Building Peace

Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies

"Constructing the house of peace relies on a foundation of multiple actors and activities aimed at achieving and sustaining reconciliation."

A major work from a seminal figure in the field of conflict resolution, Building Peace is John Paul Lederach’s definitive statement on peacebuilding. Marrying wisdom, insight, and passion, Lederach explains why we need to move beyond “traditional” diplomacy, which often emphasizes top-level leaders and short-term objectives, toward a holistic approach that stresses the multiplicity of peacemakers, long-term perspectives, and the need to create an infrastructure that empowers resources within a society and maximizes contributions from outside.

Sophisticated yet pragmatic, the volume explores the dynamics of contemporary conflict and presents an integrated framework for peacebuilding in which structure, process, resources, training, and evaluation are coordinated in an attempt to transform the conflict and effect reconciliation.

Lederach, John Paul. Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies. Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1997.

The Spanish translation of this text was published by Red Gernika and is shared with the permission of Gernika Gogoratuz Peace Research Centre.

This book has been translated into Spanish, Korean, Thai, Farsi, and Arabic.

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