ZEF Bonn

Somalia, Ethiopia and elsewhere, have triggered a flow of refugees to the West that
has greatly enhanced the consciousness of living in a unified, interrelated global
system. The refugees have contributed substantially to building up the political will
for prevention, early action, intervention, and peace-making that complements the
more instrumental power-balance arguments of traditional foreign policy. Seen from
a global point of view, the many small-scale wars and confrontations spreading in
the newly independent states or in democratising societies of established states have
replaced the confrontation between East and West as the main lines of conflicts and
as major global security risks-albeit on a reduced scale compared to the truly
catastrophic dangers of a Cold War confrontation.
During the 1990s, many governments adjusted their foreign and security policy to
this complex constellation of multiple small-scale confrontations with no clear strategic
implications for Western countries. More specifically, several policy approaches
to prevent, mitigate, or peacefully settle conflicts have been formulated during the
last decade, both by international organisations such as the UN, NATO, the Council
of Europe, and the OSCE, and by national governments and various sectors of the
NGO community. These include, first, a number of options for outside intervention
to prevent escalation in the pre-conflict phase. Several approaches and concepts,
including early-action, round-table diplomacy, permanent field missions, etc., have
been developed, and institutions such as the OSCE, the Council of Europe, and
various national governments have become active in this field.
Second, new techniques for negotiating peace in protracted civil wars have appeared
and have been combined or alternated with military interventions and peace-enforcing
operations. They range from negotiations in sequestered places under heavy political
and military pressure from the international community (such as the negotiations in
Dayton, Rambouillet, or Stornton) to behind-the-scenes negotiations at the kitchen
table organised by non-governmental organisations, such as the famous Oslo negotiations
between the PLO and Israel, as well as various forms of combining official
and unofficial diplomatic efforts to bring about peace, now generally labelled
“multi-track" diplomacy.
Third, a whole new branch of mostly NGO activities has developed around the idea of
mediation and dialogue between communities in conflict, some involving mostly the
leadership level, others targeting civil society organisations from the different groups
or their grassroots. The aim is to overcome entrenched stereotypes and intolerance
considered to be at the root of the conflicts. Techniques include interactive conflict
resolution, conflict transformation, and finally psycho-political trauma cure.
Fourth, a variety of unspecific preventive measures at the level of political institutions
have also been fostered, among other reasons because they are thought to
bring peace and stability to conflict-torn societies. This includes good governance,
the rule of law, and most importantly, democratisation. Many policy-makers believe
that this trio of institutional reforms will automatically lead to a “civilisation" of
political behaviour and also to a de-escalation of ethnically-toned political tension.
These new or rediscovered policy measures have been offered, tested, or implemented
with varying degrees of success in a number of conflicts since 1989: in Ireland,
Bosnia, Macedonia, Corsica, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Bangladesh, The Philippines,
Chechnya, Georgia, Turkey, Nagorni-Karabach, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Rwanda,
Nicaragua, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Colombia, to name just a few of the more
Essay
During the 1990s, many
governments adjusted their
foreign and security policy to
addressing multiple small-scale
confrontations. New techniques
for negotiating peace in
protracted civil wars have been
combined with military interventions
and peace-enforcing
operations.
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