How Cross-Conflict Divide Dialogue Dismantles One Type of Division but Reinforces Others

• In Event: Unsettling Prejudices and Overcoming Divisions: Forms of Dialogue in the Context of Unresolved Ethnopolitical Conflicts in Georgia

Abstract

The paper discusses experiences of Georgian civil society actors engaged in cross-conflict divide dialogue for last three decades. It argues that in unresolved, protracted political conflicts, people-to-people dialogue might work in contradictory ways. On the one hand, it tries to resolve divisions between conflict-torn sides and seeks to reduce prejudices in relation to the out-group (the conflict side). On the other hand, it might create divisions internally, within in-groups. The paper draws conclusions from individual accounts of 10 peacebuilding practitioners from Georgia proper as well as reflective practice group sessions they have participated through fall 2022, summer 2023, and spring 2024.

Author

• Natia Chankvetadze, Harvard U