Democracy and Deep-Rooted Conflict: Options for Negotiators

Most of today's violent conflicts are not the wars between contending states of former years, but take place within existing states. Many are inextricably bound up with concepts of identity, nation and nationalism, and many stem from the competition for resources, recognition and power. While these conflicts may appear very differently from place to place, they often have, at their base, similar issues of unmet needs, and of the necessity to accommodate the interests of majorities and minorities alike. Despite the many excellent studies on how to build peace in divided societies, there remains dearth of practical advice for policy-makers on how to design and implement democratic levers that can make peace endure. Conflict is a normal part of any healthy society, but a great deal of attention has been focused in recent years on how to prevent conflict, and less on finding peaceful methods of conflict management. In particular, there needs to be more attention given to the type of political choices that those negotiating an end to a period of violent conflict have to make to rebuilt their country, and how they can build an enduring democracy - the only sustainable form of government - from the ashes of conflict. This handbook attempts to meet this need by providing negotiators and policy-makers with detailed information on options for building democracy in post-conflict societies. We have brought together international experts, both academics and practitioners, in many fields - from negotiation techniques to power-sharing formulas, from questions of federalism and autonomy to electoral systems and parliaments - to provide practical, policy-relevant advice. The handbook draws on the experience of peace settlements and democracy building from places such as Bosnia, Fiji, Northern Ireland and South Africa to illustrate the many, often unrecognised, options that negotiators can draw upon when attempting to build a nascent democracy.