Faced with armed conflict and violent unrest, civilians in war zones are left vulnerable to threats of violence and great deprivations. While humanitarian organizations working in conflicts areas provide lifesaving emergency services in sometimes highly volatile contexts, many are increasingly realizing that these activities are not enough for citizens yearning for security and a return to normalcy. This latter task is often relegated to the State and Track-I actors.

While international NGOs working in conflict zones provide lifesaving emergency services in sometimes highly volatile contexts, beneficiaries yearning for a return to normalcy sometimes question why this help isn't getting them any closer to peace.

Central African Republic

In the shadows of Bangui's National Forum, NGOs are doing the painstaking work of rebuilding CAR's social fabric. While at the national-level, delegates made police recommendations around such topics as peace and security, justice and reconciliation, governance, as well as social and economic development, at the community-level these problems are personal. 

Culture binds its members to a range of acceptable norms. During the different stages of a conflict cycle, culture prescribes what precursors will create stress and anxiety in a person, it determines how the individual will assess the conflict, identify a preferred course of action and evaluate the consequences of his or her chosen path.