Violent Conflict Prevention and Development Co-operation: Coherent or Conflicting Perspectives?

Abstract

Summary Olav Stokke, ‘Violent Conflict Prevention and Development Co-operation: Coherent or Conflicting Perspectives?’, Forum for Development Studies, 1997:2, pp. 195–250. Promotion of peace has become an objective in its own right for development co-operation, along with several others, such as democracy, human rights, good governance and environmental concerns. In this article, the particular role of development assistance in peace promotion and conflict prevention is explored and discussed. The main approaches are scrutinised; since aid as a lever to influence the policies of the conflicting parties is found both problematic and of limited use, the main focus is on the so-called positive measures strategy. By focusing development assistance more consistently on its ‘traditional’ objective of poverty alleviation and reduction of social, economic and political injustice, it would also serve a most fundamental role in conflict prevention, it is argued. The role of development assistance will decrease with an increasing conflict level (with the exception of relief aid); when a conflict reaches a high level of tension, other mechanisms, more adapted to crisis management, are needed. Norwegian policy norms and experiences in combining the peace and development objectives are reviewed. Policies in pursuance of ‘development’ and ‘peace’ objectives are seen as different expressions of humane internationalism. These aspects of the Norwegian foreign policy should be strengthened by an integrated effort which pools the resources of several ministries.