I’m currently looking for a way to rank the success of different conflict resolution and/ or peacebuilding initiatives throughout the world. Do you know of any data project with such indicators or methodological literature, which would help me discerning the most relevant criteria for determining various levels of success?
Hi Adrien, my thesis was on this you can contact me from my email and I can send you a bibliography if you need to.
The CONIS data from the HIIK (http://www.hiik.de/en/kosimo/index.html) measure the intensity of intra-state conflict, so you could use a reduction in conflict intensity as a prxoy for successful peacebuilding. Alternatively, a reduction of the number of deaths/events or the cessation of conflict according to standard conflict data sets (ACLED, SCAD, UCDP) can be used. And there is also a GIGA working paper on that issue: http://www.giga-hamburg.de/de/system/files/publications/wp189_simons-zanker.pdf
The success of conflict resolution is clear for me due to the fact that says there are countries who had been in wars for a long period of time. Therefore, it is hard to say that the diplomatic approaches that was applied in the past with an aim of had some of achieving their goal, which is to create a peacefully universal livelihood. For instance, almost every country in the middle east never experience a peacefully lifestyle due to the unending wars that are currently taking place. To conclude, The International community should adopt an alternative method for the remedies to tackle this issue.
It seems like this could have been a great qualitative research. Quantifying conflict and peacekeeping initiatives is doable. However, whatever quantifiable data analyzed would likely gravitate toward qualitative analysis framework.
It seems to me that this is a very complex issue and not one that is so easy to address. You have to determine how you might define "success," but you also need to consider the different types and levels of conflict that different initiatives are addressing, what part of the population they are targeted towards, how many individuals they are able to target annually (or whatever temporal measure you choose), etc. Ranking then becomes much more difficult. What is the question that you are trying to answer? Perhaps ranking is not the best approach.
World Bank governance indicators include "Political Stability and Absence of Violence," which may be helpful directly or to suggest parameters. http://info.worldbank.org/governance/wgi/index.aspx#home
I suggest first differentiating between positive peace and negative peace. With regard to negative peace you can operationalize violence and count measures. With regard to positive peace it is much more complicated because you have to deal with education, narratives, conflict resolution mechanisms in use and so on.
Try this article:
Jett, C. Dennis, - “Inconclusion - Why Real Reform Might Not Be Possible," in Why Peacekeeping Fails. New York: PALGRAVE, 2001, pp. 169-196.
In addition another article deals with three basic criteria for evaluating peacekeeping operations and some important insights regarding short term impact and long term impact:
PERSPECTIVES ON EVALUATING PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS
Daniel Druckman and Paul Stern
Whatever method you chose, it will be your interpretation. Without a significant write-up on limitations, it'll be viewed with with scepticism by many academics (although you might make a nice graphic for USA Today). Peacebuilding initiatives are highly complex phenomenon and really warrant qualitative analysis, as was noted previously in another comment. Another reference on the complexity of the issue: James C. Scott, Seeing Like a State.
I do agree that its hard to measure positive peace initiatives impact in numbers, one may develop surveys to find ideas of the people and how they see a conflict situation, but such studies are context specific and would eventually lead to qualitative analysis if we have to make them meaningful.
From my own perspective, it is very hard to apply correct initiative which can be used as remedies for the conflicts that are currently taking place. One of the reasons to back up the point appeared above is that the root causes of those conflicts can be trace back from ancient times, and there is a proof which shows that solutions are also problems if you look at them from other side.
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