CCTS
Newsletter 9

Establishing participatory politics

• What are the specific elements in post-settlement situations, which are needed in order to prevent a return to violence, in terms of structures of governance and decision-making, and features of political culture that will take a long time to change?
• Why is there always a rush to democracy, in the narrow sense of multi-party elections? Transition, for example in parts of the former Soviet Union, is a violent experience for most people. Because its language tends to be English and its origins Western, the very concepts and processes of peace-building itself contain elements of violence or force when applied to quite different cultures. Introducing competitive politics in transitional societies, wrecked and polarised by war, brings further factionalisation, which permeates everything.
• Both pre- and post-conflict, structures are not enough - they have to be filled with people, who participate on the basis of their ability to understand and discuss the issues, including the key ones of communication, empowerment and ownership.
• How can civil society involvement in post-settlement peacebuilding take place in a manner that does not undermine political processes and institutions, but progressively strengthens them? What type of support can external agencies provide for such 'constructive engagement' with politics by civil society actors?
• What can be the roles of inside and outside agencies in promoting a shift from personalised power, based on patronage, towards the rule of law? To what extent is outside force justified to sort out a situation in cases where there is no prospect for fundamental change from inside? What forms of partnership should be envisaged: on the basis of shared values, or more pragmatically, on agreed specific and limited goals? The agenda should always be determined by local partners, or at least developed in consultation with them.
• In certain situations, like Palestine, formal political structures exist mainly on paper. They are not accountable or democratic and it is frequently civil society and NGOs that embody the values of democracy, transparency, accountability and participation. People in NGOs tend to be younger, better educated, and counter-elite: they pose a threat to old-style political culture and structures.
• Old forms of patronage are being eroded (through market integration or globalisation), but new, global forms have emerged - mafias, warlords - and they are much more violent.

The group identified features of post-settlement societies that need to be promoted in order for non-violent, participatory politics to be established:

1. The Rule of Law - which implies an independent judiciary and a police force and military that are accountable to the civilian authorities. Pre-conflict structures and traditions that could support inclusion, participation and the rule of law are important - as is making space for active non-state organisations.
2. Trustworthiness and confidence that decisions and policies can be influenced, and leaderships changed, at all levels of government and administration without recourse to violence.
3. Education, both formal and informal, and an independent media. The awareness of a more peaceful (recent) past can play a positive role, though both formal and informal education tends to invoke violent and heroic episodes.
4. Security, both physical and economic. A sense of physical security or survival for individuals and groups is crucial. Citizens should feel confident that they will not be assaulted or killed in going about their everyday business. This essentially depends on the behaviour and attitudes of the police and the military. However, those who have to provide this security in post-settlement societies are often the same people who have participated in the fighting and in some cases perpetrated the grossest atrocities. In addition to physical security, economic security (or perhaps better 'existential security') was emphasised: individuals and groups need a sense of certainty for the future, of predictability, confidence and hope. Uncertainty and fear are strong forces behind ethnic or sectarian mobilisation by political entrepreneurs; these forces exacerbate conflict and violence. Such fears need to be checked in order to construct a viable participatory and inclusive politics based on human rights and respect for minorities.
5. Civil society. It was not clear whether this should be an area of its own or rather one underlying and permeating the others. Civil society action and mobilisation should not be construed as antagonistic to 'politics' but rather as a necessary and strengthening force for the blossoming of democratic institutions and the rule of law.

   There was insufficient time for the group to identify what external actors, such as the organisations represented in the seminar, could and should do in bringing about some of the necessary changes in appropriate problem areas, not in the sense of a universal prescription, but specifically targeted on particular countries and situations.

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