A new policy brief, released April 11, 2023, by Jackson School Professor Catherine Panter-Brick and colleagues offers insight on how sustainable peacebuilding can be practiced.
Drawing on case studies from civil wars, such as those in Colombia, Central African Republic, Guatemala, and Northern Ireland, the brief is written by a team of scholars, practitioners and policy-makers. It builds on conversations generated during the Colloquium on Strategies for Sustainable Peacebuilding: Implementation and Policy, held on November 14-15, 2022 at Yale University.
The colloquium was co-organized by Panter-Brick, the Bruce A. and Davi-Ellen Chabner Professor of Anthropology, Health and Global Affairs at Yale, Jackson Senior Fellow and retired U.S. ambassador Bisa Williams, and Professor Josefina Echavarría Alvarez of the University of Notre Dame.
“This brief crystallizes new ideas in the field of peacebuilding – such as ways to support the meaningful inclusivity, legitimacy, and sustainability of peace agreements. We co-authored the brief to provide an up-to-date, accessible and informative resource for peacebuilding implementation and policy,” said Professor Panter-Brick.
Peace agreements represent the beginning—not the end—of a reform and reconciliation process that must be inclusive and participatory throughout its duration, according to the co-authors.
The evidence shows that public buy-in of an agreement by a range of stakeholders— including those of local communities directly affected by violence and armed groups—leads to better outcomes.
Sustainable verification, monitoring, and evaluation processes are also critical to success and must be built into agreements, according to the brief.
The colloquium was sponsored by the Jackson School of Global Affairs and the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies (including the Edward J. and Dorothy Clarke Kempf Memorial Fund; the Council on African Studies; the Council on Latin American & Iberian Studies; the Program on Conflict, Resilience and Health; and the Program on Peace and Development) at Yale University.