Quotessence
Home / Books / The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World

The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World

Book by Severine Autesserre · 3 quotes · Peacebuilding, Grassroots Organizing, International Peace

Filter quotes by topic

The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World Quotes

“It's daughters playing soccer with the children of the rival group, sons marrying outsiders, aunts trading with longstanding enemies, and individuals of all backgrounds sharing a market, hospital, school, or art center with the people they've been told to hate. In their day-to-day lives, ordinary people often engage in actions that observers view as banal and unimportant, when in fact these everyday acts help establish relationships that can prevent local outbreaks of violence and, at times, serve as the basis to deal with conflict.”

“Model interveners often challenge the enduring stereotypes about local people. They point to authorities who have the expertise, competence, motivation, and work ethic essential to peacebuilding, and to ordinary citizens who are intelligent, selfless, and trustworthy. They emphasize that host populations have far more relevant knowledge, contacts, and means to resolve their own predicaments than interveners usually believe.”