Peacebuilding needs to come full circle back to its origins. In the early 1990s, when the developed world was becoming overwhelmed with a backlog of failed peace negotiations in the wake of the end of the Cold War, it was clear that without the consolidation of peace within a country, externally-driven, negotiated peace agreements could not deliver conflicted societies from the grip of violence and destruction. The concept of peacebuilding arose out of a recognition that from within a society, structures needed to be identified and supported that would strengthen and solidify peace, says Deputy Director-General Jerry McCann in this article published in the Dag Hammerskjöld Foundation's Development Dialogue.

He explains how external actors must reconsider their support so that peace is built from within society, ensuring that these efforts are locally owned, in line with the fundamental tenants of peacebuilding.

Read the full article here.