RUNNING HEAD: MICRO LEVEL PEACEBUILDING

Micro Level Peacebuilding: Local and Individual Approaches

Fernanda Cherini

York University
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Introduction

International peacebuilding has lost a lot in efficacy for not including a local perspective

in its attempts to build peace. In the context of civil wars, especially after the second half of the

twentieth century, peacebuilding missions have been happening in many countries like, Bosnia,

Kosovo, Afghanistan and such. However, there has been increased dissatisfaction with these

missions because they push Western values as if they were universal. A lot of people, including

scholars, have criticized this approach and have called attention to the necessity to use a relative

perspective that takes into consideration the cultural differences that each region presents. This has

led to claims for more integration of local perspectives in other forms of peacebuilding, not just in

the international context. For example, although they existed before, more grassroots movements

have emerged, focused on local community involvement.

Despite receiving more attention, the local perspective still has its importance overlooked.

Nonetheless, there is another view that is often forgotten, which is related to engagement with the

general individual. Instead of focusing primarily on making macro level changes in the context of

peace, more significance should be given to the micro level. This micro level is composed of both

local activism, related to grassroots communities, but also to other movements related to

peacebuilding that can engage with the individual. Engagement with the individual should be

understood as trying to break misconceptions, ignorance and oppression that are rooted in each

individual. By focusing primarily on this micro level approach, macro level changes can also be

achieved.

This essay does not aim to discuss all possible aspects to micro level peacebuilding. Rather, its

goal is to provide some examples that can help illustrate its thesis about the importance of a micro

level peacebuilding that includes both the local and individual approaches. The first section will
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provide a clearer background and discuss the more theoretical aspects of the thesis. Secondly, it

will show how peacebuilding can happen in less expected ways, and even then, it is directly related

to the individual. The third and fourth section will provide practical examples of how not

implementing a micro level perspective was detrimental to peace movements; and examples of

cases that succeeded for having included a local approach, respectively.

Micro vs. Macro Peacebuilding

After some peace agreements that followed only Western values, such as in Bosnia (1995)

and Afghanistan (2001), there has been a rising movement to incorporate local perspectives in

peacebuilding (Mac Ginty & Richmond, 2013, p. 764). This movement has been called the “local

turn”, and includes scholars criticizing and challenging Western concepts of peace that are

universalistic (p. 763). Liberal peace is how some authors call this type of peacebuilding that does

not take a more relative approach that should vary by the context of each society. To contest this

orthodox rational, scholars, especially from the Global South, have used interdisciplinarity and

postcolonial scholarship (p. 763). Although local activism is not a recent event, it has been

neglected and not given proper importance before. However, particularly after the twenty-first

century, there are indicators that change has been happening, as local movements are given more

significance (p. 773). It is important to remember, though, that the local does have its problems,

as oppression, power relations, and human rights violation also occur in this context (p. 770). Still,

it does not invalidate the necessity to take local traditions and points of view into consideration,

instead of pushing only a Northern perspective. After discussing the scholar criticism about

peacebuilding and local activism, the next paragraph will focus more on the practices of

peacebuilding.
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As explained by Does (2013), when discussing the inclusivity of local perspectives in

peacebuilding, specifically, in international peacebuilding, there are two dimensions that can be

distinguished (p. 3). The first is related to analyzing who and when to include in a peacebuilding

movement (p. 3). Essentially, it is about including local voice and the local actors that are pertinent

to any peace discussions. Representativeness is extremely important not only when building peace,

but in any process that can impact peace promotion (e.g. journalism, religion). The second

dimension analyzes how local perspective is being included and how much it impacts international

peacebuilding (p. 3). This essay will apply Does’s (2013) concept for analyzing the inclusion of

the local level in its next sections. After discussing about some of the ways through which micro

level engagement can occur; it will be analyzed cases in which the lack of local inclusion was

negative, and cases in which local inclusion resulted in a higher level of success.

When discussing micro level engagement, not only local actors need to be included more,

but also a higher attention should be paid to individuals in general. Peacebuilding is not a strict

concept, it can happen in different contexts and in many ways, and they do not contradict each

other. Peacebuilding is complemented by these distinct aspects, and they should all be considered

important. In the micro level approach, although local activism can be forgotten, there is another

aspect that is heavily neglected. Activism that aims to engage with people in general are not given

due importance (e.g. religion, education, journalism). Usually, they are not considered as important

to peacebuilding as the international movement. However, connecting with the individuals is

necessary in many aspects, including to fight ignorance that leads to violence or to liberate people

from oppression. The following section will give examples of different types of movements that

are related to peacebuilding, and that can directly influence the individuals and, therefore, should

be given more attention.

Different Ways of Peace Building

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As written before, micro level does not just involve direct activism building by

organizations that are engaged with local a local community, it can occur through many ways.

Spirituality, formal and non-formal education, journalism, among others, are just a few examples

on how a micro level approach can happen. However, it is still important to discuss the most

common way associated with local activism, which is related to the work of grassroots movements.

They are usually organized or based on community engagement, which is distinct from other forms

of social change or activism (Foster & Louie, 2010, p. 1). “Community organizing is a

democratically-governed, values-driven process that catalyzes the power of individuals to work

collectively to make the changes they want to see in their communities” (Foster & Louie, 2010, p.

2). It helps to promote leadership and to empower people to be able to take action and come up

with solutions to the problems in their communities (p. 2). Thus, the whole grassroots movement

is based on the central idea of building peace in the local context, usually in a community.

Moving to ways that are connected to the individual aspect of the micro level activism,

journalism can be included. Journalism is, usually more relevant in the context of bringing

information about violence, so that people can identify a problem and advocate for peace. As

Hanitzsch (2007) explains, “public communication is an important factor in the course of events

in times of war and crisis”, because journalists bring these problems into our attention (p. 2).

Although it can have negative impacts when not used properly, as it will be shown afterward, the

media has the fundamental role of alerting about conflicts or human rights violations, especially

in remote locations. It can be connected to a micro level in different ways, but mainly in informing

the individual and also influencing people’s opinion, positively or negatively.

Education is also fundamental for peace, Harris (2004) identifies that ignorance of peace

processes is what leads to nowadays widespread violence (p. 17). Peace education is directly

related to a micro-level approach, as it is necessary to engage with people to teach them about
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peace. It is possible to divide education into formal and non-formal, and both are important ways

to engage with individuals. Formal education is usually associated with the dynamic of classrooms,

with a professor passing the information to students. Although this method may lack a more active

form of engagement, it is still the primary source for educating about peace and teaching concepts

related to it. Therefore, despite being “academicized”, it is fundamental for promoting critical

thinking and peace-related research. Non-formal education is related with experiences and

everyday learning. This can happen through community involvement, which is the case of

grassroots movements, but also learning from parents, through religion, among others. This type

of education can provide a better sense of empathy and understanding towards the people who are

suffering from a certain issue (Bahm & Dokhanchi, 2014). As both types of education have their

strengths and weakness, they are equally important in peacebuilding and are better when

implemented together, since they can complement each other.

Finally, spirituality is also a peacebuilding approach that directly touches with individuals.

In a different way than most of the other processes mentioned, it focuses primarily on bringing

peace to the individual. Spiritual peace is fundamental especially for the people who have suffered

due to violence or oppression. Even Galtung (1985) has mentioned the problem of spiritual death,

which is usually forgotten, and can lead to apathy (p. 146). Although spirituality is usually

associated with religion, to bring liberation and freedom of spirit to people can occur in many ways.

Freire (2005), for example, also talked about the importance of liberating the individual in the

context of education, which will be further discussed later. Overall, this section hoped to

demonstrate the diversity of ways in which micro level peacebuilding movements can happen.

Also, how they can all be related not only to local, but also to individual approach.

Consequences of Not Including the Micro Level Approach

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The absence of direct engagement or consideration of the local level can hinder the

effectiveness of peacebuilding. This section will try to illustrate how and why this happens,

presenting some cases in which activism was harmed by the lack of micro level approach. Also, it

will first show an example of how non-inclusion of a local voice or perspective prevented

international aid to conflicts, resulting in prolonged violence. It was mentioned how inserting a

local level approach is important in many areas of peace activism, and that includes journalism.

The case of the Bosnian War, explained by Zohar (2012), is as a great example. The author

primarily debates how the media can distort concepts and the reality of events, which can have

negative consequences to peacebuilding (p. 98). In this case, the media formed stereotypes of the

actors involved in the war and about the war itself (p. 101-103). The conflict was explained in a

sensationalistic manner and did not attempt to really explain it; as a result, public support for

western military intervention was low and the war kept going (p. 98). This issue happened because

there was no insight or real engagement with the people affected by the conflict. Should these local

voices be broadcasted and given a higher importance, the story of the Bosnian War could be

different. Locals, if they had the opportunity, could have advocated about their concerns in a way

that would reach more people, calling attention to the seriousness of the situation. Only

international media vehicles and experts transmitting the information was not enough to offer a

truthful and helpful perspective of the war. By doing so, the whole peacebuilding process was

impaired.

The next example refers to an organization and its method of activism, that focuses only

on macro level and generic activities. This ended in a lack of coordination of the group, which

hindered its efficacy and efficiency. Izsak (2008) wrote about the International Roma Women’s

Network (IRWN), and how an absence of individual engagement was one of the main challenges

faced by the organization. When IRWN was created, the major goal of the organization was to
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lobby in conferences about Romani women (p. 2). Although IRWN has a Statute delineating its

objectives, tasks, and planned activities, they were general and lacked a feminist perspective (p.

3). Izsak (2008) explicitly says that one of the biggest challenges of the organization is that it

cannot have a great impact in movement building for its cause in the same way grassroots

movements do (p. 4). The author affirms that “organizational strengthening and movement

building should be achieved through capacity-building and empowerment processes” (p. 9).

Another major challenge for the organization is lack of funding, which is usually provided by

international organizations (p. 3). However, it can be related to a lack of micro level approach as

well, since funds given to the organization are linked to the perception of its effectiveness, which

in turn is related to how well it engages with people. Lack of effectiveness in organizations is

especially dangerous because it can result in a sense of powerlessness, a Romani activist even fears

not having achieved anything during her sixteen years of work (p. 4). The IRWN, after five years

of existence, still faced problems to organize themselves and to have concrete achievements. This

could potentially be solved by including a more direct involvement with the Romani women. Also,

by listening to their voice on how the organization can improve would also help clarify its goals

and methods.

There are many ways in which peace movements can occur or that can influence it. This

section aimed to demonstrate how a lack of micro level approach can be detrimental in these varied

contexts. Even in journalism, which is not usually associated with peacebuilding, has proven to

heavily impact peace activism. In the Bosnian case presented, it impacted to the worse due to a

lack of consideration and inclusion of local voice. As for the case of the International Roma

Women’s Network, the organization also faced hardship that could be rooted in a lack of micro

level engagement. The organization could not organize itself and unite under a common idea, they

also were not able to establish specific aims and activities. This could also be solved by trying to
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approach individuals, Romani women, and listening to their opinion and needs. As that did not

happened, the organization’s ability to build movements and empower Romani women was

impaired.

These points, though, do not invalidate a broader and more generic kind of peace promotion,

micro and macro level approach are not mutually exclusive. Rather, both are extremely important,

and a macro level peacebuilding can help in maintaining peace, or providing the tools necessary

for it. However, it is proposed that peace cannot be achieved only by macro peacebuilding,

individual and local engagement are fundamental, as the examples demonstrated. Micro level

peacebuilding might even be more important, as it can lead to macro level changes as well, as the

next section will expose. Overall, the micro level can be seriously forgotten, and more importance

is given to macro level approaches, but it should not overshadow locals and individuals. The next

section will show why this should not happen, and how the micro level can improve the

performance of peace promotion in general.

Successfully Including the Micro Level Approach

As mentioned before, the implementation of a local approach to peacebuilding has been

increasing, and there are many successful examples that can support the argument that engaging

with the local increases the efficacy of peacebuilding. By implementing an approach that works

with the individual, it is possible to achieve change not only in the people themselves, but also

broadly and on a structural level. One of the successful cases that can attest to this has happened

in the Philippines, through an organization called GALANG, which advocates for the rights of

poor LBTs in the country (Lim, 2011). GALANG is a feminist organization that, realizing the lack

of accessibility to poor people in other organizations, decided to develop a model that works

directly with them. Furthermore, although there are laws against discrimination of LGBT people

in the Philippines, it is still widespread and can even affect employment; and religion further
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exacerbates this problem (Lim, 2011, p. 2-3). Thus, the people who suffered the most with

discrimination, poor LBTs, were not benefiting from either laws or other organization’s work.

GALANG’s goal is to empower and develop leadership in poor LBTs at local communities, to

enable them to advocate for change locally and empower others as well (p. 6). From these efforts,

a new organization emerged, and they participated in actions that were not only liberating for

themselves, but that also had a higher impact in the society (p. 7-8). The importance of broader

actions was not forgotten, more ordinances against discrimination were passed in the communities

as more people advocated for them (p. 10). Thus, GALANG illustrates how including a local and

individual approach can be good for the people affected, but can also increase structural changes,

as efforts to promote peace are multiplied.

A situation that has been common in peacebuilding is constructing or reconstructing a

society after a conflict has happened, especially if there is a transition to democracy and elections

need to take place. In Liberia, instead of following a “universal model of democracy”, the election

process took into account many local aspects such as civil society organizations and different

ethnicities (Sawyer, 2008). Although not perfect, as the country still suffers from corruption among

other problems, the 2005 elections were relatively successful, particularly if compared to other

post-conflict elections. Sawyer (2008) mentions that people who helped during the war were

selected in the local communities for the elections, like teachers, nurses, and other local leaders (p.

195). Also, in the elections, many ethnicities were represented, women gained more voice,

indigenous problems were addressed, among other aspects (p. 198). This helped ensure a

diversified election with a high representativeness rate. Peacebuilding in the country was

reinforced not only by international actors like the United Nations, but also by taking into

consideration local and particular issues to the country. Therefore, Liberia is an example of how

international actors can work together with local governance. Instead of taking control of the whole
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election process, the UN took a role of peace guarantor and facilitator, while local communities

and organizations coordinated the elections. The outcome is a peace that, not without its problems,

has been maintained for over ten years.

When considering including a local approach to peacebuilding, it should not just be taken

into account the changes that people can make in their environment, but also on themselves. Freire

(2005) has mentioned how people who have been oppressed need to be empowered. By the

oppressed liberating himself, he becomes able to liberate the oppressor as well (p. 44). Thus, in

order to have peace in the world, people must first find it within themselves. Freire (2015) argues

that people who are oppressed tend to see the model of “being a man” as being an oppressor too

(p. 45). This is one way in which oppression and violence can be perpetrated, and why working

directly with individuals is extremely necessary. If this cycle is not broken, violence will continue

to rise. Freire’s (2005) concepts are mostly introduced and used in school or university classes, but

they can also be implemented informally, such as the case of GALANG (Lim, 2011).

Organizations can and should engage with individuals to promote empowerment and participation

in activities that will liberate and educate them, by doing so, an important perpetrator of violence

can be undermined.

In this last section, it was possible to realize a few ways in which local approaches can be

included in peacebuilding, and how they have been successfully implemented. Engaging with the

individuals can provide both transformation on a micro and macro level. This importance was

mentioned by Freire (2005), who affirmed that there is a cycle of oppression that needs to be

broken by liberating and empowering the individual. GALANG’s (Lim, 2011) case illustrates this

point further, as the organization promoted leadership development to individuals in local

communities, resulting in changes on a macro level as well. Another way was showed in the

Liberian elections (Sawyer, 2008), that took into account the particularities of Liberian society in
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the reimplementation of democracy. The election provided a high representativeness by

considering the views and needs of the different minorities that form the country, which

contributed to the preservation of peace. These are only a few examples, and there are certainly

more, but they demonstrate the effectiveness of the local and individual approach, and the positive

implications it can produce.

Conclusion

Recent international peacebuilding movements suffered from a lack of incorporation of

local approach and perspective. As a result, it has been heavily criticized by scholars who identify

an imposition of Western values that does not take into consideration the particularities of different

regions. The effectiveness and success of a peacebuilding movement can be heavily influenced by

how well it incorporates a micro level approach. This essay defends that not only should the local

approach be given more importance, a direct engagement with people in general must also be

demanded. Including individual engagement is necessary to educate people about peace and stop

the ignorance that contributes to violence. Not only that, but the micro level approach that includes

both aspects mentioned can also lead to changes in the macro level. Thus, a micro level perspective

in peacebuilding movements is extremely necessary, including both local and individual

approaches.

To defend its claim, after providing a brief background on the issue of including the local

approach, this essay gave examples on different peace processes that are related to the individual.

The goal was to call attention that, although education, journalism, and spirituality are not the main

ways of peacebuilding (like international peacebuilding), they are still important in many ways.

Eliminating ignorance and educating, informing, and liberating the people are fundamental in

building peace. It was presented examples that were not successful in movement building, and
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how it could be solved by including a local perspective, both in journalism and in an organization.

Finally, it was shown how a local approach is being successfully implemented, giving examples

of organizations like GALANG that focus on empowerment and leadership training; and how it

relates to Freire’s (2005) notion that internal peace is fundamental for the oppressed to liberate

themselves and the oppressor. Also, the other example talked more about peacebuilding in post-

conflict societies, and how taking into consideration the micro level can contribute to a longer

lasting peace.
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Foster, C. C. & Louie, J. (2010). Grassroots Action and Learning for Social Change: Evaluating

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