Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) and Yale University researchers studied one of Liberia’s largest peace building programs—the Community Empowerment Program—for answers. The CEP was an intensive community education campaign that focused on civic education, human rights, and community collective action. Above all, the program attempted to impart knowledge and skills to foster dialogue and non-violent conflict resolution.
Overall, the evidence suggests that the education campaign stimulated dialogue and provided some skills and knowledge for non-retributive dispute resolution. This suggests to us that NGOs and governments indeed have the potential to shift norms and paradigms of conflict, especially when the formal rule of law and customary governance are weak.