Peacebuilding Glossary

The practice of understanding the context in which an intervention takes place, understanding the interaction between the intervention and the context, and acting to minimize negative impacts and maximize positive ones.

An approach seeking to change the underlying systems, relationships, and cultural patterns that produce violent conflict, rather than merely resolving specific disputes.

Aspects of a society's culture, such as ideology, religion, or language, that are used to legitimize and justify direct or structural violence.

Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration: a process by which former combatants give up weapons, leave armed groups, and are supported in transitioning to civilian life.

A framework requiring that humanitarian and peacebuilding interventions be designed to avoid inadvertently worsening conflict dynamics, reinforcing inequalities, or creating new divisions.

Mechanisms designed to detect and communicate signals of escalating conflict before it erupts into large-scale violence, enabling preventive action.

A concept describing peace as it emerges from the interaction between international frameworks and local agency, customs, and power dynamics, resulting in context-specific outcomes.

The dominant international paradigm that links peace to democratization, market economies, rule of law, and human rights, sometimes criticized for its universalizing assumptions.

The principle that peacebuilding processes should be led by the affected population and their institutions to ensure cultural relevance, legitimacy, and sustainability.

A framework for peace engagement involving multiple levels: official government negotiations (Track 1), unofficial dialogues (Track 2), and grassroots people-to-people initiatives (Track 3 and beyond).

The absence of direct violence or armed conflict, without necessarily addressing the deeper structural or cultural causes of conflict.

A set of values, attitudes, traditions, modes of behavior, and ways of life that reject violence, prevent conflict, and promote nonviolent solutions through dialogue and negotiation.

A comprehensive process of preventing, reducing, and transforming conflict through activities that address root causes of violence, build institutional capacity, and create the structural conditions for sustainable peace.

The deployment of international personnel, typically military and civilian, to help maintain peace and security in conflict-affected areas, usually with the consent of the parties involved.

Diplomatic action to bring hostile parties to a negotiated agreement through mediation, negotiation, and other peaceful means.

The presence of attitudes, institutions, and structures that create and sustain peaceful societies, including social justice, equitable development, and inclusive governance.

The process of rebuilding fractured relationships between former adversaries through truth-telling, acknowledgment of harm, empathy, and the gradual restoration of trust.

Measures taken to redress the harm suffered by victims of human rights violations, including compensation, restitution, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-recurrence.

A global norm adopted at the 2005 UN World Summit asserting that states have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, and that the international community should assist when states fail to do so.

A justice approach focused on healing harm through dialogue and cooperation between victims, offenders, and communities, rather than solely punishing wrongdoers.

The process of transforming security institutions to function effectively, transparently, and under democratic civilian oversight in a post-conflict or transitioning state.

Individuals or groups that seek to undermine a peace process through violence, obstruction, or other means, often because the process threatens their interests.

Harm embedded in social, political, and economic systems that prevents people from meeting their basic needs, resulting in preventable suffering.

A set of judicial and non-judicial measures implemented during the transition from conflict or authoritarian rule to address human rights abuses and provide accountability.

An officially sanctioned body established to investigate and document a pattern of past human rights violations, providing an authoritative record and platform for victim testimony.