In short, inclusive democracy is a form of social

organisation which re-integrates society with

economy, polity and nature. ... The social realm is

the sphere of decision-making in the workplace,

the education place and any other economic or

cultural institution which is a constituent element

of a democratic society.

Inclusion does not mean giving everyone a seat at the

negotiating table. It does mean creating opportunities for

people with a stake in lasting peace to shape it. The UN has

defined ‘inclusivity’ as “the extent and manner in which the

views and needs of parties to conflict and other stakeholders

are represented, heard and integrated into a peace process.” *

Inclusion means it is important to avoid the views and needs

of elites drowning out those of the wider population. To

strengthen a society’s ability to avoid a relapse into armed

violence, groups in society beyond those immediately involved

in the conflict also need to be included in the peace process.

Broad based inclusion leads to more public support and greater

legitimacy for any process and resulting agreement. This is

particularly true if civil society organisations are included in

the process – they can bring local expertise and knowledge,

represent the interests of different communities, champion

the peace deal, and hold the signatories to a peace deal

accountable for its implementation.

There is emerging data to show that peace negotiations

involving civil society produce more durable peace agreements

than those that do not, with the risk of an agreement

breaking down being reduced by 64 per cent.**

Conciliation Resources’ research examines how change is

perceived by those living in conflict-affected contexts.

looks at the strategies used by different groups to

influence political change. In so doing, we are building up a

picture of the role of inclusion, and how best to support the

inclusion of different, under-represented or marginalised

groups in peace processes.

Women, men and gender and sexual minorities across many

sections of society play vital roles in building peace and

helping societies recover from conflict, although too often

they have little influence over the resulting peace. Clear

opportunities to support gender inclusion exist in all phases of

a peace process – before, during and after a peace agreement.

An approach to conflict analysis, that takes into account sexual

orientation and gender identity as well as other factors that

determine access to power, authority and resources, can allow

for deeper understanding of the complexities of violence and

peace. ** Nilsson, Desiree, ‘Anchoring the Peace: Civil Society

Actors in Peace Accords and Durable Peace,’ International

Interactions 38, no. 2 (April 2012)