The textbook “Konfliktregelung und Friedensstrategien. Eine Einführung” (Conflict control and peace strategies. An introduction) by Berthold Meyer, is designed for everyone studying with peace and conflict research. It composes of four self-contained chapters, each of which consists of an extensive introduction and various essays by notable authors. PRIF scholar Thorsten Gromes analyses the frictions between democratization and peace-building in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bernhard Moltmann contributes with an essay about the lessons learnt from the Northern Irish peace process.
The book’s first part deals with theoretical principles, such as the differentiation between conflict control and conflict settlement, the ambivalent meaning of violence, the challenges of reaching a just compromise and finally international trust building principles as a peace strategy. Democracy can be both a form of carrying out as well as controlling conflicts. Accordingly, the second part of the book deals with conflict control in democracies. The third section focuses on conflicts about ethnic and religious differences. What meaning is for example attributed to tolerance in a conflict? How can a society be reconciled after a civil war? The final chapter deals with conflict control by international organizations, hereby focusing on the United Nations.
The book is published by VS-Verlag and available in bookstores for 34.95 Euros.