Civil society and conflict transformation in Abkhazia, Israel/Palestine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria and Western Sahara

Civil society can feel impotent in the midst of intransigent conflicts whose processes are dominated by top-level political actors. This is especially so where political space is limited by a dominating political administration; where governments frustrate cross-boundary initiatives by denying freedom of movement or association; and where external funding of local peacebuilding activities is denied. So how can civil society contribute to conflict resolution under such circumstances?

This paper details five case studies where civil society organisations (CSOs) operate under these conditions – in Abkhazia, Israel/Palestine, Nagorno-Karabakh, Transnistria and Western Sahara. The authors seek to determine:

• what type of initiatives are undertaken by local CSOs in order to influence peace efforts?
  
• what is the interaction between CSOs with domestic governments and
  external donors?
  
• what is the potential and the limitations of CSOs in conflict resolution efforts?

The authors then offer a number of recommendations to enhance CSO involvement in conflict resolution - particularly in relation to 'intractable' conflicts. These include:

• CSOs could strengthen their “watchdog” and evaluation functions on issues such as democratization, human rights protection, conflict resolution, corruption, and transparency. The dialogue between the government and civil society must be intensified
  
• CSOs could work closely with official structures to improve the legislative framework that affects their activities, as well as local legislation to promote greater public participation in local decision-making
  
• CSOs could establish local forums for dialogue and problem-solving, community meetings and develop problem-solving methods, as well as organize activities and trainings in schools to promote tolerance and cross-cultural understanding.269 The establishment of mutual contacts between confronted societies is essential for confidence-building
  
• greater self-evaluations regarding the effectiveness of CSO contributions to public debate and conflict resolution would be desirable. They must regularly produce documents and statements about the problems they have identified and publicize and disseminate the results of their researches
  
• greater ties between CSOs and the media could be cultivated. In particular, the local media, as an important part of civil society, must deal more with the development of a civic culture and overcome the negative impression that the general public has of NGOs.