ETH Workshop on Swiss Security Policy: Religion in Swiss peace promotion

The opening speech gave an overview of the link between religion, conflict and peacebuilding. It also presented the connection to current global trends, such as weakand collapsing states as well as transnational groups. Peacebuilding efforts have neglected private sector, military and religious community actors, with the latter being ignored  due to the secular bias of many multilateral organizations, states and NGOs. There is "religious illiteracy". With regard to the prevention of violent extremism (PVE), poor and ineffective policy decisions have been made in recent years in particular. Actors in peacebuilding are rarely "ahead of trends". Rather, they often find themselves running to catch up with them.

Conflict resolution approaches should be inclusive and practical. In order to bring about long-term changes, institutional alterations as well as a shift in norms and local capacity building for peacebuilding are required. The keynote speaker referred to the discrepancy between the time needed for structural changes and policy efforts, which are usually neither local nor implemented over a long period. Switzerland could contribute here by not only assuming costs and performing its "good offices" but also by officially recognizing peacebuilding champions.

Panel 1: Swiss Peacebuilding on Religion and Conflict: Concepts and Principles

The first panel dealt with the strategy of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) on peacebuilding in conflicts with a religious dimension. As part of pilot initiatives for conflict transformation, Switzerland engaged with “difficult” religious actors. In 2004, a Religion, Politics, and Conflicts section within the Human Security Division was formed based on these experiences, in order that Switzerland can cooperate with all groups ready for dialogue. The cornerstones of Switzerland’s commitment to peace include a religiously neutral approach, an inclusive approach to religiously motivated political actors, the "right-sizing" of religion (neither over- nor underestimating the role of religion), as well as a practically oriented approach.

The panel's second input provided insights into the historical origins and current circumstances of the Swiss peacebuilding approach. Four elements of political culture are particularly important for resolving conflicts with religious aspects: direct democracy, the principle of subsidiarity, the principle of concordance and the sovereignty of the cantons, which led to federalism. These four interconnected elements have shaped Switzerland's dialogue-based, pragmatic, participatory and consensus-oriented approach to (religious) differences. The Reformation Wars, the “Sonderbund” War of 1847 and the Kulturkampf (1870-1885) served as three examples in Swiss history that illustrated the importance of dealing with conflicts at the local level while focusing on pragmatic and practical aspects.

The subsequent commentary highlighted the difficulty of the term “religious conflict” as it says little about the actual role of religion. It is important to take note of the difference between where the lines of conflict coincide with the religious identities (e.g. Northern Ireland or Bosnia) and whether the issues of a conflict involve religious content. Socio-economic conditions must be considered causes of conflict.

Panel 2: Switzerland’s Commitment to Religion and Conflict: Comparative Case Studies

The second panel was devoted to three peacebuilding projects from different parts of the world (Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan and southern Thailand), representing different stages of peacebuilding (prevention, inclusion during peace negotiations, normalization after a peace agreement). The projects also provided an insight into the various roles religion can play in conflicts.

The first presentation addressed the work of the Liaison and Monitoring Team (LMT) in the deployment of KFOR SWISSCOY in Mitrovica. The LMT’s task is to gather information through conversations with the population and authorities, forwarding it to the commander of KFOR, who uses this intelligence, among other things, as a basis for operational peacekeeping decisions. For the LMT, religion is of particular practical relevance when meeting the local population (taking off shoes during home visits, not disturbing religious festivals, etc.). Rules of conduct, also with regard to religious actors, are taught in the PSO basic training. Good practices include the presentation of an impartial appearance, a clear definition of the role on the spot (by wearing a uniform) and proximity to the local population (shopping in uniform, living in the city, etc.).

The second talk was on the Youth United for Future project in Southern Kyrgyzstan. This project aims at strengthening young people’s role in society, enabling a dialogue between generations about religion and democracy on a community level and supporting youth resilience against extremist rhetoric. Religious helplessness is one of the core problems in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan, especially among young people: The country’s young generation is missing religious leadership, many are seeking guidance on being a good Muslim in mosques, madrasahs (Islamic schools) and on the Internet. Conflict-sensitive work and cooperation with young people on concrete projects, such as labor market integration, were important components of the approach in this case study. One challenge that remained was how to include hardliners and women.

The last lecture of the panel focused on the Intra-Buddhist Dialogue Project in southern Thailand. Southern Thailand has been suffering from an armed conflict that has cost the lives of over 6000 people since 2004. The vast majority of the population in Thailand are ethnic Thai and belong to Theravada Buddhism. Only the country’s three southern provinces are inhabited by a majority of ethnic Malay Muslims. Religion is increasingly becoming a divisive factor and identities constructed along religious ethnic lines are playing an important role as a distinguishing feature in the conflict. The Intra-Buddhist Dialogue Project aims at creating a space for leading Buddhist actors from central and southern Thailand to work on the peaceful coexistence between Buddhists and Muslims and a non-violent transformation of the conflict in the south. The inclusion of moderate and radical representatives remains a challenge due to different ideas about dialogue, as does the establishment of a similar dialogue project on the Muslim side.

Panel 3: Paths into the Future: Challenges and Open Questions

The concluding panel discussed long-standing and new challenges for Swiss peace policy in the area of religion and conflict. One of the central challenges facing the Swiss public and the secular Swiss state is the “shyness with regard to religion”. Faith-based peacemaking has been hardly discussed, and inputs from confessional organizations such as HEKS or Mission 21, which are active in development and peace work with their own religious identity, would have been good additions to the program of the workshop.

During the workshop, it became clear that while employees of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) come into contact with religion during missions abroad, general guidelines for dealing with religion are not available for the department. Opinions differed on the need for guidelines on sensitivity to religion in military operations. The decisive role of parliament was also discussed, particularly in the budgeting of military peace operations, as was the parliament's interest in Switzerland's commitment to peace abroad.

Further Information on Culture and Religion in Mediation program (CARIM)

Further Literature:

• Religion und Konflikt in der Schweizer Friedenspolitik, Bulletin zur Schweizerischen Sicherheitspolitik (2018)
• Addressing Religion in Conflict: Insights and Case Studies from Myanmar, CSS Mediation Resources (2019)
• Swiss Experiences in Addressing Religion in Conflict, CSS Analyses in Security Policy No. 229 (2018)
• Religion and the Prevention of Violent Extremism, CSS Policy Perspectives, Vol 6/6 (Oct. 2018)
• Rethinking Mediation: Resolving Religious Conflicts, CSS Policy Perspectives, Vol 6/1 (Feb. 2018)