Peace is vital for every society. It is crucial for fostering harmony, stability and cooperation among nations. But there are conflicts in different countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and other regions, including the Ukraine war, the Gaza war and the Sundanese civil war, leading to a lack of peace. Peace steps are definitely made to resolve conflicts and bring peace. However, efforts often go in vain because of geopolitical and other causes. The lack of political will is one of the important causes of continuing conflicts. Without a political will and genuine commitment from all parties involved, conflicts continue to escalate and result in further harm and instability. But there is a lack of political will many times.
It is notable that there are multifaceted and complex factors that create a challenging ground to make strong political decisions in resolving conflicts, contributing to prolonged instability and suffering for affected populations many times. Deep-seated historical grievances, competing priorities within government, external pressures from other countries — or organizations — that are often difficult to overcome and power struggles make it difficult many times to reflect political will. Additionally, the fear of backlash, aggressive foreign policy goals, vested interests of the parties involved and the focus on reelection rather than the solution are notable causes. Among others, the presence of spoilers who benefit from the continuation of conflict also puts barriers to political will, an essential component in achieving lasting resolutions to conflicts.
But political will is not absent in resolving conflicts always. Strong political will has helped resolve conflicts and bring peace many times. The Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt in 1978, which led to a lasting peace treaty between the two countries, is an example. Another example is the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland in 1998, which helped bring an end to decades of violence and conflict. These instances demonstrate that with strong political will and commitment of the parties involved in conflicts, even the most entrenched conflicts, solutions can be resolved peacefully. But diverse factors, noted above, make political will difficult many times, leading to the continuation of conflicts.
It is difficult to generate strong political will from the parties involved in conflicts always — definitely. But diverse steps may help generate strong political will and commitment. Fostering open communication between all parties involved, promoting mutual understanding and empathy and creating a supportive ground for collaboration are crucial. Engagement of the warring leaders in dialogue directly may help generate the political will to seek common grounds and find peaceful resolutions that benefit all involved parties. Leveraging economic incentives may sometimes be helpful. But the good intentions of leaders are also vital, not only for political will but also for resolving conflicts.
Strong international mediation and support are definitely vital to bringing the parties to the discussion tables and finding a peaceful solution to conflicts many times, though they do not bring the intended outcomes always. But diplomatic and mediation efforts by international organizations and different countries need to be effective in generating strong political will from the parties involved in conflicts. Among the mediation parties, the diplomatic efforts of the mutually acceptable third parties, countries and/or organizations that have good relations with the warring parties, may be more effective many times.
Amir M Sayem
Chief Editor
Dhaka Opinion Magazine
