Ethics for Peacebuilders - (Peace and Security in the 21st Century) by Reina C Neufeldt (Paperback)

About the Book

This book provides guidance for structuring ethical reflection as well as analytical tools to get to the heart of issues quickly. Examples, scenarios, and discussion questions help draw out key issues to improve peacebuilding practices. It will help identify and analyze ethica...

Book Synopsis

This book provides guidance for structuring ethical reflection as well as analytical tools to get to the heart of issues quickly. It is designed to help practitioners engage ethically in applied peacebuilding and conflict transformation and to help students aspiring to be peacebuilders think about ethics. It discusses ethics and morality, significant barriers to ethical deliberations in applied work, moral theories, creative problem-solving for situations when moral values conflict, and the need for healthy ethical organizations. Throughout, concrete examples, scenarios, and discussion questions help draw out key issues to improve peacebuilding practices. Detailed case studies include peacebuilding initiatives in East Timor, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, and more.

Written by an experienced practitioner, the book will help identify and analyze ethical problems and resolve moral value conflicts to create healthy practices. It will provide valuable guidance for thinking ethically about peacebuilding work and handling the specific dilemmas related to it.

Review Quotes

Reina Neufeldt has illuminated a critical issue for peacebuilders, namely the ethical base of their work as it translates into practice. Her discussion is apt, thorough and practical with careful discussion of moral theory and frameworks as well as practical examples (good and bad) and tools for anticipating field based ethical challenges and addressing them. Everyone who imagines him or herself to be a peacebuilder should read this volume.

In the growing field of peacebuilding, ethical practices have become necessity for each practitioner. Whether an academic institution or a civil society organization, adopting a clear set of ethical standards for peacebuilding is not only crucial, but also imperative to enhance the field's credibility, as well as to ensure effective results. This book is a pioneer text that offers practitioners and academics the tools, conceptual frameworks, and illustrations needed to be an ethical peacebuilder. The real life cases and the author's experience enhance the relevancy of the guide for all peacebuilders. It is a must for practitioners and educators.

Neufeldt, who teaches peace and conflict studies at Conrad Grebel University, also serves as a consultant on monitoring and evaluation in peacebuilding. To this work, she brings some of the same strengths I have come to appreciate from her body of writing in that area: keen attention to power dynamics, careful consideration of process, and a gentle critique of top-down, liberal peacebuilding models in favor of localized, bottom-up, and grassroots approaches. . . . [her] thoughtful volume on applied ethics delivers a surplus of insight for students, educators, and practitioners.

Recent incidents involving sexual exploitation and corruption have highlighted what some have called the 'dark side of peacekeeping.' Less intentional are peace-keeping's 'unintended consequences, ' in which operations produce negative outcomes, such as economic distortions. This book fills an important gap by going beyond documenting problems to offering guidelines for ethical behavior in peace-building operations. The book's subtitle, 'A Practical Guide, ' does not do it justice. The analysis does offer more on general guidelines about how to think about the key issues and decisions than provide specific solutions. Illustrative is chapter 4, in which the author applies four moral theories to peace building and raises key questions for peace-keepers suggested by each. Nevertheless, the book is far from an abstract philosophical exercise. The chapters contain specific examples and scenarios (often set off in text boxes) as well as activities and 'thinking tasks' that focus readers on real-world applications of the elucidated principles. Particularly effective are the 'For Further Exploration' sections that conclude the chapters. This is essential reading for policy makers and upper-level peace-keeping officials, but scholars will find much of value here as well. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals.

Reina Neufeldt has illuminated a critical issue for peacebuilders, namely the ethical base of their work as it translates into practice. Her discussion is apt, thorough and practical with careful discussion of moral theory and frameworks as well as practical examples (good and bad) and tools for anticipating field based ethical challenges and addressing them. Everyone who imagines him or herself to be a peacebuilder should read this volume.

This book offers a paddle and a map to canoe through the waters of moral conflict and ethical dilemma inherent in peacebuilding. Essential reading for every student practitioner, and policymaker navigating conflict.

About the Author

Reina C. Neufeldt is a Consultant on Peacebuilding Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning, and Assistant Professor in Peace and Conflict Studies at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo, Canada.