Sebastian Kratzer is Project Manager for Analysis and Evaluation in the Mediation Support and Policy team at the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD). He leads HD’s monitoring and evaluation team, supports HD’s Executive Management with programme development, results reporting and strategic oversight, and manages HD’s critical reflection and quality assurance processes. He also provides operational project support and focuses on environmental peacemaking.
Jonathan Pinckney is a Program Officer and Research Lead for the Program on Nonviolent Action at the United States Institute of Peace and the author of From Dissent to Democracy: The Promise and Peril of Civil Resistance Transitions (2020). His research focuses on the intersection of nonviolent action, democratisation and inclusive peace processes, and has been published in outlets such as Foreign Policy and the Washington Post, and journals such as International Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Peace Research, and Conflict Management and Peace Science.
A new round of Armenian-Azerbaijani violence has once again sent tremors through the fragile status quo constraining a major new war in the South Caucasus. While the escalation ended after a few days and the status quo held, new dynamics indicate that it cannot be taken for granted. In the face of totalising trends radicalising all aspects of their relations, Baku and Yerevan should return to the negotiating table in pursuit of pragmatic agreements on issues where their red lines are not involved.
The consequences of a coronavirus outbreak for a country already affected by conflict are likely to be disastrous. Weakened healthcare systems and strained relationships between communities and authorities have the potential to spark further tensions. In the Central African Republic, young people trained in peacebuilding are working to ensure that their communities are prepared for the challenges ahead.
What are the ‘essential ingredients’ to foster peace dialogue in violent conflict? Accord 29 reflects on how societies and conflict parties try to move from fighting to talking, and how policymakers and peace practitioners can accompany and support them effectively.
Weak governance, an impoverished health service and a population with disproportionate health problems all increase the likelihood that the coronavirus pandemic could have a significant negative impact in Abkhazia. There is misinformation about Covid-19, limited access to protective equipment, and no infrastructure to enable deliveries of essential goods, other than by friends, family or volunteers. This is made worse by Abkhazia’s economic overdependence on tourism from Russia as months of travel restrictions between Russia and Abkhazia have caused economic stagnation and eaten up what little savings people may have had. The weak welfare system means many are suffering socio-economic hardship. There are multiple drivers for these problems, but the isolation resulting from decades of unresolved conflict is a root cause, hampering modernisation and development, and creating the potential for fault lines to emerge in a society strained by economic stagnation.
Access to land and natural resources has long contributed to conflict, but our natural environment is changing at a rate never seen before in human history. We work in partnership with local people and communities to develop conflict-sensitive responses to environmental change.
The Pacific region is facing an era of significant environmental and settlement change as a result of a combination of factors, including climate change, resource management, population growth, migration and ongoing changes in community life, governance structures, and culture.
In the Pacific Islands, communities are seeing their climate and environment change around them. Climate change is causing sea level rise, changes in rainfall, coral bleaching, and increased intensity of natural disasters. This is affecting ecosystems and the rich biodiversity of the land and ocean, while impacting upon food and water security, and livelihoods. Environmental change is invariably affecting the social, spiritual and relational wellbeing of communities across the region.
The people of Paoua sub-prefecture have lived in the shadow of conflict and insecurity long before the Seleka coup d’état in 2013 that marked the beginning of the most recent crisis in the Central African Republic (CAR). An important border area in the north west of CAR, Paoua has played host to a succession of armed groups and militia, bringing with them waves of violence, abuse and displacement. For most of the young people of Paoua, peace, education and the possibilities of a secure livelihood have been absent their entire lives. For many, joining one of the multiple armed groups in and around Paoua has been a matter of survival.
