Conflicts and Peacebuilding: Inevitable and Indispensable Elements of Modern Communities

In today’s world, communities are more diverse than ever, driven by large-scale immigration, relocations, global businesses, and, most importantly, advanced technology that connects people from different backgrounds around the world. While diversity certainly enriches communities, it also presents challenges, as the blending of various groups can increase the potential for conflict and even violence if not properly managed. Therefore, peacebuilding efforts are crucial to foster social cohesioin, serving as a form of preventive diplomacy to promote understanding, coexistence, and harmony among people of diverse groups and identities who live and interact together in today’s communities across the globe.

When discussing peacebuilding efforts, we often focus solely on ‘negative peace’ that applies reactive approach to address already existing conflicts between and among the parties, and – if successful – leads to tangible and immediate outcomes such as negotiation, mediation, reconciliation, and peace processes, or even resolution of dispute cases in local communities. However, what is often overlooked is the ‘positive peace’ and proactive approach which normally encompasses post-conflict interventions, reintegration processes, and preventive measures aimed to avoid existing dividing lines among the community members from escalating into conflicts and violence. Even in communities that do not experience overt or violent conflicts, vulnerabilities to violence persist as religious, racial, lingual, cultural, gender, and ethnic differences can easily lead to tensions. While peacebuilding efforts align with the principles of ‘Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI),’ it’s important to recognize that ‘diversity’ only enriches a community when the differences do not lead to conflicts. Similarly, ‘equity’ and affirmative actions can be only percieved just if resources are distributed fairly and without any prejudice. ‘Inclusion’ fosters peace only when it is meaningful. By integrating peacebuilding into these efforts, we can educate current and future generations, especially youth, to live in harmony and peace despite the existing differences within  these communities.

Most importantly, peacebuilding efforts such as dialogues, negotiations, and awareness-raising are effective approaches to changing people’s attitudes, which can lead to lasting behavioral change. Changing behavior is often easier than changing attitudes. While behavioral change can be influenced by social norms, laws, incentives, and rules, attitudinal change requires proper education and time to be instilled in people’s minds and to convince them to adopt new practices. The rule of law and altering social structures can also be considered methods to prevent violence and harmful behaviors, but such changes may not be sustainable without a foundation in altered attitudes. The community dialogue approach in peacebuilding and social cohesion – rooted in negotiation and collaboration – has proven to result in win-win outcomes, not only resolving but transforming conflicts. This distinction between conflict resolution and conflict transformation is key, with the latter offering a more enduring solution. For example, a dispute addressed by a court – that relies solely on the law – may resolve the immediate issue, but the parties may still carry grievances and hostilities, leaving the potential for the conflict to arise again. However, if the conflict is addressed through a collaborative approach where parties to conflicts are satisfied and agree on the solution, the conflict is less likely to re-emerge.

The concept of conflict sensitivity and Do No Harm (DNH) principle are also essenital in peacebuilding efforts to avoid exacerbating existing conflicts. However, relying solely on this approach does not fully meet the purpose of peacebuilding work. While this conept is must to be applied by actors implementing humanitarian aid and development programs, peacebuilding interventions must also incorporate the concept of ‘desensitization’ aimed at reducing the cultural resistance to positive practices and norms such as desensitization of communities to gradually accept gender equality, religion, and ethinic freedom.

While peacebuilding efforts are essential for ensuring both vertical and horizontal cohesion within societies, these programs must be designed and implemented with careful consideration and expertise, especially in post-conflict contexts. To achieve more effective outcomes, it is recommended to adopt the holistic Triple Nexus approach – Humanitarian, Development, and Peacebuilding (HDP) – where peacebuilding actors also provide technical support to those implementing humanitarian and development programs. Given its critical role in fostering lasting stability, it is vital that peacebuilding efforts are consistently supported as the cornerstone of the nexus.