Links

Afghanistan Reconstruction Conference Projects

These projects were presented at the Afghanistan: Rebuilding a Nation conference cosponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency that was held June 8-10, 2003 in Chicago.

http://www.export.gov/afghanistan/commercial/conf_projects_061903.html

(Added: Thu Nov 06 2003   Modified: Mon Jun 26 2006   Hits: 470)

Alternative Basic Education in African Countries: Emerging from Conflict; Issues of Policy, Co-ordination and Access [pdf]

Once conflict has ended in an African state, the need to reconstruct basic education becomes a priority. While post-conflict states share some common issues, they each attempt this reconstruction within a particular context. How can they incorporate different perspectives on issues critical to education reconstruction? What lessons can they learn in relation to funding, management and access, especially in relation to Alternative Basic Education (ABE)? (Carolyne Dennis and Alicia Fentiman, DIFD, 2007)

http://www.dfid.gov.uk/pubs/files/education-emerging-conflict67.pdf

(Added: Wed May 07 2008   Hits: 52)

Community-driven Reconstruction as an Instrument in War-to-Peace Transitions (PDF)

CPR Working Paper No. 7, August 2003 This working paper was published jointly by the Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit and the Community Driven Development Thematic Group in the Social Development Department. The paper was written by Sarah Cliffe (OPCOS), Scott Guggenheim (EASES) and Markus Kostner (AFTRS). Although the paper focuses on Timor-Leste and Rwanda, where the Bank launched some of its first community-driven reconstruction programs in the early 1990s, it also draws from the authors' first-hand experience in postconflict situations in several countries and different regions. (PDF-92KB)

http://lnweb18.worldbank.org/ESSD/sdvext.nsf/60ByDocName/Community-drivenReconstructionasanInstrumentinWar-to-PeaceTransitions/$FILE/SDP43-CPRWP07Aug21.pdf

(Added: Thu Nov 06 2003   Modified: Wed Jan 10 2007   Hits: 634)

Democracy under the gun: understanding post-conflict economic recovery

Why do some countries' economies recover from domestic armed conflicts more quickly than others? This paper answers this question by testing a set of propositions regarding the effects of political transitions, economic factors, and the nature of the conflicts themselves. Among key results regarding international aid and the length and resolution of conflicts, this paper finds that rapid postconflict democratization retards economic recovery, and that organizations involved in postconflict reconstruction should promote gradual rather than rapid transitions to democracy in order to reinforce inevitably weakened political institutions. (Flores, and Nooruddin, June 2006)

http://www.polisci.osu.edu/faculty/nooruddi/research/flores&nooruddin.pdf

(Added: Thu Aug 24 2006   Hits: 86)

External Debt in Post-Conflict Countries

In the development literature, there exists no systematic study of external borrowing in post-conflict countries. This paper addresss this gap by analyzing statistical and case study evidence from three African countries. The authors find that many war-affected countries face rising debt arrears and deteriorating relations with creditors. Rebuilding trust between lenders and borrowers is hence a crucial but often slow process. Furthermore, donors to war-affected African countries have been slow to grant exceptional debt relief based odious debt or on financial requirements. Debt relief for post-conflict reconstruction should embrace a more forward-looking and more generous conditionality. (Patricia Alvarez-Plata and Tilman Brück, DIW Berlin, July 2006)

http://www.diw.de/deutsch/produkte/publikationen/diskussionspapiere/docs/papers/dp613.pdf

(Added: Mon Oct 16 2006   Hits: 102)

Humanitarian action in Iraq: putting the pieces together [pdf]

Policy briefing from the ODI discussing the challenges for humanitarian action in Iraq (Humanitarian Policy Group, March 2008).

http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/hpgbrief30.pdf

(Added: Fri Apr 04 2008   Hits: 20)

Local Business, Local Peace: the Peacebuilding Potential of the Domestic Private Sector

This publication highlights the domestic private sector's often overlooked peacebuilding potential. Developed and researched with partner organisations and business people from conflict-affected countries around the world, it presents more than 20 case studies where private sector actors have taken proactive steps to address violent conflict: Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burundi, Colombia, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Guatemala, Israel and Palestine, Kosovo, Nepal, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Caucasus and Sri Lanka. In addition, the publication highlights businesses' efforts to support formal peace processes; to address issues in the economic sphere; to build bridges between divided communities and groups; to alleviate security concerns; as well as the special role of women entrepreneurs. (International Alert, July 2006)

http://www.international-alert.org/our_work/themes/LBLP.php

(Added: Mon Sep 11 2006   Hits: 189)

OHCHR Rule of Law Tools for Post Conflict States: Vetting - an operational framework

This publication sets out an operational framework for vetting and institutional reform and is intended to assist United Nations field staff in advising on approaches to addressing the challenges of institutional and personnel reform in post-conflict States through the creation of vetting processes that exclude from public institutions persons who lack integrity. The tool is divided into three majors sections: the concept of vetting in the context of institutional reform and transitional justice; the political conditions of post-conflict or post-authoritarian reform, identifying the sources of a personnel reform mandate, recommending priorities in transitional personnel reform, and proposing the development of a public consultation and information strategy; and the operational guidelines themselves. (OHCHR, 2006)

http://www.ohchr.org/english/about/publications/docs/ruleoflaw-Vetting_en.pdf

(Added: Thu Apr 20 2006   Modified: Wed Jul 12 2006   Hits: 171)

Overcoming Lost Childhoods: Lessons learnt from the rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers in Columbia [pdf]

This report summarises the lessons learned and recommendations from research into the specific rehabilitation and social reinsertion needs of former child soldiers in Colombia. Given the critical importance of the reintegration phase, Y Care International and YMCA Bogota have focused on lessons learned from Colombia's reintegration programme as it represents the most difficult and determinant phase in the life of a former child solider (Y Care International, January 2008).

http://www.child-soldiers.org/Overcoming_Lost_Childhoods_-_Colombia_-_Y_Care_International_-_January_2008.pdf

(Added: Thu Mar 27 2008   Modified: Fri Mar 28 2008   Hits: 58)

Providing aid in insecure environments: trends in policy and operations

For aid workers, as for soldiers and others who work in war zones, the risk of death or serious injury is ever-present. Rising numbers of attacks against aid workers in Darfur, and the murder in August 2006 of 17 staff members of the NGO Action contre la Faim in Sri Lanka, promise to make 2006 one of the deadliest years in a half-decade that has already seen unprecedented levels of violence against humanitarian operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Opinions differ on the causes and extent of the problems - overly close cooperation with military and political actors in the post-9/11 environment, new global threats posed by transnational terrorist movements and a rise in general criminality in many developing countries have all been cited - but whatever the assumed cause, a pervasive sense of growing danger has prompted changes in policy and in the conduct of field operations. (Abby Stoddard, Adele Harmer and Katherine Haver, HPG-ODI, September 2006)

http://www.odi.org.uk/HPG/papers/hpgbrief24.pdf

(Added: Fri Nov 10 2006   Hits: 89)

Sharing New ground in Post-Conflict Situations

The report provides a comprehensive review of the work of UNDP in complex emergencies, with a special focus on reintegration programmes. It looks at UNDP experience in this critical area for lessons for the future and to lay the basis for repositioning the organization.

http://www.undp.org/execbrd/word/dp00-14.doc

(Added: Sat Apr 22 2000   Modified: Mon Dec 11 2006   Hits: 252)

Summer Institute on Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) June 14, 2008 - July 12, 2008 Santa Cruz and La Paz, Bolivia

Summer Institute on Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) June 14, 2008 - July 12, 2008 Santa Cruz and La Paz, Bolivia The Alliance for Conflict Transformation (ACT), in partnership with Nur University, is pleased to announce the Summer Institute on Peacebuilding & Conflict Resolution (IPCR) in Bolivia, June/July 2008. The course will be held in Santa Cruz and include a one-week trip to La Paz and surrounding communities.

http://www.conflicttransformation.org

(Added: Sat Feb 02 2008   Modified: Fri Feb 22 2008   Hits: 41)

The building blocks of sustainable peace: The views of internally displaced people in Northern Uganda

A briefing paper from Oxfam on their research with displaced people in Northern Uganda. It highlights that although people feel that their lives have improved since the talks between the Ugandan Government and the Lord's Resistance Army began, they remain pessimistic. As the talks progress, it is crucial that the concerns of the people of Northern Uganda in terms of security, freedom of movement and development are addressed as the essential building blocks of a just and lasting peace (Oxfam, September 2007).

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/conflict_disasters/downloads/bp106_nuganda.pdf

(Added: Mon Oct 15 2007   Hits: 58)

The limits of statebuilding: the role of international assistance in Afghanistan

The paper examines how international aid programs in Afghanistan have affected conflicts associated with the modernization program, particularly as they concern the legitimacy, accountability and sustainability of the enterprise. The conclusion questions the common policy approach that calls for more of the same - more aid flows, more international troops and stronger political commitment - in order to reach a level sufficient to effectively address the mounting problems of statebuilding and reconstruction. The paper finds that this logic is fallacious as it fails to recognize that international assistance also has negative and contradictory effects and to some extent is part of the problem. (Astri Suhrke, The Chr. Michelsen Institute, March 2006)

http://www.cmi.no/pdf/?file=/publications/2006/isapapermarch2006.pdf

(Added: Wed Oct 18 2006   Hits: 70)

The role of women in stabilisation and reconstruction

It is widely recognized that women and young people are primary victims of conflict. Yet as the survivors of violent conflict, women also bear the burden of reconstruction. They return to destroyed communities and begin the process of rebuilding infrastructure; restoring and developing traditions, laws, and customs; and repairing relationships. In government and through civil society, women worldwide are contributing to all pillars of stabilization and reconstruction operations: security, governance, justice and reconciliation, and socioeconomic development. Indeed, their leadership in the transition period can serve as a window of opportunity to empower women, promote gender equality, advance women's position in society, and bring wider benefits to many elements of society. (United States Insitute for Peace, August 2006)

http://www.usip.org/pubs/specialreports/srs/srs_three.pdf

(Added: Tue Oct 03 2006   Hits: 172)

UGANDA: Daunting post-conflict challenges in the north

Post-conflict challenges such as resettling internally displaced persons (IDPs) and re-establishing civil services in war-ravaged northern Uganda will be heavier than the war itself. (IRIN, 3 September 2006)

http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=55348

(Added: Mon Sep 04 2006   Hits: 78)

Winning Contractors: U.S. Contractors Reap the Windfalls of Post-war Reconstruction

By The Center for Public Integrity WASHINGTON, October 30, 2003 - More than 70 American companies and individuals have won up to $8 billion in contracts for work in postwar Iraq and Afghanistan over the last two years, according to a new study by the Center for Public Integrity. Those companies donated more money to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush-a little over $500,000-than to any other politician over the last dozen years, the Center found.

http://www.publicintegrity.org/wow/

(Added: Thu Nov 06 2003   Modified: Wed Jan 17 2007   Hits: 235)

Women's Roles in Conflict Prevention, Conflict Resolution and Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Tsjeard Bouta and Georg Frerks, June 2002. The first part of this publication makes a review of relevant literature on the dynamic role and position of women in conflict situations and on the ways in which gender relations are impacted by internal conflict. The second part examines how a number of selected agencies working in conflict, integrate a gender perspective into their policy practices.

http://www.clingendael.nl/publications/2002/20021103_cru_bouta.pdf

(Added: Thu Nov 07 2002   Modified: Wed Aug 16 2006   Hits: 269)