Towards full spectrum conflict prevention: the international peace and prosperity project in Guinea-Bissau

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image sizeKeywords: conflict preventionfailed statesearly warning Acknowledgements This article is based upon the author's first-hand experience with the IPPP from 2004–2008 during which period he was engaged as an analyst and policy advisor and in 2009 as the project manager, plus the numerous project documents posted on the CIIAN website here: www.ciian.org/projects1.shtml. Notes Stewart (2006 Stewart, P., 2006. Weak states and global threats: Assessing evidence of “spillovers”. Washington: Centre for Global Development. Available from: http://www.cgdev.org/files/5539_file_WP_73.pdf [Accessed 18 January 2012]. [Google Scholar]) notes that there is actually very little empirical evidence to support the claim that failed states are security threats. The RPVAG was composed of Eileen Babbitt, assistant professor of International Politics and director of the International and Conflict Resolution Program at Fletcher, who is also an associate of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School; R. Brian Ferguson, professor of cultural anthropology at Rutgers University, Newark; Mari Fitzduff, professor of conflict studies and director of UNU/INCORE (International Conflict Research); Karen Colvard, senior program officer at the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation; Ben Hoffman, president of the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation (CIIAN); Michael S. Lund, senior specialist for conflict and peace-building at Management Systems International (MSI); Ellen L. Lutz, an attorney with over two decades of experience as a non-governmental human rights advocate; Rama Mani, senior research associate, Centre for International Studies (University of Oxford); Jack Snyder, who is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Relations in the Political Science Department at the Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University; and benefactor Milton Lauenstein. William A. Stuebner, former president of the Alliance for International Conflict Prevention and Resolution, later joined the RPVAG . This overview was originally outlined in Lund (2003) Lund, M. 2003. Following through on the promise and performance of conflict prevention: Toward an Action plan. Discussion Paper. Unpublished paper. The Reducing Political Violence Action Group (RPVAG) [Google Scholar]. See (Carment et al. 2004 Carment, D., Levine, C., Grenon, J., Godbold, S., Lord, J. and Nordeste, B. 2004. CIFP country risk assessment: Medium term “watch list”, Ottawa: Carleton University. [Google Scholar]) for the risk assessment that identified Guinea-Bissau. See Mission possible: A Ripe opportunity to avert violent conflict and achieve sustainable peace in Guinea-Bissau, which is available online here: http://www.ciian.org/mission_possible.doc. However, the IPPP would return to its plans to hold a national planning session in early 2006. For more info on the CGWTF see Hoffman (2009c Hoffman, E., 2009b. The utility of a small grants fund as a tool for preventing violent conflict. Available from: http://www.ciian.org/assets/newsletters/CIIAN-Newsletter-Summer2009.pdf [Accessed 17 January 2012]. [Google Scholar]). The National Action Plan can be accessed online here: http://www.ciian.org/nationalactionplan.doc. The UN Special Representative of the Secretary General and a political affairs officer did attend the opening session and provide some welcoming remarks, however, UN involvement with developing the plan and assisting in its implementation effectively ended after that despite repeated attempts by the IPPP to gain additional UN support for these efforts. For more info on small grants funds see The Utility of a small grants fund as a tool for preventing violent conflict (Hoffman 2009b Hoffman, E., 2009a. Multiple approaches for measuring successful conflict prevention: With examples from Guinea-Bissau. Unpublished paper. Ottawa: The Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation (CIIAN). [Google Scholar]). For a full list of activities that the IPPP funded see Appendix C in Woodrow and Murphy (2008 Woodrow, P. and Murphy, P., 2008. International Peace and Prosperity Project: Guinea-Bissau: Project review. Cambridge: CDA Collaborative Learning Projects. Available from: http://www.ciian.org/assets/forms/projectreview.pdf [Accessed 18 January 2012]. [Google Scholar]). For example, the Minister of the Economy was one person with whom the IPPP had built a strong working relationship with and his support proved to be critical to the project's efforts. See Reconciliation and renewal in Guinea-Bissau (Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation (CIIAN), nd). The four types of core capacities to prevent political violence include: (1) structures: there must be structures that embody the rule of law; (2) mechanisms and processes: the struggle for power within the country is channeled into nonviolent mechanisms and processes; (3) skills: individuals within the country are equipped with non-adversarial skills and the ability to express and resolve conflict non-violently; and (4) values: the country de-values violence and values peace (sources: adapted from Hoffman 2003 Hoffman, B. 2003. 1+1=3: New math for human relations, Eganville: Concorde. [Google Scholar], 2007 Hoffman, B. 2007. The peace guerilla handbook, Eganville: Concorde. [Google Scholar], 2009a Hoffman, B. 2009. Peace Guerilla: Unarmed and in harm's way, my obsession with ending violence, Ottawa: Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation. [Google Scholar]). The June 2009 edition of the Bissau Monitor is available online here: http://www.ciian.org/assets/forms/Bissau%20Monitor%20-%20June%202009.pdf. The IPPP received some very positive feedback about The Bissau Monitor since no one else at that time was undertaking any systematic monthly monitoring of the changing conflict dynamics and sharing these insights with the wider community. The president once told the IPPP project manager that his fate was very closely tied to the general's and that if he died the general would be next (see Hoffman 2009). Another theory was that the murders were related to drug trafficking and that the traffickers were behind them. Additional informationNotes on contributorsEvan HoffmanEvan Hoffman holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Presently, he is the executive director of the Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation (CIIAN) in Ottawa, Canada. The Canadian International Institute of Applied Negotiation, 97 Tom's Rd., RR2, Dacre, Ontario, K0J 1N0, Canada.

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