Obstacles to Peacebuilding Revisited

Abstract

In January 1992, the economic program sponsored by the International Monetary Fund in El Salvador sacrificed the government's ability to implement the UN-mediated peace agreement on the altar of budgetary discipline and placed the country at the brink of relapsing into war. This episode turned the spotlight on a major obstacle to peacebuilding: the UN and the Bretton Woods Institutions, which frequently work elbow-to-elbow where war-torn countries struggle to move to peace, are all too often at odds and even on a collision course. This article analyzes the UN record since then; assesses whether institutional changes have improved or hindered UN capacity to support countries in overcoming such obstacles; and makes proposals for moving forward in a more effective, coherent, and coordinated way.