How to Write a Conflict Analysis

Part of being a "professional peacebuilder" in training, means I'm required to analyze conflict. How did it happen. Why did it happen. What are the factors. This is typically presented in a written paper. A general part of university life is discussion about your "research methods." ("I took a random sampling which I cross referenced with xyz and then conducted interviews looking for keywords which were consistent with abc and then..." I'm taking quantitative program eval this semester so I'm now fluent in talking the talk.) Take notes now, because I'm pretty sure you may have to write a conflict analysis someday.

A conflict analysis is much the same as a research paper (a problem with my first draft). I choose to write mine on Zimbabwe, not an overt conflict but still a conflict. This ended up being both a positive and negative thing; positive in that I had a massively broad understanding on the subject, negative in that it was personal and difficult to be objective. I begin by reading. I checked out 11 books from the interlibrary loan. I only read 5. I researched online information from governmental and non-governmental organizations, human rights groups, and news services such as Reuters, BBC, and AP. It was a somewhat gradual process using about one free evening a week to research for 4/5 hour blocks at a time. I think I kind of when overboard with the research.

A conflict analysis has an outline. Unlike a general research paper on any given country, you're focusing on power, parties, sources for conflict, identity, gender, human rights, and any historical interventions. Peacebuilding is an interdisciplinary field, and in minor refection of that, all categories sort of mesh together with sources drifting into parties which leads into identity, and on it goes. Most challenging for me is that you do need to analysis the data, it is conflict analysis. You need to interpret the data in an academic non-biased manner, and share these findings.

Volia. These are the fundamentals. I wish you well should you ever attempt writting one yourself. (I have to do another next year.)