CSS News

Leveraging open-access satellite images with deep learning can help humanitarian and human rights organizations address violent conflicts more rapidly. To ensure the effectiveness of remote monitoring, organizations need to align their strategies with the technical constraints of deep learning-based monitoring systems.

The United Nations Special Procedures operate a human rights complaint mechanism for individuals. Despite being open for all individuals in principle, complaints are frequently filed by socioeconomic elites from high-income countries.

Mediation is effective, under certain conditions. Yet the increase in geopolitical polarization and armed conflict raises the question of how mediation can be sustained and improved. Mediation support is one option, albeit not the only one, argue Simon J. A. Mason and Mukondeleli Mpeiwa in this edition of the CSS Analyses in Security Policy Series.

The 75th anniversary of UN peacekeeping is cause for celebration. Research shows that UN troops can effectively curtail violence in wars between and within states. Yet, peacekeeping has always been shaped by the geopolitical landscape, and the renewed great power competition coupled with antiliberal tendencies worldwide are a formidable challenge for the organization, argues Corinne Bara in this edition of the CSS Analyses in Security Policy Series.

From a distance, the circles seem to be differentiated, yet a closer look reveals they share the exact same light-orange pigment – an optical illusion. While groups in conflict tend to develop strong biases toward each other, seeing themselves as distinctly different, contact – a "closer look" – helps reduce this effect. Hence, the possibilities contact offers to overcome biases even when meeting online, is subject of the latest CSS Mediation Resource written by Inbal Ben-Ezer.

The application period for the next cycle of the Master of Advanced Studies ETH Mediation in Peace Processes (MAS ETH MPP) is now open. Launched in 2017, the MAS ETH MPP is a globally unique two-year program focused specifically on mediation in peace processes. The MAS ETH MPP is built on a close partnership between ETH Zürich, the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) and the foreign ministries of Germany and Finland.

The path to peace usually leads through a ceasefire. In an international project, CSS researchers have shown the conditions under which parties to civil wars are willing to stop fighting – and why they decide to do so.

In numerous intra-state conflicts, societies are polarized along worldview divides and conflicting parties disagree over what kind of society and state they want to build. Such questions can deeply divide societies and block political processes and mediation efforts. This CSS Mediation Resources suggests a method for addressing such blockages by analyzing the principal challenges that can arise from worldview differences in conflicts and conflict transformation.

Ceasefire negotiators, monitors, and verifiers should not ignore advances in technology. What technology can and cannot do, however, has to be carefully assessed in relation to other factors that make or break a ceasefire, argue Alexander Hug and Simon J. A. Mason in this CSS Policy Perspective.

Understanding, “right-sizing,” and adequately respecting the role of value systems in conflict transformation avoids both over- and under-emphasis. It aims at a better understanding of the interplay between tangible conflict issues and religious or secular value systems, argue Abbas Aroua, Jean-Nicolas Bitter and Simon J. A. Mason in this CSS Policy Perspective.

Despite relative progress in women’s participation in peace processes, very little is known about the experiences of women mediators and negotiators in Track One peace processes. To address this topic, women mediators and negotiators from a broad range of conflict contexts and peace processes were brought together for three workshops to explore the challenges they have faced and the strategies they have developed at the Track One level. This CSS Mediation Resources highlights their key findings.

Peace and stability are high priorities for Iraq today. Yet to be effective, engagements for peace need to consider various cleavages, dynamics, and influences, argues Mae Anna Chokr in this CSS Analysis.

For a long time, peacebuilding has focused on international actors building social cohesion in mostly non-Western countries following violent conflict, rather than thinking about problems at home. Yet structural inequalities exist throughout the world and conflicts are one result of this. Katrina Abatis’ CSS Mediation Resources focuses on the UK where growing polarization threatens to undermine past social integration strategies and the population increasingly questions established institutions.

Based on first-hand field experience with the UN in Africa, this CSS Mediation Resources by Silke Rusch analyzes how third parties engage armed groups in the negotiation and implementation of peace agreements with DDR provisions. A specific focus lies on this question in extremely fragile contexts, like the Central African Republic and Libya, where the state’s institutions are weak and non-state armed groups control large territories and natural resources. The study also explores ways forward.

Ceasefires play a role in almost all civil war peace processes. Yet existing studies undertheorize the ways in which different logics drive the design of ceasefire agreements, and the effect this has on violence suspension. In this International Studies Quarterly article, CSS’ Govinda Clayton and Valerie Sticher identify different bargaining problems conflict parties face over the course of a conflict, and three classes of ceasefire design they use to address these problems.

Studies on the mediation of civil wars typically conclude that due to limited resources African mediation efforts are often unsuccessful. In this International Organization article, CSS' Allard Duursma shows that these findings do not hold true when attempts by African actors are systematically compared to those of non-​African ones. In contrast to the existing literature, he shows that African third parties are far more likely to conclude negotiated settlements that are more likely to be durable.

Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have failed thus far, for numerous reasons. One specific challenge has been how to address the concerns of religious actors, argues Simon Mason in this CSS Analysis. Local mediators’ engagement with religious actors highlight some ways forward, with insights relevant beyond the specific Israeli-Palestinian context.

In this chapter, Simon Mason aims to contribute to reflections of policy makers and the wider public who seek to understand or shape their state’s mediation profile. It outlines a series of questions that highlight key dimensions of a country’s mediation profile, such as motivation, role, resources and strategy.

Peacebuilders and policy-makers often accuse political elites of exploiting religion in conflicts for the purpose of achieving political objectives. In this CSS Policy Perspective, Jean-Nicolas Bitter and Owen Frazer argue that diagnoses of the presence of religion in conflict contexts as ‘instrumentalization’ may create a barriers to conflict transformation.

Studies on the mediation of civil wars typically conclude that due to limited resources African mediation efforts are often unsuccessful. In this International Organization article, CSS' Allard Duursma shows that these findings do not hold true when attempts by African actors are systematically compared to those of non-​African ones. In contrast to the existing literature, he shows that African third parties are far more likely to conclude negotiated settlements that are more likely to be durable.

Even though a series of armed groups have demobilized and violence has declined over recent decades, peace remains partial in Colombia, argues Enzo Nussio in this new CSS Analysis. The current peace process with the FARC insurgency shows why Colombia has such difficulty achieving a complete peace.

This report presents insights and analyses on peace processes that involve multiple societal levels or “tracks” ranging from high-level diplomatic negotiations to community-based peacebuilding. It presents the insights from a retreat with practitioners involved in dialogue, negotiation or mediation initiatives in Colombia, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine and Zimbabwe, as well as representatives from the Folke Bernadotte Academy, swisspeace, the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue and the CSS.

The activity of peacemaking is inherently characterized by competing priorities that do not seem to be attainable at the same time. This article by Anne Isabel Kraus, Lars Kirchhoff, Tatiana Kyselova, Julia Palmiano Federer as well as CSS’ Simon J. A. Mason and Owen Frazer focuses on the question of how third parties can deal with dilemmas and trade-offs when mediating violent political conflicts.

Ceasefires are one instrument frequently used to try and stop violence. To improve the effectiveness of ceasefires in advancing peace, concerted efforts by mediators, policymakers and researchers are needed to better understand the way they interact with the political decisions made in peace processes, argue Govinda Clayton, Simon J. A. Mason, Valerie Sticher and Claudia Wiehler in this new CSS Analysis.

This study analyzes empirical research on the relationship between the content of negotiated civil war peace agreements and the subsequent duration of peace. It focuses specifically upon quantitative studies that apply statistical techniques to analyze databases containing decades of civil war peace agreements. 

Trust between conflict parties is a key element for sustainable peace after civil wars. But what happens to the trust between ex-combatants and the government when the latter reneges on a peace deal? This article by Joakim Kreutz and Enzo Nussio investigates the case of the Colombian government’s decision to extradite paramilitary leaders to the US in 2008, which constituted a clear reversal of the peace deal. 

This CSS Analysis by Lisa Watanabe argues that over the past five years, the Libyan conflict seems to have defied mediation efforts, which could have dire consequences not just for Libyans, but also for Libya’s neighbors and Europe. Despite its shortcomings, the UN’s approach remains the dominant framework for finding a political solution. Even with an improved design, the UN process will continue to falter as long as relevant regional and international actors work at cross purposes.

What accounts for successful mediation in peace talks? This article by Allard Duursma and Isak Svensson argues that one insightful and innovative way to answer this question is to take the agenda of mediators into account. Based on this novel conception, the text’s authors find that a “sticks and carrots” approach is only effective when the goal of the negotiations is concluding an agreement, but ineffective when the goal is formulating an agenda for negotiations or implementing an agreement.

In this new ETH podcast on how to mediate conflicts CSS’ Simon Mason and Kaltuma Hassan Noorow talk about their mediation experiences in Kenya and Switzerland.

The conflict in and around Ukraine seems to be immune to political settlement. The lack of political will of the parties and technical challenges have led to a stalemate in the implementation of the Minsk agreements, signed under international pressure. Unpacking the complexity of the Minsk Process allows for a better understanding of the challenges and modest results achieved so far.

Mediation and Governance in Fragile Contexts introduces an innovative approach to resolving conflicts in polarized societies.

This publication captures and highlights the learning points and good practices of selected peacebuilding approaches to interfaith tensions in Myanmar following the outbreaks of violence in 2012. Key insights are drawn from research on three case studies: the Flower Speech Campaign by Panzagar, the Local Resilience for Peace-program by Mercy Corps, and the Religion and Rule of Law Training by the Institute for Global Engagement.

In this new CSS Policy Perspective Allard Duursma argues that pressure to end conflicts should be used carefully, and only in certain situations. What Duursma calls smart pressure entails the use of pressure from the chief mediator only once the conflict parties have reached a point where they can accept the final outlines of a resolution. 

Federal Councillor Ignazio Cassis underlined his support for the newly created Master's Program in Peace Mediation during his visit to the ETH Zurich on 23 October 2018. The course promotes the professionalization of peace mediation and stands for the promise of a peaceful world. The public speech was part of a high-level policy forum on the future of mediation.

In this new CSS Policy Perspective Owen Frazer and Anaël Jambers highlight that one of the more sensitive topics in discussions on preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) has been the relationship between violent extremism and religion, and the implications for P/CVE programs. In response, our authors offer five tips for governments for a religion-sensitive approach to P/CVE.

Despite a large international civilian and military presence, Mali continues to struggle with widespread insecurity and Islamist extremism. These issues are linked to chronic problems of poverty, ethnic tensions, and a weak state apparatus. With broad efforts in peacebuilding and development cooperation, Switzerland is trying to support the fragile peace.

Promoting peaceful ways of addressing violent political conflict with religious dimensions is an integral part of Swiss peace policy. It is rooted in the country’s rich history of conflicts related to the coexistence of religious communities. These experiences led to norms of solving problems on a practical and local level in a consensual and collaborative manner that have shaped Switzerland’s political culture.

This booklet by Jeremy Brickhill provides an introductory understanding of mediating and implementing security arrangements in peace processes, and the tools, concepts and mechanisms available to manage security transitions.

Religion is a conflictual issue in most armed conflicts today. We need a better understanding of how these conflicts can be resolved.

Ex-combatants are generally portrayed as a security threat. A new paper by Enzo Nussio presents evidence that puts the ex-combatant threat perception in perspective for the case of Colombia. In-depth interviews and surveys show that ex-combatants are not destined for a life of violence, as they become less interested in risky activities over time.  

After years of tumultuous peace talks, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group bid a final “farewell” to arms in June. To decisively break with its past, Colombia must be smart in its approach to reintegrating combatants back into society.

On the 13 November 2017, ETH Zurich will begin the first cycle of the new “Master of Advanced Studies ETH Mediation in Peace Processes” (MAS ETH MPP). This program has the vision of contributing to a more peaceful and secure world by providing future mediators with the knowledge, attitudes and skills to effectively mediate violent, political conflict. Below Program Director, Professor Dr. Andreas Wenger, answers a few questions about the program.

Newly published video clips on the ways in which religion is relevant to conflict.

While responding to conflict may be viewed as the traditional domain of the police and security services, there is often a need for alternative or complementary approaches, especially in communities where governance is weak and security forces are ineffective or absent.

Hot wars pose distinct challenges to peacemaking efforts. In fluid and quickly changing contexts, coordination is difficult, information is highly politicized, and actors are tempted to rush in without proper preparation.

This book chapter explores how provisions on natural resources in peace agreements can be stepping stones to peace and improved natural resource management in post-conflict contexts.

For Marxist guerillas in Latin America, the end is near. The government of Colombia is negotiating with the last of the rebels, FARC and ELN. But a peace agreement will not make the widespread violence disappear, as the criminal underworld is expected to reorganize and everyday violence will continue. The example of urban innovation in Medellín gives reason for hope.

Equating Salafism with jihadism overlooks the growth of non-violent Salafi political groups in North Africa, the Middle East and the Sahel. Supporting their political inclusion can promote democracy and undermine violent jihadism.