Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and Peacebuilding in the Bawku Traditional Area of Ghana: Failure or Success?

Abstract

The role of CSOs in peace building is very unique since they are often seen by factions in conflicts as neutral and trustworthy. This paper is an empirical study which examines the roles of CSOs in the peace building process in the ethnic conflict in the Bawku Traditional Area of Ghana using views of 220 respondents. As part of this, the paper makes an assessment of CSOs’ role in peace building in the Bawku Traditional area. The findings in the  paper reveals that despite the important role of CSOs in mediation and curbing the spate of violence in the area, they are seen by some factions in the conflict as bias and their approaches to peace are not effective.

Key words: CSOs, NGOs, Bawku, Ghana, conflict, peace building, violence, role and assessment