“The Southern African region has reached a critical juncture in its political and economic development. Recent events in Zimbabwe and Angola bring into sharp relief the divergence in political and economic standards, norms and values, where today there are questions surrounding the democratic status of
more than half of the 14 member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC). There is an imperative to find strategies, mechanisms and institutions to develop, entrench and sustain a commonality—or convergence—of acceptable norms pertaining to good governance including
upholding the rule of law, deepening democracy and respect for human rights, and promoting press and media freedom. The focus of this paper is conflict resolution and the lessons learned from that.”
