Peacebuilding and peaceful political transitions

PPTI recognizes that both peacebuilding and peaceful, democratic political transitions are key to overcoming state fragility and conflict. State fragility is a primary cause of protracted conflict. States with weak political institutions are more vulnerable to violent conflict.   Durable peace can be built and sustained through participatory transitions to democracy accompanied by inclusive development strategies designed to ameliorate horizontal inequality, also a cause of violent conflict.  Political transitions are also critical opportunities to establish the rule of law. 

PPTI grounds its work in peacebuilding and political transitions in conflict analysis in order to understand what is happening on the ground, where, how, why, and with whom.  In turn, PPTI provides support and assistance in peace process design and management, as well as support to key actors in the peacebuilding process.  PPTI believes that inclusion, participation, transparent and timely information sharing and education about peacebuilding and transition processes are essential, and therefore provides technical advice and support not only to governments, but also to civil society, citizens’ groups and other actors.  

Law and Inclusive development

Grounded in law and development theory, PPTI believes that contemporary state practice requires that state policy be formulated in terms of law, particularly in order to create an enabling environment to foster socio-economic development processes.  PPTI strives to equip stakeholders to translate seriously intended, publicly avowed policies into effectively implementable law.  Our approach to law and development is inherently strategic, multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral, and utilizes inclusive growth diagnostic, gender analysis and critical political economy approaches to policy analysis, design, innovation and integration. This in turn ensures that legislative agenda design and legislative drafting are oriented to inclusive economic growth and development as an intrinsic part of state building and democratic governance.  

research, Program design and evaluation

Based on its commitment to knowledge in the service of democratic social change, PPTI engages in investigating, producing and sharing information and knowledge.  PPTI works with counterparts to design the most appropriate approach in line with client needs and wants.  For instance, PPTI connects rapid needs assessments and consultations to map out the basis for technical program design and the required  assistance and resources.  In addition to research and program design, PPTI conducts mid-term and final evaluations of program delivery and efficacy. PPTI utilizes mixed-method approaches to research, program design and evaluation activities, including participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods.   

Transformative constitution making                

The core idea of transformative constitutionalism is change to achieve a truly just society, legal system and state.  Transformative constitutionalism advances the notion that change and contestation are constant over time, particularly in the quest for equality and social justice such as envisaged by the Sustainable Development Goals. Constitutional process design is critical to achieving an enduring, nationally owned process that is inclusive, representative, credible and legitimate.  Equally critical to the transformative impact of a constitution is its substantive design and the content of the constitutional text itself.  PPTI utilizes the methodologies of comparative law and evidence based problem solving to design constitutional process and substantive content options based on unique country circumstances.  

Peace Leadership Development

Research shows that most armed conflicts today end in a process of attempted peace making through negotiated settlement. Psycho‐social trauma is a hidden but important part of the legacy of conflict that affects communities and people at all levels, including leaders. The effects of trauma in such societies can affect interpersonal relations, bureaucratic behavior and all facets of political, socio-economic and cultural life. And yet, the damage and trauma experienced by leaders at the negotiation table is often not acknowledged or addressed in peace negotiations and other transitional processes.  This hampers the possibility of true and lasting peace emerging from processes that do not adequately address the unhealed trauma of the negotiators themselves, much less healing and reconciliation at a national level. 

PPTI believes that supporting the healing of leaders and communities could transform peace negotiations to become actual meetings of the hearts and minds which may help to break the deeply seeded cycles of violence that exist in post-conflict countries and truly start to heal these nations as a whole.  Noting this void in current modes of assistance, PPTI provides individual and group leadership mentoring and support as well as specifically tailored assistance for intercommunal healing in furtherance of national reconciliation, transitional justice, and lasting peace, including assistance in the design and management of such processes. PPTI also offers violence prevention analysis and assistance, mediation and conflict resolution services, conflict management and analysis expertise, as well as capacity and skills trainings in these areas. 

Legal drafting Support and Training

PPTI seeks to empower and capacitate government officials and citizens in countries suffering from the effects of uneven global development, problems of state building and state functioning. Inclusive, participatory and evidence based law making is a primary driver of just and equitable development based on the full realization of human potential and innovation.  However, precisely because of the inherently political nature of law making, PPTI's constitutional and legal drafting methodology is grounded in evidence-based problem solving to balance political dynamics with evidence and facts.

This approach in turn, empowers citizens to "speak truth to power" and underscores the duty of law makers to serve the public interest by drafting effective laws to solve intractable social problems hindering peace and development.  PPTI provides structured, tailored legal drafting training to government officials, civil servants, parliamentarians, judges, lawyers, and civil society organizations, among others.  PPTI also provides legislative assessment and analysis training to government officials and others who may not be charged with the duty of legal drafting, but must be able to properly read, interpret and apply statues and regulations. Training is tailored to the needs of participants, and centered around real-world, live drafting projects to address social problems with an emphasis on drafting for human rights and women's rights, and against corruption.

State building and Democratic Governance

Political transitions, particularly after conflict, often require re-constituting the state and state institutions in accordance with principles of democratic governance - transparency, accountability and participation among them.   Democratization and state building in the aftermath of conflict often co-occur.  While acknowledging academic debates about this reality, PPTI views democratic governance itself as based on the rule of law.  Therefore, also in this area of its practice, PPTI views law making processes as critical to both state building and democratization, especially in transitional and post-transitional contexts - and particularly in fragile and conflict affected states.  PPTI therefore focuses on executive and legislative institutional strengthening, inter-branch cooperation, governance systems development as well as political process strengthening.

Rule of Law, Judicial Branch, Justice and Legal System Strengthening

PPTI views the rule of law and democratic governance as intrinsically, inextricably bound together.  For instance governance may be assessed in terms of the degree to which it achieves and delivers security, promotes prosperity, and ensures prosperity is shared.  The role of the law and the justice sector is critical in ensuring these outcomes are achieved, particularly in fragile and conflict affected states.  PPTI focuses on judicial branch design, functioning, processes, judicial training, judicial independence, support to bar associations, law schools, lawyer training and education, legal aid, and access to justice, including police, correctional and security sector oversight and reform.  

PPTI is guided by clearly defined rule of law principles with a specific and direct bearing on democratic governance: legality, accessibility, accountability, the right to be heard, the right to appeal and transparency. A core part of PPTI's work in this area also involves integrating and reconciling different legal systems, such as customary laws and secular laws with new constitutional mandates as well as legal reform in line with constitutional mandates through implementing legislation.  

expert advisory and professional services

Based on client needs, PPTI provides confidential, expert advisory and professional services directly to clients, whether they be governments, universities, law schools, civil society, media organizations and the like.  These services include but are not limited to constitutional or legislative process design advice, content analysis, comparative legal analysis, mentoring, legal drafting and policy advice.  PPTI experts will also serve as embedded, confidential advisors "behind the scenes" as, for example, extended Ministry staff, working directly with clients or counterparts to achieve their desired goals.