conflict transformation

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

an approach to peacebuilding developed by scholars including John Paul Lederach that moves beyond managing or resolving immediate disputes to addressing the underlying relational, structural, and cultural conditions that generate and sustain cycles of violence and conflict; while conflict resolution focuses on ending a specific confrontation, conflict transformation asks how conflict can serve as a catalyst for constructive social change, transforming the relationships, institutions, and societal patterns that produced it; this approach emphasises long-term relationship-building, the empowerment of local peacebuilders, attention to structural inequalities of power, and the integration of justice and reconciliation as components of sustainable peace; conflict transformation has been particularly influential in post-war societies undertaking transitional justice processes