New e-journal: Journal of Peacebuilding & Development

Online access is now available for the Journal of Peacebuilding & Development (JDP).

JPD is a refereed journal providing a forum for the sharing of critical thinking and constructive action at the intersections of conflict, development and peace. JPD offers a professional and respected tool for promoting dialogue and expanding networks on critical peace building discussions towards coherent, constructive action. Our networks of scholar communities, policy-makers and advisors, practitioners and activists across the North and South that we serve and seek to better serve engage in dialogue around critical issues at the heart of our collective global search for peace. JPD �۪s capturing of innovative practices, policy analysis and recommendations, and theory derived from the on-the-ground realities that people in conflict and fragile contexts face, offers holistic, practical and visionary approaches that seek to influence policy and practice in ways that support transformative processes globally.




This article highlights the gap between institutional approaches to peacebuilding ��� which narrowly focus on post-conflict reconstruction of formal state institutions ��� and the lived experiences of grassroots peacebuilders. It analyses the documented stories of participants in the Women PeaceMakers1 Program at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego, demonstrating that peacebuilding does not occur simply after conflict, but at all phases of peace processes. The article and its three case studies ��� developed with three women peacemakers from the Philippines, Guatemala and South Africa ��� contend that this expands and deepens the practical and academic definitions of peacebuilding. Without this evolved understanding of the concept, women's actions to build peace will continue to be overlooked and underfunded.



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ere is a growing recognition by policymakers and practitioners at the national and international levels that we must better understand the role that social services can play in fuelling instability and conflict and, conversely, the unique value they offer in fostering social cohesion and inclusive development and peaceful societies. By sharing a range of articles and policy and country briefs that provide compelling perspectives on cutting-edge themes in social services, this issue of the Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, in partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), seeks to contribute to policy discussions and programme strategies. UNICEF is pleased to support research and scholarly/practice debate in this important thematic area.
There is an increasing body of work that investigates the relationship between social services and conflict and/or offers foundational arguments that are shaping new policy and programming. In 2011 the World Development Report (WDR) examined the links between conflict, security and development and found that societies are vulnerable to conflict and insecurity when local institutions are unable to provide equitable access to justice and economic opportunities. Surveyed populations rated poverty and poor education amongst the top drivers of conflict (World Bank 2011, 9).1 Background research for the WDR argued that poor access to basic services is a defining characteristic of fragile and conflict-affected states: low-income countries disproportionately face high risks of relapse, and increasing access to basic services raises income levels (Baird 2002, 3).2 Despite this research, the headline messages from the WDR omitted the role of social services as a priority investment in addressing the causes of conflict.


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