Civil Society and Peace Negotiations

Beyond the Inclusion–Exclusion Dichotomy

Bibliographic Data

ID23318641
AuthorsThania Paffenholz (Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume30
Issue1
Pages69-91
Publication date2014-01-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueNegotiation Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0748-4526 • E-ISSN: 1571-9979
PublisherMIT Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1111/nejo.12046
OpenAlexW1641325669
LanguageEN
Citations received78
References cited28

Civil society is generally seen as an important actor in peace processes. But when it comes to reaching an agreement during peace negotiations, much of the current debate is centered on the question of including or excluding civil society. Although most researchers argue that civil society participation makes the process more sustainable and democratic, most practitioners emphasize that enhanced civil society participation makes it more difficult to reach a peace agreement. I argue that practitioners and theorists must both move beyond this dichotomy and, instead, focus on the variety of ways in which civil society actors can be included in a given negotiation process. To this end, I present in this article a comprehensive overview of nine models of inclusion, from most to least direct involvement of civil society, supported by illustrative case studies. Analysis of these models suggests that it will be possible to broaden the participation of civil society in peace negotiations without decreasing the negotiations' effectiveness.

Civil society · Democracy · Environmental ethics · Inclusion (mineral) · Law and economics · Negotiation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Social science · Sociology · Law · Peacebuilding and International Security · Political Conflict and Governance · Public Administration · Religion, Society, and Development

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