ISSN: 2151-0806
social bonds and new and stronger relationships. Peace builders focus on relationships because “it connotes the potential of transformation by changing the way people interact—by focusing on the interaction itself” (Saunders, 1999, p.33). When interaction is cooperative and caring it can be termed positive reciprocity but when interactions are violent they almost certainly result in more violence (negative reciprocity). Conflicts come in various forms and contain many types of violence. Violence can be distinguished by its scale, such as interpersonal or collective violence; by the social space in which it occurs, such as violence in the home or in the public sphere; by its motivating force, such as ‘domestic’, political, racial, terrorist violence and the like; and by its intentionality, which contrasts direct violence with indirect structural violence (Brewer, 2010, p.16).
Because conflict contains some or many forms of violence when seeking peace it may be useful to focus on future nonviolent interactions rather than past violent actions. A peace process seeks to “restore the connective tissue necessary to…reestablish a functioning society” (Saunders, 1999, p.26). However, a peace process is often concerned with negotiating social values of exchange in order to produce a “concrete agreement” between adversaries and as such may focus on interests instead of issues and settlements instead of relationships (Saunders, 1999, p.85.).
A Reciprocal Peace Process A reciprocal peace process does not result in a contract or negotiated settlement, rather, it forms beneficial partnerships of “unconditional altruism” that can transform prior antagonisms and form long-term positive regard resulting in continued constructive interaction (Kolm, 2008, p.17). If a peace process is to be considered reciprocal it has to include a number of features: it has to seek or result in a long-term relationship, it has to provide benefit to those targeted in the reciprocal exchange and it has to contribute to the goals of positive peace and therefore not only achieve “peace by peaceful means” but act to prevent future violence (Galtung 1996). There are thousands of peace processes that seek or have sought to contribute to making peace. In the following section this paper will briefly describe the parameters of nine different peace processes to investigate whether they can be considered reciprocal peace processes. While the scope of this paper does not allow for an exhaustive exploration of each peace process the goal of this analysis is to identify the main actors, intentions, instruments and outcomes of these processes. While many organizations and collectives seek to foster development and well-being in places of poverty and limited infrastructure the following peace processes have been selected because they are active in areas with prior or ongoing inter-ethnic/national violent conflict. Track 1-Governmetns: Dayton Accords (Bosnia) Actors The Bosnian war erupted in 1992 as a result of the breakup of the former Yugoslav Republic. The war lasted for three years and combatant groups emerged from three ethno-nationalist groups: Orthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croats and Muslim Bosniaks. The territorial goals of Peace Studies Journal, Vol. 6, Issue 3, July 2013
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