Leadership and Cooperation

Civilian and military personnel are holding a meeting together.

Photo: Vilhelm Stokstad

When a country is hit by violent conflict, many different actors are normally engaged in order to stop the violence. Good leadership and cooperation skills are decisive factors for all actors’ ability to contribute to solving the conflict.

When war breaks out within a country, the government may decide to invite an international actor such as the UN, EU or OSCE to establish a peace operation in the crisis area.

Such an operation is staffed with personnel of various nationalities and from different professional backgrounds. For example, there might be military staff tasked with protecting civilians from violence, police staff tasked with maintaining law and order, and civilian staff in leadership positions or tasked with supporting the leadership. All actors involved need solid understanding of each other’s roles, and training in cooperation.

Moreover, the peace operation staff must be able to coordinate their work with outside actors, such as local authorities. Good leadership, at all levels in all organizations involved in the efforts for peace, is key for effective coordination, cooperation, and sustainable results.

What does the FBA do?

Training and advice
FBA offers training and advice on leadership and cooperation in international efforts for peace.
Research
FBA conducts and supports international research on leadership and cooperation in international efforts for peace.
Secondments
FBA seconds personnel working within the field of leadership and cooperation to international peace operations that Sweden contributes to, led by the EU, UN and OSCE. Click here to see a map of where our personnel is currently deployed.
Our partner countries
Within the framework of Sweden’s international development aid, FBA carries out projects concerning leadership and cooperation in efforts for peace. Click here to read more about the countries where we work.

Is there still room for dialogue in the Central Sahel?

Over the past decade, dialogue processes have been a cornerstone of national and international efforts to address the multifaceted crisis affecting the countries of the Central Sahel. Since 2020, the military has seized power in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger and radically changed the approach to solving the crisis and the role of dialogue. Is there still room for dialogue as an instrument of peace in the Central Sahel and, if so, in what form?

2025-09-30 13:14

Read our publications

The Gender-Responsive Leader's Handbook

Gender equality is both a goal and a prerequisite for sustainable peace and development. FBA’s Gender-Responsive Leadership (GRL) Initiative is designed to support leaders and managers within organizations such as the EU, UN, ECOWAS, OSCE and the African Union to fulfill their central role in enabling gender equal peace, security and development work.

Documents

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Teresa Wiklund

Monitor at EUMM in Georgia

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THE FBA BLOG

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Posted by Marie Blomdahl
A safe online space to share experiences to support leadership in the UN

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When I joined the Leadership and Cooperation Unit at the Folke Bernadotte Academy in August 2018, after working many years mainly in the private sector, I had a feeling that this job really would offer me an opportunity to use my skills and experiences to make a difference, and at the same time grow as a professional. FBA was at the time already working actively with leadership development support for leaders in key functions within the ... Read entire post »
2021-06-03 10:54
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Posted by Rhodri Williams
Civil Society as a Critical Partner: Rule of Law and Accountability in the Liberian COVID-19 Response, Part II

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Part One of this post highlighted the importance of the rule of law in supporting crisis response in countries struggling with the effects of conflict. One of the most important rule of law principles in such settings is accountability, particularly “downward accountability”, in which state authorities focus on serving citizens dependent on them.

Corruption and poor governance can lead to excessive upward accountability directed toward political superiors, leaving a gap between the state and ordinary citizens. Civil ... Read entire post »

The post Civil Society as a Critical Partner: Rule of Law and Accountability in the Liberian COVID-19 Response, Part II first appeared on FBA-bloggen.
2021-02-15 13:43
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Posted by Kristin Valasek
Time for a joint vision on gender-responsive leadership

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Right before the winter break, 236 women and men from 105 different organizations and 46 countries around the world joined our International Dialogue on Gender-Responsive Leadership, to discuss an absolutely critical and often missing part of the gender equality puzzle: gender-responsive leadership.

After twenty years of struggling to achieve the commitments of the global women, peace and security agenda, we at the FBA have learned that executives and managers are essential to success. Not just as supporters, ... Read entire post »

The post Time for a joint vision on gender-responsive leadership first appeared on FBA-bloggen.
2021-02-10 16:09

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Leadership and Cooperation

What does the FBA do?

Is there still room for dialogue in the Central Sahel?

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Read our publications

The Gender-Responsive Leader's Handbook