Dr Richard Baltrop provides some observations from peace processes in Africa and the Middle East.
The increases in armed conflict and the failures of peace agreements and peace processes in the past ten years and more, provide good grounds to ask questions about the effectiveness of international support for peacemaking and peacebuilding. Among the responses, reasonable arguments can be made about the need for peacemaking efforts to be concerted, or for peace processes to be more inclusive in order to be effective. There is some talk, too, about the roles of *middle-ground powers", "multi- mediation"` and "mini-laterals", with the suggestion that these are significant new concepts and factors Such reflections have merits but overlook more fundamental shortcomings. This presentation will discuss two of particular note: firstly, the tendency of peace processes to be excessively exterally constructed and led; and secondly, the tendency of peace processes to be framed around external understandings of a conflict and visions for peace, rather than the understandings and visions of the people whose country it is. These shortcomings can be seen in peace processes and associated peacebuilding efforts in South Sudan and Yemen during the past decade, and in processes elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East.
