Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs look back on support for Northern and Southern peacebuilding academic and policy research
The five grants described below were funded under a joint pilot initiative, the Public-Private Partnership on Peacebuilding (Px4 Initiative), between Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), launched in 2013. For the last four years, this joint effort has brought together an American foundation with a history of supporting Northern and Southern peacebuilding academic and policy research, with those of a European government ministry that has deep experience in promoting peace initiatives, particularly through dialogue and mediation. The partnership’s objectives have been:
- To develop innovative agendas about peacebuilding challenges facing the international community during the next decade;
- To translate academic research into a form useful in the policy realm; identify and integrate substantive Southern voices;
- To establish a North-South dialogue on relevant research and policy agendas; and
- To bring Southern voices to key Northern governmental and intergovernmental decision-making centers, as well as to emerging powers governments and regional organizations.
Currently, the Corporation and the MFA are assessing the initiative’s progress and discussing possible next steps. At this point, there will not be a call for proposals in the coming year.
New Actors from Developing Countries and Emerging Powers in Peacebuilding
A partnership among American University’s School of International Service in the United States, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) in South Africa, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Indonesia, the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) in Turkey, the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI) in Norway, and the United Service Institution of India (USI-India) in India.
Started in October 2014, this 27-month project seeks to examine what is new and innovative about the peacebuilding approaches of new actors from developing countries and emerging powers, and the impact they are having. Research has also focused on the role of rising powers in peacebuilding, the effects of their interventions, and the influence that rising powers have had on the peacebuilding architecture in the international community.
To date, the project has produced eight policy briefs on peacebuilding activities of Turkey, South Africa, Indonesia, India, Brazil, the African Union, the European Union, and the United Nations. The project partners produced three in-depth case studies on rising powers’ peacebuilding activities in Somalia, Myanmar, and Afghanistan. In the coming months, the policy briefs and case studies will be included in an edited volume. The project partners held workshops in New York, Washington, D.C., Jakarta, Istanbul, Brussels, The Hague, and Addis Ababa to disseminate project results to government officials, academics, and NGOs focused on peacebuilding.
Innovations in Peacebuilding: International Norms and Local Dynamics in Conflict-Affected Countries
A partnership among the Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver in the United States, the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Norway, the Nepal Peacebuilding Initiative (NPI) in Nepal, and the Center for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) in South Africa.
Started in July 2015, this two-year research, dialogue, and policy project explores innovative ways that governmental, international, and local organizations conduct activities aimed at conflict prevention and management, peacebuilding and reconciliation. Specifically, the project is focused on understanding how norms affect local mobilization in conflict-affected countries, and how this impacts peacebuilding efforts.
Research for the project is continuing in the two principal countries under study, Nepal and South Africa. Additionally, the project is conducting secondary case studies in Colombia, El Salvador, Kenya, Rwanda, Myanmar, and Thailand. In the coming year, the project plans to share its findings at two major country-level symposia in Nepal, in November 2016, and in South Africa, in March 2017. Following these events, the project will convene a third symposium on cross-cutting findings from the field-based research in preparation of an integrated report. Overall, the project will yield eight case studies that will be compiled into an edited volume.
The Role of Business in Peacebuilding
A partnership among the CDA Collaborative Learning (CDA) in the United States, the African Centre for Dispute Settlement at the University of Stellenbosch in South Africa, and the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in Norway.
Started in July 2015, this two-year project focuses on the role of business in peacebuilding. The project aims to fill the gap in evidence around the role and effectiveness of business efforts to contribute to peace in intra- and inter-state conflicts. The project has completed field work in Colombia, Cyprus, and the Philippines and convened consultations in Bogota, Colombia, and Sharjah, UAE.
By February 2017, the project partners plan to have completed an additional four case studies and convened another two consultations. The project partners plan to share findings through a number of analytical papers, short issue papers, a comprehensive literature review, all of which will be circulated among experts and dialogue participants.
South-South Cooperation and Promotion of African Responses to Peacebuilding in Africa
A partnership among the Institute of Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in Norway, and the Centre for International Cooperation (CIC) at New York University in the United States.
Started in July 2016, this two-year project investigates African actors’ and regional African organizations’ approaches to peacebuilding. The project aims to explore the potential these approaches can have in facilitating sustainable peace. Over the course of the project, the research will examine Africa organizations and actors’ assumptions and expectations of peacebuilding processes. The project will also investigate the comparative advantages of various African actors in relation to international and northern actors. The project team is planning to begin case study research in Liberia and South Sudan. Field research in Liberia has been scheduled for later this year, with the research team looking to visit South Sudan early next year.
Women and Peacebuilding in Africa
A partnership among the Center for Research on Gender and Women at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the United States, the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI) in Norway, and the Isis-Women's International Cross-Cultural Exchange (Isis-WICCE) in Uganda.
Started in July 2016, this two-year project explores the impact of women’s exclusion and inclusion in peace talks, peacebuilding processes, and political institutions in conflict-affected countries in Africa. With nine researchers conducting field work in Algeria, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, the project is developing country case studies based on three thematic areas: 1) Inclusion and Exclusion of Women in Postconflict Governance (Somalia and Algeria); 2) Women Activists’ Informal Peacebuilding Strategies (South Sudan and Northern Nigeria); and 3) Women’s Legal Rights as a Site of Contestation in North Africa (Sudan and Algeria). The project is in the early stages of research development.
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