The South Caucasus Mediation and Dialogue Initiative brought together a range of peace and human rights activists in the region to share their experience of dialogue and informal mediation. The aim was to use expert analysis, critical thinking and advocacy to influence both public debate and official mediation processes.
The focus was on civil society activists and the approach was multilateral (bringing together people from across the region) and collaborative (broadening avenues of communication between them). The conflict transformation process began with the participants themselves, showing how changing the nature of relationships between individuals can reduce the likelihood of direct confrontation between conflicting sides.
The mutual goal was to bring independent analysis into public and political debate, so promoting alternative views on conflict resolution in the region. This would include a radical shift in official approaches, leading to peaceful conciliation, regional cooperation and dialogue on shared interests.
Underlying all this was the aim to increase mutual understanding, regionally and internationally, of the interests, needs and fears of all the communities affected by conflict. By doing so, this would build people’s confidence and encourage them to participate politically.
These ambitions were challenged by the Russo-Georgian War in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in August 2008, which resulted in a period of bitter disappointment for those in South Caucasian civil society who had put much time and energy into informal diplomacy over the years. This reflected the general disillusionment in society, questioning the inflated expectations that had been placed on civil diplomacy and were now dashed.
Once these emotions had subsided, it became clear that the initiative needed to continue: there was now even more need for a book that analysed the details, dynamics and impact of civil peacebuilding. Plans already in place between editors and contributors continued with a new perspective and focus: to identify what civil diplomacy can realistically achieve and what type of initiative is worth continuing.
Activities and outcomes
The work continued, including regional research and dialogue meetings with inter-generational groups of analysts and journalists and advocacy through roundtables in the region, Europe and Moscow, as well as an annual international conference/seminar.
The approach was based on three themes: past, present and future.
- Past: reflecting on mediation in previous civil diplomacy processes, facilitated by International Alert and others. This resulted in the book ‘Mediation and dialogue in the South Caucasus: A reflection on 15 years of conflict transformation initiatives’.
- Present: research into the creation of ‘myths’ and the perpetuation of ‘enemy images’. Here, the output was the publication ‘Myths and conflict in the South Caucasus’.
- Future: drawing on the findings of the first two strands to develop education and training resources that would build resistance to the way these myths are used to manipulate public opinion. This resulted in the publication ‘Myths and conflict in the South Caucasus: A training manual in critical thinking’.
