Introduction to “Religious Conflict and Coexistence: The Korean Context and Beyond”

This Special Issue is composed of the articles that were presented at the first World Religion Forum held 7–8 October 2019 by the World Religious Peace Committee (세계종교평화협의회, hereafter WRPC) [...]

The Role of the Former combatants’ reintegration on promotion of inclusion and equity in Mt. Elgon region, Kenya

The social reintegration of former combatants is the most important aspect of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process. Post conflict societies are marked by their past traumas long after the interest of most outsiders has ebbed. Reintegration understood in this context, speaks to societal transformation, which both takes time and is prone to setbacks long after peace has formally been declared. The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of reintegration of former combatants on promotion of inclusion and equity. The objective of the study was to explain the role of the former combatants’ reintegration on promotion of inclusion and equity in Mt. Elgon region. The desistance theory was used in the study. The study used the cross sectional descriptive survey design. The population of the study comprised former combatants, Sub County Commissioners, peace committee members, religious leaders and NGOs. The respondents comprised former combatants, sub county commissioners and peace committee members, religious leaders and NGOs. The stratified and purposive random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 150 former combatants, Three Sub County commissioners and 16 peace committee members, five religious leaders and Four NGO members. Data was collected by use of questionnaires, interviews and Focus Group discussion. In order to ascertain validity, the questionnaires and interview schedules were given to experts who matched all the items with the research questions to ascertain whether the instruments would measure all that it is supposed to measure. The reliability of the instruments was determined through test retest of the instruments. Data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics of frequencies and percentages. Data from in-depth interviews was audio taped and transcribed. The transcripts were then organized into themes and categories as they emerged from the field. The findings of the study were presented descriptively. The findings of the study showed that: in the context of social reintegration the three dimensions of family and community; sustainable employment; and civic responsibilities should be given proper attention: to achieve the goal of reintegration there should be a major shift in the contemporary DDR approach by moving from the insertion approach towards a social reintegration one; community support is essential for the successful reintegration of former combatants and the sustainable social and economic reintegration of former combatants should be the ultimate objective of disarmament and demobilization and reintegration (DDR). Consequently, the study recommends that the government should budget for and give priority to the reintegration programmes so that they are fully completed instead of leaving them at the reinsertion stage; the communities take the lead in proposing community- based solutions for the issues identified.

Efficacy of informal peace committees to peacebuilding: Evidence from Seke district, Zimbabwe

Background: In recent years, informal peace committees have rapidly made their mark either as precautionary or as response mechanisms to particular conflicts. Their main purpose is to prevent the eruption or escalation of nascent micro-level conflict into violent and more widespread conflicts. This article reports on aspects of a larger research project in which the researcher collaborated with local communities to create a ward-level peace committee in ward 8 of Seke district, Mashonaland East province, Zimbabwe.Objective: To test whether and under what conditions informal peace committees can effectively help to contribute to peacebuilding at local community level.Method: The study applied participatory action research to design, implement and evaluate the peace committee initiative with 15 individual members in ward 8 of Seke district. The study first conducted a 10-member focus group. Secondly, a follow-up in-depth interview on five focus group members and seven more involved in peacebuilding provided feedback on the effectiveness of informal peace committees.Results: The study showed that creating informal peace committees is possible, as community participation in the design, implementation and day-to-day operations of such initiatives guarantees their sustainability even without external funding. One of the comparative advantages of informal peace committees is that all social groups in the community have equal chances of being represented, thus helping to meet the needs and aspirations of the community at large. The study further revealed that informal peace committees are faced with a number of limitations. The major one is that they do not enjoy official recognition from government, in spite of their critical role in contributing to peace in their host communities.Conclusion: The strengths of informal peace committees are that they are self-initiated; they represent the interests of the host community and can be replicated.

Bridging Race and Peace

This chapter examines the American Interracial Peace Committee (AIPC), a determined effort to link interracial work with the peace activism. Created in early 1927 and almost wholly subsidized by the American Friends Service Committee's (AFSC) money, personnel, and ideas, the AIPC built on the efforts of the Interracial Section in directly addressing racism through the education of individuals. Even more ambitiously, it hoped to combine race activism and peace work into a seamless effort. Run on a shoestring budget during trying financial times and constantly plagued by interpersonal strife, the short-lived AIPC carried the Service Committee's race work for four tumultuous years. Indeed, after the demise of the Interracial Section, the AIPC became the Service Committee's primary means of interracial activism.