The importance of conflict transformation between the parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Artak Ayunts

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Yerevan State University, A. Manukyan 1, Yerevan 0025, Armenia

E-mail: ayunts@yahoo.com, ayunts@hsfk.de; Tel: +4915777286270 (Germany); Tel: +37477422732

Accepted 16 August, 2012

The ceasefire between the parties in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has been signed in 1994 but there has been no step forward since then to establish peace and normalize relations between the Armenians and Azerbaijanis. Numerous efforts by international community to mediate between the parties were not effective. The stalemate between the parties has been dissatisfactory for most of the actors directly or indirectly involved in conflict. In this study we examined the potential for conflict transformation in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the new approaches of conflict management in the aftermath of Cold War. We argued that traditional means of conflict settlement were not enough to transform relationship between the core parties and establish peace among them. We proposed that without applying conflict transformation mechanisms it will be much more difficult to reach long-term irreversible peace.

Keywords: Reconciliation, conflict transformation, Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, peacebuilding.