The root causes of what? How root causes analysis can get in the way of...
Peacebuilders often say we need to address the root causes of conflict, rather than just the symptoms. They are right, of course. Treating only the symptoms means conflicts remain unresolved, and...
View ArticlePractical guidance for anyone who wants to build peace
Among the key features of successful peacebuilding, one often stands out. This is that contributions to peace are made in almost any walk of life, and usually by people who do not see themselves first...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Conceptualising human security in international aid
The aid system we know today emerged in the 1970s as a way to provide succour for people in emergencies, and to support human progress in poor countries through what became widely known as development....
View ArticleWhat people say about peace
Two studies on peacebuilding were launched on the same day this week. ECDPM’s Supporting Peacebuilding in Times of Change, and the joint British Council / International Alert report of their Peace...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Frontlines of Peace, by Séverine Autessere. A practical, incremental...
Book review. The Frontlines of Peace, by Séverine Autessere Two years ago I helped Peace Direct write a report designed to explore and showcase the impacts of local peacebuilding initiatives: actions...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Operationalising the Triple Nexus
How individual agencies can ensure the Humanitarian, Development and Peacebuilding Nexus (HDPN) is genuinely useful to them and their work. The relevance of the Triple Nexus to individual agencies The...
View ArticleApplying Just War Theory to the occupation in Afghanistan
The West’s departure from Afghanistan was a debacle. But was it a just war? The debacle of the West quitting Afghanistan in a hurry was clearly a failure of statecraft and planning, and a moral...
View ArticleEveryday Peace
Book review: Everyday Peace: How So-called Ordinary People Can Disrupt Violent Conflict (OUP, 2021). By Roger Mac Ginty. I once wrote in a poem that ‘every violence is intimate’. I was taken to task...
View ArticleClik here to view.
We need more clarity about the ‘peace’ that peacebuilding aims to build.
The UN and other parts of the international aid system are re-emphasising their important peacebuilding role. This matters, as peacebuilding is needed more than ever, and it can’t be left to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Guerrilla Country – My New Poetry Collection
Guerrilla Country – my new poetry collection – out today I’m very happy to say that my third poetry collection Guerrilla Country is published today, and can be purchased from the publishers Flight of...
View Article