Protracted structural conflict transformation in the Americas: The case of Nieuw Koffiekamp and the OAS

Two schools dominate the field of international conflict resolution theory: the pragmatic-realist school and the structural problem-solving school. In the age of neoliberal globalization, conflict has taken on novel manifestations and has materialized between a variety of new actors not traditionally dealt with by the literature. This has created a theoretical gap for interventionists. The Nieuw Koffiekamp case study from Suriname manifests this emerging genre of conflict that we have labelled Structural Global-local Discord and Democratic Deficit (SGDDD).; The following study examines what role the Organization of American States, as third party intervener and as a regional IGO, played in its attempted resolution of this specific case of SGDDD. Our hypothesis will be confirmed when it becomes clear how the structural problem-solving approach to conflict resolution is deemed the preferred theoretical approach to adopt when dealing with protracted social conflict of a structural nature.