trad i cted thei r

own ,l on g - h eld et h n i c / rel i gious stereo types of the other (as lazy, cow a rd s ,s tu p i d ,a ggre ss ive ,m on ey - con s c i o u s , ava ri c i o u s , bl ood t h i rs ty, c u n n i n g, greedy, dom i n eeri n g, u n c ivil i zed , etc . ) . Non et h el e s s ,p a rticipants said that coex i s ten ce among the co u n try ’s va ri o u s

et h n i c / rel i gious groups was inevi t a bl e ;t h ey also ex pre s s ed the need for mutual re s pect ,

bet ter unders t a n d i n g, and coopera ti on among the groups to ach i eve the goal of “O n e

Ni geri a .”

Soon after the focus group discussion s , a two - d ay seminar on the proj ect theme was

h eld at the Un ivers i ty of Ib adan (near Lago s ) , Ja nu a ry 29–30, 1 9 9 7 .E l even papers were

pre s en ted at the con feren ce , with three discussants and an ad d i ti onal twen ty - f ive peop l e

in atten d a n ce . The con feren ce parti c i p a n t s , pre s en ters , and discussants were repre s en t a tive

of the co u n try ’s ethnic and rel i gious groups and inclu ded sch o l a rs ,s tu dent leaders , trad iti onal ru l ers , pri e s t s , and indigenous or ga n i z a ti on leaders . The diverse seminar papers and

topics ref l ected both theoretical and historical analyses of i n terethnic and rel i gious conf l i cts in Ni geri a , and of fered su gge s ti ons for preven ti on and re s o luti on .

The papers gen era ted mu ch frank discussion and insigh tful con tri buti on s ,e s pec i a lly

f rom the non ac ademic parti c i p a n t s . One of the main con clu s i ons of the seminar was that,

de s p i te et h n i c / rel i gious differen ces in Ni geri a , the et h n i c / rel i gious con f l i cts are heavi ly intert wi n ed and re sult more from po l i tical manipulati on by certain groups in Ni geria than

a nything el s e .

From the focus group and seminar ex peri en ce s , we ga i n ed gre a ter knowl ed ge of t h e

co u n try ’s ethnic and rel i gious con f l i ct s . The parti c i p a n t s’s tories abo ut et h n i c / rel i gious riots and hosti l i ty, as well as the seminar papers , provi ded us with ri ch materials that we

u s ed to devel op and prep a re the work s h op curri c u lu m .

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 3 3
The training work s h op s — pre s en ted by Ernest Uwazie, proj ect director and con f l i ct

re s o luti on tra i n er and sch o l a r, and Peter Nwo su ,CSUS profe s s or of i n terc u l tu ral com mun i c a ti on s — were held at two sites in Kano and Lagos in Ma rch 1997. E ach work s h op

l a s ted four days . As in the previous progra m s , the work s h op participants were sel ected to

ref l ect an et h n i c , rel i gi o u s ,a ge , and gen der balance ;t h ey inclu ded com mu n i ty / u rban and

rel i gious leaders , trad i ti onal ru l ers ,s ch o l a rs ,s tu dent group of f i c i a l s , and criminal ju s ti ce

pers on n el . Fu rt h erm ore ,with the leadership of our Ni gerian partn ers , for each work s h op

we sel ected thirty people who showed the gre a test promise for app lying the knowl ed ge

and skills acqu i red from the training and who would be likely to share with others and devel op po s t - training programs in their re s pective or ga n i z a ti ons and com mu n i ti e s .

The work s h ops inclu ded short lectu res on basic con f l i ct re s o luti on con cepts and practi ce s , vi deo pre s en t a ti ons on con f l i ct managem ent tech n i qu e s , and ex ten s ive ro l e - p l ays

and exercises on interpers on a l , rel i gi o u s , et h n i c , and com mu n i ty dispute s . The simu l ati ons or cases for the ro l e - p l ays were ad a pted to indigenous Ni gerian con d i ti ons and ex -

peri en ces and de s i gn ed to acquaint the participants with con f l i ct iden ti f i c a ti on and

re s o luti on tech n i ques and com mu n i c a ti on skill s . The training deepen ed the parti c i p a n t s’

aw a reness and knowl ed ge of et h n i c / rel i gious con f l i ct , its causes, and va rious met h ods for

re s o lving or managing con f l i ct in a mu l ti c u l tu ral soc i ety; it also devel oped the parti c ip a n t s’n ego ti a ti on ,m ed i a ti on , and pe acebuilding skill s . The wi de media (TV, rad i o, a n d

n ews p a pers) covera ge of the work s h ops also served to edu c a te the public on the issu e s

and po s s i ble rem ed i e s . At the end of e ach work s h op, we discussed mod a l i ties for po s t -

training activi ties and net work building among the parti c i p a n t s . To aid in this net work

su pport ef fort , the participant list was distri buted to the parti c i p a n t s .

P roject Impact 

The proj ect had a significant po s i tive impact on et h n i c / rel i gious rel a ti ons in Ni geri a . Th e

tra i n ees have form ed two or ga n i z a ti ons (Pri m e Pe ace Proj ect in Kano and MOLL Med i ators in Lagos) that focus on prom o ting et h n i c / rel i gious con f l i ct re s o luti on and pe acem a king in Ni geri a . The fo u n ders and leaders of these or ga n i z a ti ons also ref l ect the co u n try ’s

et h n i c i ties and rel i gi on s .CSUS-CAPCR is in regular con t act with these or ga n i z a ti on s ,a ss i s ting them in capac i ty building and program devel opm ent ef forts and providing more

tra i n i n g ;t h ey con ti nue to use our con f l i ct managem ent manual in their po s t - training activi ti e s . In May 1998, the proj ect director met for three hours with most of the tra i n ees in

Kano and Lago s , and each of t h em reported po s i tive use/app l i c a ti on of t h eir skills and

k n owl ed ge in their com mu n i ty or ga n i z a ti on s , chu rch e s , profe s s i onal or ga n i z a ti on s ,a n d

f a m i l i e s , and in po l i ce - com mu n i ty rel a ti on s ;t h ey also ex pre s s ed that they now have more

po s i tive vi ews and atti tu des tow a rd other ethnic groups and rel i gi ons and that they try to

i n c u l c a te the same in their mem bers / com mu n i ti e s .In ad d i ti on , the seminar papers have

been accepted for publ i c a ti on in 1999 by Lex i n g ton Boo k s , wh i ch wi ll gre a t ly prom o te

open , con s tru ctive discussion and re s o luti on of ethnic and rel i gious con f l i cts in Ni geri a .

3 4 Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts
Lessons Learned

Le s son One

Fac i l i t a ted dialogue in a safe envi ron m en t , by obj ective and skillful parti e s , is ef fective in

i m proving et h n i c - rel i gious rel a ti on s . It all ows the parties to vent their anger and com mun i c a te their fru s tra ti ons and preju d i ces in an open proce s s , wh i ch can lead to new unders t a n d i n gs thro u gh the sharing and mutual va l i d a ti on of e ach other ’s feel i n gs and

i n tere s t s .

Le s son Two

Al t h o u gh Af ri c a’s cultu re is ri ch in plu ral con f l i ct re s o luti on mode s , U. S . ex perts can contri bute curri c u lum devel opm en t , tra i n i n g, and ped a gogy in prom o ting the cultu re’s ad a pt a ti on to (We s tern) modern con d i ti on s . In tern a ti onal pers on n el also need to be sen s i tive

to the limitati ons of We s tern training models and attem pt to iden tify amen a ble indigenous sys tems of con f l i ct re s o luti on .

Le s son Th re e

The role of N G O s , peop l e - to - people exch a n ge s , and edu c a ti onal insti tuti ons in prom o ting et h n i c / rel i gious rel a ti ons is very ef fective in Ni geri a . In many re s pect s , this may repres ent the co u n try ’s best hope for en su ring pe aceful coex i s ten ce .

Le s son Fou r

Al t h o u gh mu ch of the deb a te abo ut et h n i c / rel i gious ten s i on in Ni geria has been cast as

m a i n ly motiva ted by pure po l i ti c s , its econ omic dimen s i ons need to be ex a m i n ed . For exa m p l e , the poor, u n edu c a ted yo uth who are rec ru i ted and maintained by we a l t hy men to

i n s ti ga te some of the riots seem to serve some econ omic interests in the process of t h e

m a s s ive loo ting and de s tru cti on of com peting bu s i n e s s e s ; wh en su ch yo uth are not ri o ti n g, t h ey may be used as begga rs by their masters who have become “con f l i ct en trepren eu rs .”

Le s son Five

Con f l i ct re s o luti on skills training and curri c u lum devel opm ent are inva lu a ble in the

co u n try ’s search for pe ace and stabi l i ty. To be ef fective , su ch training requ i res careful plann i n g, d i l i gen ce in sel ecting parti c i p a n t s , and flex i bi l i ty in pre s en ting progra m s , and it

must be on going and pers i s ten t .Appropri a te ro l e - p l ays and fac i l i t a ted discussion contri bute to the tra n s form a tive ef fect of the training because su ch met h ods en ga ge the participants in real issues and lead them to fairly con s i der ava i l a ble opti ons for ef fective

re s o luti on .

Training of Trainers to Address Specific Conflicts 3 5
Part III: Training in Conflict Management

3 6

Chapter 7

The Training and Assessment of UN

Pe a c e ke e p e rs with Distance-Educat i o n

Pe d a g o gy

Recent ye a rs have seen an ex p a n s i on in both the nu m ber of pe ace keeping mission s

u n dert a ken by the Un i ted Na ti ons (UN), and the ch a ll en ges faced by indivi du a l

pe ace keepers on the gro u n d . With the help of a grant from The Un i ted State s

In s ti tute of Pe ace (USIP), the Un i ted Na ti ons In s ti tute for Training and Re s e a rch establ i s h ed a program of s el f - p aced training using corre s pon den ce - co u rse instru cti on to prep a re pe ace keepers to serve on these com p l ex mission s . Si n ce 1995, the program has

provi ded almost 2,000 en ro ll m ents from 62 nati ons and con ti nu ed ex p a n s i on is anti c ip a ted .

Political Back g ro u n d

From the founding of the Un i ted Na ti ons in 1945 thro u gh the end of the Cold Wa r, U N

pe ace keeping opera ti ons were con s tra i n ed by su perpower riva l ry. If a pro s pective pe acekeeping mission of fered any po ten tial po l i tical or stra tegic adva n t a ge to ei t h er su perpower, the other would veto the proposal in the UN Sec u ri ty Co u n c i l . Un der these

con s tra i n t s , UN pe ace keeping rem a i n ed a rel a tively small opera ti on and the UN was careful not to attem pt overly ambi tious mission s . De s p i te more than ei gh ty wars (not inclu ding many of the small er intra s t a te con f l i cts) that were fo u ght worl dwi de du ring the Co l d

War with a to ll of 30 mill i on de a t h s ,

1 the UN Sec u ri ty Council establ i s h ed on ly thirteen

pe ace keeping and ob s erver forces bet ween 1948 and 1988.2 A handful of troop - con tri buting nati ons including Ca n ad a ,F ij i ,G h a n a , In d i a , Irel a n d , Ni geri a , and the Nordic nati on s

l oa n ed the UN fewer than 10,000 people per ye a r, and the en ti re bu d get for UN pe acekeeping in constant 1990 US$ was gen era lly less than $500 mill i on per ye a r.3 Pe ace keepers

received training thro u gh their own nati onal military training progra m s , and the skill s

t a u ght were con f i n ed to what they would need for missions with limited scope .

Nei t h er the UN nor the intern a ti onal com mu n i ty was ex pected to intervene in “s m a ll -

s c a l e”con f l i ct s , and vi o l ent et h n opo l i tical stru ggles pers i s ted thro u gh o ut the Cold Wa r.4

1992: More Expectations for Pe a c e ke e p e rs

Wh en the po l i tical and ideo l ogical factors that had con s tra i n ed UN pe ace keeping va ni s h ed at the end of the Cold Wa r, the su perpowers were re ady to see the UN take a more

b y

H a rvey J.

L a n g h o l t z
proactive role in co ll ective sec u ri ty, and in Ja nu a ry 1992 the mem ber nati ons of the UN

Sec u ri ty Council call ed upon the new UN sec ret a ry gen era l , Bo utros Bo utro s - G h a l i , to

d raft a paper proposing his vi ew of the em er ging role the UN could play in more proactive pe ace keep i n g. The sec ret a ry gen eral out l i n ed his vi s i on in An Agenda for Pe a ce.

5 He

c a ll ed for a wi dening of the size ,s cope , and com p l ex i ty of UN pe ace keeping opera ti on s ,

proposing that UN pe ace keepers undert a ke hu m a n i t a rian rel i ef m i s s i ons in the face of

n a tu ra l ,m a n m ade , and econ omic disasters . He call ed for the UN to be prep a red to use

force to impose pe ace on beh a l f of a civilian pop u l a ti on in the face of war or anarchy and

also to su pport post-war recovery thro u gh ref u gee opera ti on s , dem i n i n g, d i s a rm a m en t ,

c ivilian po l i ce , vo ting assistance , and the re s tora ti on of a civil soc i ety.

The nu m ber of UN pe ace keeping or ob s erver forces qu i ck ly grew as 20 new forces were

c re a ted bet ween May 1988 and October 1993. At their largest near the end of 1 9 9 4 ,t h e s e

m i s s i ons were staffed by 77,783 civilian and military pers on n el from over 70 different nati ons at an annual cost of $3.6 bi ll i on .

6 The UN pe ace keeper, tra i n ed for ye a rs to functi on

within the con text of m on i toring establ i s h ed ce a s e - f i re s , found the envi ron m ent was now

being stretch ed simu l t a n eo u s ly in two directi on s :f i rs t , in the hu m a n i t a rian directi on as

UN pe ace keepers in Moz a m bi qu e , Ca m bod i a ,

7 and later Ha i ti8 u n dertook hu m a n i t a ri a n

opera ti on s ,vo ting assistance , and the devel opm ent of i n d i genous civilian po l i ce ; and secon d , in the oppo s i te ,m ore military directi on as UN missions in Som a l i a

9 and the form er

Yu go s l avi a

1 0 were dep l oyed wh en there was, in re a l i ty, no pe ace to keep. Some UN miss i ons undertook hu m a n i t a rian and military aspects con c u rren t ly in an atm o s ph ere of vio l en ce and anarchy as in Rwanda, L i beri a , and An go l a .

1 1

N ew Demands on UN Pe a c e ke e p e rs

and a Need for Access to Tra i n i n g

With the ex p a n s i on in pe ace keeping that came in the first half of this dec ade came recogn i ti on that pe ace keepers would need to be tra i n ed to serve in a va ri ety of dem a n d i n g

f u n cti on s . But how would it be po s s i ble to train thousands of pe ace keeping pers on n el

f rom so many different nati ons to perform so many different functi ons on so many miss i ons worl dwi de? How could military and civilian pers on n el from these nati ons be provi ded standard , com m on ,u n iversal training that would fac i l i t a te unity of f u n cti on and

i n teropera bi l i ty? And how could this training be provi ded to a large pop u l a ti on of geogra ph i c a lly distri buted stu dents on short noti ce and at a low per- s tu dent cost? The soluti on seem ed to lie in the use of d i s t a n ce - edu c a ti on met h odo l ogy, in con ju n cti on wi t h

n a ti onal training progra m s .

The need for sel f - p aced training material on UN pe ace keeping was first ex pre s s ed in

the Con clu s i ons and Recom m en d a ti ons of the UN Special Com m i t tee for Pe ace keep i n g

Opera ti ons at its 1993 session . The vi ew was repe a ted at the 1994, 1 9 9 5 , and 1996 session s

and was en dors ed each year in the Gen eral As s em bly ’s Omnibus Pe ace keeping Re s o luti on .

In ad d i ti on , the noti on was inclu ded in the Sti m s on Cen ter ’s 1994 report , US Pre s i den ti a l

Dec i s i on Di rective 25, and a va ri ety of o t h er fora .

In re s ponse to this need , the Un i ted Na ti ons In s ti tute for Training and Re s e a rch Programme of Corre s pon den ce In s tru cti on (UNITAR POCI) was establ i s h ed to provi de

training in a va ri ety of a re a s .U N I TAR POC I ’s purpose is to coord i n a te the devel opm en t

Training in Conflict Management 3 7
and distri buti on of corre s pon den ce co u rses on UN pe ace keep i n g. These co u rses are to

su pport establ i s h ed UN practi ces and procedu res and provi de training for pers on n el of a ll

n a ti ons that is standard , com m on , and low - co s t . The devel opm ent of the first co u rses for

U N I TAR POCI was funded thro u gh USIP unsolicited grant 134-94F.

U N I TAR POC I ’s initial devel opm ent was guided by its mission statem ent as fo ll ows .

It is the purpose of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research Programme

of Correspondence Instruction to coordinate the development and distribution of correspondence courses on United Nations Peacekeeping. These courses are to support

established UN practices and procedures, and are to provide training for personnel of all

nations that is standard, common, and low in cost.1 2

Distance Education Pe d a g o gy

Di s t a n ce edu c a ti on ped a gogy of fers the capabi l i ty of re aching a geogra ph i c a lly distri buted

t a r get pop u l a ti on of m i l i t a ry of f i cers ,n on com m i s s i on ed of f i cers (NCOs), c ivilian emp l oyee s , and diplomats who need knowl ed ge - b a s ed tra i n i n g. Corre s pon den ce co u rs e s

f rom UNITAR POCI are not de s i gn ed for hands-on skills or field exerc i s e s .It is recogn i zed that many pe ace keeping skills requ i re the devel opm ent of h a n d s - on technical skill s

that can be taught on ly under cl o s e ,d i rect su pervi s i on . Th ere are also pe ace keeping skill s

that requ i re group coord i n a ti on and or ga n i z a ti on , and these can be taught on ly thro u gh

f i eld exercises or other re a l - time group exerc i s e s . However, m a ny pe ace keeping topics are

cogn i tive or knowl ed ge - b a s ed and can be acqu i red using the sel f - p aced pri n ted co u rs e s

of fered by UNITAR POC I . These co u rses of fer universal training in accepted practi ces of

UN pe ace keeping and cover establ i s h ed doctri n e ,t acti c s , procedu re s , ad m i n i s tra ti on , orga n i z a ti on ,t h eory, h i s tory, and other knowl ed ge - b a s ed topics that pe ace keepers need to

u n derstand in order to serve ef fectively on UN mission s .

Co u rses are del ivered to indivi dual stu dents in situ with no need to travel or wait for a

training qu o t a . The co u rses ra n ge in size from 100 to 500 page s .E ach co u rse contains a series of l e s s ons and each lesson inclu des lesson obj ective s , re ad i n gs , and an en d - of - l e s s on

qu i z . At the end of the co u rse is an en d - of - co u rse ex a m i n a ti on .E ach co u rse has an en ro llm ent fee of $75 to $95 to cover the costs of pri n ti n g, s h i pp i n g, and stu dent ad m i n i s trati on .

Subjects Cove re d

U N I TAR POCI curren t ly of fers ei ght sep a ra te sel f - p aced corre s pon den ce co u rses te ach i n g

d i f ferent aspects of UN pe ace keep i n g.All are ava i l a ble in Engl i s h ;t h ree are also ava i l a bl e

in Spanish, and two in Fren ch . Recogn i zed ex perts with practical ex peri en ce in appropria te aspects of pe ace keeping wro te the co u rs e s , wh i ch ra n ge in length from four to sixteen

l e s s ons with each lesson requ i ring abo ut two hours of s tu dy. E ach indivi dual lesson contains three part s : a set of cl e a rly stated lesson obj ectives so the stu dent may unders t a n d

what the lesson is de s i gn ed to provi de ; the actual re ading materi a l , wh i ch is gen era lly from

ten to twen ty pages per lesson ; and a ten- to twen ty - qu e s ti on quiz with the correct ans wers ava i l a ble so the stu dent may mon i tor his or her own progre s s . At the end of e ach

3 8 Training in Conflict Management
co u rse the stu dent com p l etes and su bmits for scoring a fifty - qu e s ti on com preh en s ive

en d - of - co u rse ex a m i n a ti on .S tu dents who pass with 75 percent correct answers receive a

certi f i c a te of com p l eti on from UNITAR POC I . Those who fail get one opportu n i ty to

pass an altern a te form of the exam to earn the certi f i c a te . The co u rses are wri t ten for the

i n ten ded stu dent pop u l a ti on of m i l i t a ry of f i cers . However, o t h er en ro ll m ents inclu de

d i p l om a t s , en l i s ted pers on n el ,c ivilian em p l oyees of m i n i s tries of defense and ministri e s

of forei gn affairs , em p l oyees of n on govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons (NGOs), s ch o l a rs , and intere s ted citi zen s .

The indivi dual co u rses may be taken in any order but Principles for the Con du ct of

Pe ace Su pport is recom m en ded as an introdu cti on . This co u rse shows stu dents the operati onal app l i c a ti ons and po l i tical implicati ons of the full ra n ge of Pe ace Su pport Operati ons in tod ay ’s com p l ex envi ron m en t : pe ace keep i n g, pe ace en forcem en t , pe ace su pport ,

com b a t , the prom o ti on of con s en t , C3 ( com m a n d , con tro l , and com mu n i c a ti on s ) , techn i qu e s , and planning for pe ace opera ti on s .

F ive co u rses cover va rious mission - rel a ted duties and tasks. Logi s tical Su pport of U N

Pe ace keeping Opera ti ons provi des the stu dent with an understanding of UN logi s ti c s

procedu res su pporting interopera bi l i ty among forces dep l oyed on UN mission s . In the logi s tics co u rs e ,s tu dents see how to link UN logi s tics procedu res to procedu res of t h eir own

n a ti on s . Serving as a UN Mi l i t a ry Ob s erver: Met h ods and Procedu res helps the stu den t

u n derstand social customs and deal with cultu re shock . The co u rse te aches imparti a l i ty,

duty on patrols and ob s erver po s t s , code of con du ct ,l i a i s on ,n ego ti a ti on , com mu n i c a ti on ,

and sec u ri ty.

Un i ted Na ti ons Civilian Po l i ce : Re s toring Order Fo ll owing Ho s ti l i ties familiari zes the

s tu dent with the roles and duties of Un i ted Na ti ons Civilian Po l i ce (UN CIVPOL) in

re s toring civil order fo ll owing the chaos of w a r.Topics inclu de the history of U N

C I V P O L , privi l eges and immu n i ti e s ,c u l tu ral and social rel a ti on s , or ga n i z a ti on , pri n c i p l e s ,

l i a i s on ,n ego ti a ti on ,s t a f f duti e s , com mu n i c a ti on s , and sec u ri ty. Commanding UN Pe acekeeping Opera ti on s : Met h ods and Tech n i ques for Pe ace keeping on the Ground prep a re s

com m i s s i on ed of f i cers and NCOs to lead their troops on pe ace keeping opera ti on s .S tudents learn the military back ground to pe ace keep i n g, m et h ods of com m a n d ,rules of enga gem en t , pri n c i p l e s , acti on , and the use and nonuse of de adly force .S tu dents learn how

pe ace keepers con du ct ob s erva ti on po s t s ,p a tro l s , convoys ,e s cort s , and ref u gee and hum a n i t a rian opera ti on s , and pro tect against mines. The co u rse also covers su pport of

d i p l om a tic initi a tive s , pri s on er excha n ge s ,c ivilian pro tecti on , rel a ti ons with parties in

con f l i ct , hu m a n i t a rian agen c i e s , and the med i a . Demining in the Af termath of Wa r: Preven ting Ca su a l ties to Pe ace keepers and the Civilian Pop u l a ti on discusses the gl obal probl em , hu m a n i t a rian cl e a ra n ce , booby tra p s , detecti on , prec a uti on s , acti on s , and the

tre a tm ent of the con s equ en ces of mines left behind by war.

Two co u rses of fer historical pers pectives on UN pe ace keep i n g.The Un i ted Na ti on s

Pe ace keeping Force in the Form er Yu go s l avia covers the con f l i ct in Yu go s l avia and the UN

m i s s i on thro u gh the Dayton Pe ace Accord . While the co u rse of fers a historical background and wi ll acquaint the stu dent with the genesis of the con f l i ct , it does not cover

po s t - D ayton devel opm en t s . The Hi s tory of UN Pe ace keeping Opera ti ons 1945 to 1987 is

ava i l a ble in English and provi des the stu dent with an understanding of h ow pe ace keep i n g

evo lved du ring the Cold Wa r.

Training in Conflict Management 3 9
In April 1999 UNITAR POC I ’s ninth co u rs e , The Hi s tory of UN Pe ace keeping Fo ll owing the Cold Wa r: 1 9 8 8 – 1 9 9 7 ,was placed in distri buti on and the first stu dents have alre ady com p l eted the co u rs e . The German vers i on of the Demining co u rse was rel e a s ed in

May 1999. The co u rse on Yu go s l avia has been revi s ed and should be ava i l a ble by late su mm er 1999. Four co u rses are being dra f ted : Medical and Ps ych o l ogical As pects of Pe acekeep i n g, Hu m a n i t a rian Rel i ef Opera ti on s , The Law of Wa r, and An ti - Terrori s m . Ot h er

co u rses not actu a lly in draft but under discussion for futu re devel opm ent are Ma ri ti m e

As pects of Pe ace keep i n g, Con f l i ct Re s o luti on , Human Ri ghts Mon i tori n g, and Electi on

Mon i tori n g.

Individual Enrollments and National Pro g ra m s

Cu rren t ly, en ro ll m ents nu m ber over 2,000 stu dents from 61 troop - con tri buting nati on s :

An go l a , An ti g u a , Ar gen ti n a , Au s tra l i a , Au s tri a , Ba h a m a s , Bel giu m , Ben i n , Bra z i l , Bu rk i n a

Fa s o, Ca n ad a , Ch i l e , Ch i n a , Co l om bi a , Den m a rk , El Sa lvador, Et h i op i a ,F i n l a n d , Fra n ce ,

G eor gi a ,G erm a ny, G h a n a , Greece , Ha i ti , In d i a , In don e s i a , Is rael , It a ly, Ja p a n ,Jord a n ,

Kenya , Kore a , Kuw a i t , Leb a n on , Ma l ays i a , Mex i co, Net h erl a n d s , New Ze a l a n d , Ni geri a ,

Norw ay, Pa k i s t a n , Peru , Portu ga l , Rom a n i a , Ru s s i a ,R w a n d a , Sl ovak Rep u bl i c , So ut h

Af ri c a ,S p a i n , Sweden , Swi t zerl a n d , Syri a , Togo, Tu rkey, Un i ted Arab Emira te s , Un i ted

Ki n gdom , Un i ted State s , Uru g u ay,Ven e z u el a , Za m bi a , and Zi m b a bwe .

E n ro ll m ent in the co u rses is open , and indivi dual stu dents are accepted with or wi t ho ut nati onal spon s ors h i p. However, m a ny troop - con tri buting nati ons have incorpora ted

the sel f - p aced corre s pon den ce co u rses into their nati onal training progra m s , and these est a bl i s h ed arra n gem ents provi de training for many pe ace keepers . In these cases the mini s try of defense publ i c i zes the co u rses to military pers on n el as part of the regular sch edu l e

of n a ti onal tra i n i n g.

Lessons Learned

Le s son One

Several important lessons have been learn ed du ring the devel opm ent of U N I TAR POC I .

Some lessons learn ed may be specific to the devel opm ent of a program of s el f - p aced

training on pe ace keep i n g, but others may be more gen era l .Perhaps the first and most important lesson is the need to devel op a clear sel f - def i n i ti on before undertaking su ch a proj ect . Before UNITAR POCI ex i s ted ,t h ere was no cen tral source for sel f - p aced training on

pe ace keep i n g, and it was the goal of the program to fill that need worl dwi de . This sel f - defi n i ti on could be hon ed on ly after nu m erous meeti n gs and discussion s , both formal and

i n form a l ,i nvo lving ex perts in the field from many nati on s . These discussions inclu ded

perm a n ent repre s en t a tives to the Un i ted Na ti ons and their staff, pers on n el within the UN

Dep a rtm ent of Pe ace keeping Opera ti on s ,m i l i t a ry pe ace keepers ,m i l i t a ry tra i n ers ,N G O s ,

and others .U N I TAR POCI could not have been initi a lly establ i s h ed wi t h o ut the early sel f -

def i n i ti on that em er ged from these con su l t a ti on s .

4 0 Training in Conflict Management
Le s son Two

A program must have a plan and a vi s i on that wi ll accom m od a te managed growt h . Programs wi ll not start out as large or sel f - su f f i c i en t . In s te ad ,t h ey wi ll be small and dependen t . A training or ga n i z a ti on crosses a threshold wh en it en ro lls its first stu den t , and for

U N I TAR POC I , that threshold took over two ye a rs of planning and devel opm en t . Th e

program was first discussed in early 1993, but it was Febru a ry 1995 before our first student was en ro ll ed . Before the first stu dent can be en ro ll ed , at least one co u rse must be

wri t ten and pri n ted and the ad m i n i s tra tive mechanisms must be in place .O n ce the firs t -

s tu dent threshold was cro s s ed , it was a matter of m a n a ging growth within ava i l a ble res o u rce s . Al t h o u gh the establ i s h m ent of U N I TAR POCI was funded by USIP, the progra m

was ex pected to become sel f - sustaining and on going thro u gh en ro ll m ent revenu e s ,a n d

this sel f - su f f i c i ency requ i red managed growt h . The produ cti on of the first few co u rses and

the devel opm ent of the capabi l i ty to servi ce our first few hu n d red stu dents con su m ed the

i n i tial USIP funding, but en ro ll m ent revenues had to be all oc a ted caref u lly to take the

program to the next level of s i ze . Now that the program has over 2,000 en ro ll m en t s , it is

prep a red to expand furt h er. However, it would not have been po s s i ble to expand immed ia tely from the first few stu dents to the first few thousand stu dents as early en ro ll m ent revenues would not have been su f f i c i ent to immed i a tely su pport this level of s tu dent load i n g.

E ach level of activi ty must be devel oped with revenues from the preceding level , and attem pts to expand too qu i ck ly wi ll lead to failu re .As the or ga n i z a ti on grows it must be su ccessful at each level , and failu re at any level wi ll lead to the term i n a ti on of t h e

or ga n i z a ti on .

Le s son Th re e

As a devel oping program UNITAR POCI had to coord i n a te with other or ga n i z a ti ons and

i n tegra te opera ti ons with them . A working rel a ti onship was devel oped with the UN Dep a rtm ent of Pe ace keeping Opera ti ons so that co u rses on UN pe ace keeping were revi ewed

for con s i s tency with establ i s h ed policy and practi ces of UN pe ace keep i n g. A mem ora ndum of a greem ent was sign ed with the U. S .Army Training and Doctrine Com m a n d ,l i s ting UNITAR POCI corre s pon den ce co u rses in the Army ’s own catalog of corre s pon den ce

co u rses and aw a rding co u rse credits to U. S .s o l d i ers who com p l eted the UN co u rs e s . Si m ilar links have been establ i s h ed with several other nati on s ,i n cluding Germ a ny, It a ly, a n d

Norw ay. U N I TAR POCI co u rses were revi ewed by the Am erican Council on Edu c a ti on

( ACE) and now are listed by ACE as wort hy of co ll ege cred i t s . A rel a ti onship was establ i s h ed with Geor ge Ma s on Un ivers i ty ’s (GMU) Program on Pe ace keeping Po l i c y, a n d

GMU stu dents in the program are requ i red to com p l ete UNITAR POCI co u rs e s . Corpora ti ons in the Un i ted States and Germ a ny that provi de con tract - demining capabi l i ty requ i re their em p l oyees to com p l ete UNITAR POC I ’s demining co u rs e . Our co u rses have

been used to su pp l em ent cl a s s room training by or ga n i z a ti ons in Spain and So uth Af ri c a .

The director of U N I TAR POCI has vi s i ted other military and civilian pe ace keeping tra i ning programs in Ar gen ti n a , Au s tri a , Irel a n d , It a ly, the Un i ted Ki n gdom , and the Un i ted

S t a te s , and ad d i ti onal links are being discussed .

Training in Conflict Management 4 1
Le s son Fou r

Keep an em phasis on servi ce ,k n ow who you are servi n g, and have a clear def i n i ti on of t h e

n eed the or ga n i z a ti on is fill i n g. Si n ce UNITAR POCI is now wh o lly su pported thro u gh

en ro ll m ent revenu e s , we must be re s pon s ive to our stu den t s .The en ro ll m ent proce s s

must be simple and easy. Co u rse materials must be del ivered prom pt ly. Exams must be

s cored fairly, and stu dents need to learn re sults qu i ck ly. S tu dents can easily access inform a ti on thro u gh our home page , by fax, or by mail. Our co u rses are de s i gn ed to be ava i la ble to stu dents in both devel oped and devel oping nati on s , so stu dents cannot be requ i red

to have com p uter equ i pm ent or capabi l i ty to take the co u rs e s . If s tu dents wi s h ,a ll commu n i c a ti on can take place thro u gh the mail. However, s tu dents who want to use our

h ome page may en ro ll el ectron i c a lly, corre s pond thro u gh e-mail, and take their en d - of -

co u rse exam on l i n e .Ad d i ti onal steps have been taken to provi de a proper level of s tu den t

s ervi ces and su pport .

Le s son Five

Seek a level of financial sel f - su f f i c i en c y.It would not be po s s i ble to opera te UNITA R

P OCI while depending on an en dless series of gra n t s .Grants are unders t a n d a bly finite

both in time and amount. O n ce UNITAR POCI began en ro lling stu den t s , it had a comm i tm ent to remain in opera ti on and su pport en ro ll ed stu den t s .The program could not

be discon ti nu ed wh en the initial grant en ded .While demand for en ro ll m ents has been

con s i s ten t , this is difficult to pred i ct . If the nu m ber of s tu dent en ro ll m ents expands or

con tract s , so wi ll en ro ll m ent revenu e s , making UNITAR POCI solvent at va rious size

l evel s .

Le s son Si x

Pu bl i c i ze the progra m .U N I TAR POCI publishes a concise brochu re listing co u rses ava i la ble wh i ch ,a l ong with an en ro ll m ent form , is en cl o s ed in all mailings . Free publ i c i ty is

obt a i n ed by having UNITAR POCI co u rses inclu ded in the official list of co u rses publ i s h ed by ministries of defen s e , co ll ege s , and other or ga n i z a ti on s . In ad d i ti on ,U N I TA R

P OC I ’s home page has been linked to the home pages of o t h er or ga n i z a ti on s , perm i t ti n g

easy access for po ten tial stu den t s .

Le s son Seven

Ba l a n ce low - risk proj ects with more ri s ky proj ect s . In 1995 UNITAR POCI was in the

process of devel oping an early of fering of corre s pon den ce co u rs e s . The dec i s i on was made

to devel op a co u rse to prep a re pe ace keepers to serve on the UN missions in the form er

Yu go s l avi a , and after a year of work the co u rse was first of fered for en ro ll m ent in early

Novem ber 1995. However, the signing of the Gen eral Fra m ework Agreem ent for Pe ace in

Bosnia and Her zegovina on Novem ber 21, 1 9 9 5 , in Dayton,O h i o, i m m ed i a tely made the

co u rse ob s o l ete as the UN Pro tecti on Force was rep l aced by NATO’s (North At l a n ti c

Tre a ty Orga n i z a ti on) Im p l em en t a ti on Force . Ot h er topical co u rses (not mission - s pec i f i c ) ,

su ch as Commanding Pe ace keeping Opera ti on s , Dem i n i n g, and Principles of Pe ace Su pport ,h ave ret a i n ed their currency de s p i te ch a n ges in intern a ti onal po l i ti c s .

4 2 Training in Conflict Management
Le s son Eigh t

F i n a lly, s t a rt with a clear vi s i on and mission statem en t , but be prep a red to cri ti c a lly eva lua te ad d i ti onal needs and opportu n i ties that may devel op. To be sel f - su f f i c i ent and lasti n g,

an or ga n i z a ti on must ad a pt to envi ron m ental and po l i tical ch a n ge s .U N I TAR POCI was

e s t a bl i s h ed as ori gi n a lly envi s i on ed , but recent trends in pe ace keeping have led to a sligh t

ch a n ge in em ph a s i s . Al t h o u gh our ori ginal co u rses foc u s ed on topics of pe ace keeping that

were wi dely accepted at the ti m e ,f utu re co u rses and co u rses now under devel opm ent wi ll

focus on em er ging top i c s : Hu m a n i t a rian Opera ti on s , In tern a ti onal Hu m a n i t a rian Law,

and World Terrori s m .

C o n c l u s i o n s

Tod ay ’s com p l ex pe ace keeping missions requ i re pe ace keepers to perform functi ons as

d i f ferent as pe ace en forcem en t , hu m a n i t a rian rel i ef , dem i n i n g, and civilian po l i c i n g. Alt h o u gh the training of pe ace keepers remains the re s pon s i bi l i ty of the troop - con tri buti n g

n a ti on s ,U N I TAR POCI of fers nati ons and indivi duals an opportu n i ty to acqu i re

a ut h ori t a tive training direct ly from one source . The ori ginal devel opm ent of the co u rs e s

was funded under a gen erous grant from USIP, but the program is now perm a n ent and

f i n a n c i a lly sel f - su s t a i n i n g. Ad d i ti onal co u rses are being devel oped , and each month new

s tu dents from troop - con tri buting nati ons en ro ll in sel f - p aced corre s pon den ce co u rses on

UN pe ace keep i n g.

Training in Conflict Management 4 3
Chapter 8

I n t e r n ational Online Training Pro g ram on

I n t ractable Conflict

The In tern a ti onal Online Training Program on In tract a ble Con f l i ct provi des a

va ri ety of d i s t a n ce learning opti ons for people intere s ted in more con s tru ctive

a pproaches to difficult and intract a ble con f l i ct s . Cre a ted by the Un ivers i ty of

Co l orado Con f l i ct Re s e a rch Con s ortium with su pport from the Un i ted States In s ti tute of

Pe ace and the Hewl ett Fo u n d a ti on , this program is ava i l a ble to In tern et users worl dwi de

at http : / / w w w. co l orado. edu / con f l i ct / pe ace .

The training program provi des an econ omical altern a tive or su pp l em ent to travel -

b a s ed training for disputants and interm ed i a ri e s . It is not inten ded to rep l ace trad i ti on a l

f ace - to - f ace tra i n i n g, but ra t h er to provi de an ad d i ti onal source of training that is pri m a ri ly inten ded for people who do not have the time for or cannot afford conven ti onal progra m s . It can also be used to su pp l em ent face - to - f ace training after that training is

com p l eted .

The program provi des inform a ti on on basic con f l i ct managem ent stra tegies as well as

m ore adva n ced tech n i ques for dealing with intract a ble con f l i ct s . Ma terials can be used indepen den t ly for sel f - s tu dy or as a su pp l em en t a ry re s o u rce that con tri butes to more conven ti onal face - to - f ace training and edu c a ti on progra m s .The program is wri t ten in simple

l a n g u a ge (with an online gl o s s a ry ) , so it is appropri a te for people with a limited knowled ge of E n gl i s h . While it em ph a s i zes intract a ble con f l i ct probl ems in the devel op i n g

dem oc racies and el s ewh ere in the “t wo - t h i rd s” worl d , this program is useful for anyon e

f acing difficult con f l i ct .

De s i gn ed for people with limited access to ac ademic or profe s s i onal litera tu re , the system contains over 1,000 pages of f u ll - text material with analyses of 100 com m on con f l i ct

probl ems and 200 stra tegies for limiting those probl em s . Su m m a ries of 200 arti cles and

books and links to another 200 Web - acce s s i ble doc u m ents provi de a theoretical background for and illu s tra ti ons of the ideas pre s en ted . The program also permits dialog u e

a m ong users and en co u ra ges other con f l i ct re s e a rch , edu c a ti on , and training or ga n i z ati ons to join the proj ect as co ll a bora tors .

P ro g ram A s s u m p t i o n s

Our approach to re s o luti on-resistant con f l i cts draws heavi ly from con f l i ct re s o luti on

practi ce and pe ace and con f l i ct sch o l a rs h i p.It also incorpora tes ideas from specialists in

advoc ac y, com mu n i ty or ga n i z a ti on , and nonvi o l ent direct acti on . Un l i ke those who see k

re s o luti on for its own sake ,we seek ju s ti ce ,f a i rn e s s , good dec i s i on s , and wise soluti on s .

Som etimes this means working to re s o lve a con f l i ct ,while at other ti m e s , it means con ti nuing the con f l i ct , but in a more con s tru ctive way.

4 4

b y

Guy Burg e s s ,

Heidi Burg e s s ,

a n d

Paul We h r
An o t h er important el em ent of our approach is that we use a small er unit of a n a lys i s

than is com m on . Ra t h er than looking at the con f l i ct as a wh o l e ,we look at each aspect of

the con f l i ct to see what is working well and what is not, and thu s , what needs to be

ch a n ged .The approach su gge s ted is different for each con f l i ct situ a ti on — we do not try to

a pp ly one standard approach to all situ a ti on s . Our goal is to help users fix as many of t h e

i n c rem ental probl ems as po s s i ble and redu ce the magn i tu de of the rem a i n der, t hus all owing users to pursue their goals in more po s i tive ways , even before the con f l i ct is re s o lved .

Al t h o u gh many of our “tre a tm en t s” requ i re coopera ti on bet ween con tending parti e s

( of ten thro u gh intermed i a ri e s ) ,o t h ers can be implem en ted unilatera lly. Si m i l a rly, s om e

tre a tm ents are rel a tively easy for the parties to implem en t , while others requ i re that they

devel op new dispute-h a n dling skills or sec u re the assistance of con f l i ct profe s s i on a l s .

Un l i ke other forms of d i s p ute re s o luti on , this increm ental approach can work in situ ati ons wh ere re s o luti on - b a s ed approaches cannot and wh ere major ch a n ges in

d i s p ute-h a n dling processes or dec i s i on-making insti tuti ons are unlikely. In ad d i ti on to

providing su pport for people in third - p a rty, i n term ed i a ry ro l e s ,the program also highl i ghts steps disputants can take wi t h o ut third - p a rty interven ti on or assistance .

The Knowledge Base

While there are no proven stra tegies for re s o lving intract a ble con f l i ct s , the fiel d ’s growi n g

k n owl ed ge base of fers a ri ch array of i deas for handling inevi t a ble con f ron t a ti ons more

con s tru ctively. While some ideas were devel oped spec i f i c a lly for this progra m ,m a ny

m ore were drawn from the knowl ed ge , ex peri en ce , and wri ting of o t h ers .

The probl em s ,s o luti on s , and examples given by no means exhaust the approaches for

dealing with intract a ble con f l i ct s . Ra t h er, we see the program as a starting point that wi ll

s ti mu l a te users to think of n ew approaches to their own probl em s .A principal adva n t a ge

of this probl em / tre a tm ent approach is its ad a pt a bi l i ty to the special circ u m s t a n ces of p a rticular users . No single approach can be ex pected to work in all con f l i ct situ a ti on s .E ach

con f l i ct pre s ents a different com bi n a ti on of probl em s , requ i ring a different set of tre a tm en t s .

H ow the Material Is Organized 

The training program has five major secti on s : (1) a set of com m on con f l i ct probl em s ;(2) a

s et of po s s i ble tre a tm en t sfor those probl em s ; (3) a set of exa m pl e s of probl ems and tre a tm en t s ;(4) a group of b ack ground t h e o reti c a le s s ays ; and (5) a nu m ber of re sou rces and

su ppo rt servi ce s.

The core of the sys tem com prises the two probl em lists (one for core con f l i ct probl em s

and one for “com p l i c a ting factors”) and two match ed tre a tm ent lists. By cl i cking on a

probl em or a tre a tm en t ,u s ers are taken to an essay de s c ri bing that topic in more det a i l .

Th ey can then fo ll ow links to examples of the probl em or tre a tm en t , or they can re ad

a bo ut rel a ted probl ems or tre a tm en t s . Th ey can also link to theoretical essays and to articles on other web s i te s . The re s o u rces and su pport servi ces secti on contains a gl o s s a ry of

s pec i a l i zed term s , a list of referen ces (books and arti cl e s ) , online discussion gro u p s ,i n form a ti on on how to re ach and down l oad material at low co s t , and hints for ef f i c i en t ly using

the training program with different kinds of In tern et con n ecti on s .

Training in Conflict Management 4 5
Using the Pro g ra m

This training program can be used in several ways . Us ers who want qu i ck answers to specific qu e s ti ons can scan the probl em and tre a tm ent lists for items that ad d ress their specific need s . Th ey can then fo ll ow links to lessons and rel a ted topics of i n tere s t . All of t h e

i n form a ti on on the web site is ava i l a ble free of ch a r ge .

S tu dents who want to gain an in-depth understanding of i n tract a ble con f l i cts and cons tru ctive con f ron t a ti on have two online co u rse opti on s . The work for both opti ons is the

s a m e :S tu dents re ad the theoretical back ground materi a l , the probl em and tre a tm ent ess ays , and many of the ex a m p l e s . Th ey then wri te a series of p a pers app lying ideas in the

m a terials to their own situ a ti ons or ex peri en ce s . Th ey are also en co u ra ged to cri ti c a lly

com p a re their ways of dealing with con f l i ct situ a ti ons with those pre s en ted in the tra i n i n g

progra m . Thu s , the program becomes el i c i tive as well as pre s c ri ptive .In ad d i ti on to providing instru ctor feed b ack and interacti on , we also en co u ra ge online dialogue bet ween

s tu dents in different parts of the worl d ,t h ereby enhancing the cro s s - c u l tu ral va lue of t h e

co u rs e . For abo ut $300, s tu dents who com p l ete the co u rse sati s f actori ly can receive form a l

u n ivers i ty credit for a three - s em e s ter-hour co u rs e . Those who do not need credit can obtain a Con s ortium Certi f i c a te of Com p l eti on for $100. (We have also establ i s h ed a sch o la rship program for users who cannot afford these ch a r ge s . )

Au d i e n c e

The pri m a ry program users wi ll be people with In tern et access who are intere s ted in altern a tive approaches to difficult con f l i ct : govern m ent peopl e ,u n ivers i ty fac u l ty and other

te ach ers , business exec utive s , repre s en t a tives of n on govern m ental or ga n i z a ti ons (NGOs)

and the mass med i a , and others .While many po ten tial users do not yet have access to

com p uters and the Web, su ch access is expanding ra p i dly thro u gh o ut the worl d .

Th ere is a mu ch larger secon d a ry audien ce — people in con t act with or ga n i z a ti ons that

h ave In tern et acce s s .For ex a m p l e , con f l i ct re s e a rch , tra i n i n g, and edu c a ti on or ga n i z a ti on s

can make the program ava i l a ble to their stu den t s ,d i s p ute re s o luti on practi ti on ers ava i la ble to their cl i en t s , and advoc acy groups ava i l a ble to their con s ti tu en t s .G overn m en t

a gencies can use the program for em p l oyee tra i n i n g.

At this early stage of a u d i en ce devel opm en t ,we re a lly do not know how large our user

group wi ll be , but we ex pect it to grow qu i ck ly as more people become aw a re of the progra m’s ava i l a bi l i ty. Un l i ke conven ti on a l ,f ace - to - f ace tra i n i n g, wh i ch is limited by tra i n er

re s o u rces and tra i n ee time and mon ey, copies of this program can be distri buted instantly

and at vi rtu a lly no co s t . Us ers need not hire tra i n ers , buy new materi a l s , or pay for travel

ex pen s e s . The cost of online instru cti on is mu ch less than com p a ra ble face - to - f ace tra i ni n g, s i n ce the econ omies of In tern et te aching permit a single instru ctor to serve more studen t s . In s tru ctors can also be rec ru i ted from all over the worl d , and the online ch a racter

of the program all ows them to fit the work into their normal sch edu l e .

A n t i c i p ated Impact

The Online Training Program on In tract a ble Con f l i ct is a com preh en s ive and vers a ti l e

l e a rning re s o u rce that provi des users with easy access to a great deal of u s eful inform a ti on

that was previ o u s ly mu ch more difficult to obt a i n . We hope that disputants and third par4 6 Training in Conflict Management
ties wi ll tu rn to this re s o u rce wh en they feel “s tu ck” in a con f l i ct situ a ti on they don’t know

h ow to handl e , or in one that seems to be going from good to bad . If e ach of the thousands of u s ers we anti c i p a te takes aw ay one or two new ideas abo ut ad d ressing con f l i ct

probl ems in more con s tru ctive ways , the program is likely to have a significant impact .

Beyond su ch increm ental impact , we hope the program wi ll lead users to see intract a bl e

con f l i cts in a new way, a ll owing them to ref rame their probl ems and devel op more cons tru ctive approaches to them .

Lessons Learned

We vi ew this proj ect as just one step in a lon g - term ef fort to speed the dissem i n a ti on of

i n form a ti on on more con s tru ctive approaches to difficult con f l i ct s . We found the fo ll owing proj ect lessons to be parti c u l a rly useful since they su ggest futu re proj ect devel opm en t

goa l s .

Le s son One

D evel op bet ter su b s ti t utes for face - to - f a ce training intera c ti on s .While most con f l i ct

l e a rning takes place in situ a ti ons with a high degree of i n terpers onal interacti on ,o u r

training program now relies exclu s ively on the wri t ten interacti on s — e s s ays users read ,p apers they wri te , and online dialogues among instru ctors and stu den t s . To provi de some of

the depth and ri chness of f ace - to - f ace interacti on s , we need to incorpora te interactive exerc i s e s , ro l e - p l ays , and simu l a ti on s , as well as audio and vi deo com pon en t s .

Le s son Two

Work to expand acce s s .Obvi o u s ly, our training program can assist on ly those who have

access to it. Si n ce access to the In tern et is sti ll qu i te limited , we need to con ti nue to search

for cl ever, l ow - cost stra tegies for providing bet ter access to those on the fri n ges of comp uter tech n o l ogy.

Le s son Th re e

D evel op bet ter stra tegies for addressing cultural differen ce s . One of the dangers of a

tru ly gl obal training program is that it has to make sense in a broad ra n ge of c u l tu ral setti n gs .We need to do a bet ter job of i den ti f ying and focusing on tru ly universal con f l i ct

probl em s . We also need to devel op many more modules that ad a pt gen eral con f l i ct theory

to specific (non - U.S.) cultu ral set ti n gs .Also cri tical are improved stra tegies for en co u ra ging people who are uncom fort a ble with our approach to con tri bute altern a tive ways of

defining probl ems and seeking soluti on s .

Le s son Fou r

Imp rove our understanding of u s er motiva ti on and need s . Key to the su ccess of a ny

training program is an abi l i ty to provi de users with the inform a ti on they want wh en they

want it.Yet get ting online users to eva lu a te a program is not easy.We are working on ways

to increase the amount of feed b ack we are get ting to en a ble us to bet ter serve user need s .

Training in Conflict Management 4 7
Le s son Five

Work to make Web - b a s ed training a more wi dely recogn i zed opti on. Wh en people are

i n tere s ted in tra i n i n g, edu c a ti on , or new ide a s ,most do not yet think of the In tern et as the

p l ace to go. In s te ad they seek advi ce from fri en d s , boo k s , and edu c a ti on and training progra m s .Crucial to the lon g - term su ccess of this and other similar ef forts is persu ading people to at least give online training a ch a n ce . We also need to persu ade people to

peri od i c a lly reassess these ef forts as the tech n o l ogy and proj ect(s) adva n ce .

Le s son Si x

Grow with the tech n o l ogy. The In tern et is devel oping at an en ormous ra te . The curren t

vers i on of the online training program would have been impo s s i ble to con s tru ct a few

ye a rs ago. Con ti nuing devel opm ent of the sys tem requ i res an abi l i ty to take adva n t a ge of

em er ging In tern et capabi l i ties su ch as audio and vi deo, online tra n s l a ti on , and wi rel e s s

n et works capable of re aching rem o te are a s .

Le s son Seven

Build the user / con tri butor net work.Also key to the lon g - term su ccess of this and similar

proj ects is expanding the net work of u s ers and con tri butors who ben efit from the sys tem

and en co u ra ging their assoc i a tes to use it.

Le s son Ei gh t

Ada pt to the differing ways in wh i ch people use the sys tem. Some users want as mu ch

i n form a ti on and as mu ch detail as we can give them . Ot h ers want on ly a qu i ck overvi ew

of a few key ide a s .S ti ll others want to be able to take a few ideas and devel op them on

t h eir own . The initial vers i on of this program was de s i gn ed pri m a ri ly with the first two

u s er groups in mind. We now need to devel op more el i c i tive materials for the third gro u p.

Le s son Nin e

Im p rove navi ga ti on too l s. The proj ect’s goal of providing qu i ck and easy access to large

amounts of i n form a ti on requ i res con ti nuing ef forts to improve the navi ga ti on tools that

en a ble users to easily “find their way ”t h ro u gh the sys tem .

Le s son Ten

Add additi onal con ten t.The 1,000 pages of con tent curren t ly provi ded by the program is

cl e a rly not en o u gh . Too many crucial ideas have had to be ei t h er left out or tre a ted su perf i c i a lly.

Le s son Eleven

Sustain a lon g - term com m i tm ent to the proj ec t. The most important lesson to em er ge

f rom the proj ect was that a lon g - term , su s t a i n ed ef fort is requ i red to devel op the po ten ti a l

of these em er ging tech n o l ogi e s . This proj ect dem on s tra tes the beginning of what is po s s ibl e , but mu ch more can be (and needs to be) done to re ach new users and to make this as

good a sys tem as it can po s s i bly be .

4 8 Training in Conflict Management
4 9

Chapter 9

SANCoM: A Joint Sino-American Negotiat i o n

and Conflict Management Curriculum

D evelopment Pro j e c t

The SANCoM Proj ect , an ac ronym for Si n o - Am erican Nego ti a ti on and Con f l i ct

Ma n a gem en t , is an interd i s c i p l i n a ry Chinese and Am erican ef fort aimed at prom o ting the art and scien ce of n ego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem en t . The proj ect

is gro u n ded in current deb a tes in both co u n tries abo ut the futu re of Si n o - Am erican rel ati ons and mutual anxieties abo ut each other ’s intern a ti onal aspira ti on s . It does not def i n e

the probl em as one of h ow to devise a stra tegy for coping with a Chinese ch a ll en ge to

Am erican power or vi ce versa but vi ews the pre s ent situ a ti on as an opportu n i ty for cre a ting bi l a teral and mu l ti l a teral mechanisms that prom o te pe ace and coopera ti on thro u gh

ef fective nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem ent edu c a ti on and tra i n i n g.

In 1997 SANCoM received a grant from the Un i ted States In s ti tute of Pe ace to devel op

a curri c u lum and instru cti onal materials for training early- and mid-career diplom a t s ,i ntern a ti onal affairs profe s s i on a l s , and gradu a te stu dents of Si n o - Am erican rel a ti on s . Th i s

i n i ti a tive was undert a ken in re s ponse to a request for assistance by the Forei gn Af f a i rs Co ll ege (FAC) in Beij i n g, Ch i n a’s cen tral insti tuti on for gradu a te edu c a ti on in intern a ti on a l

rel a ti ons and diplom a tic tra i n i n g.Af f i l i a ted with the Chinese Mi n i s try of Forei gn Af f a i rs ,

FAC for the past several ye a rs has been taking steps to adopt an ac ademic and re s e a rch -

b a s ed nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem ent curri c u lu m .( S A N CoM staff is head qu a rtered at the Un ivers i ty of Mon t a n a , but works cl o s ely with FAC fac u l ty and the Con f l i ct

Ma n a gem ent Gro u p, In c . )

The activi ties funded under this grant con s i s ted of a twelve - m onth tra n s - Pacific dial ogue bet ween a planning team of fo u rteen Chinese and Am erican sch o l a rs and ex pert s , a

con su l t a ti on visit by SANCoM staff to FAC and other Chinese univers i ti e s , and an intens ive three - d ay work s h op for all planning team mem bers held at the Un ivers i ty of Mont a n a . Planning team mem bers repre s en ted the fields of n ego ti a ti on and con f l i ct

m a n a gem ent tra i n i n g, Si n o - Am erican rel a ti on s ,i n tern a ti onal diplom ac y, l aw, econ om i c s ,

and com mu n i c a ti on s . The produ ct re su l ting from these activi ties is a two - vo lume instru ctor ’s manual and instru cti onal materials that can be used to te ach sem e s ter- l ong co u rs e s

and inten s ive short - term profe s s i onal training work s h op s , or as su pp l em ental materi a l s

for ex i s ting co u rses in Si n o - Am erican rel a ti on s ,i n tern a ti onal diplom ac y, or cro s s - c u l tu ra l

n ego ti a ti ons and com mu n i c a ti on . To our knowl ed ge , it is the first su ch ef fort of its kind.

Plans to pilot-test and implem ent the manual are under way.

SANCoM Planning Process 

From the very out s et ,S A N CoM staff m ade a conscious ef fort to stress the import a n ce of

adopting a planning process that invo lved co ll a bora tive dec i s i on-making and open diab y

Otto Koester

a n d

D e n n i s

O ’ D o n n e l l
l ogue among all team mem bers . Mem bers were also told to vi ew the planning process as

an exercise in nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem en t . This re su l ted in rem a rk a bly fra n k

and intell ectu a lly rew a rding discussions con cerning the purpose and focus of m a terials to

be produ ced .

To focus the te a m’s work ,m em bers were invi ted to re s pond to a fairly stra i gh tforw a rd

qu e s ti on : “Su ppose you are given the opportu n i ty to te ach a co u rse or work s h op on Si n o -

Am erican nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem en t .What would you te ach ,what kinds of

m a terials would you need , and how would you or ga n i ze it?” As all team mem bers were

aw a re , su ch co u rses with a focus on Si n o - Am erican rel a ti ons do not exist in the Un i ted

S t a te s , and in China nego ti a ti on is an art form with a long trad i ti on , but to date it has not

been form a l i zed as a su bj ect for ac ademic instru cti on or tra i n i n g. Thu s , the cen tral ch a ll en ge was for the team to find a way to te ach nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem en t

t h ro u gh a com m on fra m ework in su ch a way that would meet the needs of i n s tru ctors

and parti c i p a n t s , as well as the insti tuti ons re s pon s i ble for implem en ting su ch co u rses in

Ch i n a .

Af ter ex ten s ive discussions abo ut differen ces in con tem pora ry Chinese and Am eri c a n

n ego ti a ti on practi ce s ,Chinese and Am erican vi ews on power, and the role of c u l tu re and

com mu n i c a ti on in diplom ac y, a ll team mem bers agreed that the devel opm ent of an ins tru ctor ’s manual was not on ly fe a s i ble but also an import a n t , ti m ely, and nece s s a ry undert a k i n g. In the vi ew of the planning team and SANCoM staff, the con ceptu a l

f ra m ework for a com m on training approach can be found in a nu m ber of key process el em ents that occur in almost every kind of n ego ti a ti on , even if con s i dera ble differen ces wi t h

rega rd to su b s t a n tive issues or con text ex i s t . This pertains not on ly to po l i tical and diplom a tic nego ti a ti ons bet ween Chinese and Am eri c a n s , but bet ween other nati ons and cultu ral gro u p i n gs as well .

SANCoM Guidelines and Objective s

With this com m on fra m ework in mind, planning team mem bers adopted the fo ll owi n g

principles and obj ectives to guide their work .

1 .D evel op a com m on fra m ework that stresses the import a n ce of c rea ting mut u a l

awa reness and sen s i tivi ty tow a rd differen ces in Chinese and Am erican nego ti a ti on trad i ti ons and styl e s .In prep a ring nego ti a ti on training materi a l s , Am ericans must recogn i ze

that although Chinese nego ti a ti on practi ces are not gro u n ded in social and beh avi ora l

con cepts and re s e a rch , mu ch can be learn ed from them—and not on ly for purposes of

dealing with Ch i n e s e . At the same ti m e ,Chinese need to learn more abo ut differen t

Am erican beh avi ors as well . Mutual ack n owl ed gm ent and sen s i tivi ty tow a rd each other ’s

d i f feren ces does not requ i re full agreem ent with the other, of co u rs e .

Chinese team mem bers reported that con tem pora ry Chinese nego ti a ti on practi ces are

not as monolithic as many We s tern ers have ob s erved , and that in iden ti f ying the beh avi or

of a ny particular nego ti a tor as being repre s en t a tive of a “n a ti on a l ”or “of f i c i a l ”s tyle is

ri s ky. Am erican team mem bers ack n owl ed ged that Chinese practi ces have under gone dram a tic ch a n ge s ,e s pec i a lly in the past dec ade . The ideo l ogi c a l , pri n c i p l e s - b a s ed approach

f rom the 1970s and 1980s is giving way to a va ri ety of s tyl e s , and trad i ti onal Chinese em5 0 Training in Conflict Management
phasis on “g u a n x i ”or rel a ti on s h i p - b a s ed nego ti a ti on and the rule of the “go l den mean”i s

not as com m on anym ore ei t h er. Chinese with ex ten s ive ex peri en ce abroad are stre s s i n g

the need to fo ll ow wri t ten agreem en t s ,a bi de by legal processes and procedu re s , and adh ere to intern a ti onal norm s .

At the same ti m e ,while Chinese are gen era lly receptive to the noti on of “ wi n - wi n”

s tra tegies in the business and com m ercial re a l m s , a nu m ber of the Chinese team mem bers

also noted that it is con ceptu a lly difficult for them to accept the app l i c a bi l i ty of su ch

s tra tegies in the po l i tical and diplom a tic sph ere s .Am erican team mem bers , on the other

h a n d , reported that a va ri ety of n ego ti a ti on styles exist among Am ericans as well , ra n gi n g

f rom a po s i ti onal bargaining approach , to intere s t - b a s ed nego ti a ti on , to co ll a bora tive

probl em - s o lvi n g. Th ey also noted that not all Am erican nego ti a tors su b s c ri be to “ wi n -

wi n”s o luti on s . In all cases, it is important to be able to recogn i ze different kinds of n ego tia ti on beh avi ors and learn how to deal with them .

2 . D evel op com m on understanding by em phasizing language and the meaning of key

con cepts and word s . From the very begi n n i n g, both Chinese and Am erican team members stre s s ed that the ef fectiveness of a com m on training approach needs to be based on

the abi l i ty of p a rticipants to gain a clear understanding of Chinese and Am erican nego ti ati on and con f l i ct managem ent con cepts and term s . For re a s ons ra n ging from differen ce s

in cultu re and po l i tics to language sys tems that are unu su a lly far apart , a com m on def i n iti onal basis for key words must exist on both side s . To this en d ,i m portant Chinese and

Am erican words from the fields of n ego ti a ti on , con f l i ct managem en t ,d i p l om ac y, and intern a ti onal law wi ll need ex p l a n a ti on . Am ericans and Chinese gen era lly agreed that the

def i n i ti ons of words su ch as “n ego ti a ti on ,”“m ed i a ti on ,”and “di p l om ac y ”a re rel a tively

s i m i l a r, but that words like “repre s en t a ti on ,”“d i a l og u e ,” and “con t act” a re important for

Ch i n e s e ,while not nece s s a ri ly for Am eri c a n s .In gen era l , Chinese ex p l a n a ti ons tend to be

m ore gen eral and indicate an overa ll con d i ti on or state , wh ereas those of Am ericans de a l

m ore with process and procedu ral det a i l . The devel opm ent of su ch a lex i con of key term s

is a pion eering ef fort in itsel f and should also be of i n terest to Chinese and Am erican po li c y - m a kers .

3 . D evel op pra c tical skills for nego ti a ti on ,b a rga i n i n g , and dec i s i on-making that wi ll be

u s eful to po l i c y - m a kers and advi s ers on both side s . It was agreed that Si n o - Am erican rel a ti on s ,l i ke intern a ti onal rel a ti ons in gen era l ,a re best unders tood as the cumu l a tive re su l t

of acti ons taken by indivi dual nego ti a tors , dec i s i on - m a kers , and their advi s ers . Su ch pers ons are requ i red to make ch oi ces abo ut a particular co u rse of acti on under con d i ti ons of

i m perfect knowl ed ge abo ut the different opti ons or the state of policy outcom e s .

As a resu l t ,m a terials produ ced by the SANCoM Proj ect should not prom o te any particular theory of i n tern a ti onal or Si n o - Am erican rel a ti on s , but em ph a s i ze the import a n ce

of everyd ay analytical skills and practical tools that are neutral in con tent and app l i c a bl e

f rom one nego ti a ti on con text to the nex t .These skills inclu de those needed to assess percepti ons of d i f ferent ch oi ces and opti on s , ga t h er and analy ze the rel evant inform a ti on ,

and iden tify and eva lu a te appropri a te processes and stru ctu re s .

In deed , Chinese team mem bers stre s s ed that practical skill devel opm ent should be

given even gre a ter em phasis than some of the Am ericans had ori gi n a lly though t . Am eriTraining in Conflict Management 5 1
5 2

can team mem bers had wanted to devel op a curri c u lum that em ph a s i zed a more balanced

a pproach con s i s ting of a mixtu re of practical skill devel opm ent integra ted with knowled ge of i n tern a ti onal rel a ti ons and the history of d i p l om ac y.In open discussion ,h owever,

the Am ericans su pported the Chinese requ e s t .

4 . Tea ch by means of an intera c tive and el i c i tive ped a gogical app roa ch — c a s e s ,e xerc i s e s ,s i mu l a ti on s , and discussion . Because of the em phasis on skill devel opm en t ,i ns tru cti onal materials should be de s i gn ed in su ch a way that they all ow participants to

focus on key dec i s i on - forcing points in wh i ch the outcome is open ,c a rrying the po ten ti a l

for con f l i ct escalati on ,s t a l em a te ,m a n a gem en t , or re s o luti on . The best met h od is to conf ront stu dents and tra i n ees with simu l a ted or actual situ a ti ons in wh i ch they must de a l

with everyd ay factors that influ en ce nego ti a ti on . Pa rti c i p a ti on in simu l a ti ons and exerc i s e s

and discussion of con c rete cases wi ll also help devel op other skills su ch as active listen i n g,

em p a t hy with other points of vi ew, the va lue of h i s torical knowl ed ge and moral assu m pti on s , and the import a n ce of ex p l oring altern a tive opti ons and po ten tial outcom e s .

Al t h o u gh this interactive type of ped a gogy is more custom a ry in the Un i ted State s ,

Chinese mem bers of the planning team concur that, with appropri a te mod i f i c a ti on s ,i t

can also be used in Chinese cl a s s room s .

Lessons Learned

The SANCoM or ga n i zers feel that many of the ori ginal obj ectives of this proj ect have

been ach i eved ,a l t h o u gh mu ch more needs to be don e . The fo ll owing are con cluding obs erva ti ons that may be of i n terest to others working in the curri c u lum devel opm ent fiel d ,

and in set ti n gs other than China and the Un i ted State s .

Le s son One

On the basis of our ex peri en ce , it is essen tial to work with an insti tuti onal partn er wh o

has a strong interest in making su re that the materials wi ll be adopted and used . Th e

S A N CoM Proj ect is fortu n a te in this rega rd .P l a n n ers on the Am erican side need to have

both a clear understanding of u n derlying motiva ti ons for why new curri c u lum materi a l s

should be introdu ced , and an aw a reness of s trong ad m i n i s tra tive,f ac u l ty, and parti c i p a n t

su pport . If su ch a partn er cannot be fo u n d ,c a uti on is advi s ed .

Le s son Two

To a large ex ten t , the goals of the proj ect were accom p l i s h ed because of the em phasis on a

co ll a bora tive planning process and open dialog u e . In d ivi dual com m i tm ents on the part of

planning team mem bers and insti tuti onal rel a ti onships and ties were thereby stren g t hen ed .

Le s son Thre e

Cu rri c u lum devel opm ent entails mu ch more than giving atten ti on to matters of su bs t a n ce and ped a gogy. It requ i res a more com preh en s ive ,i n tegra ted approach that also inTraining in Conflict Management
corpora tes needs assessmen t , eva lu a ti on , rel a ti on s h i p - bu i l d i n g, i m p l em en t a ti on , and fo ll ow - u p.Above all , adequ a te prep a ra ti on of tra i n ers or “training of tra i n ers”n eeds to be

built in.A “p a rachute approach”wi ll not cre a te a lon ger- term impact .

Le s son Fou r

In this proj ect , both the Chinese and Am erican sides found it very hel pful to go thro u gh

the “l ex i con”exercise—that is, qu erying each other for the precise meaning of key concepts and term s . Even if both sides speak Engl i s h ,a s suming that everyone means the same

thing wh en using the same words is dangero u s ,p a rti c u l a rly for a field as com p l ex as negoti a ti on and con f l i ct managem en t .

Le s son Five

Before implem en t a ti on ,n ew curricular materials should be fiel d - te s ted with target audien ces of p a rti c i p a n t s ,p a rti c u l a rly if an interactive learning approach and ex ten s ive case

s tudies are used .

Le s son Si x

De s p i te significant differen ces in particular practi ce s , it is po s s i ble to iden tify fundamen t a l

equ iva l encies in important nego ti a ti on and con f l i ct managem ent con cepts and terms in

both Chinese and Am erican cultu re . In the realm of l a n g u a ge ,s pecific cultu ral beh avi ors ,

com peting intere s t s , cogn i tive bi a s , and incom p l eteness or con f u s i on abo ut factual inform a ti on ,b a rri ers to cro s s - c u l tu ral com mu n i c a ti on ex i s t .

Training in Conflict Management 5 3
N o t e s

1. McClintock, Developing Negotiation and Mediation Skills

1 . CMG’s negotiation theory is based on the Seven Element Framework developed at the Harvard Negotiation Project at Harvard Law School. The framework enables practitioners to identify the interests underlying

opposing positions, search for creative options, and develop mutually agreeable standards for evaluation and

d e c i s i o n - m a k i n g .

2. Gutlove, Health Bridges for Peace

1 . See Sabina Fielder and Gerald Pink, eds., “Psychosocial Support in Post-War Communities, Report of

an International Conference, 17–20 April 1997” (OMEGA Gesundheitsstelle, Graz, September 1997).

2 . See Paula Gutlove and Gordon Thompson, “A Strategy for Conflict Management: Integrated Action in

Theory and Practice” (IRSS Working Paper #7, Institute for Resource and Security Studies, March 1999).

4. Steele, Ecumenical Community Building

1 . For further development of this theme see David A. Steele, Role of the Church as an Intermediary in International Conflict: A Theological Assessment of Principled Negotiation (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Edinburgh:

University of Edinburgh, 1991), 365–67, 449–51.

7. Langholtz, The Training and Assessment of UN Peacekeepers

1 . See A. James, Peacekeeping in International Politics (London: Macmillan and the International Institute

for Strategic Studies, 1990).

2 . See A. Roberts, “The Crisis in UN Peacekeeping,” in Chester A. Crocker and Fen Osler Hampson, eds.,

Managing Global Chaos: Sources and Responses to International Conflict (Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1996).

3 . See William J. Durch, The Evolution of UN Peacekeeping (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1993).

4 . See a number of works by Ted Gurr, including Minorities at Risk: A Global View of Ethnopolitical Conf l i c t s(Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1993); “Peoples Against States: Ethnopolitical

Conflict and the Changing World System,” in International Studies Quarterly, 38, no. 3 (1994): 347; “Minorities, Nationalities, and Conflict,” in Chester A. Crocker and Fen Osler Hampson, eds., Managing Global

Chaos: Sources and Responses to International Conflict(Washington, DC: United States Institute of Peace

Press, 1996), 53–77. Also see B. Harff and Ted Gurr, “Victims of the State: Genocides, Politicides, and Group

Repression from 1945 to 1995,” in PIOOM Newsletter and Progress Report(The Netherlands: Leiden University, 1995), and A. James, Peacekeeping in International Politics (London: Macmillan and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1990).

5 . See Boutros Boutros-Ghali, An Agenda for Peace (New York: United Nations, 1992).

6 . See Boutros Boutros-Ghali in The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, 3rd ed. (New

York: UN Department of Public Information, 1996).

5 5
7 . See Chester A. Crocker, High Noon in Southern Africa: Making Peace in a Rough Neighborhood ( N e w

York: W. W. Norton, 1992); and M. W. Doyle, UN Peacekeeping in Cambodia: UNTAC’s Civil Mandate

(Boulder, CO: International Peace Academy and Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1995).

8 . See United Nations, The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, 3d ed. (New York: UN

Department of Public Information, 1996).

9 . See J. Chopra, Å. Eknes, and T. Nordbø, Fighting for Hope in Somalia (Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, 1995).

1 0 . See United Nations, The Blue Helmets: A Review of United Nations Peacekeeping, 3d ed. (New York:

UN Department of Public Information, 1996).

1 1 . See several United Nations publications including United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda,

P r o g r e s sR e p o r t S/1995/457 (New York: UN Department of Public Information, 1995a); United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, S/1995/473 (New York: UN Department of Public Information, 1995b); and U n i t e d

Nations Angolan Verification Mission, S/1995/457 (New York: UN Department of Public Information, 1995c).

1 2 . See the UNITAR POCI Annual Report, 1997 (United Nations Institute for Training and Research Programme of Correspondence Instruction, 1997).

5 6 Notes
About the Au t h o rs

Brook Boyeris the training and research associate of the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations in Geneva. 

Heidi Burgess and Guy Burgesshave been working as a team in conflict resolution research,

teaching, and practice since the mid-1970s at the University of Colorado, MIT, and a variety of

practitioner organizations. They codirect the Conflict Research Consortium at the University of

Colorado. 

Jean F. Freymondis director of the Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations in

Geneva. 

Paula Gutlove is the director of the International Conflict Management Program at the Institute

for Resource and Security Studies in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Gutlove founded the international Health Bridges for Peace Project and has been a program consultant to numerous nonprofit

organizations. 

Otto Koesteris director of the SANCoM Project at the University of Montana. He has worked in

the field of international conflict management for the past fifteen years, including staff positions at

the Salzburg Seminar and at the United States Institute of Peace.

Harvey J. Langholtz is a professor in the Department of Psychology at the College of William and

Mary. He is also the current and founding director of the United Nations Institute for Training

and Research Programme of Correspondence.

Elizabeth McClintock is the regional director for Africa and the Middle East programs at the Conflict Management Group in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She conducts training programs for public

and private-sector organizations in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Africa.

Dennis O’Donnell is principal investigator of the SANCoM Project and professor of economics at

the University of Montana. He has served as visiting professor of modern Asian affairs at the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center.

Hibaaq Osman is the founder and executive director of the Centre for the Strategic Initiatives of

Women. She also serves as a senior fellow at the Center for Political Leadership and Participation

at the University of Maryland, College Park. 

David Smock is director of the Grant Program and coordinator of Africa activities at the United

States Institute of Peace. 

David A. Steele is a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington,

D.C., where he directs a project on religion and conflict resolution in the former Yugoslavia. Steele

is also an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. 

Ernest E. Uwazie is associate professor of criminal justice and director and founder of the Center

for African Peace and Conflict Resolution at the California State University, Sacramento, California. 

Paul Wehr has taught the sociology of conflict since 1968 at Haverford College and the University

of Colorado. He is cofounder of the Conflict Research Consortium at the University of Colorado.

5 7
5 9

About the Institute

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan federal institution created by Congress to promote research, education, and training on the peaceful management and resolution of international conflicts. Established in 1984, the Institute meets its

congressional mandate through an array of programs, including research grants, fellowships, professional training programs, conferences and workshops, library services, publications, and other

educational activities. The Institute’s Board of Directors is appointed by the President of the

United States and confirmed by the Senate.

Chairman of the Board: Chester A. Crocker

Vice Chairman: Max M. Kampelman

President: Richard H. Solomon

Executive Vice President: Harriet Hentges

Board of Directors

Chester A. Crocker (Chairman), James R. Schlesinger Professor of Strategic Studies, School of Foreign

Service, Georgetown University

Max M. Kampelman, Esq. (Vice Chairman), Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver and Jacobson, Washington,

D.C.

Dennis L. Bark, Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace, Stanford University 

Theodore M. Hesburgh, President Emeritus, University of Notre Dame

Seymour Martin Lipset, Hazel Professor of Public Policy, George Mason University

W. Scott Thompson, Professor of International Politics, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts

University

Allen Weinstein, President, Center for Democracy, Washington, D.C.

Harriet Zimmerman, Vice President, American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Washington, D.C.

Members ex officio

Phyllis Oakley, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research

Daniel H. Simpson, Vice President, National Defense University

Walter B. Slocombe, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy

Richard H. Solomon, President, United States Institute of Peace (nonvoting)
OTHER TITLES IN THE PEACEWORKS SERIES

The Challenge of Regional Cooperation in Central Asia: Preventing Ethnic Conflict in the Ferghana Valley,

by Anara Tabyshalieva (No. 28, June 1999)

Territorial Conflicts and Their Resolution: The Case of Ecuador and Peru, by Beth A. Simmons (No. 27,

April 1999)

The Quest for Democratic Security: The Role of the Council of Europe and U.S. Foreign Policy, by Heinrich

Klebes (No. 26, January 1999)

Nagorno-Karabakh: Searching for a Solution, by Patricia Carley (No. 25, December 1998)

Removing Barricades in Somalia: Options for Peace and Rehabilitation, by Hussein Adam and Richard

Ford, with Ali Jimale Ahmed, Abdinasir Osman Isse, Nur Weheliye, and David Smock (No. 24,

October 1998)

Muddling toward Democracy: Political Change in Grassroots China, by Anne F. Thurston (No. 23,

August 1998)

Preventing Genocide in Burundi: Lessons from International Diplomacy, by Stephen R. Weissman (No.

22, July 1998)

The China Challenge in the Twenty-First Century: Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy, by Chen Jian (No.

21, June 1998)

Private Peacemaking: USIP-Assisted Peacemaking Projects of Nonprofit Organizations, edited by David R.

Smock (No. 20, June 1998)

Sovereignty after Empire: Self-Determination Movements in the Former Soviet Union, by Galina

Starovoitova (No. 19, October 1997)

Keynote Addresses from the “Virtual Diplomacy” Conference, by Richard H. Solomon, Walter B. Wriston,

and George P. Shultz (No. 18, September 1997)

Greek-Turkish Relations and U.S. Foreign Policy: Cyprus, the Aegean, and Regional Stability, by Tozun

Bahcheli, Theodore A. Couloumbis, and Patricia Carley (No. 17, August 1997) 

U.S. Responses to Self-Determination Movements: Strategies for Nonviolent Outcomes and Alternatives to

S e c e s s i o n, by Patricia Carley (No. 16, July 1997)

Creative Approaches to Managing Conflict in Africa: Findings from USIP-Funded Projects, edited by David

R. Smock (No. 15, April 1997)

Police Functions in Peace Operations, by Roxane D. V. Sismanidis (No. 14, March 1997)

Can Foreign Aid Moderate Ethnic Conflict? by Milton J. Esman (No. 13, March 1997)

Training for Peace Operations: The U.S. Army Adapts to the Post–Cold War World, by Colonel J. Michael

Hardesty and Jason D. Ellis (No. 12, February 1997)

Zaire: Predicament and Prospects, by J. C. Willame et al. (No. 11, January 1997)

State and Soldier in Latin America: Redefining the Military’s Role in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, by

Wendy Hunter (No. 10, October 1996)

Peace Operations and Common Sense: Replacing Rhetoric with Realism, by Denis McLean (No. 9, June

1 9 9 6 )

Serbian Nationalism and the Origins of the Yugoslav Crisis, by Vesna Pesic (No. 8, April 1996)
OF RELATED INTEREST

Two other Peaceworks reports from the United States Institute of Peace address issues of direct

relevance to training and conflict management.

Private Peacemaking: USIP-Assisted Peacemaking Projects of Nonprofit Organizations, edited by David R.

Smock (No. 20, June 1998)

Training for Peace Operations: The U.S. Army Adapts to the Post–Cold War World, by Colonel J. Michael

Hardesty and Jason D. Ellis (No. 12, February 1997)

To obtain an Institute report (available free of charge), write United States Institute of Peace, 

1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036-3011; call (202) 429-3828; fax (202) 429-6063; 

or e-mail: usip_requests@usip.org.

Pe a c ewo rks 29

United Stat e s

Institute of Pe a c e

1200 17th Street NW

Washington, DC 20036