Parliamentary Track 1 ½ Diplomacy: An Effective Tool for Peace-making

Abstract

Preventive diplomacy traditionally involves Track I of governments and inter-governmental organisations in diplomatic negotiations to prevent and end armed conflict. Track II are confidence-building contributions of non-state actors - human rights organisations and women’s groups. This paper outlines a third form of Track 1 ½ diplomacy, and analyses two intra-state peace-processes that used this track – the Aceh Peace Process 2005 and the on-going 35th round of the Colombian Peace Process. In the context of intra-state conflicts and peace processes, the paper defines parliamentary Track 1 ½ diplomacy as the role played by high-level political actors and national and state legislatures in the resolution of local disputes, conflicts, and insurgencies. The paper concludes by setting the context of relevance that Aceh and Colombia peace processes might provide for Pakistan’s policy-makers.