The Society for Peace Studies and Practice

The Society for Peace Studies and Practice, SPSP, is a civil society body that seeks to integrate peace scholarship and practice as a way of advancing the development of the culture of peace. SPSP provides a collaborative space for peace scholars and practitioners from various areas of specialization to creatively share and synthesize ideas and experiences as a way of evolving a more holistic approach to the understanding and practice of peace.

Sustainable peace, the goal of multi-level intervention, has been elusive in Africa partly because efforts of state and civil society actors in the quest for peace have not been coalesced into the type of leveling focus that could serve to coordinate and translate these diverse peace actions into unified achievement. Consequently, the field of peace and conflict studies and practice in Africa has been defined more by unfruitful competition than by a productive collaboration between peace scholars and conflict management practitioners. SPSP, an initiative that emerged from discourse between scholars and practitioners on the Peace and Conflict Studies Programme of the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, was formed in 2005 to meet this challenge.

The absence of constructive symbiosis between the contemplative work and findings of peace scholars and the experience of peace practitioners whose engagements are more prone to field interventions portends the possibility of their efforts being contentious rather than complimentary. It is a truism that peace scholars need the experience of the practitioners for honing their context-specific analyses; the practitioners equally need the scientific insight, as well as familiarity with current findings in relation to best peace practice that research provides.

SPSP aims to maximize the largely untapped potentials inherent in the integration of peace study and practice through actions such as joint-project designs, joint facilitation of operational strategies in programmes, joint monitoring and evaluations, and other myriad opportunities that a creative cooperation between peace scholars and practitioners will lend to the quest of transforming conflict energies emerging from inevitable and often violent social interactions in contemporary Africa to peace resources.

Vision

The emergence of a professional platform for synergic relationships focused on sustainable peace and development (in Africa)

Mission

Building and strengthening the capacities of scholars, practitioners and others for qualitative service delivery in peace and development work.

Goal

SPSP will attempt to streamline, standardize and promote peace practice in Africa and add value by building the capacity of scholars and practitioners for better service delivery through high quality training programmes in conflict analysis and management, project design/implementation/monitoring and evaluation, and peace building techniques that are tailored to meeting specific needs. The ultimate goal is to make the work of SPSP beneficial to both academics and development workers. SPSP aims to bring state actors closer to researchers and civil society actors and enhance their capacities to seek joint solutions as agents of change. This strikes us as a better way for dealing with the threats that emerge from conflict processes within our society.

Objectives

The Society for Peace Studies and Practice seeks to

• Promote the culture of peace through the practice of ADR as well as education and advocacy
• Facilitate collaboration among scholars, practitioners, and other stakeholders; and
• Establish and strengthen structural and institutional framework for coordinating the activities of SPSP at all levels.

Structure

As presently constituted, with the national secretariat in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, SPSP’s national spread in Nigeria covers the existing six geopolitical zones of Nigeria where it has zonal offices and zonal coordinators that coordinate its activities in concert with the national secretariat. SPSP also collaborates with other stakeholders in development, advocacy and other peace and development-oriented fields who, though are not in mainstream peace study and practice, but whose activities enable and sustain the overall peace and development of the country.

In line with its constitutional provisions, memberships of SPSP is open to individuals working and researching as agents of change in peace and development-related fields in the academia, institutions of state and the broad spectrum of civil society. The structural goal is to build synergy among all stakeholders for more effective intervention.