The Peaceful Change Podcast explores how international peacebuilding can most effectively prevent, manage, resolve and transform violent conflict. On the Peaceful Change Podcast, peacebuilding experts working at local, national and international levels share their experiences, reflections, and hard-won lessons about how to confront war and build peace. This Podcast is produced by the Peaceful Change initiative (PCi) and is hosted by Fleur Just.
The conflict Sensitivity Master Class Series
Fleur’s guest on this series of the Peaceful Change Podcast is Tim Molesworth, PCi’s Senior Advisor on Conflict Sensitivity. Over three episodes, Tim provides a Master Class in the implementation of Conflict Sensitivity. This pod-casts series challenges many of the traditional tools of conflict sensitivity, and advocates for more pragmatic approaches to implementing conflict sensitive programmes. The series introduces a range of new tools.
Introduction to conflict sensitivity
In this episode in our conflict sensitivity master class series, Fleur Just sits down with conflict sensitivity expert Tim Molesworth to provide a brief introduction to conflict sensitivity. We outline the key steps involved in conflict sensitivity, and provide brief guidance on how to apply conflict sensitivity as an approach to your work. We also talk through how conflict sensitivity relates to peacebuilding and cross-cutting concepts in good aid delivery such as gender and localisation. If you are not that familiar with conflict sensitivity, this episode is good place to start before listening to other episodes.
The Trouble with Conflict Analysis
In this episode of our conflict sensitivity series, Fleur Just sits down with conflict sensitivity expert Tim Molesworth to talk about why conflict analysis is so hard to do. We explore the question of why conflict analysis is so time consuming to do, costs so much, and so very often does not actually help us conflict sensitise humanitarian, development and peacebuilding work.
This episode provides helpful guidance for how to overcome these problems with analysis and outlines ideas for how to take a “good enough” approach to conflict analysis. Tim shares his reflections on how to really tailor analysis to ask the right questions based on what your programme is doing and where it is operating.
Interrogating Interactions
In this episode of our conflict sensitivity master class series, Fleur Just sits down with conflict sensitivity expert Tim Molesworth to talk about how to really understand the interactions between your programming and the conflict context you are working in. We introduce two new, very practical tools for crystalising your understanding of interactions. We also explore approaches to adapting your programming to minimise harms AND finding ways to sustain peace. We provide practical and pragmatic guidance on how to monitor for conflict sensitivity throughout the programming life-cycle.
Conflict Sensitivity Decision-Making
In this episode of our conflict sensitivity master class series, Fleur Just sits down with conflict sensitivity expert Tim Molesworth to talk about the idea of doing conflict sensitivity “due diligence” for decisions about whether to move ahead with a programme or activity where there is risk that it will do harm.
We introduce the Conflict Sensitive Decision-Making (CSDM) tool which consists of four questions, or tests, which should be asked when undertaking any decision about assistance. If the decision passes each of these tests, then that decision is suitably conflict sensitive. Conflict sensitivity harms may still occur as a result of the decision, and new opportunities to contribute to peace can emerge. As a decision-maker you have the responsibility to respond to these appropriately, but in the meantime can act in the confidence that you have done your due diligence.
