Ep 03: Adaptive Peacebuilding with Cedric De Coning

Cedric de Coning is a Senior Research Fellow in the Research Group on Peace, Conflict and Development at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and he is also a Senior Advisor for ACCORD (African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes).

He has 30 years of experience in research, policy advice, training and education in the areas of conflict resolution, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and peace and conflict studies. Cedric has a Ph.D. in Applied Ethics from the Department of Philosophy of the University of Stellenbosch, and a M.A. (cum laude) in Conflict Management and Peace Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Steve sets the tone for the interview by introducing the types of global situations and conflicts that the international community is addressing today: how we respond to divide and/or violent societies where the context is complex and unpredictable and the situation changes rapidly. In these contexts, it is difficult to know appropriate strategy to move forward and any solution will need to be locally owned.

In this interview, Cedric and Steve cover several topics including:
-The realities of being an “outsider” in complex contexts
-The key elements of a strong adaptive approach
-What to do when your process isn’t working
-How to encourage adaptive programming in your organization
-The role of “insiders” and “outsiders” in complex, often violent, contexts
-When to use (and not use) an adaptive approach
-How “outsiders” can support the building of resilience
-What it would mean for the United Nations to take up adaptive programming

adaptpeacebuilding.org/