Middle East

In a world seemingly beset by intractable conflict, conflict resolution needs to be flexible, responsive and innovative. Reactive, short-term responses can miss opportunities for peace, or even worsen the situation. Strategic thinking and long-term engagement is needed.

Third parties tend to respond to conflict from the perspective of their own vested interests and in pursuit of a particular agenda. History demonstrates that military intervention, a common immediate response, generally exacerbates and entrenches conflict; wounds are deepened and become part of a collective narrative of victimhood and vilification.

Alternatively, conflicted parties can be pressured to meet at the negotiating table or to seek common ground and reconciliation through dialogue. However, these processes can be prolonged and fruitless if the parties are not yet ready for them or if they do not provide space to tackle the real grievances behind radical disagreement. They can give a semblance of peace-making while the core needs and grievances of the parties go unaddressed.

With the increase of conflicts which seem resistant to traditional conflict resolution methods, new approaches urgently need to be pioneered. Theorists and practitioners of peace-making, as well as governments and international organisations, must adopt a responsive and adaptable approach.

ORG seeks to lead the way in fresh thinking about conflict resolution, inform third parties and engage with alternative on-the-ground methodologies that first ready the conditions for peace processes, and then bolster them when they are in motion.
 

Our approach

1. Solution-oriented

We do not believe it is the role of third parties to advocate for any particular party or political outcome to a conflict. MEP instead acts as an independent facilitator with no agenda other than how genuinely to transform violent conflict and ripen the conditions for the parties to develop their own solutions.

2. Innovative

MEP explores key issues and questions that are rarely addressed or under-discussed. Its projects make space for under-represented and fresh voices to be heard, and make new links between people. Putting creativity at the heart of its work ensures MEP’s approach is flexible and adaptive.

3. People-centred

MEP believes people determine whether a process is effective or not. For this reason, MEP works hard at understanding the local environment and actors. It identifies the right people to engage in its projects and invests in people by building capacity and trust. Furthermore, MEP adopts a consultative and collaborative approach, working closely with local partners and international consultants and advisors.

4. Integrative

MEP combines practice with theory, believing the two to be completely interdependent; through practice we fine tune theory, learning and drawing from experience; and through sound research and deep understanding of conflict, we can create a more effective and responsive methodology. In addition, we seek to facilitate integration and cross-fertilization between projects, sharing local information and expertise.

5. Strategic

MEP’s approach is anchored in local realities, rather than driven by idealism. We believe it is important to start where parties are and not where third parties want them to be. Methodologies must be strategic, calculating how minimum requirements can be met, and adapting to ensure success rather than doggedly maintaining a particular approach on principle.  

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