CIVIL SOCIETY IN PEACEBUILDING - A Case Study Analysis of ...
CIVIL SOCIETY IN PEACEBUILDING - A Case Study Analysis of ...
CIVIL SOCIETY IN PEACEBUILDING - A Case Study Analysis of ...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
AbstractThe importance <strong>of</strong> civil society for advancing peacebuilding efforts has increased and brought to a newlight after the Cold war. With the dissipations <strong>of</strong> conflict in the 1990s and the overall increasingcomplexity <strong>of</strong> peacebuilding efforts challenging the international community, the peacebuildingdiscourse started focusing on the potential role <strong>of</strong> civil society. This essay focuses on the role <strong>of</strong> civilsociety in peacebuilding in Sudan. Since the country’s declaration <strong>of</strong> independence in 1956, the Sudanas faced several internal conflicts and two civil wars. The main aim was to study civil society’s role inpeacebuilding processes and whether a “bottom-up” approach was included. There has been littlesystematic analysis <strong>of</strong> the specific role <strong>of</strong> civic engagement and civil society in the context <strong>of</strong> armedconflicts in Sudan. The aim <strong>of</strong> this study was therefore to explain the role <strong>of</strong> the civil society in Sudanand its initiatives towards peacebuilding and reconciliation between the North Sudan and the SouthSudan. A case analysis was applied across John Paul Lederach’s analytical pyramid explaining howdifferent levels <strong>of</strong> society have contributed or failed to establish peace within the society. This studydemonstrates that civil society in Sudan has had major efforts towards peacebuilding between the twomain actors, but also major roles in other reconciliation efforts.Keywords: civil society, ethnic conflict, Sudan, South Sudan, peacebuilding.2