11/2010
The new Berghof Transition Series paper “The KLA and the Kosovo War: From Intra-State Conflict to Independent Country“ was publicly presented in Pristina by its author Armend Bekaj on November 6th. The event, which took place in the Dit e Nat bookshop, was well received and attracted a wide audience ranging from former KLA members, civil society experts, members of the government, media representatives and international diplomats. A media report in Albanian about the event can be accessed here.
The report itself as well as other contributions to this series (in English) can be accessed here.
07/2010
On July 1, 2010 the chairman of the World Economic Forum, Prof. Klaus Schwab, informed BCR’s Prof. Gießmann of his appointment to the forum’s new Global Agenda Council (GAC) on Terrorism. The GACs comprise 15 to 20 members from all over the world and serve as an informal advisory board to the World Economic Forum and, through the forum, to the international community. As mentioned in their mission statement, the councils represent “the world’s foremost integrated ‘intelligence’ network of innovative thinking and idea exchange on global issues”. This is Prof. Gießmann’s second term to serve as a GAC member.
06/2010
The first public hearing of the newly-established Sub-Committee “Civil Crisis Prevention and Cross-Linked Security” of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the German Parliament (Deutscher Bundestag) was held on June 14, 2010 in Berlin. The new Sub-Committee had been invited to this hearing in order to become informed about the challenges and current tasks of civil crisis prevention. BCR Director Dr. Hans J. Gießmann was one of the six invited experts who testified.
04/2010
Berghof Foundation for Conflict Studies funds qualified individuals, organisations and institutions doing cutting-edge research and reflective practice in conflict studies.
The three thematic interests below permit us to take a more concentrated approach to what we see as key strategic issues emerging in the field of conflict transformation. By focusing on these areas, we wish to support action research and reflective practice that identifies and elaborates fresh, creative paradigms for inclusive and integrated approaches that can enhance this field.
These three themes are integral to structural peacebuilding processes, particularly the continued need to extend and develop multi-track approaches to conflict transformation. All are inter-related and mutually reinforcing, thus lending greater coherence to our philanthropic interests.
1. Peacebuilding and reconciliation in post-war societies
2. Transformation processes of non-state armed groups into political actors
3. Interactions between state and non-state actors in conflict transformation processes
For more information about these thematic interests and the application procedures for a grant, please visit the Berghof Foundation’s website.
02/2010
We have a new website, launched on 3 February 2010. Several new features have been added, with updates on our work in German and English. We have also re-launched the Berghof Handbook for Conflict Transformation website in a new design format.
01/2010
Timed to fit in with the re-launch of our website, we are introducing our new, more compact name of “Berghof Conflict Research” (BCR). Together with our sister organisation – now “Berghof Peace Support” (BPS) – we will continue working under the Berghof umbrella to combine practical peacebuilding with innovative conflict research.
01/2010
Mediating Identity Conflicts – Potential and Challenges of Engaging with Hamas, a new issue in the Berghof Occasional Paper series by Carolin Goerzig is now available online.
This paper offers some astute insights into the dynamics of one of the most protracted conflicts of the past century, namely the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the specific perspective of its most controversial party, whose voice is very often excluded or demonised: that of the Hamas movement. Through her so-called “scenario interviews” with several Hamas members in Syria, the author convincingly demonstrates that identity-based conflicts cannot be transformed without the direct participation of their key stakeholders, and that lending such actors a voice with which they can express their grievances, but also their hopes and visions for a constructive path to “just peace”, might generate creative peacemaking options – in this case, opportunities for a mediated settlement.
Hard copies can also be ordered (5.00€ + postage).
10/2009
Helena Rill and Ivana Franovic (eds.): „I cannot feel good if my neighbor does not“. Beograd: Centar za nenasilnu akciju, 2009.
“I cannot feel well if my neighbour does not” is a collection of interviews with people from the region of the former Yugoslavia, discussing how they relate to the wartime past, issues of blame and reconciliation, and their hopes for a peaceful future.
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