08/16/2006

PREVENTING POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Towards a Model for Catalytic Action

The problem of fragile, failing and failed states is a critical issue on today’s international scene, and the question of preventing violence is especially acute for many countries. New ways need to be found to tackle this violence, if such countries are to have true hopes of stability and then also of coherence and well-being. 

 

This was the primary concern of the multi-year, practical, learning effort entitled the International Peace and Prosperity Project (IPPP) in Guinea-Bissau.

 

The IPPP features the mobilization of local leaders and the provision of professional assistance and modest financial support to carry out early, holistic, horizontally and vertically integrated violence prevention actions.

 

More specifically, the IPPP in Guinea-Bissau aims to prevent political violence by:

 

·      working towards peace and prosperity using rigorous ongoing conflict and violence analyses;

 

·      playing a value-added, catalytic role in assisting Guinea-Bissau citizens, the government, and international actors to implement concrete, synergistic actions through dialogue and focused projects;

 

·      providing a small grants program to stimulate security and development initiatives;

 

·      undertaking global advocacy to mobilize international resources for violence prevention and peacebuilding in Guinea-Bissau.

 

 

The IPPP continues to operate under the direction of the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation, with funding and support provided through the Alliance for Peacebuilding, Washington, D.C.

 

This report details the experience of the International and Prosperity Project in Guinea-Bissau and forms the basis of a new draft model for violence prevention in fragile and failed states.

PREVENTING POLITICAL VIOLENCE:  Towards a Model  for  Catalytic  Action (PDF)