In response to the shaky record of the international community's peacekeeping and conflict management efforts, academics and policymakers have begun to re-examine conflict prevention as a key instrument for the advancement of peace in a war-torn world. In Conflict Prevention from Rhetoric to Reality, Volume 1: Organizations and Institutions conflict prevention specialists from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with professional experience in regional organizations, the UN, and various NGOs and research organizations, argue that, as a concept as well as a policy, conflict prevention is moving beyond rhetorical commitments and symbolic, ad hoc, activities. Institutional, long-term efforts specifically targeted at the prevention of violent conflict have become more than just wishful thinking. Together with local actors, many governments, regional organizations and the UN are embracing preventive action as a viable path towards sustainable peace. The contributions to this volume trace conflict prevention efforts in various regional contexts and explain how preventive thinking is being successfully mainstreamed into the activities of regional organizations and the UN. They show that, while conflicts may not always be prevented, even in cases where reliable monitoring triggers effective early warning and preventive action, the likelihood of an outbreak of violent conflict can be greatly reduced by determined, systematic efforts to address the root causes of potential violence.

Wars from Within brings together an international and multidisciplinary group of academics and practitioner-researchers specializing in the study of insurgent movements in order to provide a deeper understanding of the violent manifestations of insurgencies in different parts of the world. In doing so, the book adopts both a functional and regional approach. Firstly, thematic chapters discuss the typology of insurgencies (ethnopolitical, religious and ideological), past and potential responses to them, as well as the impact of advance communication technology on insurgent activity. The book then presents a series of case studies assessing the successes and failures of managing contemporary insurgencies. These are drawn from European, Asian and Middle Eastern insurgencies, as well as the global al-Qaeda network that typifies the post-9/11 challenge posed by internationally operating terrorist organizations. The case studies highlight factors and conditions that trigger, escalate, de-escalate and ultimately end insurgent campaigns. The book concludes with an assessment of how the international community at large has responded and should respond to insurgencies in the future.

Civil Society and Global Finance brings together twenty activists, officials and researchers from the five continents to discuss this burning question of today's globalization debate. Providing rare, authoritative analyses by those who deal with the issues first hand, Civil Society and Global Finance is rich in insight and policy ideas for decision-makers, students and concerned citizens.

There is a widening range of organizations that are being called upon to do conflict prevention. These actors range from the corporate sector and NGOs to regional and multilateral economic and political organizations, with diverse mandates, leadership, funding, and operational activities. Conflict Prevention from Rhetoric to Reality, Volume 2: Opportunities and Innovations offers a critical evaluation of existing and emerging approaches to applied conflict prevention. An international team of practitioners and researchers with rich theoretical and field experience examine the analytical requirements to understand the causes of conflict and link these causes to a range of response options by a variety of relevant actors. They also discuss the newest frontiers of conflict prevention, including the threat of terrorism and the role of the private sector. While development practitioners, the corporate sector, foreign policy makers, and NGOs are coming to conflict prevention from different directions, they nevertheless reflect common objectives, and need to be able to speak each other's language. The volume highlights innovative approaches to allow individuals within these organizations to understand how they can best use the array of political, economic, social and developmental instruments available to them to be better analysts and to provide for more effective responses.

In response to the shaky record of the international community's peacekeeping and conflict management efforts, academics and policymakers have begun to re-examine conflict prevention as a key instrument for the advancement of peace in a war-torn world. In Conflict Prevention from Rhetoric to Reality, Volume 1: Organizations and Institutions conflict prevention specialists from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas, with professional experience in regional organizations, the UN, and various NGOs and research organizations, argue that, as a concept as well as a policy, conflict prevention is moving beyond rhetorical commitments and symbolic, ad hoc, activities. Institutional, long-term efforts specifically targeted at the prevention of violent conflict have become more than just wishful thinking. Together with local actors, many governments, regional organizations and the UN are embracing preventive action as a viable path towards sustainable peace. The contributions to this volume trace conflict prevention efforts in various regional contexts and explain how preventive thinking is being successfully mainstreamed into the activities of regional organizations and the UN. They show that, while conflicts may not always be prevented, even in cases where reliable monitoring triggers effective early warning and preventive action, the likelihood of an outbreak of violent conflict can be greatly reduced by determined, systematic efforts to address the root causes of potential violence.

A number of international contributors emphasize the conceptual and practical challenges facing post-conflict societies and the international community in the management of the transition from civil conflict to peaceful coexistence.

There has now been more than a decade of conceptual work, policy development, and operational activity in the field of security sector reform (SSR). To what extent has its original aim, to support and facilitate development, been met? The various contributions to this book address this question, offering a range of insights on the theoretical and practical relevance of the security-development nexus in SSR. They examine claims of how and whether SSR effectively contributes to achieving both security and development objectives. In particular, the analyses presented in the book provide a salutary lesson that development and security communities need to take each other's concerns into account when planning, implementing, and evaluating their activities. The book offers academics, policy-makers, and practitioners within the development and security communities relevant lessons, suggestions, and practical advice for approaching SSR as an instrument that serves both security and development objectives. (Series: Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces DCAF])

In the aftermath of violent conflict, a society seeking to rebuild its future needs to consider the interests and needs of its young generation, and these young people need to participate in the process. Yet, trapped in a state of protracted victimhood, children and youth are too often overlooked in post-conflict peacebuilding. Their voices will not be heard unless they can escape the chains of victimhood and their proper role in postwar recovery is recognized.

In "Escaping Victimhood," a diverse group of researchers and scholar-practitioners working in academia, nongovernmental, and international organizations examine the proactive roles of girls and boys in promoting security for themselves and their families. They discuss the disproportionate suffering and specific vulnerabilities of the young during and after war, as well as the international legal frameworks created to protect and empower these groups in post-conflict environments.

The authors provide examples of initiatives to help young people escape the traps of victimhood and voicelessness and actively engage in rebuilding their communities and nations, and they examine international and national efforts to provide for the security of children and young people in post-conflict environments.

Children and youth are essential catalysts for the successful rebuilding of war-torn societies. Many will reach adulthood as new social, economic, and political orders are being consolidated, as first elections are held, and as local groups take over assistance and rebuilding efforts. The young post-war generation will become the next leaders, parents, and teachers, hence ensuring its active role in post-conflict peacebuilding today could help build a sustainable peace tomorrow.

Civil Society and Global Finance brings together twenty activists, officials and researchers from the five continents to discuss this burning question of today's globalization debate. Providing rare, authoritative analyses by those who deal with the issues first hand, Civil Society and Global Finance is rich in insight and policy ideas for decision-makers, students and concerned citizens.

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Can international organizations have a decisive, substantial and enduring impact upon the domestic transition of a society emerging from conflict? How successful has UN assistance been in terms of consolidating peace and development in transitional societies? To what extent is the UN "staying the course" from transition to consolidation, by going beyond peacekeeping to political reconstruction and indigenous capacity-building?
This volume highlights some of the major conceptual and practical challenges facing post-conflict societies and the international community in managing transition. International specialists consider the political, economic, legal and moral aspects of rendering international assistance that is successful in (re)building the foundations for sustainable peace. This can only be achieved through legitimate institutions and social relations that will prevent the recurrence of violence and war.
Pressing issues of post-conflict situations are explored, including the preventive component of post-conflict peacebuilding, the challenges of transitional justice, the role of collective action for the advancement of human security, and the evolving nature and responsiblity of UN peace operations in post-conflict environments.