Explore our publications, from research papers and series to educational materials, covering all aspects of conflict transformation and peace promotion.
Peace mediation almost inevitably deals with issues of constitutional relevance, and constitution-making efforts in fragile contexts are intensely affected by parallel or previous peace talks. Nonetheless, constitution-making and peace mediation are not necessarily coordinated or well-integrated. Neglecting the ‘constitution-mediation nexus’ can have tremendous consequences, undermining and devaluating both processes and their aspired outcomes. This guidance aims to support constitution-making and peace mediation practitioners in navigating the nexus in times of geopolitical change by providing an analytical framework and methodological toolbox.
Year2025
Author(s)Claudia Wiehler, Lars Kirchhoff, Luxshi Vimalarajah, Anna Dick, Carla Schraml, Felix Würkert
To achieve sustainable peace, it is crucial for ex-combatants to be able to support their communities, or even pursue their wartime claims, through non-violent ways. Depending on the nature of these claims, different reintegration trajectories and skillsets need to be applied. This Primer provides DDR practitioners with a brief overview on civic and political education as an enabler for ex-combatants and their communities to become peacebuilding agents.
The purpose of this primer is to provide guidance to mediators and other peace support actors, including (when relevant) DDR practitioners, on enabling a successful political transformation of armed groups as part of peace processes. It addresses key questions which need to be considered in peace mediation and the resulting negotiated agreements, such as: Who can best support political transformation during peace processes? When to consider such involvement? How to ensure that the content and sequencing of peace accords are conducive to effective political transformation?
After wars and dictatorships, it is not only the visible scars that remain. How can healing occur where it is most needed, and what are approaches that have worked so far? Our network the Global Learning Hub for Transitional Justice and Reconciliation reflects on experiences from different countries to promote transformative agendas in contexts of political transitions, social reconciliation and peacebuilding.
The policy brief analyses the Assises Nationales de la Refondation held in Niger in early 2025. It explores the process as a national dialogue aimed at redefining the country’s political order following the 2023 military coup. The brief evaluates the legitimacy, inclusiveness, and implications of the dialogue and the resulting Charter of Refoundation, which functions as a transitional constitution.
This paper, the fourth in our policy insight series on gender-inclusive conflict transformation, examines the formal and informal roles played by women in and associated with resistance and liberation movements (RLMs) during peace processes. We conducted focus group discussions, interviews and peer-learning workshops with women from South Africa, Northern Ireland, Colombia, the Philippines, Kosovo and other contexts in Latin America, Europe and Southeast Asia who contributed to peace processes either as formal negotiators or informal peace leaders.
At a time when division threatens the fabric of societies, dialogue offers a path forward. The Dialogue for Social Cohesion brief, developed by UNESCO in collaboration with the Berghof Foundation and Search for Common Ground, blends real-world case studies with practical recommendations.
The rise of the far right is a global phenomenon, with anti-democratic parties and authoritarian leaders gaining influence not only in Europe but worldwide. A defining characteristic of far-right politics is a revisionist engagement with the past. By challenging established historiography and remembrance culture, far-right actors promote distorted historical narratives that fuel hate speech, xenophobia, racism, and political polarisation.
This case study explores the populist instrumentalisation of history in Lithuania since 2014, the year Russia invaded Ukraine. The author documents how far-right and populist actors in Lithuania increasingly turn to the experience of the Second World War and its aftermath to propagate simplistic narratives that rely on antisemitic tropes, whitewash historical crimes, and turn victims into villains and perpetrators into victims, with the ostensible aim of strengthening patriotic sentiment.
This case study examines the evolution of the South Korean New Right over the past two decades in its revisionist assaults on mainstream historiography and the country’s consolidating transitional justice paradigm. Analysing the most salient areas of contention, the author finds that far-right memory politics in South Korea represents a calculated effort to distort national memory for political ends, posing serious risks to the country’s democratic integrity.
