Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation Terminology

The impact of the assistance (your project) on the conflict in the context. Not to be confused with the intended impact of the assistance (e.g. nutrition, literacy, etc.). Actual impact is generated through the interactions between the Dividers and Connectors present in the context and key details of the assistance (Resource Transfers/Patterns of Action and Implicit Ethical Messages/Patterns of Behavior).

The Anthropocene defines Earth's most recent geologic time period as being human-influenced, or anthropogenic, based on overwhelming global evidence that atmospheric, geologic, hydrologic, biospheric and other earth system processes are now altered by humans.

The word combines the root "anthropo", meaning "human" with the root "-cene", the standard suffix for "epoch" in geologic time.

The Anthropocene is distinguished as a new period either after or within the Holocene, the current epoch, which began approximately 10,000 years ago (about 8000 BC) with the end of the last glacial period.

https://www.anthropocene.info

A mechanism for resolving conflicts whereby the disputants identify their grievances and demands, fix a procedural process, and willingly submit the decision of outcomes, to an external entity. The third or external party usually takes the form of a tribunal.

Can be binding or non-binding.

An armed conflict is a contested incompatibility, which concerns government and/or territory where the use of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, results in at least 25 battle-related deaths.

Concessions, incentives, and threats issued by parties engaged in a process of negotiation.

Is not a straightforward exercise of mutual exchanges, such exchanges may occur over a single concern or multiple issues, but the parties often tend to offer initially what they view as less valuable in order to obtain what they consider to be more valuable, an approach known as Homans’ Theorem.

A campaign of withdrawal of support from a company, government, or institution which is committing an injustice, such as racial discrimination. As Dr. King said, “There is nothing quite as effective as the refusal to cooperate with the forces and institutions which perpetuate evil in our communities.”

A conditional surrender or yielding of rights by a party engaged in a conflict. Capitulation is usually in the form of an official document.

A bilateral (between two parties) or multilateral (between several parties) halt in all or select offensive military actions among parties engaged in official war, guerrilla warfare, or violent exchanges with one another.

Minimally aim to reduce immediate tensions and extreme losses while providing opportunities for the initiation of other forms of conflict resolution or management efforts.

The act of openly disobeying an unjust, immoral, or unconstitutional law as a matter of conscience, and accepting the consequences, including submitting to imprisonment if necessary, to protest an injustice.

The intentional breaking of immoral laws represented a form of remaining true to one’s beliefs.

A sphere of society distinct and independent from the state system. This collective realm, or ‘public space’, includes networks of institutions through which citizens voluntarily represent themselves through cultural, ideological, and political means.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are often considered the backbone of civil society, yet informal social institutions, professional associations, and interest groups constitute further examples. The strength of civil society is generally considered critical in providing protection and institutional hedges for individuals and groups against potential authoritarianism or intrusive government.

An individual who is not a combatant. A government civilian works directly for the state. A nongovernmental civilian does not work for the state.

A policy designed to accomplish a full range of defensive objectives, including deterrence as well as preparations to defend against internal and external acts of aggression. The term is quite literal, indicating planned defense by citizens (as opposed to military personnel).

Civilian-based defense has also been variously referred to as ‘civil resistance’, ‘non-military defense’, ‘non-violent defense’, and ‘social defense’.

Threat of the use of force to gain submission and obedience.

Participation in the objectives established by another with which one identifies and is willing to support.

A situation where national structures or institutions that are meant to implement their responsibilities have disappeared, dissolved, or lost their ability to act.

In armed conflicts, a member of the armed forces of a party to the conflict except medical and religious personnel.

An outcome to a conflict in which the parties involved concede in order to obtain only a portion of their objectives. Such results often occur when the contending parties lack the strength or ability to achieve a complete victory, seek to avoid escalation because of mutual interdependence or value a future relationship with one another.

The voluntary granting of a right, privilege, or advantage by one side to another during negotiations. Concessions indicate a willingness to continue talks and thus serve as a practical step towards facilitating a negotiation process.

The voluntary referral of a conflict to a neutral external party (in the form of an unofficial commission) that either suggests a non-binding settlement or conducts explorations to facilitate more structured techniques of conflict resolution.

The impartiality of the third party is central to the conciliation process including that party’s non-intervention in the conflict.

From the Latin word ‘to clash or engage in a fight.’

A relationship between two or more parties who have, or who think they have, incompatible goals.

An inevitable aspect of human interaction, conflict is present when two or more individuals or groups/parties know their interests are incompatible, express hostile attitudes, emotions and take adversarial actions that can cause the conflict to escalate as parties act to “win”. Conflicts can be waged violently, as in a war, or non-­­‐violently, as in an election, dialogue, or through other mechanisms. Conflict is not necessarily negative and can be a stimulus for positive change. It is critical to ensure conflict does not turn violent.

An increase in the intensity of a conflict often characterized by a shift toward unfriendly or hostile tactics.

A process in which at least two parties interact with growing intensity and hatred and with a greater commitment to using resources to win. Conflict can escalate fast and easily, it is much harder to reduce the intensity.

Any efforts made to contain violent conflict, reduce the levels of violence, or engage parties in a process to settle the conflict.

Refers to efforts to prevent or resolve violent conflict. Conflict prevention efforts such as diplomacy and negotiation attempt to stop violence from breaking out, since it is more difficult to stop violence once it has started.

They may include fact-finding missions, consultations, inspections, report mechanisms, and monitoring.

Ending of conflict, disputes, or disagreements by nonviolent means with intent to achieve a “win-win” outcome for all parties.

Conflict resolution involves recognition by the clashing parties of one another’s interests, needs, perspectives, and continued existence. It addresses and resolves deep-rooted/underlying sources and causes of conflict. It often uses a problem-solving methodology in order to identify options for addressing the sources of conflict that are mutually satisfactory, self-perpetuating, and sustaining.

An approach to programming and policymaking that recognizes the potential influence for any type of intervention to cause harm.

1. From the Benchmarking Paper of the CSA Consortium¹

A conflict sensitive approach involves gaining a sound understanding of the two-way interaction between activities and context² and acting to minimize negative impacts and maximize positive impacts of interventions on conflict, within an organization’s given priorities/objectives (mandate).

The above definition of CSA

1. Applies to all contexts, regardless of the severity or frequency of violence, even in situations where underlying tensions have not recently resulted in violence.
   
2. Applies across and throughout all areas of our work and should be applied as an institutional approach (beyond tools)
3. Applies to all types of work, to encompass humanitarian, development and peacebuilding, also including, where appropriate, work conducted by local civil society, government or private sector partners.
4. Does not require changing mandates/priorities/objectives, and does not entail an explicit commitment to peacebuilding as a priority (can be mainstreamed across any priority / mandate)

It is also noted that the enhanced understanding of conflict that stems from conflict sensitivity, may lead some agencies to explicitly adopt peace-building priorities/activities. This may be considered a peace-building side-effect of adopting a conflict sensitive approach.

2. As adapted by the Kenya country consortium

“Conflict sensitivity is a deliberate and systematic approach that ensures our processes and actions minimize negative and maximize positive effects within a given context, based on the interaction between those processes and actions and that particular context.”

1 Extract from: Conflict Sensitivity Benchmarking Paper (2009), Brown et al
2 through conflict analysis

Aims to end violent behavior by reaching a peace agreement.

There is no single cause of a conflict. Factors vary in importance and can reinforce each other. Conflict analysis must involve assessing the relative importance of various conflict factors and their interrelationship. The combined effect of conflict factors produces an effect that enhances or reinforces the effect of individual conflict factors.

Conflict transformation is based on the notion that ‘conflict is normal in human relationships and that conflict is a motor for change'. It is a process of engaging with and transforming the relationships, interests, discourses and, if necessary, the very constitution of society that supports the continuation of violent conflict’.

Conflict transformation goes beyond the concept of conflict resolution in that it requires a transformation of the parties, their relationships to each other, and the structural elements that underlie the conflict. These relationships and social structures are often unjust and unequal, and transforming conflict seeks to alter these structures in ways that build a more just society. It is a term that implies a long-term perspective on conflict and its transformation.

Features of the context that bring people together despite their differences, or which can increase:

• Trust
• Interdependence
• Equality

A refusal to participate in military service because of moral beliefs.

An agreement in which all the affected parties are in conformity (agreed) with the solution.

Consensus is a form of decision-making that emphasizes cooperation and the search for the most advantageous solution for all under the existing circumstances.

Consensus is achieved through the sharing of information, perspectives, group discussion, persuasion, and the synthesis of ideas. There are levels of consensus: a) when all accept with satisfaction the solution found, b) when the agreement is adequate but not entirely satisfactory, or c) when disagreement is registered but there is no intention to block the group from reaching a solution.

The illegal overthrow and seizure of a government apparatus through threatened or actual violence by individuals of the respective government often led by military, political, or governmental figures.

Cultural Violence represents the existence of prevailing or prominent social norms that make direct and structural violence seem “natural” or “right” or at least acceptable. For example, the belief that Africans are primitive and intellectually inferior to Caucasians gave sanction to the African slave trade. Galtung’s understanding of cultural violence helps explain how prominent beliefs can become so embedded in a given culture that they function as absolute and inevitable and are reproduced uncritically across generations.

https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/what-we-do/our-approach/peace-violence

The shared beliefs, traits, attitudes, behavior, products, and artifacts common to a particular social or ethnic group.

An identifiable lessening (in quantity or severity) of violent exchanges among parties.

The handover of conventional weapons or armaments during or directly following an armed conflict or war.

A psychological process that people employ to strip human qualities from an enemy to make it easier to persecute and defeat him/her.

A participatory decision-making process that emphasizes an examination of all the existing perspectives on an issue or conflict, a logical examination of all the viable alternatives to resolving the issues in the hope of reaching a consensual solution to the matter.

The removal of military or paramilitary forces from a determined area or the concession of particular weaponry by one or all parties engaged in conflict.

The deliberate process of transferring individuals from military or paramilitary forces to other, sustaining and productive roles in society.

Gathering or protest activity organized to build support for peace, justice, or social reform.

The means of preventing an impending or projected action of others through instilling fear of repercussions/negative outcomes or by an understanding that the negative consequences of such actions will outweigh the benefits.

A conversation or exchange of ideas that seeks mutual understanding through the sharing of perspectives.

As a mechanism, it is utilized to resolve and preferably transform complex multiparty social conflicts. Dialogue processes tend to be tailor-made to fit the purpose for which they are created.

The official means by which sovereign nations conduct affairs with one another and develop agreement on their respective positions.

Nonviolent resistance to injustice. More than 250 forms of nonviolent direct action have been identified, including marches, boycotts, picketing, sit-ins, and prayer vigils, to name a few. 

Direct Violence represents behaviors that serve to threaten life itself and/or to diminish one’s capacity to meet basic human needs. Examples include killing, maiming, bullying, sexual assault, and emotional manipulation.

https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/what-we-do/our-approach/peace-violence

A difference in opinion or perspective that impede finding a solution to a problem.

The near elimination of military arsenals and forces, usually by a nation-state, through bilateral or multilateral agreements or unilaterally.

An individual forced to leave his or her home province, district, region, or nation in search of sanctuary from life-threatening circumstances. A displaced person remaining within his or her home nation is usually referred to as an internally displaced person (IDP).

Often used as a synonym of conflict. To some, a dispute is more narrowly defined, involving one or very few issuesthat are more easily identified and resolved rather than a conflict which, for some, implies a multiplicity of complex problems that need to be resolved.

Features of the context that cause or increase :

• Tension
• Suspicion
• Mistrust
• Divisions
• Capacities for conflict or violence between groups

Conflict-sensitive policies, programs, and projects aim to minimize unintentional negative impacts that may drive conflict and cause further social divisions while maximizing positive impacts on the context that mitigate conflict and bridge social divides.

A neutral, often a subject matter expert, evaluates the merits of both sides of a factual dispute.

An increase in quantity, intensity, or scope of violent exchanges among parties.

A process by which an impartial third party manages an interactive exchange between people who are meeting for a common purpose. The facilitator does not intervene in the substance of the issues at stake but manages the process. Often used as a synonym for mediation, some scholars say that facilitation is different from mediation with regard to the number of participants, the complexity of the issues, the interest of the various parties, the openness of the process and the degree of prior commitment of the parties to engage in a negotiation process.

An investigation of a dispute by an impartial third party that examines the issues and facts in the case and may issue a report and recommended settlement (for example, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Conflict in Georgia established by the Council of the European Union). A related term is Commission of Inquiry (for example, the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur established by the United Nations).

The inability of a nation-state to provide its citizens basic necessities because of the effects of war or other destabilizing crises. Refer not only to a nation-state’s inability to provide services and security but also to its unwillingness to meet such responsibilities.

Refusing to eat as a method of self-purification to be spiritually strengthened for nonviolent action, or as a protest.

Refers to the emancipatory project for women and pertains to the pursuit of equity between men and women.

The application or threat of coercion within the context of international relations.

The term fragility can refer to humans, states, or the environment. A fragile state typically suffers from weak authority, legitimacy, and capacity.

Refers to social and cultural differences between males and females.

Gender equality entails the concept that all human beings, both men and women, are free to develop their personal abilities and make choices without the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender roles, or prejudices. 

Requires paying attention to the different experiences and capacities of males
and females related to human security, development and peacebuilding.

GBV is defined as physical, sexual, and physiological violence against both men and women that occurs within the family and the community and is perpetrated or condoned by the state.  

Acts aiming to significantly reduce or eliminate entirely a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group through murder, physical or mental harm, unfit living conditions, birth prevention, or forcible population transfer.

Any type of governing structures; both formal and informal by state, business, or civil
society. It includes any tradition and institution that makes decisions and provides resources to manage society's problems and affairs. In most societies today, informal, non-state governance structures complement or exist outside of formal state governance.

Norms of conduct that the parties to a process come up with by mutual agreement that enables a decision-making process to flow easier. 

A member of a small independent group taking part in irregular fighting, typically against larger regular forces.

Irregular, often protracted, warfare predominantly targeted against an incumbent (existing) government and conducted by paramilitary or voluntary forces operating outside of conventional military organizations.

Speech that is intended to foster hatred against groups based on race, religion, gender, sexual preference, national origin, or other traits.

The universal, indivisible, equitable, and indispensable claims and entitlements that are endowed to all persons simply by the sake of being human.

Refers to the security of individuals and communities. The United Nations defines
human security as “people-centered, comprehensive, context-specific, and prevention-oriented measures that seek to reduce the likelihood of conflicts, help overcome the obstacles to development and promote human rights for all.”At the minimum, it refers to safety from direct threats of violence. 

A comprehensive perspective or worldview that provides a general framework for action, interpretation, and conceptualization

Ideology is most commonly associated with the general orientation of a group that upholds specific, identifiable ideas.

A stage in a conflict where neither has the resources to impose a solution.

The behavior of staff members of the organization, and the message it conveys to the local population (beneficiaries/target group/participants and others not directly connected to the assistance) about the values, priorities, and intentions of the assistance and the organization. These can make certain attitudes acceptable or desirable, and through that interact with Dividers and Connectors.

The exchange of goods and services that is usually neither taxed nor regulated by the government.

Paramilitary, guerrilla, or non-violent uprisings directed against a nation-state or apparatus from within in order to achieve political objectives. Insurgencies vary in organization, spontaneity, and threat, but all rely on mass participation in some form.

The underlying reasons or motivations of a person in a conflict. The desires and concerns that lead people to assume a position in a conflict. 

Intervention assumes one of three forms: actions by external nation-states in pursuit of policy objectives or favorable conditions to achieve those objectives (widely understood as the unprovoked interference by one nation-state in the internal affairs of another, coercive and includes an array of examples, such as military force, covert operations, dissemination of propaganda, or cultural domination); actions taken to uphold internationally accepted values or laws (humanitarian intervention); or efforts to alter the dynamics or outcomes of a process under way (third-party intervention, in which the external party attempts to either influence a party (or parties) involved in conflict engagement, conflict management, or conflict resolution or seeks to manipulate any such processes already underway.)

The problem to be resolved. The topic of the negotiation. The matter at stake in a conflict. The difficulty to be addressed.

Is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, religion, fairness, or equity along with the punishment of the breach of the said ethics.

Understandings of justice differ in different countries, due to cultural differences, shared history and mythology, religion, and political system.

Distributive Justice: Refers to the extent to which society's institutions ensure that benefits and burdens are distributed among society's members in ways that are fair and just or equitable.

Restorative justice: Is a way of responding to criminal behavior by balancing the needs of the community, the victims, and the offenders. Restorative justice refers to a process for resolving crime by focusing on redressing the harm done to the victims, holding offenders accountable for their actions, and, often also, engaging the community in the resolution of that conflict.

1: an adaptive process-structure of human relationships characterized by high justice and low violence 2: an infrastructure of organization or governance that responds to human conflict through nonviolent means as first and last resorts 3: a view of systems as responsive to the permanency and interdependence of relationships and change.

Lederach, J. P. (1999). The Challenge of the 21st Century. In European Centre for Conflict Prevention, From People Building Peace: 35 Inspiring Stories from Around the World (pp. 27-36). European Centre for Conflict Prevention.

A just law is created by both a majority and minority and is binding on both. An unjust law is created by a majority that is binding on the minority when the minority has no voice in creating the law. Dr. King said, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with moral law…One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly and with a willingness to accept the penalty.”

A quality that signifies voluntary acceptance of procedures that inherently necessitates obedience, cooperation, or acquiescence. Maybe explicitly or implicitly formulated by individuals or institutions and may include laws, orders, decrees, decisions, and judgements.

In political terms, legitimacy simplifies the ability to rule and removes recourse to physical or other forms of coercion.

The power that one party has to influence the behavior of another.

Also called negative-sum outcome involves the pursuit of objectives by one or more parties that produce mutually detrimental/negative effects on all the parties in question, limiting the possibility of any of them achieving their objectives.

A large number of people walk in a group to a place of symbolic significance to protest an injustice.

Concerns itself with social constructions of what it means to be a man, with the understanding that there is no single form of masculinity.

A voluntary, informal, non-binding process undertaken with an external party that fosters the settlement of differences or demands between directly invested parties.

Appealing to the moral beliefs of an adversary or the public to convince the adversary to change behavior or attitudes.

Defined as the absence of war or direct physical violence while the root causes of conflict remain ignored, i.e. injustice and structural violence are allowed to continue. It is a condition in which opposing groups are not necessarily engaged in physical violence.

Negotiation is conducted on various grounds: to identify common interests and develop unilateral or multilateral initiatives in pursuit of objectives, to de-escalate a conflict situation, or to formulate mutually satisfactory solutions towards resolution of a given conflict.

Process of discussing, compromising and bargaining with adversaries in good faith to secure a resolution to a conflict and reconciliation of adversaries. 

A formal position of non-participation in the issues that generate a conflict.

A conscious and deliberate, partial or total, refusal to participate in activities of or cooperate with individuals, governments, institutions, policies or laws that result in violence or injustice.

A large category that includes non-governmental organizations, multinational corporations, media, terrorist groups, warlords, insurgents, criminal organizations, religious groups, trade unions, universities, and diaspora communities. Most types of non-state actors would be considered part of civil society. Also called nonofficial actors.

According to a working definition at the UN, are groups that have the potential to employ arms in the use of force to achieve political, ideological or economic objectives; are not within the formal military structures of States, State-alliances or intergovernmental organizations; and are not under the control of the State(s) in which they operate.

A holistic belief in and practice of abstaining from violent acts.

A technique of conflict engagement or prosecution that aims to achieve political objectives through nonviolence (not using physical, violent acts).

Possible solution to a problem that can satisfy the interests and needs of the parties to a conflict.

A doctrine and historical school of thought that rejects war as the means of resolving conflict. A philosophy based on an absolute refusal to engage in violence because it is morally wrong.

A model or pattern that cannot be proved in a scientific sense, but which may reflect shifts in thinking.

Parties to a conflict are the groups or individuals involved in a conflict. There are primary parties (those who are directly involved in the conflict) and secondary parties (those who are indirectly involved in the conflict or have a stake in the outcome of the conflict). 

For example: a primary party to the conflict would include the various groups fighting over power or resources, while secondary parties might include those benefiting from war (e.g., those plundering resources or shipping arms into a country) or individuals or groups supporting the primary parties in some way (e.g., with money or soldiers). 

An individual or group with sufficient interests at stake to get involved in a process of solution seeking to their problem. Also called a stakeholder.

Challenging an injustice by refusing to support or cooperate with an unjust law, action or policy. The term “passive” is misleading because passive resistance includes pro-active nonviolence, such as marches, boycotts and other forms of active protest.

The absence of physical violence or other methods that can produce direct or indirect harm like structural or cultural violence. 

The establishment of relationships that is sufficiently strong to withstand threats to stability.

The benefit a country receives from cutting back military spending, especially after the end of a war. The “dividend” comes when the money is redirected to social programs or to tax reductions.

Operations undertaken to end military or violent exchanges or acts of aggression, with or without the consent of one or more parties to the conflict, to create a permanent and viable environment and guarantees for such conditions.

Structures or processes in place for dealing with unrest or violence, and sustaining peace may include traditional courts, inter-village meetings, a process where elders meet, etc. 

Peacebuilding represents a way to achieve societal reconciliation. It is important to note that peacebuilding is a very widely used term, one that differs according to who uses the term and in what context it is used. As used in this context, it is a people-centered, relationship-building, and participatory process.

The combined effect of a number of peace factors can produce an effect that enhances or reinforces the effect of individual peace factors. Paying attention to peace synergies may identify key targets for support in the pursuit of peace.

The maintenance of public security, civil services, and cease-fire agreements in war and conflict zones by UN or regional military, police, and civilian forces  with the consent of the nation-state on whose territory these forces are deployed.

Any activities designed to move towards a settlement of armed conflict, usually at the official diplomatic level. This includes peace agreement negotiations such as the Arusha Process to end Burundi’s civil conflict or the Sant’ Egidio mediated peace agreement in Mozambique.

The spiritual and psychological decision to participate in nonviolent action to eliminate an injustice. Prayer, meditation and sometimes fasting are used to deepen one’s spiritual understanding.

Gathering of massive numbers of signatures in support of or opposed to a policy, proposal or law.

A group of individuals walk with signs bearing protest messages in front of a site where an injustice has been committed.

A process that includes parties from various institutions and social sector to address complex social problems that have not been able to be resolved adequately by a single political institution.

The summation of means, influences, and pressures available to a government, institution, group, or individual that are exploited to achieve respective objectives or to change targeted conditions.

A posture.

A declaration by a stakeholder that expresses what that stakeholder wants as if it were the only solution to the problem.

The absence of direct physical violence and indirect forms of harm such as structural violence. It requires the presence of social values and institutions that positively maintain a state of peace. The major characteristics of positive peace can be summarized as follows: structural integration, optimistic, preventive and peace by peaceful means.

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety problem that develops in some people after extremely traumatic events, such as combat, crime, an accident, or natural disaster.

The ability to influence others to get a particular outcome. It may involve coercing them with threats, providing inducements, or coopting them.

Factors that accentuate and make more severe the underlying causes of conflict. They are nearer to the surface and therefore more visible and associated time-wise closer to the outbreak of armed violence. They may change over time. They can become apparent through a wide range of manifestations operating at multiple levels (local, national, regional and international).

The cleansing of anger, selfishness and violent attitudes from the heart and soul in preparation for a nonviolent struggle. 

An act of armed resistance to an established government or leader. The action or process of resisting authority, control, or convention.

A process that attempts to transform intense or lingering malevolence among parties previously engaged in a conflict or dispute into feelings of acceptance and even forgiveness of past animosities or detrimental acts.

A person seeking asylum based on the likelihood of persecution or imminent harm in his or her home country due to race, religion, nationality, ethnicity, social membership, political opinion, or knowledge.

All the resources (material or non-material) that come into the context through the assistance. These are distributed directly, as intended by the assistance, and indirectly or unintentionally through diverse mechanisms (e.g. theft, market effects, etc.).

A principle of governance in which all persons and institutions, public and private, including the state itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly announced, equally enforced and independent.

Penalties threatened or imposed by a government, institution, organization, or group on a targeted party for actual or anticipated failure to act in accordance with standards, obligations, or expectations.

Hindi word that describes the principles of Truth and Love as the forces of power and change. Also mean ‘firmness in Truth’, or a ‘relentless search for Truth’,

Offering an adversary an alternative course of action which spares him or her embarrassment.

Traditionally, security has meant freedom from military attack and has been synonymous with national security. In addition, a state could enter into alliances that provided collective security.

Include a limited number of groups that hold the responsibility to protect public order and security, and the power to arrest, detain, search, seize and use force and firearms.

According to the United Nations, is “a broad term used to describe the structures, institutions and personnel responsible for the management, provision and oversight of security in a country.”

The flip side/reverse of a boycott. Making a point of purchasing a product or service from a company that supports justice.

A form of gender-based violence.

Tactic of nonviolence in which protesters sit down at the site of an injustice and refuse to move for a specified period of time or until goals are achieved.

The notion/idea that individuals and nation-states tacitly agree to a set of mutually binding stipulations and obligations.

Social media is computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities. By design, social media is internet-based and gives users quick electronic communication of content. Content includes personal information, documents, videos, and photos. Users engage with social media via computer, tablet, or smartphone via web-based software or web application, often utilizing it for messaging (www.investopedia.com/terms/s/social-media.asp).

A situation in which basic human needs are met and people are able to coexist peacefully in communities with opportunities for advancement.

The origins or loci of political power: legitimacy, human resources, skills and knowledge, material resources, intangible factors, and sanctions.

Individual or a group that has a “stake” or an interest in some issue or process.

The activity, process, or plan to attain desired objectives or goals as efficiently as possible, usually in the face of or in competition with others who are developing and implementing similar activities.

Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure, and pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope. 

Organized withholding of labor to correct injustice.

Embedded social and political hierarchies—enacted most often by societies and their institutions—that impose conditions which place people at high risk for negative consequences, such as unemployment, malnutrition, mental illness, suicide, crime, disease, and ill health.

Requires the deep institutionalization of participatory processes providing civil and political rights to all peoples. The building blocks of sustainable peace and security are well-functioning local, state, regional and international systems of governance, which are responsive to basic human needs. It designates Positive Peace over the long-term.

Limited and particular action decided on short-term bases. If conducted efficiently, the choice of tactics will be informed by a strategy.

An individual or group that gets involved to help disputants resolve their problem, typically as mediators, arbitrators, or conciliators. The person should not have a vested interest in the outcome, and be able to treat the other parties impartially.

Refers to society-wide efforts to address past human rights violations in order to acknowledge the past, end impunity and hold perpetrators accountable, reaffirm the rule of law and provide justice services, and help the country heal and achieve social reconciliation.

Visibility or accessibility of information regarding decision-making and financial practices, such that stakeholders not only have access to the decision-making process but also the ability to influence it.

Trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape or natural disaster. Immediately after the event, shock and denial are typical. Longer term reactions include unpredictable emotions, flashbacks, strained relationships and even physical symptoms like headaches or nausea.

A legally binding written agreement of mutual relations that is ratified/confirmed by two or more nation-states or other internationally recognized subjects.

In international law, this term is sometimes used for courts set up for special purposes, such as the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda or the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which were established by the UN Security Council.

Refer to single key acts, events—or their anticipation—which will set off violent conflicts or their escalation. They can occur in situations of high tensions as well as during transition periods. They can be deliberate as well as accidental, and generally provoke the use of violence or armed force.

The belief that other people, including adversaries, will keep their word and do as agreed. It implies a vulnerability and hope that the other party will not take advantage of a weakness but will respond in kind.

A temporary fact-finding body that aims to elucidate past human rights violations and war crimes and address issues of reparation and rehabilitation.

A philosophical perspective of South African peoples that connotes a collective responsibility among human beings to distribute naturally and spiritually the life force for common benefit.

A form of protest in which individuals and groups stand, sit, walk, or pray at a site linked to an injustice or symbolically associated with principles of freedom, justice or peace.

Psychological or physical force exerted for the purpose of threatening, injuring, damaging, or abusing people or property.

Violence consists of actions, words, attitudes, systems or structures that cause physical, psychological, social or environmental damage and/or prevents people from reaching their full human potential.

A violent conflict involves at least two parties using physical force to resolve competing claims or interests. Violent conflicts may occur among individuals or groups not affiliated with a government, but the term is most commonly applied as a synonym for war.

Any actions taken, procedures put in place, or policies proposed that are designed to prevent either states or groups within the state from using armed force or other forms of violence or coercion to settle disputes.

A mutually recognized, hostile exchange of actions among two or more parties (such as between or within nation-states) conducted by conventional military forces, paramilitary forces, or guerrillas to achieve respective policy objectives. Warfare assumes a degree of continuity until such objectives are accomplished or a party concedes or is defeated.

Crimes committed during armed conflict in violation of the laws of war or international humanitarian law, described more fully in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, article 8.

Any weapon capable of horrific human or material destruction. Weapons of mass destruction may be nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological.

Also called zero-sum game, results when only one side perceives the outcome as positive. Produce a completely victorious party and an utterly defeated party

Occur when each side of a dispute feels they have won. Since both sides benefit from such a scenario, any resolutions to the conflict are likely to be accepted voluntarily.

Deeply rooted interpretations of the nature of the universe. The pronounced way things are. Worldview undergirds values, ethics, precept ions and decision-making. Conflicts that occur among those who share common worldviews are presumably easier to address than conflict between those that share different worldviews.