THE ROLE AND FEATURES OF PUBLIC POLICY FOR SETTLEMENT OF SOCIAL CONFLICTS

Abstract

The article examines public policy and social conflict. The study found that early shared understanding of the risks of conflict is central to prevention. But understanding the risks is not enough; it is important that participants are prepared to adjust policies and programming to address these risks. This requires the creation of platforms at the country or regional level that allow open discussion with all stakeholders about the types of policies and programs that are needed at the first sign of risk, not when violence has already begun and in an acute crisis. It also requires careful management of the impact of economic and social shocks (such as rapid changes in food or energy prices), rising inflationary pressures, etc. When societies are fragmented and polarized, these consequences need to be managed especially well, and sometimes more time and money are needed to implement certain reforms needed to stabilize the economy. Development actors need to be much more aware of the impact of economic and social policies on peacebuilding and security. So far, the participants in development and peacebuilding – at the national, regional, or international levels – are not sufficiently interacting. Development has particularly important implications for security, first because insecurity largely undermines development efforts, and because development interventions can often contribute much more to local security than policing alone. However, this requires that actors—both from the security and development sides—understand each other and engage in constructive cooperation. Finally, the roles of humanitarian and development actors are complementary, especially in terms of prevention, and additional efforts are needed to make the nexus between humanitarian and development a reality.