ULI451U-CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Chapter 5: Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Reconstruction
The Concept of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Reconstruction
Peacebuilding is an evolving, multidimensional and fairly elastic concept and practice that encompasses multiple perspectives and goals (Bercovitch and Jackson, 2009: 171).
Peacebuilding is defined as a complex and long term process of creating the necessary conditions for sustainable peace by addressing the deep-rooted and structural causes of violent conflict (DPKO/ DFS, 2008: 18).
Postconflict reconstruction became one of the central elements of post-conflict peacebuilding. While the term peacebuilding was relatively new, external assistance for post-war rebuilding traced back to the earlier reconstruction efforts such as the Marshall Plan in the aftermath of World War II. What was new in the post- Cold War environment was that the end of the Cold War has not only brought diversifying challenges but also opened up new possibilities for international action.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the UN has further expanded its integrated approach and strengthened its post-conflict peacebuilding architecture. The Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations (UN, 2000:6- 8), known as the “Brahimi Report”, recommended various peacebuilding tools and strategies, including:
• the adoption of quick impact projects (QIPs), • the creation of a fund for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR), • the adoption of a “doctrinal shift” away from international civilian policing to “rule of law teams” in complex peace operations, • regularized funding for the Electoral Affairs Division.
The significance of post-conflict reconstruction is also reflected in post-conflict peacebuilding architecture within the focus of the Peacebuilding Commission, which is tasked with marshaling the resources at the disposal of the international community and advise on and propose integrated strategies for peacebuilding and recovery (UN Security Council, n.d.).
The Main Goals of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Reconstruction
The concept of peacebuilding is grounded in liberal peace understanding. The violent conflicts of the post-Cold War era have demonstrated the inadequacy of the elaborate doctrines, strategies, and institutions of the Cold War to deal with the emerging issues of international peace and security (Tschirgi, 2003:2). In this context, the market economy and political liberalization policies of the liberal peace thesis have been utilized as effective antidotes to violent conflicts. Promotion of human rights, democracy, elections, constitutionalism, rule of law, property rights,
good governance, and neo-liberal economics have become part and parcel of the international peacebuilding strategy (Tschirgi, 2004: 5). However, the conceptualization of peacebuilding on the basis of democratic institutions and market economy structures of the post-Cold War liberal architecture has faced severe criticisms based on its normative agenda.
The fragile context of the post-conflict environment reveals diverging and volatile challenges in each case. Since there is no onesize-fits-all peacebuilding model, peacebuilding practices and measures need to be coherent and tailored to the specific requirements of each circumstance. Successful peacebuilding activities create an environment supportive of selfsustaining, durable peace; reconcile opponents; prevent conflict from restarting; integrate civil society; create the rule of law mechanisms; and address underlying structural and societal issues (Pandey and Roy, 2018: 7958). In that respect, the efforts to promote a secure environment and strengthen national capacity with its institutional structures and a legitimate political authority take precedence in achieving sustainable peace.
• Post-conflict reconstruction is mainly composed of four phases- namely emergency relief, rehabilitation, reform and modernization, and peace consolidation. • The emergency relief phase focuses on the most urgent issues in terms of the provision of basic security conditions and public needs such as food, water, shelter, medical services, and clothing for the survival of people. • Rehabilitation phase includes the physical reconstruction of social infrastructures such as schools, roads, health care facilities, and the restoration of basic public services such as governmental administration, policing, and restructuring of other security apparatuses. • Reform and modernization efforts focus on strengthening local people’s capability to rebuild their society and reforming governance institutions. • In the peace consolidation phase, efforts mainly concentrate on consolidating transitional initiatives to ensure sustainability.
It is possible to categorize the main themes that are emphasized under the phases of:
• While the provision of general security constitutes the precondition of a successful large scale reconstruction, • economic reconstruction encompasses efforts to rebuild a country’s physical infrastructure and creation of rules and institutions that enable a market economy (Diamond, 2006: 176). • Social reconstruction incorporates the efforts to enhance a vibrant civil society as well as the
promotion of a political culture that fosters voluntary cooperation and limitations on state power (Jabareen, 2013: 119-120). • Lastly, political reconstruction includes efforts to build a legitimate and capable state. In this respect, capacity-building concentrates on the issues of strengthening local institutions, transferring technical skills, and promoting appropriate policies (USAID 2005; UNDP 2006: 3).
According to Miall (2004:4), conflict transformation is a process of engaging with and transforming the relationships, interests, and discourses of society. By acknowledging the significance of social context in the process of peacebuilding, initiatives are framed to address not only the macro level but also micro-level sources of conflict in a constructive way to help foster relatively harmonious relations.
Among the host of different conceptual interpretations, it is possible to identify four dimensions that are significant in the process of conflict transformation:
• Actor-related transformation refers to individual changes in the emotional, perceptual, and spiritual aspects of the conflict. • Relational transformation indicates changes in communication, interaction, and interdependence of parties in conflict. • Structural transformation refers to changes in the underlying structural patterns, power structures and decision making in conflict. • Cultural transformation refers to changes in the cultural patterns in understanding and responding to conflict.
Capacity building involves transferring technical knowledge and skills to the local community to help them develop effective policies and administer public services across the economic, social, political, and security realms (USAID, 2005).
Given the broad scope of peacebuilding activities, a set of operational principles under post-conflict peacebuilding efforts can be briefly listed as (Tschirgi 2004: 9, UN- PBSO, 2010):
• Multi-dimensional: Peacebuilding involves five main pillars, namely political, economic, social, security, and legal. • Security: Security is a pre-requisite in fragile post-conflict settings. Support to basic safety and security takes precedence at the first stage of post-conflict peacebuilding. • Hierarchy of priorities: Peacebuilding should be guided by a hierarchy of priorities that are structured in response to the specific needs, unique circumstances, and political dynamics of a given context
• Citizens ownership: Citizens should actively participate in setting the agenda and leading the process. • Capacity building: A proactive commitment to local capacity building from the earliest stages is vital for the effectiveness and sustainability of the projects. • Common strategy: Under the principle of inclusivity, a common strategy should cover all relevant stakeholders, especially of competing elites, and clearly identified national priorities. • Time element: Rapid responses, opportunistic and quick-impact interventions are critical in influencing peacebuilding outcomes. But still, it may take a generation to bear fruit. • Response levels: The process should include appropriate responses at the local, national, regional, and international levels. • External actors: Regarding the fragility of societies emerging from war, the support from external actors is critical. • Funding: Adequate, predictable, and flexible funding is essential to support long term peacebuilding projects.
The Main Components of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
According to the UN, the achievement of sustainable peace requires progress at least in four critical areas (DPKO/ DFS, 2008:25). These areas are:
• Restoring the State’s ability to provide security and maintain public order; • Strengthening the rule of law and respect for human rights; • Supporting the emergence of legitimate political institutions and participatory processes; • Promoting social and economic recovery and development, including the safe return or resettlement of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees uprooted by conflict.
Despite variations on the definitions of these pillars, security, political, legal, social and economic dimensions are generally accepted as the main basis.
Key Actors in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
A plethora of actors that can be categorized under intergovernmental organizations, states, and civil society and private sector are engaged in numerous peacebuilding activities in different geographies from Afghanistan to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Libya, and Sierra Leone.
Intergovernmental Organizations
Among a large number of actors, the United Nations stands as one of the most ambitious actors in the peacebuilding process with its broadening repertoire of tools and partnerships with other organizations.
Growing ambitions and advances by organizations such as • social cohesion (strengthening bonds among NATO, the EU and the AU have resulted in enhanced people), cooperation with the UN (Koops and Tardy, 2014: 1). • intermediation (on the local and national level
The European Union has become a prominent actor in between all sorts of actors), conflict prevention and peacebuilding. In addition to the • service provision (as an entry point for Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) missions, peacebuilding).
the efforts to strengthen EU capabilities included the establishment of a Civilian CSDP Compact with a view to enhance civilian crisis management, and investing in early warning indicators and capabilities through INTCEN (EU Intelligence and Situation Centre) and PRISM (Prevention of conflicts, Rule of law/SSR, Integrated approach, Stabilisation and Mediation) divisions for monitoring and analyzing the root causes of conflicts (Juncos and Blockmans, 2018: 133).
The African Union has also become an important partner of the UN in peace operations. The UN does not only assist the build-up of the African Standby Force in the form of training, capacity-building, and technical and financial issues; it also assists the mediation capacity of the AU Commission through different mechanisms and enlarges its support to member states in the form of technical electoral assistance (UN, n.d.).
States
In most of the cases, it is possible to see nationstates as the intervening powers. These interventions are motivated mainly by the states’ interest-based objectives since peaceful intervention is used as an instrument of foreign policy (Touval, 1992). In this respect, it is possible to see:
• the regional hegemons, • former colonial powers • and concerned neighbors taking active roles in the peace process.
Civil Society and Private Sector
As it is also mentioned in the previous sections, civil society forms an essential part of the postconflict peacebuilding process. The involvement of civil society is crucial to understand the cultural context and structural dynamics of the conflicts. Since there is no one-size-fits- all model for postconflict peacebuilding, civil society is instrumental in highlighting specific community needs and interests in the formation of policies.
According to the World Bank Report (2007), civil society actors perform seven basic peacebuilding functions. These functions are:
• protection (of citizens life, freedom, property), • monitoring (of human rights violations, corruption, implementation of agreements, etc.), • advocacy (awareness-raising, agenda-setting, etc.), • socialization (for democratic and peaceful attitudes and values),