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Tuesday, September 14, 2004 CREATING AN INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY FOR REDUCTION OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE Conflict resolution has been under some duress for some time now. Funds are declining, well-documented stories of success have hardly seen the light of day as "US homeland security" and reconstructing countries under control by the USA and coalitions of the "willing" take precedence. Some genuine concerns with fear and what often seems to be an unstable world has produced some hard-nosed, narrow, and likely inadequate responses. People and organizations committed to peace through the use of a variety tools and techniques applied under the rubric of conflict resolution and peacebuilding need to confront cynicism, hold fast, be real, and be relevant. But would it not make sense to explicitly focus on the goal of ending violence? By making our goal the prevention and elimination of political violence it would redirect valuable and limited resources to the true obstacle of creating peace. We all know that conflict is not the enemy of peace; violence is. A focus on preventing and reducing violence is not a knee-jerk reaction to the current ascendancy of neo con thinking nor a direct response only to the real and perceived threat of terrorism. Rather, as peace workers know, the key impetus is that both direct and structural violence must be removed for justice to be possible, for peace to grow. At first glance, however, embracing the prevention and elimination of
political violence seems a daunting task. The term "political violence"
is itself controversial, especially where states are concerned. "Conflict"
prevention and "post-conflict" peacebuilding are more comfortable
euphemisms when one is really talking about violence. So there is the
issue of optics. And there is a real concern that focusing on violence
does not produce a reactionary back-lash, a retrenchment to a law and
order paradigm, let alone a "shock and awe" mentality. After an extensive study of "what work to reduce political violence" -- a complete literature review and interviews with over 20 authorities in the field of conflict resolution and peacebuilding -- Dr Benjamin Hoffman [1] has identified a Knowledge-Action gap. Technical knowledge and good intentions are insufficient. Action to prevent political violence, to stop the killing when it has broken out, and to re-build war torn societies is not taken often enough, or for long enough to achieve the changes being sought. Political actors responsible for authorizing these activities are not sufficiently seized of the need to act. This gap between knowledge and action can and must be bridged. The key assertions of Hoffman's study are: 1. Conflict resolution practitioners know enough to be effective in reducing violence. 2. Conflict resolution is underutilized. 3. There exists a knowledge-action gap - technical knowledge versus political action. 4. The gap must be bridged to improve the record of violence reduction. 5. The gap itself is the "lack of political will". 6. How to create the will to prevent is the key challenge today. 7. For this to happen, political actors will need to understand and appreciate key information in order for them to act. 8. Gathering the right information on what works and mobilizing actors to be more effective is part of the answer. 9. Bridging the gap includes political advocacy and organizational collaboration. 10. There is a need to organize for effectiveness. The International Academy seeks, in part, to address this gap by activating and professionalizing the practice of violence reduction and peacebuilding. The International Academy's mission is to contribute directly to the reduction of political violence in the world by systematizing the generation of knowledge in violence reduction and peacebuilding, by supporting the education and training of practitioners on the basis of empirically tested "best practices", by setting standards of practice and instilling a culture of continuous learning, and by identifying and rewarding individual and institutional innovation. Linkages between field practice and theory-building must be fostered to improve the prospects of peace. A Committee to Found The International Academy has been established to assist with its creation and launch [2]. Discussions with institutional sponsors are underway, and the Committee is currently gathering credible key partners to serve as "centres of excellence" which will contribute to the overall strategic direction of the International Academy and the production of its services and products. The Committee will also be setting up a listserv, a web-based portal and a secretariat based in Canada. To become part of the network or International Academy, to support, contribute or to assist with its establishment or to stay informed about the developments, please subscribe to our Listserv by clicking the button below. Any other comments are welcome as well. The complete study "Bridge the Knowledge-Action Gap! The Authoritative Statement on How to Reduce Political Violence" is available for download under "Intellectual Action" on this website.
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