Building Resilience and Social Cohesion in Conflict. (2nd June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aall, Pamela; Crocker, Chester A.
• Other Names: Zartman I. William guestEditor.; Vuković Siniša guestEditor.
• Is Part Of: Global policy. Volume 10(2019)Supplement 2
• Page Start: 68
• Page End: 75
• Publication Date: 2019-06-02
• Subjects: Globalization -- Periodicals; International relations -- Periodicals; World politics -- Periodicals; 327.1705
• DOI: 10.1111/1758-5899.12681
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1758-5880

Abstract

Abstract: Examinations of the effectiveness of diplomacy in conflict resolution generally focus on official political institutions and the roles that they play. This article takes a different tack and focuses on the social institutions and groups that exist in and are affected by a conflict environment. This article argues that conflict resilience— which we define here as the ability to resist and recover from conflict — and its ability to contribute to social cohesion are key dimensions of the ability to manage conflict in the types of conflicts that are prevalent in the world today. We examine several different definitions and examples of conflict resilience, and identify actions that outside actors can take to support resilient institutions and groups, particularly in the areas of supporting effective domestic institutions, promoting inclusion and encouraging good leadership. Abstract : Helping to encourage resilience and social cohesion requires a deep understanding of the society in question, but also requires some of the very same elements that are found in resilient societies: trust and cooperation, an ability to think outside of traditional confines, a capacity for flexibility, and a talent for creating informal networks and other ties among the different parts of the social environment.