ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how non-official peacemakers develop and employ the sources of power to help conflict parties move toward settlement. It takes a broad view of the nonofficial world, and includes examples from international and local organizations, both large and small. It also takes a broad view of peacemaking, considering it to encompass negotiation and mediation as well as many peacebuilding activities that precede, follow and surround peace talks, from negotiation training to building a constituency for peace in the wider society. The chapter uses the term civil society organizations (CSOs) to refer to the larger, more inclusive category of entities—some quite informal and others with legal standing—operating within a civil society environment which could be local, national, regional or global. It refers to Nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) as private, self-governing, not-for-profit organizations dedicated to some kind of public service.
