Concept Note to Form an AfP Study/Working Group
Conflict Transformation through the Integration
of Nonviolent Action and Peacebuilding
by Katherine Hughes-Fraitekh and Hardy Merriman, International Center on
Nonviolent Conflict and Maria J. Stephan, United States Institute of Peace
May 23, 2016
Nonviolent action and conflict transformation strategies share a common
commitment to “social change and increased justice through peaceful means”
(Lederach, 1995, 15). In fact, the discipline of conflict management/resolution
originally arose from peace movements and social justice activism (Dukes 1999,
169). However, one can argue that there has been since then a sharp divorce
between the ‘revolutionary’ and the ‘resolutionary’ camps, which seem to have
grown in mutual ignorance – developing their own and distinct sets of activists and
practitioners, theories and scholars, interpretative frames and ranges of
techniques, research centres and education programmes, organisations and
forums, constituencies and institutional allies”. 1
The reality reflected in the above quote leads us to propose this working group. We see great
potential in bringing the fields of nonviolent action and peacebuilding—and the individuals who
work within them—into closer contact. The field of nonviolent action encompasses
“revolutionary” objectives but also a much wider range of forms of civilian-based mobilization to
achieve social, economic, and political change that may be germane to peacebuilding, including
grassroots anti-corruption initiatives, campaigns for women’s and minority rights, and civic
campaigns to achieve and implement peace agreements.
Scholars and practitioners are beginning to argue that nonviolent action should be seen as an
integral part of conflict transformation. The Berghof Foundation’s in-house definition of conflict
transformation is helpful: “a generic, comprehensive term referring to actions and processes
which seek to … [address] the root causes of a particular conflict over the long term. It aims to
transform negative destructive conflict into positive constructive conflict and deals with
structural, behavioural and attitudinal aspects of conflict. The term refers to both the process and
the completion of the process.”2 Nonviolent movements employ tactics including boycotts, silent
marches, street theatre, strikes, and various other forms of direct action to address the power
1
Veronique Dudouet, “Nonviolent Resistance in Power Asymmetries”, Berghof Research Center for Constructive
Conflict Management, 2008.
edoc.vifapol.de/opus/volltexte/2011/2586/pdf/dudouet_handbook.pdf
2
See:
http://berghof-foundation.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Publications/Handbook/Articles/handbook_glossary.pdf
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Concept Note to Form an AfP Study/Working Group
asymmetries at the root of many protracted conflicts. They have been twice as successful as
armed campaigns, while supporting longer-term democratization and civil peace.3
Furthermore, nonviolent action has often been waged in conjunction with negotiation, dialogue,
conflict resolution, unarmed civilian protection, and transitional and transformative justice
strategies and processes. This continuum of strategies has been been an essential aspect of
movements to curtail corruption, to resist environmental degradation, to advance indigenous and
women’s rights, and to advance peace processes. It has also empowered national movements
and campaigns that are challenging internal oppression or external aggression and occupation, as
well as those who are seeking either self-determination or civil rights in a truly democratic and
multicultural state.
Objective
We propose the establishment of a new study/working group under the auspices of the Alliance
for Peacebuilding which will research, discuss, debate, and engage other members about the
complementary and overlapping aspects of nonviolent action, peacebuilding and transitional
justice under the broad definition of conflict transformation. The group will meet at least every
three months during 2016-2017 in person or virtually and develop important shared concepts,
new ideas and proposals for collaborative work, research, and materials in the spirit of bridging
the unconstructive divide between the “resolutionary” and “revolutionary” fields in conflict
transformation. Medium- and long-term goals would include providing new, relevant information
and research to policy, academic and practitioner audiences involved in transforming conflicts in
the US and across the globe.
This group will begin with a core set of members committed to the mission and objectives of the
group. Additional members will be invited to join on the basis of demonstrated interest and shared
intention. Possible members include those involved in the USIP-convened trainers and
practitioners workshops and additional organizations/individuals identified as having relevant
experience and interest in the topic.
Issues that the working/study group would address include:

Clarifying how the fields of peacebuilding, transitional justice, and nonviolent action
intersect, reinforce each other, come into conflict, and comprehensively fit into the
broader concept of conflict transformation, including addressing the questions of:
o How can nonviolent action impact peace processes, peacebuilding and state
building?
o What are the opportunities and positive impact that mobilized and organized
nonviolent communities create for resilient communities and durable peace?
3
Erica Chenoweth and Maria J. Stephan, Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, New
York City: Columbia University Press, 2011.
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Concept Note to Form an AfP Study/Working Group
o How might strategic nonviolent movements, peacebuilding and transitional
/transformative justice processes prevent and counter violent extremism?

Developing and sharing information for practitioners in the field, including examples and
case studies of useful strategies for change combining “top-down” and “bottom-up”
approaches and the challenges of both.

Identifying synergies between specific dialogical/institutional methods (negotiation,
conflict resolution, facilitated dialogue, legal mechanisms) and direct action/extrainstitutional methods (nonviolent action) that can be used when seeking justice, good
governance, open and free societies, peace, and human rights.

Generating practical examples and best practices related to how these different methods
can work in parallel and sequentially, drawing from nonviolent civil resistance and broad
peacebuilding approaches.

Identifying comparative advantages of each approach, so that practitioners have a clearer
sense of when to draw from each approach

Organizing seminars and training for AfP members and allies and producing a curriculum
that integrates nonviolent action, peacebuilding and transitional/transformative justice
approaches to be used synergistically to achieve conflict transformation.

Identifying ways that external actors (governmental, non-governmental) can support
better integration of these approaches at the policy and operational levels.
Background articles, briefings and presentations include:
(1) Veronique Dudouet, “Nonviolent Resistance in Power Asymmetries”, Berghof Research
Center for Constructive Conflict Management, 2008.
edoc.vifapol.de/opus/volltexte/2011/2586/pdf/dudouet_handbook.pdf
(2) Maria J. Stephan, ”The Peacebuilder’s Field Guide to Protest Movements”, Foreign Policy,
January 22, 2016. http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/01/22/the-peacebuilders-field-guideto-protest-movements/
(3) “Civil Resistance and Peacebuilding: How they Connect”, USIP Live Event, July 15, 2015.
http://www.usip.org/events/civil-resistance-and-peacebuilding-how-they-connect
(4) Oliver Richmond, The University of Manchester, Department of Politics and
Humanitarian Conflict, introduced the concept of “peacebuilding-as-resistance” and
“peacebuilding-as-liberation” in several articles and books at:
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Concept Note to Form an AfP Study/Working Group
http://manchester.academia.edu/OliverRichmond
(5) Amy Finnegan and Susan Hackley, “Negotiation and Nonviolent Action: Interacting in a
World of Conflict”, Harvard Program on Negotiation, January 25, 2008.
http://www.pon.harvard.edu/events/negotiation-and-nonviolent-action/negotiationand-nonviolent-action-interacting-in-the-world-of-conflict/
(6) Maria J. Stephan, “What Happens When You Replace a Just War with a Just Peace,”
Foreign Policy, May 18, 2016.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/18/pope-francis-just-peace-catholic-vatican-africaisis/
(7) Oliver Kaplan, “Nudging Armed Groups: How Civilians Transmit Norms of Protection”,
Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, 2013.
http://www.stabilityjournal.org/articles/10.5334/sta.cw/
(8) Nonviolent Peaceforce, “Case Studies of Unarmed Civilian Protection”, March 2016.
http://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org/images/publications/UCP_Case_Studies___vFinal
_8-4-15.pdf
(9) Simon Robins, Transformative Justice Briefing Paper, 2014
www.simonrobins.com/Transformative%20Justice%20Briefing%20Paper.pdf
(10)
Katherine Hughes-Fraitekh and Althea Middleton-Detzner, ICNC: Nonviolent
Strategic Action to Promote Peace Processes and Transitional Justice: workshop at the
Universidad de Rosario, Bogota, Colombia, May 2016.
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