Enhancing the Role of Civil Society: The New Approach to Peacebuilding
Enhancing the Role of Civil Society: The New Approach to Peacebuilding
Obada Al-Zu’bi – Naseeb
The incidence of violence in a particular society may increase or decrease due to the influence of social, cultural, political, and economic climates. However, in any case, violence remains a scourge that disrupts social systems and paralyzes the natural progression of societies towards civility.
This is evident today in Syria, where the conflict continues between warring parties. The bitter years have taught us that violence is not the solution, and the complexity of the conflict and the enormity of the toll require striving towards establishing a civil society. Developing a new approach to peacebuilding that aligns with the local culture of each region and the nature and orientations of the controlling authority is essential to enhance understanding of local values and practices. This contributes to peacebuilding and the rejection of violence.
To achieve this, it is necessary to establish a culture of dialogue, refrain from responding to harm with harm, and promote forgiveness and peace. Local and cultural factors need to be rehabilitated to play a positive and effective role in conflict resolution. The ongoing conflict necessitates that civil society fulfills its responsibilities, seeking means to restrain violence. With the evolution of conflict tools, violence has become less responsive to traditional methods of responding to harm with harm. Therefore, it is imperative to adopt a different approach that delves into the depths and motivations of conflicts, analyzes them, and attributes them to influencing factors, whether economic, political, or cultural. Understanding and minimizing the role and impact of these factors are essential to end the ongoing conflict.
To achieve this, mobilizing elders, tribal leaders, religious figures, teachers, and popular artists is required. They pave the way for understanding social interactions and building on them, requiring objectivity, neutrality, and seriousness. Additionally, it demands a sponsor who contributes to developing training and awareness programs aimed at supporting individuals’ and groups’ capacities to deal with conflict-related problems and ways to avoid them.
The call to renounce violence is a collective action that requires organization. This organization needs institutions that support activists, guide them, and provide assistance, advice, support, and training. Voluntary gatherings and local committees are the main foundation for instilling values within individuals, but they need to recognize the importance of collaboration with active local entities. Just as they can mobilize people for war, they can contribute to mobilizing people and harnessing their capabilities for reconciliation and building peace bridges.
This requires rallying elders, tribal leaders, religious figures, in addition to teachers and folk artists. They lay the groundwork for understanding social dynamics and building on them, requiring objectivity, neutrality, and seriousness. It also requires a sponsor who contributes to developing training and awareness programs aimed at supporting individuals’ and groups’ capacities to deal with conflict-related problems and ways to avoid them.
Renouncing violence does not mean the surrender of the weak and their submission to the powerful; it is a call not to respond to violence with violence and not to stab back when stabbed. It is a rejection of recklessness, randomness, and tribalism, paving the way for justice and equality.
However, this requires an understanding of the nature of society and its formations, strengthening the role of key figures in society, giving them a distinctive role in sensitive issues, mobilizing and harnessing the media to support peace-building projects, activating the role of intellectuals, holding lectures and seminars to reject revenge ideas, and enhancing the role of art and teachers, supporting them to be effective in establishing the foundations of dialogue. Working to understand the needs and desires of individuals and groups is also crucial.
Activating the role of positive education and parental skills for caregivers to alleviate the hatred and violence that some children may experience is necessary. The family is considered the first factor in shaping children’s behaviors, positively or negatively. Training individuals to provide counseling, psychological support, and social services is essential.
History pages filled with experiences tell us that peace is stronger than violence. All nonviolent movements have achieved their goals with fewer costs, fewer victims, and risks that do not compare to the risks of violence and counter-violence.
