Political science, Conflict 

This essay examines the extent to which scholarly work offers new insights into the problematique of conflict prevention and whether there are any significant alterations in the international management of conflict. The existing literature generally exhibits a number of methodological and theoretical weaknesses, which makes conflict prevention less useful as an analytical concept. In practice, states and IGOs tend to dominate conflict prevention, but NGOs are increasingly important actors since most contemporary conflicts concern unstable state-society relations. (Inter)governmental-NGO relations in conflict prevention are characterized by cost-benefit calculations, shared normative concerns as well as competing understandings of peace. As a way of bridging the gap between theory and practice, the author argues for a stronger emphasis by academics on diagnosis and cumulative knowledge of contemporary conflicts rather than endeavours to predict them 

14 p.; 28 cm