Case Study

Religion and Peacebuilding: Grassroots Efforts by Israelis and Palestinians

Frida Kerner Furman

“Israel Responds to Attacks by Bombing Gaza.” So reads the caption under a graphic photo of wounded Israeli soldiers lying on the ground, being treated by workers of the Magen David Ado

Indigenous History, Religious Theory, and the Archaeological Record

A Holistic Approach to the Terminal Hohokam Classic Period

Will G. Russell,

Nanebah Nez, and

David Martinez

More than sixty years ago, North American anthropologist Anthony Wallace defined revitalization movements as “deliberate, organized, conscious effort[s] by members of a socie

Conflict-Sensitive Expressions of Faith in Mindanao: A Case Study

Michelle G. Garred with Sister Joan D. Castro

This case study explores a promising, though imperfect, new way of equipping religious actors to improve their own socio-political impact in societies vulnerable to destructive con

Religious Leaders, Peacemaking, and the First Liberian Civil War

George Klay Kieh, Jr.

On December 24, 1989, a group of rebels operating under the umbrella of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), a warlordist militia under the leadership of Charles Taylo

The Work of Christian Peacemaker Teams in Colombia

A Case Study of Nonviolence Principles in Practice

Julie P. Hart

Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) provides an organized, faith-based, nonviolent response to injustice in areas of acute conflict around the globe. One of the current program sites is Colombia. Colombia is torn by a fifty-year long civil war, drug trafficking, and the U.S.-led war on drugs. CPT began its work in Colombia in 2001 by invitation of the Colombian Mennonite Church. The team currently accompanies ten communities termed “Humanitarian Spaces” and multiple civil society organizations in order to reduce the violence against these groups. This case study evaluates the work of CPT in relation to nine principles of nonviolent direct action synthesized from nonviolent leaders and literature. The study involves participant observation of the Colombia project, interviews with team members, interviews with Colombian nationals, interviews with individuals in the broader nonviolence community in North America, and examination of team documents from 2004 to 2008. In general, CPT Colombia uses the nine nonviolence principles well, especially the principles of “seizing moral initiative” and “confronting and exposing injustice.” There is significant room for improvement in four areas: “mental preparation,” “training oppressed communities,” “withdrawing consent from injustice,” and “asserting one’s humanity.”