Conflict Analysis

Who can register for this training?

This thematic training is intended for people who work in or plan to enter the field of civil conflict transformation, peacebuilding or conflict-sensitive relief or development cooperation and want to gain a well-founded understanding of conflict analysis, it´s application and impact on the practical work.

Content

There is more to a conflict than just one particular cause or single event. It is therefore of decisive importance for peacebuilding projects to take the whole system and all parties involved into consideration when conducting a conflict analysis. A nuanced and thorough analysis is essential to finding the right approach to a peace project and to anticipating the possible effects of an intervention. The training gives an introduction into a variety of different analysis methods and offers insight into their practical application in the field.

Objectives

• Get familiar with and be able to apply different conflict analysis tools
• Understand the respective strengths and pitfalls of these tools
• Gain a deeper understanding for the essentially subjective nature of conflict analysis
• Gain an awareness of questions of power and privilege and how they relate to conflict analysis, and be able to address them appropriately

Key Topics

• The basics of conflict analysis
• Introduction to various conflict analysis tools
• Reflecting on power and privilege in conflict analysis
• Introduction to systemic conflict analysis and its different steps
• Presenting systemic conflict analysis to various audiences
• Integrating conflict analysis in project work.

Methodology

The training uses inputs, exercises in pairs and small groups, plenary discussions and group work on case studies in order to let participants experience five different conflict analysis tools. The emphasis of the training is on letting participants work on real-life examples in order to underline the actuality and usefulness in practice of the tools. The work on analyses of real-life examples is supplemented with reflections on issues such as power and privilege, objectivity versus subjectivity and the difference between linear and systemic approaches in conflict analysis.