Civil society in conflict transformation : ambivalence, potentials and challenges

Civic engagement and the role of social actors within the framework of the nation state is widely accepted, in both politics and academia. The significance of civil society to international politics and in conflict settings is less agreed. The number of agencies engaged in international development policy, humanitarian aid, human rights protection and environmental policy has increased substantially over the last two decades. A similar development is witnessed in the field of conflict prevention, peacemaking and post-conflict regeneration. However, assessments of the roles and activities of civil society actors in all these areas are contradictory and ambivalent. Controversial debates about their capacities, impacts and legitimacy are on-going among politicians, practitioners and scholars.

This article focuses on the potential contributions of civil society actors for peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Some of the central questions addressed in this text are : what types of activities do international and transnational NGOs undertake in order to influence international politics in a way that contributes to stable peace and coping with global challenges ? What potential do actors from civil society offer for war-to-peace transitions ? What problems and dilemmas are faced in the development of civil society in war-torn societies ? What are the limitations of civil society’s contributions and how does it relate to state-building ? Finally, how does any of this impact on theoretical conceptualisations of the term « civil society » ?

By way of elaborating these questions, the second section of this article discusses various terms and definitions linked to debates about civil society. The third section gives a general overview of NGO activities at the international and regional level. The fourth section presents a critical assessment of their roles and the fifth section deals with their impact and legitimacy. The sixth section addresses the potential contributions of civil society in war-torn societies and post-conflict peacebuilding, with specific reference to the last 10 years of experience in the Balkans. The seventh section contextualises the development of civil society in relation to the challenges of state-building and investigates the theoretical implications of this relationship for conceptualising the term « civil society ». The eighth section draws some central conclusions, makes policy recommendations and identifies the needs for further research.

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