Partners for Peace: A Case Study of Local—International Cooperation

Abstract

After the initiation of a democratic reform process in March 2011, the regime in Myanmar, being challenged by democratic and ethnic-based opposition movements for decades, has started peace negotiations with approximately nineteen armed groups, all of them with different agendas and priorities, even within the groups themselves. The government under president Thein Sein insisted in managing all peace processes without any engagement of a third party mediator. The opening process is also marked by an enormous increase of international stakeholders eager to contribute to a peaceful transition. This influx has had different impacts; on the one hand, the international community has enriched the landscape of local actors and contributed to the process by facilitating contacts, sharing expertise and building capacities; on the other hand, the increased presence is also problematic insofar as it bears the risk of enhancing dependency as well as compromising local ownership and inclusivity. The present case study illustrates the cooperation between the Myanmar NGO Shalom Foundation and the Swiss NGO swisspeace as a successful way of constructive collaboration. By seconding a mediation expert for several months, knowledge exchange and local mediation capacity have been strengthened while guaranteeing local ownership and inclusivity—an innovative way to be replicated.