When I suggested the title of this article, given my tryst with theatre performances before I joined SFG, my colleagues joked, �€œAre you planning to write your autobiography?�€ Well, no, not yet. But then, as I perceive it, the current world is a theatre in itself, where multitude of complex issues unfold �€“ forces of modernisation and extremism; crosscurrents of transnational economics and nationalism; inequality of power and skewed development patterns; identity subjugation and relative economic deprivation; and social, political, cultural prejudices and manipulation. All, and more such factors, lead to conflicts within and/or between states.

The post Cold War era witnessed a shift in the nature of conflicts from inter-state to intra-state, whereas post 9/11 witnessed a blurring of lines between conflict and terrorism. The international community and states have shed reticence and inertia when it comes to early warnings and conflict prevention, and have become vigilant to evaluate even latent conflicts. In view of these developments, the elements of conflict prevention have taken a broader dimension not only to include the universal values of good governance, development and promotion and protection of human rights, but also capacity building of youth to develop competence to relate to the requirements of the modern economy and to nurture tolerance to deal with the increasing integration of global cultures. Conflict prevention is also no longer the preserve of multilateral bodies such as the UN, and few prominent nation-states. It has evolved as a multi-faceted process involving a broad range of actors including multilateral and regional organizations, donor states, international NGOs, business community, and individual states and persons. Of course, the level of harmonization between these actors is still an issue.

Semu Bhatt with Amb Ragnar Angeby of Folke Bernadotte Academy and Ms Macaria Barai of Guinea Bissau

Recently, I attended a conference organized by the Folke Bernadotte Academy in Gothenburg on Role of Economic Actors in Conflict Prevention and Peace Building. The participants of the conference discussed varied issues ranging from the economic drivers of conflicts to the importance of economic regeneration as an aspect of peace building; from the need of dialogue and participatory process to the need of formulating unique measures for first or second generation conflict prevention; from costs of conflicts to beneficiaries of war economy; from the disarmament and reintegration of ex-combatants to preventive actions to dissuade youth from taking up arms.

The draft document of Folke Bernadotte Academy�€™s course, Facilitation of Dialogue Processes and Mediation Efforts reads, �€˜We need to go beyond reaching a seize fire and also address the underlying causes that led to the conflict and is worsened during the course of it and the legacy of bitter hostility that hampers reconciliation in order to reduce the risk of renewed violence.�€ This approach is most relevant in the conflict-affected zones, where at times the only employment exchange open for the youth is to join extremist groups. Joining such groups not only provides them with employment, but also a sense of empowerment and respect in certain sections of their society. Earlier such groups functioned mostly in the national and regional space. In the 21st century, they have shown a tendency to trigger international crises. The challenge before us is to maximise opportunity for the young people in order to minimise the risk of them becoming factors of instability.

It is a known fact that in most instances, public resources are insufficient to address the multitude of humanitarian problems faced in a conflict situation. Therefore, political reforms and governance issues are given higher priority as compared to considerations for productive employment. In this scenario, the positive potential of the private sector �€“ local as well as international - in rebuilding economies can be advantageously exploited. One of the participants at the conference, Mr. John King of the Business Humanitarian Forum, pointed out that the private sector creates more than $1 trillion per annum in new wealth. It can contribute to conflict prevention and peace building in its natural scope of activities �€“ investment, job creation,wealth creation and economic basis for society. Long-term sustainable economic development was emphasised as one of the key factors in weaker states, as Dr. Claes Lindahl of Management Perspectives pointed out that occurrences of civil wars is 15 times more likely in low-income countries. Mr. Brian Bacon of Oxford Leadership Academy emphasised on individual interests and initiatives of businesspersons. He gave example of Mr. KVK Raju of Nagarjuna Group, a Rs. 20,000 million Indian conglomerate in the areas of Agri Business, who distributed free mobile phones to the farmers in the villages near Hyderabad, so that they can communicate and find out the market prices of their farm produce. Mr. Bacon pointed out that Mr. Raju�€™s initiative not only helped the farmers but also opened up a whole new market for telephones in those rural villages.

Mr. KVK Raju�€™s philosophy of �€œserving society through industry�€ is in congruence to Mahatma Gandhi�€™s concept of "trusteeship" to reconcile power with service. According to the concept of trusteeship, power is not something that belongs to an individual or an organization, but is given to it by others. Businesses get power from customers, employees and society. Executives get their power from shareholders, employees and the organization. Trusteeship says that people with power should think of themselves as trustees acting for the benefit of those that gave them power. With the trusteeship model, it becomes the personal responsibility of every individual to use whatever power he or she has for service toward all stakeholders. This concept of trusteeship goes a long way in creating sustainable economic, social and political development of a society.

There were few voices of concern over the potential risk of private sector exploiting conflict situation, especially in resource-rich countries. Ms. Filippa Bergin of Amnesty Business Group recommended that the private sector involvement in conflict zones should be based on certain practices including - risk assessment of actions, human rights policy, promotion of human resources, education and training, transparency, and policy of no harm to the society. She said that, if willing, the private sector investment could in fact influence the government to promote transparency and good governance.

The participants underlined the importance of economic reconstruction and regeneration as they believed that people who have jobs and hope for the future become stakeholders in maintaining a peaceful society, and are much less likely to support a conflict. Ms. Irma Specht of Transition International, drawing from DDR experiences in Liberia and Sierra Leone, maintained, �€œBesides providing income, meaningful employment is, to a great extent, a guarantor of social development and healthy community life, as well as political stability and national security.�€ The SFG concept of An Inclusive World (SFG President column) elucidates how capacity building leading to productive employment and participation in political process goes a long way in dissuading youth from conflict.

The time is, therefore, rife to focus on the positive potential of businesses in economic regeneration. The time is rife to device a proper strategy to specify role of the private sector in conflict prevention and peace building. The time is rife to identify businesspersons and business houses, with an inclination towards making a positive difference. And with 50 of the top 100 global economies being corporate entities, the time is rife to combine forces with them to encourage positive economic transformations of weaker societies.

To quote Brooks Atkinson, �€œThe thing that makes the theatre worthwhile is the fact that it attracts so many people with ideas who are constantly trying to share them with the public�€� It gives a man an idea he never had before...�€ I was glad to be part of one such theatre, thanks to the Folke Bernadotte Academy, where I met many practitioners with wonderful ideas, most of which have already been translated into realities by them.