The solidarity chain: post-conflict reconstruction and social capital building on three Burundian hillsides

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Rebuilding social capital stocks after conflict has become an essential component of post-conflict reconstruction activities. At the community level this policy is translated into projects that combine economic recovery with reinforcing social cohesion through small-scale participatory “bottom-up” projects. This article presents an ethnographic examination of the “solidarity chain” as an example of this approach. It concerns a livestock credit rotating scheme, which combined livestock restocking with the promotion of social cohesion on Burundian hillsides after more than 10 years of civil war. The main findings are twofold. First, it is argued that the distinction between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital proves a useful, analytical framework to assess the impact of such activities on social community cohesion. In particular, the findings show how a combination of “weak” bonding and “unresponsive” linking social capital accounts for the solidarity chain's failure to nurture more inclusive bridging social capital. Second, the general assumption that post-conflict reconstruction policy should focus on the transformation of exclusive bonding into inclusive bridging social capital is nuanced and refined: the findings present micro-empirical insights reaffirming the need to focus also on both the “deficiency” and “dark side” of social capital in post-conflict situations.