“The grassroots represents the masses, the base of the society. Life at this level is characterized, particularly in settings of protracted conflict and war, by a survival mentality […]. The leadership at the grassroots levels also operates on a day-to-day basis” (Lederach 1997, 42). Lederach mentions that this emphasis on the grassroots as struggling with basic needs comes from the political, military and social reality of weak or failed states that he observed during his practice in the 1990s, especially considering his interest in reconciliation in deeply divided societies rather than on conflicts regarding issues of distribution or ideological differences in established central Nation-Sates, in which the administration basically functions.
At this level of grassroots leadership, we find activities such as local peace commissions, capacity and relationship training, workshops, the development of new narratives and psychological trauma treatment.
