Grassroots Approaches to Community-Based Peacebuilding Initiatives

Kawser Ahmed is research fellow at the Centre for Defence and Security Studies at the University of Manitoba.

In this important study, Kawser Ahmed listens to the voices of community leaders on the front-lines of social justice work in Winnipeg, Manitoba. These leaders are working with nongovernmental, ethnic-based, and faith-based organizations. In his analysis, Dr. Ahmed explores the intersection among structural factors and grassroots activism in the face of social challenges such as poverty, discrimination, and colonialism. This study is significant for learning both the strengths and obstacles to civil society as an engine of social change, and the complexities that shape various forms of violence and inequality in society, and makes an important contribution to theory-building in peace and conflict studies.

• ContentsAcknowledgmentsForewordChapter One: Winnipeg—My HomeChapter Two: Working for the Common Good: Leaders of Community-Based Organizations as PeacebuildersChapter Three: Winnipeg’s CBOs in Peace-building and Conflict Transformation: Strengths and WeaknessesChapter Four: Faith Matters: Winnipeg’s FBOs Special Role in Peace-building and Conflict TransformationChapter Five: Doing Whatever is Needed to Be Done: Moving Beyond Theory to PracticeChapter Six: Where Do We Go From Here? Key Research Findings and Future Research on Social Conflict and Peace-buildingAbout the Author