Land disputes, civil wars, corruption and the struggle for human rights characterize the contexts in which civil society evolves in many southern countries. The conflict analysis tools devised by NGOs who support the development of these countries rarely take account of the significance of a conflict for individuals who live through it. However, our experience shows clearly that conflicts have an impact on our emotional life and are likely to cause genuine psychological problems. The way in which people respond to these problems influences their ability to engage with processes of empowerment. What distinguishes the psychosocial approach is the connection it makes between personal experience and social context and its concentration on people’s emotions.

The tool developed by Action de Carême/Fastenopfer (the Swiss Catholic Lenten Fund), in collaboration with Professor of Psychology David Becker, is unique in taking these dimensions into account, using three key concepts:

– Threat – fear: threats from population groups in a conflict situation give rise to feelings of fear in an individual. If the fear becomes chronic, it can lead to feelings of powerlessness and despair.
– Destruction – trauma: the loss of loved ones or a home can push a person’s feeling of powerlessness to the limit. Such experiences go beyond what they are able to cope with and may make later empowerment initiatives more difficult.
– Loss – mourning: an essential part of conflict transformation work is that people should engage with their losses. Some losses (of loved ones, friends, trust or a job, for example) cannot be made good and must become the subject of a mourning process.

Through this tool, Action de Carême/Fastenopfer accords these processes an important role within conflict management: emotions are recognized, voiced and taken into account in order to identify elements that allow the conflict to be transformed.