THE INTERFAITH DIPLOMACY IN FRAGILE STATES: RELIGIOUS ACTORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS TO PEACEBUILDING AND SOCIAL COHESION IN NIGERIA AND SIERRA LEONE.

Abstract

In the study of conflict resolution in fragile states, religious actors are gaining recognition for their potential to support peacebuilding where secular efforts often fall short. This article comparatively analyzes interfaith diplomacy in Nigeria and Sierra Leone, two West African countries with significant Christian-Muslim populations facing ethno-religious tensions and varying post-conflict trajectories. Drawing on hybrid peacebuilding theory and R. Scott Appleby’s concept of the “ambivalence of the sacred,” it examines how interfaith organizations leverage moral authority, dialogue, mediation, and ritual practices amid identity-based conflicts. Employing a qualitative comparative case-study approach based on secondary sources, institutional reports, and scholarly evaluations, the study contrasts Sierra Leone’s post-civil war experience with Nigeria’s ongoing fragility. In Sierra Leone, the Inter-Religious Council of Sierra Leone (IRCSL) effectively acted as a neutral moral guarantor, facilitating the Lomé Peace Accord and supporting the Truth and Reconciliation Commission through grassroots legitimacy and pre-existing interfaith tolerance. In contrast, the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) has achieved more modest outcomes, constrained by its top-down structure, elite politicization, and the complex structural drivers of violence involving Boko Haram and farmer-herder conflicts. Findings reveal that interfaith diplomacy’s efficacy depends on contextual factors such as institutional autonomy, pre-existing social capital, conflict temporality, and state-religion relations. The study contributes to peacebuilding scholarship by challenging secular biases in International Relations theory and advocating for faith-sensitive hybrid models that integrate religious actors into stabilization strategies. Policy implications for governments, regional bodies, and international donors are discussed.