Peace Building - Finding Common Ground

My field experience as a practitioner has made me come to the conclusion that the gravamen of Peacemaking, Conflict Resolution and Peace Building efforts is the search by practitioners in charge of specified geographical locations for durable interest based common ground that is shared by the conflictants or disputants in that location to the extent that it is capable of mobilising their collective effort at consuming the conflict itself in their own collective interest. The atrocities and devastation that the world has experienced in violent conflict situations over the years has began to bring the very natural human tenet of Human Security more than any other consideration to the fore as the bottom line that should inform, drive and empower all actors including the international community towards a condemnation of senseless killing and a crave for peaceful co-existence. Literature abounds and continues to be developed on what the crucial factors are and how to proceed to attain peaceful coexistence despite the turbulent milieu of different and changing situations, considerations, players and the very global notion of diplomacy. In this dynamic, it becomes necessary for practitioners to share their field experience on the sticky situations they have had to confront in finding and sustaining common ground in conflict situations for the benefit of other practitioners. Let's share our experiences in sticky situations we have been confronted with in our quest to prevent or resolve violent conflict in order to ensure Human Security and global peace. Please share your experience or contribute a joke that would lighten the psychological burden on a practitioner in the field. Those in the field need our support.

Larry