Summary of PRIME Study of NGOs

CONTENTS

1. Introduction
2. Task Description
3. Rationale and Objectives
4. State of the Research
5. Six Complexes Concerning NGOs
6. Resource Planning
7. Milestone Planning
8. Plan for Utilization
9. Division of Labour/Collaborating With Third Parties
10. Necessity of Sponsoring
11. Footnotes

1. INTRODUCTION

This report is a summary of a study that was conducted by PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East) between March 2000 and June 2001. The study was funded by the German Government (Science (?) and Development Ministry). The goals of the study were to describe and analyse the Israeli and Palestinian NGOs that work on environmental issues and to compare the organizations that collaborate across national boundaries with those that work separately within their national context. This description is aimed to uncover the main variables that count when approaching these NGOs. The analysis was targeted to try and evaluate certain aspects of the relative success or effectiveness of these NGO activities. This study is clearly only a pilot study, one that should provide some thoughts and ideas for future, more detailed studies.

One cannot relate to this study without addressing the difficult time in which this research was conducted. From October 2000, when Intifada Al Aqsa broke out, the conditions in the region changed drastically for the worse. Not only did the NGOs stop most of their collaborative activities, but the research team also had a much more difficult time completing its data gathering and analysis. Also, what seemed important in March or April 2000, when the peace process was well under way changed: Now, the environment was once again put aside, as people were (and are) being killed almost daily. Therefore, we see it as a special advantage of PRIME that we continued our study in spite of the violent events and, in doing so, also deliver a message - that we continue to work for peace, under the most difficult conditions. We believe essentially that, in the end, the issues discussed here will again become the real issues - and the sooner the better.

The report will start with an overview of the literature. We will then present the method and the questions we posed, continuing on with the description and the analysis of the NGOs, those who co-operated and those who did not. We will end with a summary of the findings and with personal summaries of the four participants in this study - the two principal researchers - Prof. Sami Adwan and Prof. Dan Bar-On and their two assistants - Dr. Julia Chaitin and Dr. Fida Obiedi. We wish to thank Prof. Harald Muller from the Peace Research Institute in Frankfurt for his help in enabling this study and to thank Dr. Chaitin for editing this report and bringing it to its final form in a relatively reasonable time.

2. TASK DESCRIPTION

The project "Israeli and Palestinian environmental organisations in the Middle East peace process. A contribution to the possibilities of action for civil society in post-conflict peace-building" is a project of the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (applicant) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Harald Mueller (project director). The tasks of data collection and first analysis were carried out by the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME) (sub-contractor) under the direction of Prof. Dr. Dan Bar-On and Prof. Sami Adwan (sub-contract directors).

3. RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES

General aims

• Systematically analyse the motivation of Palestinian and Israeli non-governmental organisations in the environmental politics sector to co-operate with the other side.
  
• Compare these motivations with the views about the connection between environment and peace.
  
• Systematise the experiences stemming from co-operation, especially dealing with typical obstacles to co-operation.
  
• Examine the handling of these experiences.
  
• Develop a model for self-evaluation in order to improve co-operation.
  
• Design a guideline for external actors willing to provide appropriate forms of aid for civil society actors in post-conflict peace-building processes.

The project is based on an analysis of the programs, project descriptions and experiences of the NGOs as well as on extensive, structured interviews with the NGOs' leadership and project participants. The systematic elaboration of these questions should provide environmental NGOs, politicians and supporting institutions with guidelines to facilitate and improve co-operation between Palestinian and Israeli environmental groups and also offer - through a problem-conscious form of generalisation - recommendations for helping civil society actors in other peace consolidation processes. This is intended to contribute to the strengthening of a basis for peace within society.

The place of this research in peace related studies

The project is practice-oriented. It aims at an instruction of societal reality according to peace research principles and, therefore, complies with the praxeological orientation of the support program. The research tasks of data collection and first analysis were carried out by a joint Israeli-Palestinian institution. This way, the project contributes directly to the creation of a culture of peace. The co-operation with a leading institution of German peace research is used to strengthen the capacities on the spot.

Young scientists and students from Israel and Palestine participated in the project. It thereby supports the education of young scientists in the field of peace and conflict research in a region especially affected by conflict.

Research objectives

The project integrates the effort to develop methods designed to overcome typical obstacles to co-operation between actors who are basically willing to maintain peace in ethno-political conflicts with the specifics of the conflictual relations prevailing in the Middle East (especially the actors' asymmetric relations). In addition, the study explores the special possibilities of strengthening a culture of peace through joint work on projects which are perceived positively (as regards both interests and value orientation) by both sides. Consequently, the project emphasises applied research, namely the development of civil society peace consolidation praxeology.

4. STATE OF THE RESEARCH

Research on non-governmental organisations

The phenomenon of non-governmental organisations has met with increasing interest during the last two decades. The appearance of groups who are neither legitimated by elections nor protected by the insignia of power, who appear as actors in the arenas of international politics without having control over territory and people and are being noticed and accepted by the traditional representatives of power and diplomacy. This is a fascinating social development, one in which the public has also become used to, surprisingly fast. Science has begun to decipher its meaning ^[1].

Non-governmental organisations vary greatly in their appearance ^[2]. When a wide definition is applied, the spectrum stretches from the churches to the Mafia. We prefer a narrower concept: the decisive characteristics being the non-profit status and the abstention from participation in state power.

Four types of NGOs

Within the scope of this definition, four ideal types of non-governmental organizations can be roughly identified:

• campaign organisations, whose primary orientation is normative and whose most important activity is to mobilise its members and the public;
• expert organisations, whose primary orientation is scientific and whose most important activity is to provide consultation services and to publicly provide information;
• humanitarian organisations, who have an ethical-practical orientation and who try to directly support people in need;
• Grassroots organisations, who have, as active citizens' 'self-organisation', their spheres of activity in local circles. Their work is aimed at developing and undertaking concrete plans and projects. However, grassroots NGOs do not always focus on just one objective.

In reality, it is, of course, not always possible to make such clear distinctions and to assign all NGOs to one of these ideal types.

Growth and history of NGOs

The growth of these organisations is phenomenal. Their number increased from just a handful of such organisations - the most prominent of which surely was the International Committee of the Red Cross - to several hundred around 1950. Today there are approximately twenty thousand NGOs. Since the number of unrecorded cases is certainly relatively high, the real figures are probably even higher. By now, there is no political field where they cannot be found ^[3].

Non-governmental organisations needed the breeding ground of civil society to emerge and to consolidate as institutions. Consequently, they had their origin in places where civil society was made possible by a space not controlled and fully regulated by state power - that is, in liberal democracies. It has been, however, a surprising realisation during the last few decades, that NGOs, once they came into existence, no longer needed this special ground. Let us continue with this metaphor:

• NGO's undertook activities independent from the state, ones aimed at public welfare, but not ones that wished to take over the state's power.
• NGO's functioned as fertiliser in order to let something similar grow and survive also on the dry breeding ground of authoritarian or even totalitarian societies.

Even the strictly hierarchised and censored systems of the Soviet Union or the CSSR never fully achieved the repression of Helsinki groups, such as the "Charta 77". In fact, during the last decade, the growth of NGOs has been highest in Asia, namely the ASEAN states. Although these NGOs were initially a Western product, they are a universal phenomenon today. However, they have not lost their local and regional specifics; in part, their expansion was due to their ability to adopt endogenous traditions of self-organisation ^[4]. NGOs are a culture-transcendent institution.

NGO aims and activities

NGOs aim at effects within social and political realities. Sometimes their addressees are non-political actors whose behaviour is to be influenced directly. The Greenpeace campaign against the sinking of the oil-rig Brent Spar can serve as an example for this. The focus of the action was a private company, the Royal Dutch Shell. Another type of action is direct aid for people in need, which represents the core activity of humanitarian organisations. These groups have political rulers only in sight insofar as they promote or hinder their relief activities and, therefore, have to be included in strategy and tactics as basic conditions.

The major part of the NGOs' activities is, however, directed towards producing, altering or stopping collectively binding decisions by state actors. They do so on three levels:

1. In the form of "internationalising politics" in cases where national NGOs try to make their current government push through certain positions to the outside, thereby helping to change the attitude and practices of other state actors. This remains within the paradigm of state foreign policy.
2. In the form of "transnational politics" in cases where national NGOs engage in networks in order to simultaneously achieve similar changes in a number of states and to influence the international debates. Here state foreign policy is transcended: the NGOs as representatives of their respective societies are effective beyond borders, they become involved in "domestic affairs" of other sovereignties, thereby acting on other levels of border-transcending interaction than states do. Forming networks has become a common practice for NGOs ^[5].
3. In the form of "supranational politics" in cases where the organisation itself takes on a multinational shape with its own head office. The best-known NGOs fall into this category. They are always involved in network building and often form its organisational backbone. Efforts by NGOs to directly influence international organisations, preferably the United Nations and their subsidiary organisations can be assigned to this category of action ^[6].

Effectiveness and successes of NGOs

Unanimously, research has come to the conclusion that NGOs have often been successful in their attempt to exert political influence ^[7]. Considering the differences regarding power between states and NGOs and considering the different bases of orientation - interest on the one hand, value orientation on the other hand - this diagnosis is everything but trivial. However, we should first examine the ways in which political influence is exerted. Five such ways can be distinguished:

• Non-governmental organisations introduce new topics into the international debate or help to change the existing priorities (agenda-setting)
• They participate in processes, which within the framework of an agenda, lead to the establishment of new norms: they persuade key states to become active in favour of a new norm, they bring in proposals for negotiations, they put reluctant governments under public pressure, at times they participate in negotiations - as organisations or individual delegation members - or they facilitate them by providing diplomats with informal places for discussion in so-called "second track" processes.
• Once the norm is established, NGOs see that the new norm is strengthened.
• At times, non-governmental organisations try to make a government or non-state actor change their behaviour in the absence of a norm, by acting directly. The campaign initiated by Greenpeace and many South Pacific organisations against French nuclear tests in the eighties, or the spectacular Greenpeace campaign against Royal Dutch Shell are examples for this.
• Finally, NGOs provide direct aid for people in need by through humanitarian and development organisations. They transfer resources, and the indirect political consequences of this aid should not be ignored. Successful projects, in particular, change on a small scale the environment in which politics takes place.

NGOs have established themselves most impressively in environmental and development politics. In environmental politics, it is possible to work out a scheme to show how international agreements develop. Non-governmental representatives, that are often expert organisations, determine the need for action on the basis of their research. In doing so, they win over elements of state bureaucracies as well as organisations ability to survive. In a second step, a co-operative combination of pro-active governments and networks campaign to make an effort to convince a broad public of the necessity of a certain regulation. In a third phase of negotiations, non-governmental organisations provide a source of information (expert organisations) or provide pressure (campaign organisations) ^[8] to steer the negotiation process into a certain direction. After the negotiations have been concluded, NGOs commit themselves to a quick translation of their aims into action and to a tightening up of the regulations. The European Convention on wide-ranging air pollution, the prohibition of propellants, the Climate Convention, and other agreements have developed according to this scheme ^[9].

Development aid organisations can also credit themselves with successes. They have become major supporters of foreign and development aid and have established the instrument of small-scale projects carried out by forming networks with local actors. The orientation towards reducing poverty, the gradual integration of social aspects into the programs of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund and the readiness of the industrialised countries to at least partly regulate the debts of the poorest developing countries are all the successes of these NGOs. Of course all that glitters is not gold. During the last ten years the glorification of these organisations has been replaced by a rather sober stocktaking. Today we are aware of some of the dark sides of the activities that were carried out alongside the positive ones. For example, there have been inefficient activities which only served as re-funding for the organisations, partnerships mainly with middle-class organisations and not with the socially weakest ones, corruption, and other instances of a misguiding of resources. These blemishes stand beside excellent successes that could not have been achieved by direct foreign aid provided by states ^[10].

NGOs in the field of human rights have also been a subject of thorough scientific research. It has been shown, that in a number of cases, a network of international, national and local organisations, in co-operation with international organisations and some Western states, greatly contributed to a change of political and legal circumstances in certain target states in which human rights had been systematically and permanently violated. Risse et. al. (missing year) have identified a "spiral movement". In this movement, the incriminated state steps from repression to denial, to tactical adjustment, then to actual change and finally to norm integration. In each phase, the role of the NGOs alters, however, in each phase, they are essential for the promotion of the process of change ^[11].

Although the activities of local organisations are difficult to measure, in sum, they are probably highly effective. Since their activities are carried out on a smaller scale and are far less well documented than those of the big, namely the supranationally active, organisations, they are inevitably less in the glare of publicity. This makes it especially important to concentrate more research on this type of organisation.

Non-governmental organisations in peace work

Not only is the functional integration of the world still limited - which makes the existence of a world society (even in the age of globalisation) a project for the future - normative integration, i. e. the development of world society structures, seems to be an even bigger problem ^[12]. Some people consider the ethical-moral, and especially the religious, differences in the world to be so dramatic, that they are afraid that the religions will cause the next world clash ^[13].

The activities of non-governmental organisations, especially the formation of global networks, comprise a different language. Here it has obviously been possible to form, through understanding, normatively oriented value and interest communities which pursue their objectives in a culturally transcendent way ^[14]. Without doubt, there are differences between human rights organisations in the north and the south as regards the relative importance they attach to individual and collective, political and social rights. However, they do not disagree on the core of their demands, namely the implementation of habeas corpus rights. Women's groups argue about role images for their own sex and about questions such as birth regulations. They do so by rejecting arbitrarily assigned inferiority, and they agree that they are against threats and violence against women. Thus, the consonance of a core of rights and objectives that are jointly pursued is the first element of the emerging value community.

The second element has its roots in the practice of non-governmental organisations. This practice demonstrates a claim to participation that exercises one certain form of the political and rejects another. With their activity (no matter in which political or social field), NGOs express the citizens' right to speak and act effectively for public issues, regardless of their formal position within the system of government. By doing so, they deny the claim of totalitarian, authoritarian and hierarchical systems that only holders of power hold the right to define public interest and have the competence to define who shall act in the public interest and what the scope of action will be. NGOs have, as one of their principles, the claim to freedom of political action from below. This claim goes directly against a host of systems of government in past and present. This common political orientation is also valid regardless of the political preferences of the single groups, and it transcends the cultural differences between them.

The third element is also embedded in the NGOs' practice, especially in their networking activities. This element is the intercultural dialogue that represents the precondition of a successful network campaign. The fact that such a dialogue is taking place reveals three points. First, that it is possible - groups from different cultures do not need to remain voiceless. Second, that it is desirable - the groups actually aim at overcoming the barriers, they do not want to entrench themselves behind them. Third, that a common system of reference, and a basis for discourse, exists or can be created out of the groups' value repertories. If this were not true, the discourse would not be possible, because the language games coming up would be totally incompatible. Again, this exists when there is a core of things in common out of which the system of reference can be formed.

This development shows that civil society actors have the ability to overcome patterns of perception, values and language that have been coined by different environments and historical experiences and to overcome cultural and ethno-specific images of the enemy. This ability is the precondition necessary for NGOs to play a role in conflict prevention and peace consolidation ^[15]. The primary issue here is not the exertion of influence on government policy, but rather the development of a basis within society that is capable of supporting peace, in connection with a "culture of peace", i. e. value orientation and a practice of dialogue directed towards a bridging of gaps ^[16]. The following aspects can be counted as the most important elements of a culture of peace:

• The acceptance of the other side as legitimate in their existence, as basically equal and with equal rights, regardless of how asymmetric the real situation may be. The rejection of violence as a legitimate and inevitable form of conflict.
• The readiness for undertaking critical self-observation and for making the effort to understand the other side's orientations, wishes and objectives.
• The ability to carry on with co-operation even in a continuing conflict.
• A calculation of benefits that evaluates gains achieved by co-operation as being higher than those achieved by a unilateral pursuit of one's own objectives ^[17].

NGOs can here try to influence the conflicting parties "from outside", that is, in an intervening, mediating function. This makes sense especially in cases in which the actors on the spot are either unable or unwilling to open a dialogue, due to physical or political reasons that may prevent them from doing so. This is often the case in the most acute phases of a conflict ^[18].

NGOs can also be part of the conflicting societies, which means that they can try to be effective beyond the barriers separating the conflicting parties and they can attempt to bring back their experiences from such "border-crossing" co-operation into their own societies. Larger organisations, as well as local or local organisations, engage in this double role-play ^[19]. Again, one has to differentiate phases and types of activity ^[20]. During the acute phase of a violent conflict and the breakdown of communication between the sides, priority is given to exerting pressure on the political leaderships to terminate the violent actions and enter into negotiations. In addition, it is important to counter the lack of connections on the political level at least with the beginning of a social dialogue.

During the phase of post-conflict peace-building a new emphasis is added. In this phase, there is an attempt to influence one's own society in order to increase its abilities for peace and also to intensify the dialogue with the conflict partners. Co-operation has to cope with a number of typical difficulties.

Some major difficulties include ^[21]:

• cultural differences between the partners, different identities aimed at delimitation that have as their source contrary narratives of the conflict and its history ^[22]
• asymmetric relations between the partners with regard to power, competence and resources
• security problems resulting for both sides from the risks of re-emerging or continued use of violence ^[23]
• calculations of costs and benefits which are unfavourable for co-operation ^[24]

The dialogue can be aimed directly at conflict management, but also at joint projects, for example, in the economic or environmental area. These programs are designed to demonstrate the material benefits of peace to society in order to change its calculations of benefits ^[25]. As soon as the conflict partner is no longer perceived as threat in a zero-sum game conflict, but is thought of as a partner with interests that are beneficial, and at least partially similar to the other party's interests, stabilising peace gradually becomes more attractive than violent action. This enlarges the "Peace Constituency" ^[26] - the circle of those who support peace consolidation.

This strategy complies with the knowledge that has been gained by mediation research, according to which it is important to distinguish between positions (often tied to identities) and interests in a conflict; the reconciliation of differing interests is said to be easier to achieve ^[27].

However, scholars and practitioners do not completely agree whether a separation is possible in the sense that the aspect of position/identity, which resides at the deeper level of the relationship between the partners, can be marginalised without being tackled, or whether the aspect of position/identity has to be made a subject for discussion itself ^[28]. In this paper, the second approach is taken. According to this position, groups that enter into cooperation for their mutual benefit cannot avoid devoting parts of the co-operation to a dialogue on the aspect of their actual relationship. The repression of the different experiences, evaluations and points of view may pose a latent danger which could blast co-operation apart during critical points of the project ^[29].

Non-governmental organisations in peace projects in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

In a conflict between hostile political entities -which is present in the case of this project - the peace work of non-governmental organisations appears in two different forms. The first type directly aims at the objective of peace. This is the actual "peace movement", which seeks contact with the other side and tries to rid its own society of hostility. The other type serves peace indirectly through work on joint projects which are practice-oriented. This includes, for example, the work on educational projects, joint economic projects, social work projects and also activities aimed at protecting the natural environment. In all of these cases, the work for peace is present indirectly, in the cooperative work. Cooperation makes clear that the problems to be solved are perceived as shared problems, that solutions on which both sides have agreed are considered more promising than unilaterally pursued ones. It emphasises that in order to realise one's own interests, cooperation with the partner - that is peace - is sought.

In Israel and in the Palestinian autonomous territories a number of non-governmental organisations are active ^[30]. Their tasks have changed since the Oslo agreement. Whereas earlier the main issue was their (instead of the government's) initiating contacts across the conflict line and exerting pressure on the governments to enter into dialogues with the other side, today a lively, though problematic, dialogue on the political level exists. Although their role as groups that exert pressure in the background remains important to help the peace process over its numerous hurdles, it is now more important for the NGOs to prepare the societies for peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial co-operation ^[31].

A conference organised by PRIME in June 1999 brought together more than forty of these NGOs, some of which had been involved in co-operative projects earlier. However, the majority pursued their objectives within their own borders, and aimed at making changes within their own society and governments. The lack of a dialogue with the other side was identified as a deficit of this work. In the actual co-operation, clear emphasis was put on the educational sector and also on economic projects, human rights, health policy, social policy and environmental policy. Although the majority of the participating non-governmental organisations pursue their projects in their respective countries, they showed willingness to co-operate. A small number of co-operative projects exist between Israeli and Palestinian environmental NGOs.

The experiences of these groups correspond largely to those of co-operating NGOs in other political sectors. They can be summarised as follows. Perhaps the cardinal problem of co-operation is the profoundly asymmetrical relation that exists between the co-operating groups ^[32]. This asymmetry is based on the different level of experience with organisation, the availability of resources, the degree of professionalisation and the fact that each organisation is embedded into a more or less developed civil society. The Israeli partners have advantages in all of these respects. This sometimes leads them to paternalistic behaviour, and also creates prejudice on the Palestinian side that the Israelis' primary interest is paternalisation, even though this suspicion is objectively unjustified. These asymmetric relations reflect the asymmetric distribution of power in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This is an obstacle to cooperation that should not be underestimated. Asymmetric relations require the effort of "empowerment" of the weaker group. However, uneven outputs of cooperation may weaken the readiness for co-operation on the part of the stronger group ^[33].

A second problem lies in the different ways in which historical experiences are assimilated. The Palestinian participants often feel urged to make the low regard, with which their people are often treated, the central issue. The Israeli side see themselves on the defensive and feel urged to defend them. When this occurs, the actual topic of cooperation gets lost.

The third problem is relatively trivial, but relevant. It concerns linguistic communication. The ability to express themselves in the partner's language - Hebrew or Arabic - is low on both sides. As a result, English remains the lingua franca. On the average, Israelis have advantages here - a fact that increases the existing asymmetric relations.

Hidden behind this language problem is the more difficult problem of cultural difference. This problem is bigger on the Israeli side. Many Israelis are less aware of cultural differences, and this ignorance causes them to make mistakes when dealing with Palestinians, which leads to misunderstandings and makes cooperation more difficult. On the Palestinian side - the "inferior" party in the asymmetric relationship - the differences are better represented. Negative consequences for cooperation are inevitable as long as cultural difference is not manifestly noted and worked on. Experience shows that participants in such situations are inclined to ascribe unexpected actions and reactions of the other side to the latter's incompetence, foolishness, malice or lack of interest in the dialogue ^[34].

The fourth problem is the limited freedom of movement of the Palestinians, which hinders the ability of free assembly. The reasons for this are security issues asserted by the Israeli side. Certain improvements can be expected from the transit agreement. The basic problem, however, remains.

The fifth problem is the political disturbances which are carried into the cooperative work through the ups and downs of the peace process. It is not possible to completely shield the collaboration from their influence. It is especially often important for the Palestinian side to articulate their negative experiences ^[35].

This diagnosis widely corresponds to the obstacles to co-operation identified in research ^[36].

Previous preliminary work of the applicant and sub-contractor

In its conference in June 1999, PRIME achieved a first examination of non-governmental organisations on both sides. The project proposed here continues on with this examination by examining and analysing the possibilities of using environmental cooperative projects as an instrument for the peace process and for helping optimise the activities of the groups involved in cooperation to reach this objective. Since the 1999 conference, PRIME has extended its relations with non-governmental organisations in both Israel and the PNA. The fact that Israeli and Palestinian researchers are equally represented in PRIME helps to gain sympathy and trust, especially on the Palestinian side. This was seen as being a major advantage for the intensive interviews that were undertaken.

The location of PRIME, in the Lutheran school Talitha Kumi in Biet Jala near Bethlehem in the West Bank, is also an advantage. One could have anticipated that this area counted as relatively safe and neutral for both Palestinians and Israelis. But unfortunately the Intifada Al Aqsa made this area one of the more dangerous areas, as shooting could happen there at any time. This demanded from us a lot of creativity and also risk taking at times, to continue our research meetings during these troublesome months.

Preliminary work of the applicant Peace Research Institute Frankfurt

Project director

Prof. Dr. Harald Müller

Practical experience

Prof. Müller has been active as a mediator between a group of Palestinian and Israeli researchers since 1996. His aim was to establish a jointly lead Israeli-Palestinian peace research institute as an expression and support of the peace process.

Preliminary work of the sub-contractor Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME)

The conference organised by PRIME in June 1999 has already been described in detail. The insights gained there formed a pivotal basis for this project. Both sub-contract directors are extremely experienced in Israeli-Palestinian cooperation and have published extensively on this issue.

5. SIX COMPLEXES CONCERNING NGOs

Rationale and objective

Support of the civil society is perceived as one of the most important tasks for post-conflict peace-building. However, it has not yet been sufficiently explored how third parties can help representatives of civil society overcome the specific problems of cooperation mentioned above - asymmetric relations, working on the relationship structure, cultural differences and security problems. It is the objective of PRIF, in this project, to provide an enlightening contribution to these issues.

The current project is structured in such a way that, on the one hand, it helps to enhance cooperation on the spot, while on the other hand, it contributes to peace-consolidating support by systematically observing the cooperation process and analysing the data gained by this observation. This structure demands close collaboration with people who live in the area. This has been accomplished by awarding the task of collecting empirical data, and by undertaking a first analysis of the data by our partners, the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East, whose offer is enclosed with this application. PRIF is in charge of analysing the data and results in order to identify possibilities and strategies for intervention by external actors.

In this regard, we proceed from the maxim that the task of external actors has to be reduced, in the phase of peace consolidation, to mere assistance. It is characteristic of peace consolidation that relations develop between the involved parties on the spot. The issue here is no longer mediation but enhancing these relations. Possible external actors in this role include:

• state and non-state support organisations who seek projects especially suitable for the purpose of peace consolidation;
• non-governmental organisations who engage as partners in concrete projects and, in this role, wish to contribute to the overcoming of obstacles to cooperation between the partners from the civil societies of both conflicting parties.

In order to fulfil this task, data have to be collected and analysed in concerning cooperation (and the absence of cooperation) of non-governmental organisations in a conflict-stricken region.

Reasons for the choice of subject

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents a prototype of a conflict in the phase of peace consolidation. There are general and specifically regional reasons for focusing on environmental organisations. The general reason is that the joint work on environmental projects has proved a promising means of peace consolidation in other processes of post-conflict peace-building. On the one hand, the environment itself suffers from the conflict. On the other hand, cooperation alone is capable of achieving common border-transcending environmental objectives, objectives which interest both sides. The meaningful symbolism of "reconciliation among people and between people and nature" is connected with the benefit which is within reach and which is achieved for the affected communities by the projects.

The specific reason lies in the special ecological conditions of the region: the land is densely populated, the zone is partly semiarid, there is a water shortage, and waste management and sewage systems raise problems. In addition, there are the usual burdens caused by intensive agriculture and modern industry. The different levels of development in Israel and in the Palestinian autonomous territories lead to different stresses. Nevertheless, there are a number of things in common.

From a theoretical point of view, it has to be assumed that the analysis of environmental NGOs will result in especially informative insights into obstacles to and chances for the connection of project and peace work. This should bring important information concerning the options of action available to civil society actors in post-conflict peace-building. From a practical point of view, it has to be assumed that successful cooperation of environmental organisations can greatly contribute to the development of a culture of peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Complex I: Basic Research Data

Collecting and working on basic data serves a double purpose. Firstly, basic information gained here can be used for the planned register of political NGOs in Israel and Palestine. Secondly, a foundation is to be laid for investigating whether there is a causal relation between the groups' organisational characteristics, their inclination/disinclination towards co-operation and their successes/failures of co-operation.

It was planned that the data were to be collected in written form at the beginning of the project (by requests to the organisations to send their charter, through questionnaires). It was assumed that many groups - especially the important local grassroots groups - would not have any written documents. These gaps were to be filled during the subsequent interviews with the groups. The following central characteristics of the organizations were to be obtained:

• Name of organisation
• date of foundation (first conclusions with regard to the groups' set of experiences are possible here)
• purpose of organisation (especially important: single-purpose / multi-purpose movements; peace as direct / indirect purpose of the organisation)
• number of members, composition male/female, age structure, educational level, social structure
• funding (primary way of financing: members' contributions / donations / state funds / other regular institutional funding (e. g. trade unions, religious groups) / domestic or foreign support institutions / international organisations)
• scope (local / national / transnational)
• motivation (reasons based on philosophy of life or religion; social commitment; peace work; concern for natural environment; expectation of benefits)
• previous work and projects (important for completing the conclusions with regard to the groups' set of experiences)
• experience with co-operation yes/no?
• if yes, for how long? how many projects?
• with which partners?
• readiness to co-operate yes/no?
• out of which motivation?

Out of these data a group typology was to be created. If the comparison of the data and the first round of interviews result in the conviction that more questions should be posed systematically to all groups in order to collect additional characteristics, a later phase of the project would be planned, namely a second round of interviews.

Complex II: Orientations of the non-governmental organisations regarding the relationship of environment and peace

This complex examines the notions of the causal relationships which determine the action of organisations in the sector of peace/environment. In this part, the following questions are to be examined:

• Which connections do non-governmental organisations create between the conflict and the environmental damages they work on? Do they understand the conflict as causal to the damages? Do they perceive it as obstacle to their work, or as an intervening variable? Or, do they not create such a connection?
• How do the organizations evaluate the peace process with regard to its effects on the chances for improvement of the natural environment? Will peace end the environmental damage, so that an elimination of the problem can eventually be expected? Does peace make the handling of the problem easier? Or do things barely change despite the peace process? Is the reason for this the fact that the problem is independent of the political circumstances or due to the fact that the peace process does not really change the circumstances?
• Do the organizations consider joint projects to be an especially suitable instrument for enhancing cooperation and peace between both sides? What are the reasons for this suitability?
• Does the link between peace and the environment have a primarily utilitarian nature for those who create it? Or, is there a common background of value orientation for a considerable number of groups, out of which commitment to peace, as well as to the protection of the environment, can de derived? Examples for such orientations could be of religious origin (prohibition of killing in the Bible and the Koran / deep respect for nature as God's creation) or they could stem from a basic pacifist attitude (peace between people / peace between human beings and nature)

These data were to be collected in a first series of interviews, using a semi-structured interview. The interviews were to be carried out by members of the staff and student assistants. The data collected in this complex are interpreted as to which relations exist between the motives of people active in the NGOs (with regard to the objects of their respective projects - protection and improvement of quality of the natural environment) and the aim of the promotion of peace. It is reckoned that such relations will be identified, without it being clear in advance whether the higher motivation will be found in environmental or in peace work.

By including the basic data, it is checked whether principal characteristics of the groups intervene in these relations (e. g. age, education or primary motivation): Are there clear differences regarding these three characteristics between those groups who already work in cooperative projects and those who do not do so? Are there differences between those groups who are willing to co-operate and those who refuse to?

The results should provide possible instructions for action concerning the question of how the topics of peace and environment can be more effectively combined in the public relations work of successfully cooperating groups. Furthermore, the results should also prove useful for the work of the sub-contractor, in order to win over other groups interested in one of the two topics for co-operative projects in this sector.

Whether this analysis will include qualitative interpretation or also quantitative examination was to be determined only after the data have been gathered. In the case of a full sample (15-20 groups), it was thought that simple statistical methods could be applied.

Complex III: Readiness for and obstacles to co-operation

In this complex, obstacles that prevent cooperation were to be identified. Here, there was to be the distinguishing of variables concerning why some NGOs remain adamant in their opposition to cooperation and those variables, which for the time being, prevent NGOs otherwise willing to cooperate, from doing so. The organizations that have not yet undertaken cooperative work were to be examined with regard to whether they are in principle willing to co-operate

The organisations that were not willing to cooperate were to be questioned with regard to

• which advantages for their work could arise from cooperation (e. g. better possibilities for working on the problem; recruitment of expertise; additional resources); or whether co-operation does not promise tangible benefits
• which disadvantages for their work could arise (e. g. arguments among members; criticism from their environment; rejection by important supporters)
• which additional points could be made against cooperation (e. g. a lack of contacts or of resources; religious or political reasons; philosophy of life; flaws in the peace process; the policy of their own/the other side; communication problems; additional expenditure; language problems; cultural differences)
• whether the rejection is temporary or permanent (e. g. waiting to see how the peace process develops; tangible hints that the other side is serious; improvement of the security situation; possibilities of funding; possibility of a direct contact with like-minded groups on the other side)

The organisations willing to cooperate were to be questioned with regard to

• why cooperation has not yet been accomplished (e . g. lack of contacts, lack of resources)
• which points can be made in favour of and against cooperation from their point of view (in favour: better possibilities of working on the problem; recruitment of missing expertise; additional resources; promotion of peace; against: for example, no tangible benefits, arguments among members, criticism from their environment, rejection by important supporters)
• where they see the main obstacles for successful cooperation (lack of contacts, lack of resources, religious/political reasons, philosophy of life; flaws in the peace process, the policy of their own/the other side, communication problems, additional expenditure, language problems, cultural differences)
• which efforts they make to accomplish cooperation (efforts of first approach, contact cultivation)
• which kind of support could be provided by third parties (arrangement of contacts, initiating of talks, mediation, financial support).

These data were to be collected in the first series of interviews and to be supplemented and deepened in a second series, if necessary. The data was to be turned into a catalogue of supporting conditions for and principal or temporary obstacles to cooperation. This catalogue is the starting point for propositions for action in the planned handbook. In addition, it will be examined whether there are connections between the characteristics extracted from the basic data and the NGOs' attitudes determined here.

Complex IV: Experience with and evaluation of co-operation

Here, the project aimed at identifying positive and negative experiences, but especially the routes taken when dealing with general (known from research) and specific (for this conflict) obstacles. Furthermore, we wished to discover whether non-governmental organisations have developed methods of self-evaluation in order to digest their own experiences.

The organisations already cooperating were to be examined with regard to

• what motivated them to cooperate (for the detailed questions see complex II - these questions are examined in more detail in this complex)
• whether they sum up their experiences as rather positive or negative in principle and why so (positive e. g. creation of emphatic relations with the other side; gaining new members through the cooperative work, gaining new resources, ability to tackle the environmental problems more effectively; negative e. g. strongly conflictive relations with the other side, arguments among members, loss of resources, no gains through working on the environmental problem)
• which obstacles and promoting moments they have experienced in the course of their cooperative work (It should especially be asked whether the problems of asymmetric relations, cultural difference, identity problems and security concerns, which have been identified as central problems in research, have occurred.)
• how the organizations have dealt with obstacles (e. g. open discussions, contacting authorities, looking for additional resources, joint handling of problems together with the other side, self-critical reflection)
• whether they intend to continue with their cooperation in the foreseeable future and perhaps expand it (in case an extension is planned: in which direction? with additional partners from their own/the other side? to additional problems?)
• how they have taken into consideration and digested their experiences, i. e. which processes of self-evaluation and correction of mistakes they have included in their practice and implemented (e. g. regular keeping of the minutes and reporting; regular debates on the outcome within their own group and/or with the other side; striving for changes of conduct desired by both sides)
• in which way their own readiness to cooperate is communicated to the public (not at all / in contact with other NGOs / within their own community / via the media).

These data are collected in the first series of interviews. They will be brought together with the insights gained from complex III. If necessary, the cooperating organisations will in the second series of interviews be questioned as to how they evaluate their work. They will also be asked how they handle the disadvantages and obstacles mentioned by those NGOs who do not cooperate and/or are not willing to do so.

Important aspects resulting from complex IV as regards the register (types of successful NGO cooperation) and for the handbook (identifying obstacles to cooperation during cooperation; dealing with these obstacles; self-evaluation)

Complex V: Comparison and praxeological implementation on the spot

In the fifth complex, the results of the other complexes are brought together. The following questions and results are important here:

• The theoretical problem: Is there a connection between characteristics of the organisations, motivations, readiness to cooperate and successes of cooperation? The answer to this question results from the systematic comparison of the basic data (complex I) with the insights gained from complexes II-IV. This answer is to be published in an article. Special attention is drawn to the important praxeological question - which organisational characteristics are especially useful for overcoming typical and specific obstacles to cooperation.
• NGO typology/register: the interviewed NGOs are to be typologised according to the basic data, their readiness to cooperate and their experiences with cooperation, and characterised in a register.
• Praxeological application/handbook: In order to facilitate the cooperative work of non-governmental organisations, the insights gained in this project are to be written down in a handbook.

Recommendations for the following problems have priority:

• Which possibilities for initiating and cultivating contact exist?
• In which way can environmental cooperation and the peace process be combined so that the motivation to cooperate and the probability of a positive evaluation in the public are increased?
• Which strategies can non-governmental organisations choose to optimise this objective?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of cooperation, and how can the advantages be optimised?
• Which forms of organisation/cooperation are especially favourable for success?
• Which obstacles come up in cooperation, and how can they best be overcome? Special attention should be directed at dealing with security questions, cultural differences including language, problems with asymmetric relations and questions of identity (different ways of handling the history of the conflict).
• Which methods of self-evaluation and course correction are to be included in cooperation in order to learn from experiences early and to translate the lessons into action effectively and quickly.

Complex VI: Generalisability and praxeological application for external actors

In this final complex, the insights gained in the researched region are to be analysed for the purposes of providing those actors, who wish to promote consolidation of the peace process from the outside, with information concerning needed support of the civil society actors of the conflicting parties. Two different questions are to be addressed here:

• Which type of non-governmental organisations should be preferably supported in the case of scarce resources?
• Which kind of support is most suitable to deconstruct the obstacles to cooperation?

The answer to the first question is to be elicited from the classifications on which the elaboration of the register is based. The information should provide hints concerning the inclination to and suitability for cooperation of different types of organisation, which could profitably also be considered in other kinds of conflict. The applicant will compile this information systematically from the material and will design a priority guideline.

The answer to the second question results from the analysis of those data collected by the sub-contractor which relate to the specific characteristics of the obstacles to cooperation that typically appear in peace consolidation and that have been identified in Israeli-Palestinian cooperation, namely

• asymmetric relations
• the deep structure of the relationship to the security problems
• cultural differences

These obstacles are to be precisely described, and the most promising approaches to their being dealt with are to be determined. On the basis of this information, possibilities of action for external actors are to be found out. The PRIF team will work on answering the following questions:

• Which instruments of empowerment do external actors have at their disposal to support the weaker side without burdening the partners' relationship with new moments of conflict (e. g. competition for the external actor's favour)? What is the relation between material and symbolical instruments? To what extent does it make sense to make people aware of the asymmetric relations in different phases of the co-operation process?
• Are external actors able to relieve the partners' relationship from the circle of mutual accusations and defence that makes co-operation more difficult? Could external actors achieve such an effect by articulating and commenting on the contrasting narratives in moments of tension? Could they succeed in making both sides respectively aware of aspects of identity and, connected with this, the need for acceptance of the other side, where history prevents a spontaneous realisation of these aspects? Can these functions also be perceived when the tensions result from immediate conflict-enhancing events in the social-political environment?
• Is it similarly possible for the external actor to clear up misperceptions resulting from cultural differences and consequent barriers to cooperation, even if he finds her/himself in cultural distance to both partners? Can this distance maybe even be a prerequisite for this role?
• Can external actors provide assistance to increase the feeling of security for both partners? (e. g. as companion when borders have to be crossed; by providing chauffeurs' services)

The following fundamental questions should be answered:

• Can the involvement of external actors be helpful or is it rather a "diversion" on the path to direct, genuine co-operation on the spot?
• Is material support - providing resources - or symbolic (mediating) assistance the more important contribution?
• Which qualifications must external actors have so that they can contribute optimally?

The results from complex VI will be summarised in a guideline for the external support of civil society actors in post-conflict peace-building.

6. RESOURCE PLANNING

Division of labour applicant/sub-contractor

The complexes I-V, as preconditions for complex VI, can only be worked out on the spot. Therefore, they will be awarded to a competent organisation in the region by sub-contract. For this, a proposal by PRIME exists (see attachment). Complex VI, which will produce the final result of the project, is solely in the responsibility of the applicant, also regarding the carrying out of the research.

Staff

Principle for the sub-contractor: all work coming up in the course of the project will be equally shared between the Israeli and Palestinian staff members. There is no part and no phase of this project that is to dominated by one side (this is a principle stated in the statutes of PRIME).

Tasks for directors

planning the project, design and revision of the concept, supervision, controlling the direction and the results, inclusion of the results into the current scientific debate. These tasks require professorial qualification. They should be fulfilled by the project director (part-time 10%) on the applicant's side and by two professors as sub-contract directors on a part-time basis (25%) on the spot. The project director is paid out of the applicant's resources. The sub-contract directors are to be paid out of project resources.

Tasks for research

On the sub-contractor's side: Elaboration of content analysis categories for analysing documents and of the guidelines for the interviews, analysis of the collected data, writing down results. These tasks require qualified graduated research associates, if possible holding doctorates. They are to be fulfilled by two young research associates (full-time employment). They are to be paid out of project resources.

On the applicant's side: Analysis of the sub-contractor's data and project results with regard to the general questions, elaboration of additional questions to the sub-contractor and/or the non-governmental organisations on the spot, writing down of praxeological conclusions for external actors. These tasks will come up in the second phase of the project and are to be fulfilled by an employee on a "BAT II/2" position.

Tasks for technical assistance

Bibliographic research, copying, keeping of the minutes during the interviews, technical analysis of data. These tasks require basic academic qualification, They are to be fulfilled by two Palestinian and two Israeli postgraduates working on a part-time basis (20 hours per week).

Secretarial tasks

Co-ordination of interview trips, correspondence and other writing tasks, final formatting and desktop publishing. For these tasks a qualified, if possible trilingual (Hebrew/Arabic/English) secretary is needed. He/she is to be employed on a part-time basis (20 hours per week). It can be expected that the demands of the work will remain constant during the whole course of the project. A staggering of the working times would, therefore, not make sense.

Material resources

The applicant has all the necessary material at his disposal. The costs for communication and travel, however, will have to be paid out of project resources.

The sub-contractors possess the necessary computers. The currently used location in the Lutheran School Talitha Kumi had to be re-rented for the duration of the project (2 offices and storing room for copier and material).

Working material, business requirements, costs for communication and printing on the sub-contractor's side will also have to be paid out of project resources.

7. MILESTONE PLANNING

This study plan results in the following schedule with planned intermediate results (milestones):

Phase 1

Creating the instruments used in the course of the study: design of an examination set up according to the principles of qualitative content analysis for the documents provided by NGOs, the creation of a guideline for unstructured interviews with NGO representatives about the research questions presented in complexes I, II, III and IV. The NGOs will be asked to put their written material - insofar as they have some - at the sub-contractor's disposal. The schedule for the first series of interviews is worked out.

Duration: 1 month

Results that can be checked: guideline for interviews, schedule

Phase 2

The data necessary for the complexes I, II, III and IV are collected. They consist of documentation provided by the non-governmental organisations as well as the interviews (interviews with single persons and groups).

Duration: 4 months

Results that can be checked: content analysis of the documents, records of the interviews

Phase 3

The data are analysed:

A typology is developed for the questioned organisations, and the organisations are assigned to categories with the help of this typology (draft for register).

The difficulties, which arise in cooperation, are presented and analysed, and possibilities for solutions are developed (draft for handbook).

In a comparison of the data for the complexes II, III, IV, additional questions for the second series of interviews are developed.

In the second half of this phase, the applicant starts analysing the collected data with regard to the questions posed in complex VI. A first draft thesis is set up which will be sent to the sub-contractor.

Duration: 2 months

Results that can be checked: draft handbook, draft register, fact sheet

Phase 4

The sub-contractor discusses the provisional results as well as the theses of the applicant with the previously questioned non-governmental organisations. This is done in order to clear up uncertainties and additional questions that arose during the provisional analysis in phase 3, and in order to discuss the provisional categories in the register. On the basis of the re-elaborated theses and based on the draft register and draft handbook, the applicant designs an exposé for the guidelines for supporting civil society actors in post-conflict peace-building.

Duration: 2 months

Results that can be checked: records of the discussions, exposé for guidelines

Phase 5

The final analysis is carried out taking the comments of the non-governmental organisations into consideration. It is summarised in a scientific article. Moreover, the register and a handbook-like brochure are produced. The brochure will contain practical guidelines for action, which give advice as to how non-governmental organisations can deal with the difficulties arising during co-operation and how they can improve their work in a process of self-evaluation.

The draft guideline is written down in its final form, using the comments of the NGOs that have been questioned and the corrected primary analysis by the sub-contractor.

Duration: 3 months

Results that can be checked: scientific article, handbook, register of environmental organisations, guidelines for supporting civil society actors in post-conflict peace-building.

8. PLAN FOR UTILIZATION

The results of this project are to be written down in a register characterising the analysed organisations, in a handbook-like publication and in a scientific article. These will be put at the disposal of the scientific, the social and the political public in printed and electronic form (PRIME website, PRIF website). The following benefits are expected:

The register

• enables non-governmental organisations in the environmental sector willing to cooperate to quickly identify suitable partners on the other side.
• makes it easier for supporting organisations to find organisations which, in the view of their respective programs, deserve support and, thereby, facilitates the urgently needed flow of resources.
• The register will be distributed to all the NGOs that have participated in the analysis and, on request, also to other interested parties.

The handbook

• serves as a quick identification of problems that arise during cooperation.
• helps to understand the origins of these problems
• provides guidelines for practically dealing with these problems
• proposes ways for self-evaluation, correction of mistakes and improvements in the process of cooperation.
• The handbook will be distributed to all the NGOs that participated in the analysis. In addition, all NGOs registered with PRIME will receive a copy. On request, it is also given to all other interested parties, since it could be useful also outside the region.

The scientific article

• Fills a gap in the research, that up until the present, is insufficiently developed concerning the role of non-governmental organisation in peace consolidation in the Middle East.
• Examines the special possibilities of and difficulties with the combination of project work related to peace and to practice.

The guideline

• facilitates the setting of priorities for organisations who are willing to provide support and who, in the face of scarce resources, have to select among possible recipients of support (e. g. the German Ministry for Co-operation and Foreign Aid [BMZ], the German Society for Technical Co-operation [GTZ], foundations, foundations by political parties)
• Prepares the expectations of actors willing to help (non-governmental organisations) for the common difficulties that may occur on the spot.
• Gives promising advice concerning how to deal with obstacles to cooperation.
• warns of potentially contra-productive activities and intensities of an engagement to peace consolidation

Possibility for subsequent research

It is planned:

• to systematically observe and analyse the experiences NGOs have when applying the handbook.
• to organise a conference for interested NGOs in order to evaluate the efficiency of the handbook and to work out possibilities for improvement, if need be.
• to analyse the work of non-governmental organisations in other sectors using the same scheme for the analysis in order to put the results on a broader basis.
• to design a program for the training of self-evaluation NGOs' activities in the peace process on the basis of the experiences gained from this project.

9. DIVISION OF LABOUR/COLLABORATION WITH THIRD PARTIES

The Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF) intends to award the carrying out of the project to the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME), located in the Lutheran School Talitha Kumi, Beit Jala, Palestinian Autonomous Territory. The design of this project demands activity on the spot. This can best be realised by a qualified sub-contractor. PRIF has been involved in the negotiations for and foundation of PRIME from the beginning, and these experiences will guarantee a trouble-free collaboration.

Cooperation with other organisations is not intended.

10. NECESSITY OF SPONSORING

The Peace Research Institute Frankfurt does not have any resources at its disposal which would allow it to carry out the project. The payment of the project director is an exception here. PRIME does not have any resources, either, which would enable the carrying out of the project. The project can only be carried out if the sum asked for in this application will be granted.

11. FOOTNOTES

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