Ritual and Symbol in Peacebuilding

* Serves as a guide to using ritual acts in peacebuilding efforts
* Abundant with examples of symbolic acts that aided the peace process

Conflict is dramatic. In theater, literature, story telling, and news reporting, it is a powerful mechanism that draws attention, heightens the senses and evokes emotion. Schirch argues that peacebuilding has the potential to do just the same.

Examples of peacebuilding often center on the serious, rational negotiations and formal problem-solvi…