Peacebuilding and Reconciliation in Africa Today
Many have asserted that Africa is the continent of the twenty-first century and that, despite its destructive conflicts, it has the potential to be a model to much of the world. The Boston Research Center was one of the recent cosponsors of a multi-part series organized by Brandeis University's International Center for Ethics, Justice, and Public Life to encourage study and discussion of peacebuilding and mediation on the African continent: “Doing Justice and Loving Mercy: Perspectives on Coexistence and Reconciliation from an African Peacebuilder.”
Dr. Hizkias Assefa, Visiting Fellow at the Center and world-renowned African peacebuilder, addressed the topics, “Conflict in Africa” and “Patterns of Peace and Peacebuilding in Africa.” He shared his extensive experience in negotiating an end to conflicts in Africa, addressed the issues relating to the hazards of bringing together warring parties for lasting peace, and the influence of spirituality and traditional institutions as part of the peacemaking process.
Dr. Assefa is an author, most recently of Mediation of Civil Wars: Approaches and Strategies—The Sudan Conflict (University of Pittsburgh Press). Working through the United Nations and various NGOs, he is a member of the African Academy of Sciences, Nairobi, and part of the Study Group on “Internal Conflicts, Peace, and Development in Africa.”
Cynthia Cohen, director of the Brandeis Center, first met Dr. Assefa at the State of the World Forum held in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in May of 1999. “He stood out among the hundreds of scholars and practitioners there because of the strength and calmness of his presence and his very focused intelligence on questions of reconciliation.” Determined to contribute to dialogue in the United States, Cohen arranged a residency for Dr. Assefa through the Brandeis Initiative in Intercommunal Coexistence for the week-long series of seminars.
Beginning on Monday, November 15th, Dr. Assefa discussed the current state of affairs on the African continent. He asserted that present conditions can reasonably be regarded as the effects of a history marked by invasion and violence. The three major underlying influences on Africa have been: slavery, colonialism, and aspects of modernization within a global context. He noted that we cannot fully understand the sources of today's conflicts without understanding Africa's history of greed, trauma, and political disruption.
This history can lead social theorists and those interested in solving the current problems besieging Africa to some pessimistic conclusions. However, Assefa urges people to seek out the positive and powerful aspects of traditional institutions in Africa—that is, those not created by northern hemisphere or colonialist nations— as well as the power of modern education as resources for change and growth. Assefa continues to believe in the power and process of African peacebuilding and sees religious and spiritual considerations as central to the reconciliation processes. Some of the current models and methods of peace negotiations today, however, fail to take spiritual elements into sufficient consideration and ultimately try to impose peace on communities.
On Tuesday, November 16th, Dr. Assefa discussed what he referred to as “an antidote” to some of the more distressing aspects of relations between African nations and also between Africa and her previous colonizers in northern hemisphere nations. Currently, Assefa notes, “When we talk about conflict and peace in Africa we can see four patterns: 1) a group of countries in crisis, 2) sustainable victory over conflict, 3) “Recidivism”—that is, nations slipping back into patterns of conflict and 4) the internationalization of civil wars. Professor Assefa referred to two peacebuilding paradigms, top-down and ground-up, with the first involving state and non-state political actors and the latter involving community members and institutions. Focusing on his success using the latter approach in resolving conflict in Ghana, Dr. Assefa stated that this second methodology expands and deepens engagement so that it “captures the imagination of the community.”
The Brandeis resident scholar suggested that, over time, the traditional institutions were changed by the experience of peacebuilding and the dialogue that it entails. He considers this to be an enormous benefit to the communities affected by the conflict and stated that peacebuilders working from the ground-up should “work with what is positive about the culture and traditional institutions and amend what is weak.”
Reconciliation, the peacemaker emphasized, must be a vital part of the peace process. Through dialogue, parties engaged in the peace process can transcend political divisions, find common ground, and negotiate matters with compassion. In Ghana, for example, “An environment was created where people could transcend religious labels and recognize what is spiritual in each other. There was something happening within the individuals that influenced the outside reconciliation process. Focusing on reconciliation challenged people to think of their larger identity, to see themselves and others as part of a larger community.” The role of the peace mediator is one of “thinking on your feet,” Assefa noted. “It is very creative.”
Applying the concepts under discussion to conditions in the United States, Dr. Cohen suggested that “there is much reconciliation for us to do in relation to the legacy of slavery and the genocide of native peoples, and also we need to come to terms with our role in the international community today. The hidden issue in the United States is economic class and also the materialistic greed instilled by the dominant culture. Hizkias's approaches could help us address these issues.”
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