Views & Visions of Coexistence in South Africa

This project was jointly undertaken by the Durban-based African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) and the New York-based Coexistence Initiative. The main objective was to elicit local understandings and articulations of coexistence in South Africa. The idea was to select a few situations where violent conflict had been replaced by peaceful coexistence, and to learn from what the people could share about their experiences. 

Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC) provides the interface between the military component and the political, humanitarian, development, human rights and rule of law dimensions of complex peace operations. Such coordination is crucial if a complex peace operation is to have a holistic or system-wide impact on the conflict system it is attempting to transform. CIMIC Officers are trained to understand humanitarian principles and practices so that they can facilitate the coordination of the military-humanitarian interface, and ensure that any military support offered is complementary to the humanitarian agenda.

Long-time ACCORD researcher, Professor Jannie Malan writes a searching and unique book delving into the wealth of traditional conflict management practices on the continent, and discusses how these might be applied in our current context to embellish, enhance... and even inform current efforts to intervene in conflict.

ACCORD's Conflict Management handbook is designed to be used either for self-study or as a guide to accompany ACCORD training courses.