Leadership and Cooperation

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. Click here to read more about our leadership training and support. FBA also co-arranges Viking together with the Swedish Armed Forces. Viking is one of the world’s largest international staff exercises, held approximately every fourth year with military, police and civilian participants practicing cooperation in a fictional peace operation.
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.
Support to civil society
FBA grants yearly funds to Swedish civil society organizations working to promote dialogue and debate and to spread knowledge about peace and security related issues, for example issues concerning leadership and cooperation in international efforts for peace.

FBA’s programme for young peacebuilders in Iraq inaugurated

After decades of war, Iraq needs to be rebuilt. Violent protests against the inability of the Iraqi state to provide its citizens with security and basic social services have rocked the country recently. FBA is now starting a programme for young peacebuilders in Iraq, in order to strengthen them in their non-violent efforts for a positive development.

2019-10-28 16:55

IN THE FIELD

Catalina Perdomo Rodriguez

Gender adviser in the DRC

Johan Chytraeus

Monitoring officer in Ukraine

Karolina Riedel

Statistician in election observation missions

Adam Bergman

Adviser to the UN in Nigeria

Mimmi Milligan

Reintegration adviser in Geneva

Björn Tedeman

Election observer

Julia Kempny

Political adviser in Somalia

Read our publications

Insights from the Inside: Women’s Mediation Networks as a Tool for Influencing Peace Processes

Civil society-led networks of women have for decades worked hard to promote peace in conflict areas around the world, and lately, a new wave of women's mediation networks are being established that are led by states or regional organizations. All these networks share a collective aim: To promote women's inclusion and influence in mediated peace processes.

Documents

Insights from the Inside.pdf

More Publications

THE FBA BLOG

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Posted by Kuisma Kinnunen
From policy to practice – gender as a perspective

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As a trainer, what could be better than to be part of a multinational group with a variety of backgrounds, eagerly wanting to learn new skills? Especially when you get to be the course participant for a change.

I had a dual aim when I recently participated in the Gender Perspective in the EU Common Security and Defence Policy Course, organised by FBA under the auspices of the European Security and Defence College. Besides learning new gender ... Read entire post »
2019-10-23 11:27
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Posted by Gabriela Elroy
Bureaucratic gender mainstreaming – what’s not to get excited about?

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The room is full of representatives from the Jordanian security forces. They are in Sweden on a study trip and have come to FBA to learn more about our work on promoting gender equality in the context of international peace and security generally, and our experience from supporting gender mainstreaming more specifically. I have decided to talk about the conceptual thinking behind much of the work that we do, whether it is with the EU’s Common ... Read entire post »
2019-10-08 15:50
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Posted by Andreas Berg
A fresh start for Ukraine?

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When I first arrived in Kyiv six months ago, I looked out over the city from the hilltop near the office of the EU Advisory Mission for Ukraine (EUAM) where I had just started a job as Coordination and Cooperation Officer. It became immediately clear why the city came to be founded here over 1,000 years ago and why it today is the capital of Ukraine. The mighty Dnepr River splits the city in half, flowing ... Read entire post »
2019-09-13 16:26