Designing a Peacebuilding Infrastructure: Taking a Systems Approach to the Prevention of Deadly Conflict is the twelfth publication in NGLS’s Development Dossier series. The series seeks to contribute to the ongoing dialogue of the international development community through dissemination of challenging analyses and reflections from independent observers and authors on current issues on the international development agenda. Recent issues in the series have addressed the growing debate on corporate social and environmental responsibility and on women’s global activism.

NGLS’s latest Dossier focuses on one of the most compelling issues to be addressed in this century—resolving deadly conflict. It explores what we are doing as a human community to address such conflict and what we should be doing as the decade progresses. It highlights the fact that on one hand, there is a vibrant community of agencies and organizations working in the field of peacebuilding, but on the other hand, there is no overarching structure, little cohesion and extensive fragmentation in the field. The Dossier also advances the idea that the UN can play a much greater role in peacebuilding than currently acknowledged. Designing a Peacebuilding Infrastructure focuses on conflict prevention and peacebuilding, exploring issues such as structural and institutional prevention; the linkages between and among conflict prevention, development, governance and human rights; the importance of regional mechanisms and early warning systems; and the
macroeconomic aspects of conflict, including corruption and small arms transfers. It also highlights the extensive work that NGOs have been undertaking, and the broad scope of innovative civil society initiatives.