Theory in Practice

Denika Blacklock Karim It is quite tiresome to read commentaries that discuss ‘conflict resolution’ in the context of the content of a peace agreement. Although not an expert in the field of conflict resolution, I have fairly good knowledge of what ‘resolving’ a conflict entails, and I’m sure I’m not the only person who wants to bang her head against her desk (or table at the local café, if I’m being honest) in frustration at this conflation of peace agreements with resolving conflict. In fact, in my experience working in post-conflict environments, the gaps in the content of peace agreements made resolving the root causes of the conflict more difficult, not easier. This is not to say that peace agreements are not an integral component of the conflict management process – they are critical to bringing about an end to violence, but they rarely resolve conflict in and of themselves.