Since 2006, the CCDP has been carrying out major research projects on participation in peace processes and political negotiations. Three key UN High-Level Panels have now asked the research team, led by Dr Thania Paffenholz, to provide substantive inputs for the review processes that are currently underway.

A crucial year for multilateral peacebuilding, 2015 will witness UN High-Level Reviews on: (1) peace support operations; (2) the UN peacebuilding architecture; and (3) the implementation of resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. These three initiatives will generate UN Secretary-General reports that will set the tone for UN and regional organisations’ engagement in peace processes over the next decade.

International organisations have often assumed that the inclusion of additional actors such as civil society, political parties, and other groups alongside the main conflict parties positively affects political negotiations. However there has been an absence of empirical data to support this assumption. Backed by in-depth studies of 40 peace settlements, the new CCDP results hope to fill this knowledge gap. Two research projects, Broader Participation in Political Negotiations (2011-2015) and Civil Society and Peacebuilding (2006-2010), have analysed the role and effects of different actors on the success and sustainability of peace processes. Breaking new ground in this area, the projects have been identified as highly relevant for the work of the high-level panels and the ensuing reports by the UN Secretary-General.

For more information on the work conducted and summaries of the main results, please visit the CCDP project pages or contact Dr Thania Paffenholz (thania.paffenholz@graduateinstitute.ch).