Infrastructures for Peace: Approaches and Lessons Learned

COVER_EmbeddedPeaceI4P.png

English

Download

Infrastructures for Peace: Approaches and Lessons Learned

March 28, 2016

While gaining increasing attention from practitioners and academics, the concept of Infrastructures for Peace (I4P) is not new. In numerous countries around the globe I4P have contributed to reconciling tensions arising from political, social and economic transformation, especially in contexts where the capacities to deal with conflict in a peaceful manner are weak. This lesson learned study, developed through a collaboration between UNDP and the Berghof Foundation, seeks to capture the wealth of experience from practitioners and experts in supporting and harnessing I4P with a view to inform and shape international support.
 
This paper provides key insights on the concept, design and tailoring of I4P processes to national contexts. It also looks at the experiences of five different countries where efforts were made to nurture such peace structures - South Africa, Ghana, Tunisia, Nepal and Thailand (Deep South), and provides comparative insight from the design and implementation of particular components of I4P, in particular national dialogues, local peace committees and insider mediation. Finally, it elaborates on recommendations to improve the role UNDP can play in promoting and supporting I4P- both in conceptual terms and in practice.