Civil society organizations and Tanzania’s national security

Abstract

This study focused on the civil society organizations in Tanzania’s national security. It was based on reviewing different published works and reports. It examined the strategies which were used by the civil society organisations (CSOs) in promoting peace awareness and negotiations. It found that some of these were actively involved in contributing towards policy development. The study found that amendment of policy concerning peace building was linked to the ruling party. The main challenges facing the CSOs in this process included lack of sufficient information about the conflicting parties. It would take them a lot of time to resolve the conflict. Others included financial constraints, poor government support, low level of community awareness and cultural barriers. All these constrained the CSOs. The study concluded that consolidating Tanzania’s national security was not the responsibility of a few individuals but one for all the citizens. It recommended that the challenges which were being encountered in maintaining the national security needed resolving so as to maintain peace and security in the country. It also identified the need to improve on dialogue so as to improve the process of conflict resolution.