TakingITGlobal - Panorama

Published on: Apr 23, 2004

Topic:

Type: Opinions

https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=3240

Conflict Transformation has become one of the major needs for today’s world. Today’s uni-polar world has threatened the world peace greatly and transforming these conflicts is the need of the day. But what really is conflict transformation? According to Lederach, we should recognize the nature of conflict and work with its "dialectic nature". By this he means that social conflict is naturally created by humans who are involved in relationships, yet once it occurs, it changes (i.e., transforms) those events, people, and relationships that created the initial conflict. Thus, the cause-and-effect relationship goes both ways--from the people and the relationships to the conflict and back to the people and relationships. In this sense, "conflict transformation" is a term that describes a natural occurrence. Conflicts change relationships in predictable ways, altering communication patters and patterns of social organization, altering images of the self and of the other.

The issues like Kashmir, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya, Tamils in Sri Lanka, all are conflicts which surfaced due to different approach and understanding of parties involved. The example of Kashmir is very important because just recently the leaders of both the countries are trying to transform the conflict and come up with a solution to the problem. Kashmir has been a long standing dispute between Pakistan and India. Until now both countries were not serious to resolve the issue and both were stick to their historical stance. But recently leaders of both countries realized that a difference in their approach has led them nowhere and thus they sat together and are trying to transform this conflict and come up with a solution acceptable to both sides. Other issues threatening global peace can be settled down by the same approach. Conflict can easily be transformed if the parties concern realize social and cultural sensitivities of each other and then make distinction that what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to both parties and make a third option acceptable to both the parties.

Conflict transformation is needed more than ever now because the world has changed tremendously after 9/11. 9/11 proved beyond any doubt, that if we will not be serious to solve the conflicts and let the countries, which are in conflict, alone then the consequences can be very dangerous. Allowing a dictatorship in a country, allowing terrorism in al its forms including state terrorism, lack of communication between the agencies will threaten not only one country but will become a grave danger for the world.

Growing tensions between developed and developing countries, no solutions for old problems, the widening gap between rich and poor and increasing number of people living below poverty lines are problems which I think are the threats to global peace. If not addressed today, these problems will make this world a living hell in just a decade or so. Its time for all of us to start thinking about conflict transformation to solve our problems. The faster we do this, the better for us because the clock is ticking and people who can exploit this situation are very powerful. We have to sit and understand each other’s cultural values, their system and what they can give. The first step in this regard is the Activism, to make people understand that people around the globe are same and the problem of a person sitting in Peshawar and of a person sitting in Washington DC may not be the same but the person of Washington DC feel for the other. Similarly the west must understand that the citizen of third world is not his enemy but it requires same attention as he himself. There is no conflict in the world which can not be solved what is required for conflict transformation is little effort and sincerity, I am all for it and I am sure all people around the globe share the same feeling.

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by Muhammad Idrees Khan
Published on: Apr 23, 2004
Topic:
Type: Opinions
https://www.tigweb.org/express/panorama/article.html?ContentID=3240


Conflict Transformation has become one of the major needs for today’s world. Today’s uni-polar world has threatened the world peace greatly and transforming these conflicts is the need of the day. But what really is conflict transformation? According to Lederach, we should recognize the nature of conflict and work with its "dialectic nature". By this he means that social conflict is naturally created by humans who are involved in relationships, yet once it occurs, it changes (i.e., transforms) those events, people, and relationships that created the initial conflict. Thus, the cause-and-effect relationship goes both ways--from the people and the relationships to the conflict and back to the people and relationships. In this sense, "conflict transformation" is a term that describes a natural occurrence. Conflicts change relationships in predictable ways, altering communication patters and patterns of social organization, altering images of the self and of the other. The issues like Kashmir, Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan and Chechnya, Tamils in Sri Lanka, all are conflicts which surfaced due to different approach and understanding of parties involved. The example of Kashmir is very important because just recently the leaders of both the countries are trying to transform the conflict and come up with a solution to the problem. Kashmir has been a long standing dispute between Pakistan and India. Until now both countries were not serious to resolve the issue and both were stick to their historical stance. But recently leaders of both countries realized that a difference in their approach has led them nowhere and thus they sat together and are trying to transform this conflict and come up with a solution acceptable to both sides. Other issues threatening global peace can be settled down by the same approach. Conflict can easily be transformed if the parties concern realize social and cultural sensitivities of each other and then make distinction that what is acceptable and what is not acceptable to both parties and make a third option acceptable to both the parties. Conflict transformation is needed more than ever now because the world has changed tremendously after 9/11. 9/11 proved beyond any doubt, that if we will not be serious to solve the conflicts and let the countries, which are in conflict, alone then the consequences can be very dangerous. Allowing a dictatorship in a country, allowing terrorism in al its forms including state terrorism, lack of communication between the agencies will threaten not only one country but will become a grave danger for the world. Growing tensions between developed and developing countries, no solutions for old problems, the widening gap between rich and poor and increasing number of people living below poverty lines are problems which I think are the threats to global peace. If not addressed today, these problems will make this world a living hell in just a decade or so. Its time for all of us to start thinking about conflict transformation to solve our problems. The faster we do this, the better for us because the clock is ticking and people who can exploit this situation are very powerful. We have to sit and understand each other’s cultural values, their system and what they can give. The first step in this regard is the Activism, to make people understand that people around the globe are same and the problem of a person sitting in Peshawar and of a person sitting in Washington DC may not be the same but the person of Washington DC feel for the other. Similarly the west must understand that the citizen of third world is not his enemy but it requires same attention as he himself. There is no conflict in the world which can not be solved what is required for conflict transformation is little effort and sincerity, I am all for it and I am sure all people around the globe share the same feeling. « return.