Thoughts
Democracy is, in the words of former UN Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, “one of the pillars on which a more peaceful, more equitable and more secure world can be built.†However, the developing nations face serious challenges in their efforts to transition to more democratic societies due to weak ability to implement reforms, high citizen expectations, and conflict that has surfaced as a natural by-product of political transformation. In today’s polarized world, developing democracies often lack a critical element necessary to successfully facilitate this transition to democracy: local capacity to resolve conflict. Today, it is all too common to see environmental groups clashing with fishing companies; mining corporations in conflict with indigenous peoples; and governments and energy companies publicly criticizing one another. Embedding local capacity to manage conflict between government, civil society, and the private sector is crucial to achieving a peaceful and tolerant pluralistic society.
I envision a democratic world where conflicts are prevented and addressed because countries and communities have the capacity to achieve consensus on difficult issues and the ability to transform conflict into dispute settlement systems supported by public policies, institutional structures, and trained practitioners. Non-profit organizations today are increasingly taking on this challenge in more creative and effective ways, but much remains to be accomplished. |
