lecture 18.docx

November 24 talk on Congo. Lecture #18: Post-Conflict Reconstruction Introduction How do you rebuild states after war and conflict New Security Concern Post-Cold War New Field of Research and Scholarship Intersects w/other Themes A number of key actors UN, NATO International organizations, NGOs play large role Issue of democracy and free markets are central to the debate on how to rebuild states (Paris reading raises question on that) Concepts Post-Conflict Reconstruction Building the state physically Roads, power plants, government institutions After WW2 there were a lot in Europe Marshall Plan End of the cold war, there are programs that have gained traction as an international issue Iraq, Afghanistan, Columbia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka Clearly related to the rise of civil wars Rebuild institutions after war has ended so the conflict doesn?t break out Countries face a specific set of consequences after conflict Post-Conflict Peace-building Try to build a durable peace in the society Social cohesion Dealing w/levels of distrust and trama People are witnessing high levels of violence and you don?t know who to trust Agents of Reconstruction Domestic States Government that caused the war rebuilds the country Foreign Power States The case in Iraq Very important to build up national infrastructure and work w/a legitimate government Until recently, US basically took control International Organizations United Nations as the main force Development programs Non-Governmental Organizations Not really the lead agent, but often play a role in one way or another Aspects and Actions in Post-Conflict Reconstruction Rebuilding Infrastructure Power plants, trying to make sure homes have electricity, building schools and homes Security Number one issue Lot of investment to reestablish security Peacekeeping Send an international force to guarantee citizens that they have peace Rebuilding police force Rebuilding military Professionalize police force Police forces guarantee civilian peace more than the army Demobilization of warring factions Remove them from the social and political arena Pay them to lay down their weapons and give up being in a militia or rebel army ?Rule of Law? and ?Good Governance? If you want durable peace over the long run, then you need the rule of law and you need a legitimate government and accountable government Local Institutional Capacity and Cooperation Emphasis on local level institutions Political representation and legitimacy Need to have legitimate governments Elections Constitution New constitution that reflects priorities of new society Media Independent and free Economic Reconstruction and Reform Free markets Reducing barriers to trade Accountability for past wrongs Trials Prosecute Charge Punish Truth commissions Commission tries to document what happened Repatriation and Resettlement People forced out of their homes because of fighting How do you get people back to their properties? People have been displaced is usually because of land reforms in the state/country Land Issues and Reform Some Theoretical Approaches to Post-Conflict Reconstruction Three-Par Model (Doyle and Sambanis 2006) If you have a society where people really don?t want to live together and there is so much anger in the society; what will you do so the people will live together? Probability of success depends on Degree of hostility among previous fighting factions Extent of local capacity How much international assistance there is in a country If it is low, there will be a low probability of success Lead Agency, Unitary Actor (Fearon and Laitin 2006) Need a strong lead agency A single unitary action who controls post-conflict reconstruction If you have lots and lots of different actors doing diff things all at the same time, you increase the probability that there won?t be a strong cohesion Lots would be a recipe for trouble ?Liberal? vs. ?Republican? (Michael Barnett 2006) Roland Paris? argument You need institutions before liberalization Need effective political parties Effective parliament Effective communication system Brief Case Illustrations Afghanistan, Iraq The Taliban started a serious insurgency against the government of Afghanistan and anyone associated w/western civilizations Insurgency has gained grounds and been successful Different countries take over different roles, which makes the foreign countries less successful; no one was clearly in charge Iraq Purge the army of people associated w/Sadam Primarily Sudanese Congo No lead agency Weak local capacity Many foreign militaries have invaded Congo