INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON WORLD PEACE VOL. XXVIII NO. 2 JUNE 2011 7 CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS AND CONFLICT RESOLUTION: MOLDOVA-TRANSNISTRIA Bernardo Venturi received a Ph.D. in History of Political Thought from the University of Bologna. He is a lecturer at Marist College, Florence Branch Campus, and at the University of Bologna. He is also Director of the Civil Defence Research Centre in Rome. Bernardo Venturi INTRODUCTION Literature on peace dynamics is pre- dominantly focused on top-level actors. This is also true for the age-old Moldova-Transnistria conflict. The aim of this paper is to shift the analysis on how Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) contributed and are still con- tributing to the de-escalation—or, at least, to a non-escalation—of this “frozen conflict.” We will evaluate the relative effectiveness of these actors, both on peacebuilding activities and on the influence on peacemaking efforts. Some key questions guided the study: how do CSOs, as mid-level and grassroots actors, impact conflict dynamics in Moldova? What is the interaction between CSOs with local institutions and with international organizations? What types of initiatives are undertaken by local CSOs in order to influence peace efforts? This article examines the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Moldova-Transnistria conflict. After a violent conflict in 1992, Transnistria became a de facto, but unrecognized state. While much has been written on the official diplomatic processes for the settlement of this conflict, little has been written on the contribution of CSOs. The article focuses on concrete projects for peace run by activists from both the Moldovan and Transnistrian sides. The study states that the intervention by CSOs were in place and they have played a relevant role since the mid-1990s. However, the situation of Moldovan civil society has kept organizations from exclusively focusing on peace and conflict resolution. This has limited the know-how in the field, which is still low. Moreover, political institutions are giving little support to this specific work. The main exception in the last years is the EU, which is showing a new interest in involving CSOs in conflict resolution. University of Bologna Moldova.indd 7 5/26/2011 10:36:33 AM brought to you by CORE View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk provided by Almae Matris Studiorum Campus