Multi-Track Diplomacy in the 21st Century
6 Multi-Track Diplomacy in the 21st Century
By Louise Diamond*
A freedom fighter, struggling against the military occupation
in his land, is encouraged by a religious-based peace mission
to try another approach. He puts down his weapons and opens a
centre for conflict resolution, to mediate local disputes and
promote dialogue and non-violence. A village elder, with modest
financial help from an international agency, arranges a traditional
ceremony of reconciliation to re-integrate child soldiers who
committed atrocities, under duress, against their own families
during a recent civil war.
Mid-level community and political leaders attend a series of facilitated
discussions with their counterparts across the communal divide
of their conflict. Several years later, many are in important
government positions, and ideas generated in those conversations
begin appearing in the political discourse. An influential journalist
meets with his colleagues from ‘the other side’ of an ethnic conflict
in an NGO-sponsored dialogue, and subsequently refuses to use
stereotypical or derogatory language about ‘them’ in his news
coverage. A rural affairs specialist working for a relief organization
in the developing world, after attending a training program in
conflict resolution, mediates a successful agreement to a chronic
dispute between pastoralists and agriculturalists.
Multiply these stories many thousand times over, and a picture
of multi-track diplomacy in the late 20th century begins to emerge.
People from all walks of life and wielding influence over various
sectors of their society, find myriad ways to promote peace in
settings of violent conflict. Working at different levels of social
organization, from the political to the institutional to the social,
these individuals, and the organizations and institutions through
which they operate, are the visible manifestation of the multi-track
approach.
Many who step forward as local peacebuilders in their own communities
are influenced by third party actors, a growing force of professionals
and private citizens who design and implement programs of peace-building
or conflict prevention, management, resolution and transformation
in places of conflict around the world. In some cases, these individuals
become so committed to the practice of peace-building that they
themselves become professionals or para-professionals in the field,
creating institutions of their own and operating as catalysts
and third parties to others.
Only short while ago this body of peace-builders hardly existed.
Now they are legion, operating out of university programs, mediation
centres, democratization institutes or conflict resolution NGOs.
They are associated with citizen diplomacy initiatives, with religious
groups, with business or professional associations or with political
parties. They come from humanitarian relief and development agencies,
from human rights organizations, from grassroots women’s networks
or from prestigious think tanks. They may be psychologists, lawyers,
sociologists, activists, political scientists, journalists, public
servants, artists, organizational consultants, government officials,
academics or housewives. In short, the community of peacebuilders
actively working throughout all levels of society, from the top
down and the bottom up, in places of ethnic and civil conflicts
around the world, has mushroomed, and multi-track diplomacy is
flourishing.
Why this should be so is a topic that could reasonably be considered
in an article by itself. Here, however, we will start from the
present and look forward, identifying the challenges to global
security in the 21st century, and the possible ways in which multi-track
diplomacy might make a contribution in the world of the new millennium.
A Look at the World of the 21st Century
Multi-track diplomacy, then, enters the 21st century as an established
presence; a systems approach to peace-building that embraces a
large network of organizations, disciplines, methodologies and
venues for working toward the prevention and resolution of violent
conflict around the world. It has its success stories, told elsewhere
in this book, and its best practices; its challenges and edges
for growth.
To understand how multi-track diplomacy might play a role in the
world of the 21st century, it is necessary to examine some of
the trends in world affairs that are looming on humanity’s horizon
as potential threats to global security in the coming era. Let
us examine eight of these trends in some detail:
1. The Globalization of Violence
The benefits of globalization that have so affected our communications
and economic systems have also been available to those forces
in the world bent on destruction, greed and violence. With increased
access to world-wide markets, the internet, cellular communication,
international banking facilities and other tools for moving information
and resources across great distances at high speed, those involved
in such nefarious pursuits as drugs, the illegal arms trade, the
sex trade, terrorism, gambling, money laundering, the black market,
racketeering and other such nasty past times have been able to
be more effective in their own endeavours, and to take advantage
of the increase in power and reach that comes with working together.
The illegitimate industries, like their legitimate counterparts,
are cooperating, consolidating and diversifying their interests,
forming a shadowy infrastructure that covers the globe, de-stabilizes
vulnerable systems, and thrives on chaos. Many of these actors
are involved behind the scenes in conflict situations, benefitting
from the continuation of the violence while having no direct interest
in the particulars of that conflict. Though they will never come
to the table as part of any formal peace talks, their power is
great, especially in certain high political circles without whose
connivance they could not operate.
2. The Breakdown of Systemic Integrity
All kinds of systems are losing the strength and certainty of
their boundaries at the end of the 20th century. Cells cannot
hold their integrity, as new viruses and diseases pose epidemic
threats to large populations. Environmental systems cannot maintain
their ability to function properly, as species necessary to the
balance of nature die out and the natural world becomes polluted
beyond its ability to either sustain or purify itself. Families
fall apart; moral systems degenerate; educational systems in some
places lose their capacity for operating as learning centres and
become, instead, warehouses for the social control of desperate
children. Economic systems that have sustained great prosperity
over time dissolve in an instant, erasing the possibility of a
decent standard of living for millions of people anytime in the
near future. Political systems disintegrate, leaving thugs, ad
hoc militias and greedy despots in charge of whatever patches
of land they can hold by force and threat. Whole nations disappear
into the chasm of chaos, or seem poised to do so momentarily.
3. The Rise of Rogues
Partly as a result of this disintegration of integrity, rogue
individuals and nations are emerging in record numbers. People
and institutions that function outside any traditional boundaries
of law, persuasion or sense of the common good are establishing
their capacity to operate across established boundaries at will.
Narco-terrorism, nuclear terrorism, the threats of germ and biological
terrorism, private armies under the control of warlords and profiteers,
maverick states that respond not at all to international pressures
or sanctions - these manifestations of uncontrollable, dangerous
rogue forces pose untested threats to the world and its institutions
of civilization.
4. The Depletion of Natural Resources
Both a cause and an effect of some of the phenomenon already described,
the degradation and depletion of earth’s natural resources are
posing a major threat to the sustenance and stability of life
on the planet. Water, oil, land, forests and breathable air are
in increasingly short supply, and reserves of precious minerals
necessary for the continuation of modern technology are dwindling.
The imbalance of overpopulation with the means to sustain life
has already contributed to some of the past decade’s worst conflicts,
such as in Rwanda. The hole in the ozone layer, global warming
and the poisoning of the oceans, direct results of our industrial
and economic systems, are, in turn, contributing to the very breakdown
of systemic integrity we discussed earlier.
5. The Institutionalization of Polarization
While there have always been factions and differences in human
society, the deepening of polarization as a norm of social, political
and economic interaction has become apparent in the last decade.
In the U.S., the two main political parties have descended into
an entrenched adversarial relationship in which bipartisanship
and cooperation are increasingly rare. The North and the South,
the developed and the developing worlds, are still deeply divided
over power and resources, and the distance between the economic
‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ in many countries is growing, and dangerously
so. With intensified polarization comes extremism. Throughout
the latter part of the 20th century, we have witnessed the threat
to regional and global security posed by the rise of nationalistic
and religious extremism. As these movements attain power, stature,
and resources -such as in the case of the Taliban in Afghanistan,
the far-right wing in Israeli politics or, the BJP/Hindu nationalist
party in India- they become woven more thoroughly into the fabric
of modern life. Less on the fringes, where they can be ignored,
they have migrated to the centre of our world screen, where the
threats they pose are highly visible - and highly volatile.
6. Challenges to the Nation State
As empires fall, political boundaries change, and ethnic groups
gain access to arms and world attention for their causes, the
familiar system of nation states which has ordered the global
political and economic systems for so long is being tested from
all sides. With between 5,000 and 10,000 different ethnic groups
in the world, and only 185 member nations of a UN which affirms
in its Charter the right of self-determination, the stage is set
for potential conflicts. At both ends of the spectrum, from consolidation
to disintegration, the nation state system is facing challenges.
As Europe seeks its union, Quebec seeks dis-union. As the Czech
Republic and the Republic of Slovakia find a relatively easy way
to separate, the Kurds, the Chechens, and the East Timorese have
not been so fortunate. The new millennium will require humanity
to be creative in designing ways that peoples and national groups
can experience the dignity and integrity of their identity while
simultaneously maintaining the unity and viability of a world
order based on law and mutual respect.
7. Changing Power Blocs
The fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of the United States
as the single superpower in the world is not the end of the story.
Far from it. Much is in play in Europe, with the evolution of
the European Union and NATO, and in Asia, with the awakening of
China to its potential for power in the world. Turkey, poised
between East and West, could shift its sizable weight in one of
several directions, not all of which bode well for security in
Southeastern Europe. The disintegration of Russia could lead to
any number of scenarios in which powerful entities might rise
from the ashes of that state so recently a major player in world
affairs. These are but a few examples of the shifts that are taking
place -seismic shifts- in relative strength, alliances and relationships
as old and new nations flex their muscles and take or lose advantage
on the world stage due to some of the other phenomenon previously
mentioned.
8. The Traumatization of the Human Family
Millions of people around the planet are suffering massive trauma
from recent wars and associated famine, displacement and destruction.
As civil wars increasingly target women and children, and group
massacres, large scale atrocities and rape become common weapons
of war, large populations are profoundly wounded, in body, mind
and spirit. In some countries, whole generations are debilitated,
especially in those places where child soldiers have formed the
backbone of the fighting forces. In others, the psychological
debilitation is already moving into the second, third and even
fourth generations. Post Traumatic Stress Disease (PTSD) is probably
the most widespread disease on the planet. This means that many
places in conflict remain vulnerable to political manipulation
and ongoing cycles of violence, as the people are lacking the
personal strength and inner resources to resist the forces that
call for retribution and revenge.
Implications for Multi-Track Diplomacy
These trends present a sober picture indeed of the world of the
21st century. The realm of multi-track diplomacy, as one small
player in the global drama, exists within this context, yet brings
a perspective, a commitment and a set of methodologies that are
at humanity’s leading edge for dealing with these most difficult
issues. In fact, I would go so far as to suggest that the work
of peace-building is at the forefront of our planet’s evolutionary
journey in these times.
The very dangerous conditions described in the section above arise
from, and thrive in, a worldview and set of assumptions about
the world as a place of separation. Separative consciousness sees
duality and difference as opportunity for superiority, dominance
and control, and breeds materialism, greed and violence. For many
centuries the dominant western world organized its political,
social and economic systems on this basis. The general breakdown
in the global (and environmental) environment we are seeing now
can be understood as the natural ripening of the inherent seed
of destruction in the separative worldview, for when only the
parts are seen, without reference to the whole, duality will play
itself out in struggle, contest and conflict indefinitely.
We live at a time when large numbers of people on the planet are
discovering that there is another worldview, a holistic or unitive
view, that acknowledges the parts as inherently inter-related
and part of a larger innate wholeness. Beyond the duality we share
a common human experience, a common spiritual source, and a common
capacity for connecting through that source to ways of being that
will honour both the diversity and the unity in the family of
life. The world is living through a major period of transformation,
as the bankruptcy of one worldview becomes apparent, while the
new worldview is still in its infant stages. This produces both
the potential for chaos and the potential for great creativity.
The peacebuilders of the world, and the multi-track approach to
peace in particular, because of its systems orientation, carries
that creative potential and is, therefore, a vehicle for humanity’s
evolution into a new state of consciousness.
In addition to these obvious activities, multi-track diplomacy
can face the unique challenges of this transformational period
in seven quite specific ways:
1. Maintaining Flexibility in the Face of the Unknown
The state of world affairs is, as we have seen, in a period of
great flux. Many events that we can reasonably anticipate may
or may not occur. Others that we have not considered may happen
tomorrow. A single event of biological terrorism, for instance,
could easily change the face of life on this planet as we know
it. A single expansive move by China, or new confrontation in
the Balkans or the Middle East, could re-configure political relations
for many years to come. The truth is, peacebuilders need to be
prepared to move in several directions at once, both responding
to whatever opportunities present themselves for positive and
effective work for peace, and also being pro-active in turning
challenges into opportunities. To maintain this flexibility as
a whole field of endeavour requires greater reflexivity, discourse
and coordination among theory builders and practitioners from
all parts of the world.
2. Recognizing Healing as the Key to Transformation
Because of the profound human trauma discussed earlier, and the
brokenness of many systems, healing and reconciliation are critical
aspects of any multi-track diplomacy process. New and sustainable
peace systems must take into account the mending process that
comes with acknowledgement of the harm done, apology and forgiveness
when possible, completion of mourning, and healing at the individual
and group levels. One of the greatest challenges facing peacebuilders
today is not just how to engage individuals in this type of healing,
but how to engage whole systems, and especially the leadership,
for unless humanity learns how to heal itself, the trauma will
condemn us to repeat the same cycles of violence from generation
to generation.
3. Building the Infrastructure for Peace
The forces of war have an existing infrastructure that enables
them to mobilize and actualize their aims
| ‘Exercising our power to empower means generating more stories
like those shared elsewhere in this book, building a base of success
from which we can all learn and draw.’
|
- they have armies and
arms suppliers; transportation, commerce and communication systems;
banking, taxing and other funding methods; media, education and
propaganda systems; and government ministries, clans, villages,
political parties and other entities capable of taking action.
The forces of peace have little of this. We have come a long way
in recent years toward developing organizations and networks that
can serve as vehicles for carrying and coordinating peace-building
activities, with an accompanying research, education and media
capability as well. Much more needs to be done to create both
a human and an institutional infrastructure for peace-building,
in order to concretize these methods and approaches in social,
political and economic systems that can both stand on their own
and work together toward a shared goal. In addition to such institutions,
we need the capacity to move money, materials, people and technologies
rapidly and efficiently to wherever needed on the planet. In this
way the transformation of consciousness is assisted by building
alternative structures so that as the old collapses, there is
something in place to sustain that which is being birthed.
4. Taking the Holistic and Positive View
One of the hallmarks of a multi-track approach is the capacity
to see the whole, and the inter-relationship of the various parts.
We know that development and peace are mutually interdependent,
for instance, and that democratization requires the capacity for
conflict resolution and problem solving at a group level, so we
see the natural interface of several disciplines. This kind of
relational awareness is critical to building peace systems, for
it encourages the kind of connections, bridges, alliances and
networking that are essential to the ongoing support of the change
process. Stepping back and seeing the whole picture, especially
that of the evolutionary moment in which we stand, allows us to
hold the gate open for a new range of possibilities. It also allows
us to affirm the positive view that, despite all the problems
in the way, peace is indeed possible. In this way we energize
the potential rather than the despair, and keep hope, that precious
and fragile flame, vibrant and alive.
5. Making Peace From the Inside Out
People whose life is given to peace-building, whether as outside
third parties or actors within conflict systems, are generally
motivated to service, and as servers, may be prone to work themselves
beyond the point of balance. Certainly working in war zones, with
wounded people and in tense and violent circumstances can produce
symptoms of secondary trauma, compassion fatigue and burn-out.
Because multi-track diplomacy is a systems approach, in which
even the intervenor is part of the system, and because it is a
multi-level approach, in which the personal level is just as important
as the inter-group level, those involved in this field have the
opportunity to use our own technology with ourselves, becoming
agents of peace in our being as well as in our doing. When we
are taking the time to integrate what we teach about peace in
the outer domain with our deep experience of peace within, we
can be much more effective, at the individual and at the institutional
levels, in two ways: we are clearer and stronger channels for
the outer work when we take time to reconnect with our own inner
source of peace, and we are better models for others, showing
by our presence as much as by our actions that peace is a viable
and dynamic state.
6. Creating New Pathways for Shifting Consciousness
A colleague, Robert Fuller, once spoke about finding ‘a better
game than war.’ Peacebuilders taking a multi-track approach are
engaged in this endeavour. We know that the ‘war option’ is a
lose-lose game; we come offering a better way, a way that goes
even beyond win-win toward the transformation of the consciousness
that would allow us to build truly just and peace-able societies.
Because the methods and pathways for this shift are inherent in
the principles and practices of peace-building with a holistic
view, we occupy a position in the world analogous to the early
road or railway builders. We are opening the paths, setting the
tracks in place, laying down the rails, making clear the direction
that will shape the future of our planet. Our tools -methods for
cooperation, creative joint problem solving, reconciliation, prevention,
dialogue, mediation, negotiation, and communication, among others-
are the tracks that we are setting down, so people will be able
to transport themselves across old territory in new and better
ways. As with all road building, once we open a path, more and
more travellers will use it, especially if it carries them to
where they want to go. The ways of thinking and acting we are
inviting people into is a different, and a better game than war,
and our work makes it possible for people in large numbers to
make that shift. Knowing this, we can be more intentional about
it.
 |
| Millions of people are suffering massive trauma from recent wars.
Photo Rob Hof. |
7. Empowering Peacebuilders for Local Action
Multi-track diplomacy invites everyone into the game of peace-building.
It says that there is a place and way that people from any sector
of society can make a contribution to peace. Those of us engaged
in travelling to places of conflict to make interventions there
realize that building peace is primarily a local task. What we
can offer is to give people a view and a direct experience of
what is possible, help them do what they want to do faster and
better, and perhaps strengthen their capacity to use appropriate
tools and skills. We can motivate, catalyze, inspire, instruct,
facilitate, encourage, support, assist, demonstrate, and convene.
We can present possibilities, open minds to new ways of thinking,
and cheer people on as they take charge of changing the systems
they live in. We can articulate theories and best practices, provide
a safe space where people can meet ‘the other’, or elicit inner
individual and cultural wisdom about peace and conflict resolution.
What we can never do impose our solutions on others, or build
their new systems for them.
Our power to empower is perhaps the most important role we can
play in the 21st century. The more individuals who feel empowered
to work in their own systems for peace and conflict transformation,
the closer the world comes to that critical mass that will allow
for a massive leap in consciousness, allowing new processes for
peace that were previously unimaginable to become normative, and
easy.
Exercising our power to empower means generating more stories
like those shared elsewhere in this book, building a base of success
from which we can all learn and draw. It means enabling people
to have that critical understanding of what true power is, the
very opposite of the power of domination and control that characterizes
war systems. Ultimately, exercising our power to empower means
that the next article written on the role of multi-track diplomacy
will have infinitely more peacebuilders -like those mentioned
in the very beginning of this article- to showcase as examples
of those engaged in the courageous act of creating viable, sustainable
peace systems on this precious planet we all call home.
*Dr. Louise Diamond is co-founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Multi-Track
Diplomacy in Washington, D.C., which works with ethnic and regional
conflicts around the world. There she is engaged in diverse projects
that address theoretical and practical aspects of international
peacemaking and peace-building from a systems perspective. In
addition, she offers workshops and classes on various issues relating
to peace and peacemaking, and is the Educational Director and
Training Supervisor of an international peace education programme,
the ‘Peacekeeper Mission’. She writes extensively, bringing a
peacemaking perspective to current events.
next
Feedback please to
j.verhoeven@euconflict.org
