This essay synthesises the evolving thinking of Conducive Space for Peace (CSP) on the linkages between civil society, peacebuilding, and the potential for global systems transformation. Informed by CSP’s RESPACE initiative, it draws on rich historical case studies, from the German workers’ movement and Black Reconstruction to anti-colonial liberation struggles and the rise of NGOs, to explore how ordinary people have self-organised to challenge domination and build alternative futures.
