From the Ground Up Mennonite Contributions to International Peacebuilding

by Sampson, Cynthia; Lederach, John Paul

• ISBN13: 9780195136425
• ISBN10: 019513642X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-28
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

In recent years, religion- and culture-based approaches to conflict resolution have been implemented at both the local and regional level. The U.S. State Department, the U.S. Institute of Peace, and other governmental agencies now recognize that religious leaders, transnational religious movements, and faith-based NGOs are central players in the post Cold War era of ethnic and religious conflict. Through the Mennonite Central Committee and its International Conciliation Service, the Mennonites have been the leaders in this emerging area of expertise. This collection of essays chronicles, analyzes, and evaluates the Mennonite contribution to the new cultural paradigm in conflict resolution and peacebuilding theory and practice. Here, essayists provide a thorough account of Mennonite initiatives to prevent, resolve, or transform conflict in a variety of settings. Part One of this volume sets the subject in historical context. Part Two presents case studies of Mennonite peacebuilding in South Africa, Northern Ireland, Colombia, Nicaragua, Somalia, Liberia, Haiti, and Hebron. In Part Three, four non-Mennonite scholars look at Mennonite peacebuilding, comparing it to Quaker and secular techniques, exploring its relationship with Mennonite religious values, and assessing its strengths and weaknesses. Thoroughly researched and carefully argued, From the Ground Up is a vital resource for students and scholars of religion, diplomacy, and peacemaking.

Author Biography

Cynthia Sampson is an asociate at the Institute for Peacebuilding at Eastern Mennonite University.
John Paul Lederach is Professor of Conflict Studies and Sociology at Eastern Mennonite University.

Table of Contents

Contributors	xi
Abbreviations	xv
PART I: SETTING THE CONTEXT
A History of the Mennonite Conciliation Service, International Conciliation Service, and Christian Peacemaker Teams	3	(27)
Joseph S. Miller
Reflections on Twenty Years in Peacebuilding	30	(15)
Ron Kraybill
Journey from Resolution to Transformative Peacebuilding	45	(14)
John Paul Lederach
PART II: MENNONITE PEACEBUILDING IN PRACTICE
Building Peace in South Africa: A Case Study of Mennonite Program	59	(18)
Robert Herr
Judy Zimmerman Herr
Mennonites and Conflict in Northern Ireland, 1970-1998	77	(20)
Joseph Liechty
Partnering with Mennonites in Northern Ireland	97	(7)
Joseph Campbell
Creating Space for Peace: The Central American Peace Portfolio	104	(18)
Mark Chupp
Building Peace from Below and Inside: The Mennonite Experience in Colombia	122	(19)
Ricardo Esquivia
Paul Stucky
Mennonite Central Committee Efforts in Somalia and Somaliland	141	(8)
John Paul Lederach
The ``Bottom-Up'' Alternative in Somali Peacebuilding	149	(16)
Bonnie Bergey
Trauma-Healing and Reconciliation Workshops during Liberia's Civil Crisis	165	(18)
Barry Hart
From Haiti to Hebron with a Brief Stop in Washington, D.C.: The CPT Experiment	183	(20)
Kathleen Kern
PART III: ANALYSIS OF MENNONITE PEACEBUILDING
Mennonite Peacebuilding and Conflict Transformation: A Cultural Analysis	203	(15)
Sally Engle Merry
Mennonite Approaches to Peace and Conflict Resolution	218	(15)
Christopher Mitchell
The Religious Component of Mennonite Peacemaking and Its Global Implications	233	(23)
Marc Gopin
Local Assessments of Mennonite Peacebuilding	256	(19)
Cynthia Sampson
Appendix A: Who Are the Mennonites?	275	(6)
Joseph S. Miller
Notes	281	(13)
Works Cited	294	(11)
Index	305