Civil war and other kinds of violent internal strife often end only when one side achieves victory over the other by use of force. Often these victories, if they come at all, come only after years of violence and bloodshed. Rarely do they result in the kinds of integrated socio-economic systems that are crucial to building lasting peace, especially where ethnic, cultural, or other identity-based differences are at the heart of the conflict.  There are, however, instances where the parties to such conflicts decide to constructively engage with each other through negotiation, third party mediation, or other kinds of de-escalatory techniques, sometimes alone, sometimes together, and sometimes with the help of an external third-party. In these instances, which include the ANC’s rise to political power in South Africa, the moderation of the Renamo rebel group in Mozambique, and the incorporation of the FMLN into the political process in El Salvador, the groups that had challenged state actors through violent means shifted their tactics toward less violent means of waging their struggle.

The Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs and the Program on the Analysis and Resolution of Conflicts (PARC) and the have initiated a project to investigate these ‘constructive transformations.’ We are interested in when, why, and how violent opposition movements and those they are challenging, take steps towards peaceful political incorporation. We are particularly interested in mapping: 1) the processes and dynamics that lead groups that are challenging existing power structures to engage in violent struggle, 2) the processes and dynamics that contribute to the de-escalation of violent struggle and the participation of challengers in peaceful political activities, 3) the dynamics that sustain and nurture this transformation.  To investigate these processes and dynamics the project brought together experts in conflict and security studies with area specialists in a series of meetings which have culminated in the publication of the edited book, Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding: Moving from Violence to Sustainable Peace, co-edited by Bruce Dayton (Moynihan Institute) and Louis Kriesberg (PARC).  That book is due out from Routledge in early 2009. Meanwhile, project personnel continue to work to expand the set of cases being investigated and develop ways to translate research findings into policy relevant recommendations.