"This report presents the author's experiences regarding the relation of international interventions and local institutions in the (post-)conflict countries of Bosnia, Kosovo, Iraq, Sudan and Afghanistan. Haselock states that media reforms are most successful where they are the result of partnership ... s with local stakeholders, or where local professionals and the civil society have taken ownership of the peacebuilding process. This approach involves international planners having a high understanding of the social and cultural situation and the conditions of the conflict. Therefore, they need to be part of two-way communication, where they are regarded as learners, following a "you know best", instead of a "we know best" approach. However, Haselock shows that foreign implementers often do not include local stakeholders enough, evoking refusal of international peacebuilding interventions." (commbox) more

"This paper introduces a set of methods that have been used to capture attitudes and opinions in a conflict environment. Based on an ongoing project in Darfur, it details the two main streams of research: one developed to carry out interviews on the ground to allow people to frame key issues using t ... heir own language and world views; and the other, to keep contact with the formation of opinions from a distance, particularly when the security situation or other obstacles prevent the researchers from being in the field. The result of the combination of the two streams is the production of rich narratives about the actors involved in or affected by the conflict, their interests and the paths they value as the most effective to overcome the crisis and move toward reconciliation. The objective of this, and similar research, is the development of a grassroots diplomacy, a way to include a wider variety of voices in the negotiation process and in the building of a consensual idea of a post-conflict society." (Abstract) more