What is peacebuilding today?
Peacebuilding is essentially the facilitation of a peace process. Facilitation, because it is something you do with the people affected by conflict. The key concept here is that it is a process. It’s something that unfolds over time, and the role of peacebuilding is that you engage with the people dealing with the conflict. They are the main agency for influencing the conflict, and your role is simply to assist and support that process. So, for me that’s the essence of peacebuilding.
Cedric de Coning,
Professor at Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Stellenbosch University, and Senior Advisor of African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
