Engaging armed groups

Choosing to engage: Strategic considerations for the Karen National Union

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: Strategic considerations for the Karen National Union
Saw David Taw of the Karen National Union describes the internal pushes and pulls behind his movement’s intermittent dialogue with the Burmese government and explains what factors determine which faction wins the argument over whether to engage.

The Salvadorean insurgency: Why choose peace?

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: The Salvadorean insurgency
Joaquin Villalobos, a former FMLN leader in El Salvador, highlights the factors that led the FMLN to sign a peace agreement with the government, arguing that Salvadoran dynamics rather than external shifts were chiefly responsible.

From armed struggle to political negotiation: Why? When? How?

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: From armed struggle to political negotiation
Clem McCartney discusses how an armed group can be influenced to move away from a militant stance by tipping the balance of arguments in favour of more dovish factions within the group and strengthening trends that give a peace process credibility.

Chechen resistance: Myth and reality

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: Chechen resistance
Chechnya’s ‘foreign minister’ Ilyas Akhmadov discusses how an armed group seeks to make itself understood internationally in the face of a powerful opponent. He argues that international perceptions have prevented the Chechen resistance from behaving as a state, and radicalised them.

Attempting to understand: An intermediary’s perspective: Terry Waite interview

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: Terry Waite interview
Waite describes his attempts to understand and engage hostage-taking groups – especially Hizbollah-connected groups in Lebanon where he was himself taken captive.

Assessing groups and opportunities: A former government minister’s perspective: Mo Mowlam interview

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: Mo Mowlam interview
Mowlam describes her efforts to understand armed groups in Northern Ireland before the signing of the Belfast Agreement in 1998, highlighting the challenges and lessons.

Understanding armed groups

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: Understanding armed groups
Williams and Ricigliano explore how third parties can understand armed groups well enough to assist constructively in the establishment of a peace process, enumerating the challenges and kinds of information required.

The case for engagement: An interview with President Carter

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed groups: An interview with President Carter
President Carter makes the case for engagement with armed groups from the perspective of a non-governmental intermediary. He presents his criteria for engagement and tackles the difficult questions pertaining to engagement, legitimisation and violence.

Introduction: Engaging armed groups in peace processes

Choosing to engage: Armed groups and peace processes
May 2005
Accord Armed Groups: Introduction
In introducing the Accord issue, Rob Ricigliano summarises the case for engaging armed groups in peace processes and discusses some of the options available, arguing that at least minimal contact with armed groups should be the norm.

Alternatives to war: Colombia’s peace processes: Policy brief

Feb 2004
Accord policy brief: Colombia cover image
This policy brief accompanies Conciliation Resources’ Accord (issue 14) 'Alternatives to war: Colombia’s peace processes'. To achieve peace in Colombia, lessons must be learned from past peace initiatives.

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