Peacebuilding &conflict transformation A ... - Peaceworkafrica

flict is either settled forever or solved satisfactorily or given up as being hopeless andeverlasting. Generally, short term solutions for single issues can be achieved whilethe conflict as a whole continues. Therefore, many conflicts need to be transformedinto structures that prevent violence from re-emerging.In principle, conflict transformation is a never-ending process and due to thisit is even more important to build capacities for transformation than to find a ‘permanentsolution’ to a specific conflict.In other words, this means that people should gain the ability to deal withchanging problems in such a way that the outcomes are sustainable and acceptableby all involved. Gandhi said ‘the path is the goal’. Concerning conflict transformationthis statement can be re‐worded to ‘the process is the goal’, in the sense of beingaware that a stable solution is no longer stable from the moment we think we havefound the solution.Finally, there are conflicts where a simple resolution approach makes mostsense to find a quick end to a problem. This applies, for instance, to conflicts wherethe opponents have no relationship with each other and might never have contactafter the conflict is resolved. But conflicts between people who have a past relationshipand where there is likely to be a future relationship might miss the chance forconstructive change by only searching for a quick solution to the issue and not tryingto transform the conflict at hand. One problem might be solved, but, especiallyin a context of repeated conflict episodes, the deep rooted causes of conflicts willpersist and may, over time, develop violent patterns 1 .1.2 Differences between conflict transformation –conflict management & conflict resolutionConflict transformation differs from conflict management and conflict resolutionapproaches in that it recognizes that sustainable outcomes require more than workingon solutions to issues and facts 2 . It opens the space beyond the reframing ofpositions and interests or fixing win‐win solutions. Conflict transformation analysesthe structures of parties and their relationships with each other. It furthermoreextends to identifying how these connections may be embedded in the structure ofthe conflict. Difficulties in relationships among the parties to the conflict may gobeyond the actual conflict. The focus in conflict transformation lies on the startingpoint and goal as well as on the process of getting from one point to the other. Thestarting point describes the relations of the conflict parties and the relational contextwhich involves issues of identity, communication patterns, gender or power. Exploringthe relationships therefore means making visible what is invisible (under thesurface, but influencing the visible issues); it means finding out about historic patterns,dynamics and various other roots that create the visible signs of conflict.1 . Tr a n s f o r m i n g c o n f l i c t s 249