From the Ground Up: Mennonite Contributions to Peacebuilding Book

In recent years, religion- and culture-based approaches to conflict resolution have been implemented at both the local and regional level. The U.S. State Department and other governmental agencies now recognize that religious leaders, transnational religious movements, and faith-based NGOs are central players in the post-Cold War era of ethnic and religious conflict.

This new collection of essays chronicles, analyzes, and evaluates the Mennonite contribution to the new cultural paradigm in conflict resolution and peacebuilding theory and practice. Contributors to this volume provide a thorough account of Mennonite initiatives to prevent, resolve, or transform conflict in a variety of settings, including South Africa, Northern Ireland, Colombia, Nicaragua, Somalia, Liberia, Haiti, and Hebron. They also look at Mennonite peacebuilding, comparing it to Quaker and secular techniques, exploring its relationship with Mennonite religious values, and assessing its strengths and weaknesses.

Thoroughly researched and carefully argued, From the Ground Up is a vital resource for students and scholars of religion, diplomacy, and peacemaking.