ABSTRACT
In its 2009 issue, the Heidelberg Conflict Barometer counts 365 political conflicts worldwide. Among those are seven wars and 24 severe crises, amounting to 31 conflicts fought through the use of massive violence (HIIK 2009: 1). Obviously, all of the countries involved need durable solutions to address their deep-rooted conflicts after violence has come to an end, with a truce or peace agreement. However, after the devastating experiences of failed peacekeeping during the 1990s, for example in Somalia, Rwanda or Bosnia-Herzegovina, one thing became very clear for the international community: one-dimensional operations focusing only on peace-enforcement through the use of force, or peacemaking by manipulating peace agreements, alone cannot produce a stable and durable positive peace in a crisis country. Having brought war or genocide to an end, conflict resolution requires a more comprehensive approach, including the development of stable and widely supported institutions from above and the empowerment of communities to build peace from below (Ramsbotham et al. 2005: 215). Thus, the international community of states has increasingly sought the use of ‘democratization’ as a tool to balance conflicting interests of warring factions, to offer institutional solutions for peaceful political decision-making, to constrain elite behaviour, and to educate a broader public in human rights and civil values. As a consequence, democratization should contribute to solving the root causes of conflict, and thereby produce a sustainable peace.
