Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution in Nagorno-Karabakh

Efforts to resolve ethnic conflict often run aground of the passionate public hostility that underlies them, as the recent Israeli-Palestinian violence illustrates. These popular passions are often the biggest obstacles mediators face. To fight back, mediators need to make better use of a frequently-overlooked tool: long-term peace-building efforts by nongovernmental organizations, which need to be made a key part of mediators’ conflict resolution strategies. Like the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is a prime candidate for such efforts.