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Democratizing peacemaking processes: strategies and dilemmas for public participation

Catherine Barnes (2002)

Who participates in a peace process – and how and when – are crucial to its success. Drawing on the rest of the publication, Catherine Barnes argues that moving beyond the elite pact-making model of negotiations that involves only combatant sides by instead including broader public participation is not only moral but pragmatic. Defining three basic models – representative participation, consultative mechanisms and direct participation – the article reviews the different ways civil society groups have demanded and secured a role in their country’s peace processes. These mechanisms and initiatives helped define and broaden the peace agreements, foster a sense of public ownership and support for the processes and strengthen a democratic culture through cooperation and consensus building.

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