ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on peace-work by faith-based organizations (FBOs) as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and academic institutions for providing a review of the past decade and current trends and programmes. The peace process in South Africa is intimately linked to the struggle against apartheid. Peace and racism are like oil and water. The democratic South Africa was bom with the aspiration to create a new nation, a 'rainbow nation'. A major task was to redress the imbalances of the past for the millions who had been marginalized, yet at the same time to ensure the commitment to the new process of the former elites. Founded in 1992, the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD), under the direction of Vasu Gounden, has played an important role in the political transformation of South Africa. Many of the programmes became part of the South African Political Studies Association whose publications regularly deal with conflict research.