Peacemaker Project

Conflict is inevitable in any personal relationship or among members of any group. While we encounter many types of conflict in our lifetime, we often look for ways to avoid conflict. So, why do we run away from dealing with our conflict? It is often because many of us fear the conflict will escalate into a situation we will not be able to sustain. “As conflicts escalate, they go through certain incremental transformations. Although these transformations occur separately on each side, they affect the conflict as a whole because they are usually mirrored by the other side. As a result of these transformations, the conflict is intensified in ways that are sometimes exceedingly difficult to undo” (Pruitt, and Kim 89). We

Before this exercise, I’ll admit that I didn’t have much understanding of the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. Growing up in the United States certainly exposed me to Christianity, but I did not know the differences between significant denominations. From my interviews and services, it’s clear that Catholicism and Nondenominational Christianity are very similar outside of the adherence to teachings of the Catholic church and the Pope. Admittedly, these groups are largely similar because they both are varieties of Christianity, but attending worship services really emphasizes the closely related teachings of these two groups, and possibly of all religions. As we have discussed before, even if a religion doesn’t wholly create peace, they are attempting to spread unity through the means they believe best. Catholicism and Nondenominational Christianity

“Conflict Resolution is an essential element of life, but a task filled with so many diverse issues, that not many can engage in it without feeling a bit unprepared. Through the grace of God we have been given a wonderful ministry of reconciliation and direct commands to live at peace with others”. (Nemitz, 2013) In 1 Corinthians 10:31, the Apostle Paul teaches that conflict provides opportunities to glorify God, to serve others, and to grow to be like Christ. This concern for faithfulness to God, compassion and mercy towards others, and righteous behavior is echoed throughout Scripture. In Michah 6:8 we are told, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does

The civil war ended and it was soon the beginning of many hardships. “The Problems of Peacemaking” discusses all of the problems with the Northerners and Southerners becoming peaceful after the war. President Abraham Lincoln did many things to try to get peace after the war. When he realized it wasn’t going to be easy, he decided that a “Reconstruction Plan” could maybe help them get peace. After the civil war the South didn’t have many things left because everything they had was destroyed almost completely. People living in the south wanted to regain it back but they soon realized it wasn’t that easy to do. The white southerners lost some land and their slaves but that was nothing compared to the black southerners. Black southerners lost everything when they left to get freedom, besides a little bit of clothing and a few possessions they took with them. Blacks and whites had completely different meanings of freedom. The whites wanted to control what they did without the government’s input, and the blacks wanted to get freedom from the whites. The whites wanted white supremacy which is, they wanted to be more superior. The blacks just wanted to be control and own things such as land. General William Sherman’s “Special Field Order No. 15” helped give 400,000 acres of land to 40,000 freed slaves. Other methods were produced to help slaves get land, one of the most famous was the Freedmen’s Bureau. The Freedmen’s Bureau gave slaves food, health care, clothing, and education. The whites of course, disagreed with the Bureau and would have disputes about it. The disputes were all settled by the Freedmen’s Bureau. General Howard created the “Circular 13” which helped lease 40 acre plots to slaves and hoped to later sell it to them. He also made the Southern Homestead Act that made 46 million acres for sell to slaves in many states. It was later repealed because people thought slaves were taking advantage of it. Republicans had say in what happened during the reconstruction. The conservatives and radicals disagreed on their views. The radicals were more harsh. All the conservatives said was that the south should just take what was happening and do nothing about it. The radicals wanted to take away some rights from a

In order for conflict to be resolved both sides must understand one another’s concerns and be willing to compromise, thus understanding is the first step to resolution. According to Varshney (2001), “promoting communication between members of different religious communities, civic networks often make neighborhood-level peace possible. Routine engagement allows people to come together and form organizations in times of tension” (p. 375). Additionally, the Varshney (2001) article states that if institutions are created that cater to the cultural, economic, and social needs of both sides then the support for peace in the community become strong. Getting people to try to see eye to eye and co-exist without conflict is a great solution to ethnic conflict. According to constructivists ethnicity and in turn ethnic conflict is what people make of it and that race can be made and erased. According to this idea, resolution can come from getting people to see ethnicity and ethnic conflict differently by promoting communication.

Against a backdrop of an ever increasing number of internal conflicts and the crash of conventional means of conflict resolution to attain a resilient peace in divided societies, this paper presents a two-track approach to peacekeeping and conflict resolution. One track is represented by peacemaking, defined as endeavors at finding a resolution to the issues in conflict at the political leadership level. The other track, peacebuilding, refers to contact proposals at the grassroots level targeting at the enhancement of intergroup relations. After a conversation of role of grassroots peacebuilding in a peace process some groundwork findings on the bond between peacemaking and peacebuilding in two divided societies, Palestine and Israel, will be discussed.

1a. Who was involved in the conflict? What was the relationship between the participants prior to the conflict? Did it appear as if the relationship between the participants had any impact on how either person responded to the conflict?

When the white canoe put in near a town or village, people hurried to see and hear this rumored ‘Man from the North’ Mother of Nations promised would come to them. Some of the women spoke about how youthful he looked to be a prophet. Warriors and boys appeared perplexed at this, but the women were shaken. When they were told Hiawatha accompanied him and would speak for him, alarm broke out.

Theoretically significant to conflict is social identity theory. It allows “predictions to incorporate who is likely to perceive and act in group terms, to remain committed to the group in times of crisis” Turner (1999), Doosje & Ellemers, (1999). Bar-Tal stresses conflict exists when an incompatible goal exists between two groups. The question of when incompatibility sets become important in understanding the cause of inter-ethnic or communal conflicts for instance, even more importantly; conflict within ingroup. Inter-ethnic or communal conflict because within the scope of peacebuilding, that is the point where building peace thrives the most. There is an assumption that for peacebuilding to be

There are many ways to resolve conflict. Each of these different ways are effective in their own ways. Most of these methods can resolve conflict better in some situations than others. These ways include having a middle man, staying positive, listening to all parties and compromising, and just ignoring the conflict. By far the universally best way to resolve conflict is by staying calm and positive. Some works that show this are “Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat” by Winston Churchill, and “Dear Miss Breed” by Joanne Oppenheim. Keeping positive is not only the best way to resolve conflict, there are many benefits to staying positive.

He specifically says “peacemakers” because he wants us to be the ones that go out of our way to create peace instead of laying back and just becoming the peace keepers. When we become “peacekeepers,” we become the guard who watches over and serves as practically no help until violence breaks out. We aren't supposed to be the ones to stand back and watch, but instead we should be the ones to step out and make the peace. We are sent to create peace to keep mayhem from happening. It will mean that we give up seeking justice when we are wronged or wishing that someone would have revenge on another. You may have to take a risk for others even when it may seem frightening and it will not be easy, but we are rewarded through Christ. Through him we are given the hope for peace. He gave us the gift of love and salvation so we should use it. Spreading peace is not easy. It is a challenge because many may fight against you, and try to stop you. Peace is not an easy thing to create, but it is such a small price to pay or the gift that we received from

Peacemaking Circles: Circles are method of dialogue, which serve to discuss particular issues, facilitate understanding, and heal broken relationships. Circles are places of listening and of hearing what it’s like to be someone else. They’re also places for expressing what’s on our minds and hearts and having others receive it deeply. The life stories are naturally transforming” Circles operate on the principles of respect, equality, and consensus-based decision-making. Circles can be held proactively to discuss upcoming decisions and to receive participant input, or they can occur as an intervention to deal with a wrongdoing that has been committed. Though circles are strongly rooted in healing traditions, peacemaking circles are commonly

A "biblical guide to resolving personal conflict", this, in a nutshell is what "The Peace Maker" is all about. In this critical book review I will be taking topics from the book and giving the reader my personal views on how I either reacted or related to the topics covered. My goal for this paper is to give the reader a non-biased opinion of "The Peace Maker", which was published by Baker Books in June of 2004.

 "Effective conflict resolution requires dealing constructively with disagreements rather than pushing them under the rug, letting them break into open warfare, or attempting to eliminate them completely.  Successful resolution of a conflict may include the following: accurate diagnosis of the nature and source of the conflict, a clear understanding of how each party is contributing to the conflict, skills and processes for defining alternatives, constructively negotiating outcomes, and creatively developing win-win resolutions" (Hagberg Consulting Group, 1).

As the dream of a two state solution slips away, academia and politicians focus on a one state reality. Although one state between the Jordan River and Mediterranean Sea is the de facto situation (Mearsheimer 144), Palestinians are deprived of basic rights, including freedom of movement and political rights. The elongated peace process has been used as a stalling tactic to build Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, displacing an increasing number of Palestinians. Islamic groups discourage peace talks or any notion of the normalization of relations with Israel (Haass 57). A successful negotiation and subsequent diplomatic relations between Israel and the international community would deter terrorist activity. For these reasons, a renewal of a sense of urgency is critical to the negotiation of a successful peace plan. Palestinian unity and organization are vital to the possibility of peace. The United States must foster a sustainable peace efficiently and effectively. Therefore, the USs, as the global mediator and primary third party, must endorse a comprehensive one state solution in Israel and Palestine focusing on the development of integrative power sharing methods.