Channels, Fall 2018

Page 36 Holm • A Call to Peace complex than this simple definition. In Comparative Peace Processes, international relations scholar, Jonathan Tonge, defines a peace process as, The active attempt at the prevention and management of conflict between and within states, a remit covering the treatment of inter-state, inter-communal and intra-communal violence. The term peace process requires the following: the involvement of most combatants; the cessation of conflict (peace); the formulation and implementation of political arrangements, whether interim or comprehensive accords; the prevention of the re-ignition of conflict (process) and the attempted political management of differences (Tonge, 2014). Guns and Government further clarifies the criteria needed for a peace process to qualify as a peace process. These criteria are that the protagonists are willing to negotiate in good faith, the key actors are included in the process, the negotiations address the central issues in dispute, the negotiators do not use force to achieve their objectives, and the negotiators are committed to a sustained process. Within these criteria, there are a variety of roles that third-party actors can play in the peace process (Mac Ginty, & Darby 2002). Once a peace process has begun there are three basic stages: the pre-negotiation, the negotiation, and the implementation of the agreement (Fisas, 2013). The pre-negotiation stage is crucial as it helps determine whether the parties involved in the discussions are committed to a peace process; it is also where the safety of the negotiators is guaranteed. This is an important step, since no party will enter into a peace negotiation without their safety being guaranteed. The pre-negotiation stage also lays out the “oadmap that will guide the rest of the peace process. Furthermore, the pre-negotiation stage determines the role that third-party actors will play in the peace process. The next stage, the negotiation stage, is typically the longest stage. This is where the parties will actually negotiate the peace process. In this stage it is important that key players negotiate the peace deal, although this may mean inviting difficult personalities to the negotiating table. If all goes well in the negotiating stage, the peace process will move to the final stage, which is the implementation of the peace deal (Fisas, 2013).