Post-conflict States Research Articles

‘The ‘local-visual turn’: understanding peacebuilding in post-conflict societies using photo-elicitation

ABSTRACT The ‘local turn’ and ‘visual turn’ are increasingly crucial in peacebuilding processes in post-conflict societies. This research combines these concepts, offering a deeper understanding of communities experiencing ongoing peace processes and the environments where these processes take place. It uses the ‘local-visual turn’ with a photo-elicitation methodology to understand the relationship between the material world, social realities, and local peacebuilding processes. Specifically, in Northern Ireland, a post-conflict state experiencing ongoing tensions exacerbated by Brexit. Photo-elicitation interviews were carried out across local communities in Northern Ireland. The findings point to four key themes: local understandings of peace processes in Northern Ireland at the onset of Brexit; youth, peace, and the future of Northern Ireland; religion, churches and the peace processes; and paramilitarism and the peace processes. The results demonstrate that peace processes can be more comprehensively understood by rooting research methodologies in local experiences and physical landscapes.

Advancing Children’s Rights in Peace Processes: The Role of the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Abstract The cessation of violent conflict offers crucial opportunities to increase the likelihood that children’s rights are respected, protected and realized in the post-conflict state. Peace processes—which include peace negotiations, peace agreement(s) and the implementation of peace agreement provisions—can be central to the realization of this objective. This article examines the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child through the lens of process-based performance. The objective is to demonstrate contributions that the Committee can make to advancing children’s rights at different stages of a peace process, often in combination with other actors and mechanisms seeking to do the same. After identifying some of the challenges associated with translating this potential into practice, suggestions are made to help bridge the chasm between potential and practice.

Building the Rule of Law in Post-Conflict States: International v. Mixed Model of Transitional Justice

Abstract The transitional justice literature emphasizes the importance of domestic actors in the successful design and implementation of mechanisms such as trials if the rule of law is to meaningfully develop in post-transitional societies. Yet in many post-conflict states the international community is involved in these policies from the beginning. Using a Most Similar System Design to compare the experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, which incorporates data from the author’s fieldwork in both countries from 2016–2021, this article finds that expectations in the literature are overstated. Improvements in the rule of law as a result of transitional justice were found when there was a mix of international and domestic participation. Additionally, this analysis proposes a new methodology to categorize transitional justice when the international community and domestic actors are involved in these programs.

The Logic of Transitional Justice and State Repression: The Effects of Human Rights Prosecutions in Post-Conflict States

Human rights prosecutions addressing wartime crimes are often credited with deterring future rights abuses, but routinely occur alongside state repression. This article develops a theory of how such prosecutions generate uneven effects across domestic human rights practice by making some repression tactics costlier than others—in the public visibility of the abuse or ease of attribution to leadership—or by directly substituting certain tactics. We test the implications with a multivariate probit analysis of novel prosecution data in contemporary conflict and post-conflict settings. Trials significantly reduce reliance on political imprisonment and extrajudicial killings, relatively visible abuses, whereas gains for less visible physical integrity rights are limited. Further, trials themselves are sometimes deployed as a direct substitute for political imprisonment. The findings reveal how human rights prosecutions themselves can be part of a government’s repressive toolkit, with implications for the study of transitional justice and the judicialization of repression.

Does legal aid improve access to justice in ‘fragile’ settings? Evidence from Burundi

Access to justice is often described as key for building and consolidating peace and enhancing socio-economic development in fragile and post-conflict states. Since the 2000s, legal empowerment has been one of the most popular approaches to improve such access, and a growing literature has presented mixed evidence on the quality of its outcomes. We evaluate and discuss the impact of a locally provisioned legal aid program on justice-seekers’ use of dispute resolution fora, legal agency, and trust in judicial institutions. The program was implemented between 2011 and 2014 in 26 municipalities of rural Burundi. We consider its effects on 486 beneficiaries using various propensity score-matching methods and data on non-beneficiaries from two distinct control groups (n = 3,267). Forty-eight interviews with key informants help discuss judicial practices. We find that the program increased the use of courts but not trust in the judiciary. It had no significant impact on the use of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Qualitative and quantitative evidence suggests that justice-seekers’ perception of the treatment they received in courts, also known as procedural justice, shaped their perception of accessing justice. Qualitative evidence also points to a possible ‘watchdog effect’: in some cases, the presence of a legal adviser may have pushed judges to better comply with procedures. While legal aid programs can improve access to courts, it does not necessarily mean an erosion of judicial ‘forum shopping’ or that trust in state institutions is reinforced and rights fully realized.

WhatsApp in Sierra Leone Politics: Burning Bridges or Building Them?

The text messaging application WhatsApp has been heavily criticized for acting as a vehicle for the spread of misinformation and unsubstantiated rumor, leading, in some parts of the world, to violence and even death. But the closed nature of WhatsApp groups has presented a structural problem as a subject for credible social science research. A collaborative project between the Universities of Bedfordshire (UK) and Sierra Leone has tracked messaging in an experimental student WhatsApp group using critical discourse analysis in order to generate a deeper understanding of discursive influences in a fragile society. It asks whether the affordance of a WhatsApp group necessarily amplifies offline polarizations and explores routes to consensuality in a divided post-conflict state. It concludes that more robust interventions by group administrators could foster free speech while avoiding the need for intrusive regulation from outside agencies.

Policing in a Post-Conflict State: Evidence from Uganda

How do governments in post-conflict settings provide for policing within their countries? I argue that leaders respond to both electoral concerns and security threats in shaping the geographic provision of policing infrastructure. Focusing on Uganda, I contend that the territorial expansion of policing has followed a distinct political logic. First, I use panel data on police infrastructure to demonstrate increased construction in counties with previously lower electoral support for the incumbent regime. Additionally, I find that counties with violence are more likely to experience increases in construction, but especially in areas where the incumbent has more support. Finally, I show that (1) proximity to police infrastructure is associated with worse individual perceptions of the police and (2) that increased construction of police infrastructure has large significant effects on reducing voter turnout while increasing vote share for the incumbent president. These findings have important implications for post-conflict reconstruction, stability, and violence.

From “Peacekept” to Peacekeeper: Seeking International Status by Narrating New Identities

Abstract This article examines how post-conflict states attempt to increase international status by transforming their identities from “peacekept” to “peacekeepers.” It focuses on the discursive side of identity construction and increases understanding of how post-conflict troop contributing countries (PCTCC) seek status on the international arena not only by “doing” peacekeeping but also by “narrating” their roles and identities as peacekeepers. A comparative case study of two PCTCC, Burundi and Rwanda, is used to illustrate the argument. By analyzing official discourses from the two cases through a theoretical framework, which combines social identity theory with narrative approaches, it is first argued that PCTCC seek status and a new identity through peacekeeping contribution in part, to underline their sovereignty and safeguard their domestic affairs from outside interference. Second, to successfully seek status, the narratives need to show coherence and be co-constituted by other international actors. The analysis underlines post-conflict states’ agency in identity construction and peacekeeping as an international practice to acquire status and legitimacy in international relations.

THE FAILURE OF TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE IN AFGHANISTAN: THE POLITICAL DIMENSION

In every phase of the conflict in Afghanistan, serious War Crimes and crimes against humanity were committed, resulting in mass killings and forced displacement of millions of Afghan civilians and political opponents. Based on relevant literature, this article investigates the political factors responsible for the failure of transitional justice in Afghanistan, particularly internal and external factors. The article also brings to the fore the impact of the dual process of state-building and peace-building on the implementation of transitional justice. In addition, the paper investigates why the 'Peace first and justice later' strategy proved to be unsuccessful in Afghanistan as the Taliban continued their atrocities, fighting Afghan forces and killing innocent people in suicide attacks. The paper finds that the failure of transitional justice in Afghanistan is due to both internal and external factors. Further, the paper finds that Afghanistan has never been a post-conflict state, unlike other countries that have experienced transitional justice processes. Therefore transitional justice measures were never implemented.

Path-dependency theory in a post-conflict state: the case of Fiji

PurposeViolent geo-political conflicts are on the rise across the globe, particularly within fragile states. Using path-dependency theory, this paper aims to explore Fiji in the context of its public administrative history examining the legacies of history that have contributed to its ongoing conflicts.Design/methodology/approachAn archival document analysis along with a theoretical thematic analysis was used to collect and assess data. Themes were identified that explain how and when the conflict became path-dependent.FindingsAnalysing conflict as path-dependent demonstrates how indirect rule while Fiji was under colonial rule, and the short time it has taken for the nation to transition from a colony to an independent State contributed to the eruption of conflicts in Fiji.Originality/valueThe research makes two key contributions, namely, it develops a theoretical understanding of conflict using path-dependency theory and it uncovers legacies of colonialism that have shaped conflict in Fiji.

Contesting the EU on the periphery in times of crisis: party-based Euroscepticism in Serbia

ABSTRACT This article examines how Eurosceptic parties in Serbia framed the issue of “Europe” in their discourse during times of crisis. It identifies three main frames through which the EU has been problematised: socio-economic, political and cultural ones. While political framing dominated the discourse, distinct domestic circumstances had an important bearing on how each party criticised the Union. Serbia's turbulent relationship with Western-based organisations and its status as a post-conflict and fragmented state greatly affected the way Eurosceptic parties portrayed the EU. At the same time, EU crises had a minor impact on party narratives in the Serbian context, suggesting that Eurosceptic party narratives in EU member states do not necessarily resonate with Eurosceptic parties outside the Union.

The enduring utility of customary justice in fragile and post-conflict states: why development actors need to stop searching for magic bullets and solve the political economy and human rights challenges associated with justice programming

ABSTRACT Although programming with them has lost the appeal and expectancy it enjoyed two decades ago, customary systems continue to play important roles, including in some of today’s most challenging and predatory environments. This ongoing utility raises important questions about how such systems could be better leveraged, and why programming dilemmas, including around human rights and state-non-state relations, remain unresolved. Crafting solutions to these dilemmas, it is argued, will require changes in practice, none of which will be easy or necessarily welcomed by the development community. In this process, past programming experience can offer rich lessons that should be drawn upon.

Peacebuilding with “Chinese Characteristics”? Insights from China's Engagement in Myanmar's Peace Process

AbstractThe unpreceded rise of China, amid the decline of the Western-led liberal world order, has brought questions about how China will engage with the various manifestations of that world order, including human rights, trade, and global peace and security regimes. Through the empirical example of Chinese engagement in Myanmar, this article offers an inductive analysis of China's engagement in the field of “peacebuilding”: a prominent manifestation of the liberal world order in post-conflict states. In doing so, the article first argues that China speaks a distinct vernacular of peace, which is characterized by five core features: a focus on stability, prioritisation of development, conditional adherence to state-centricity, prioritization of regional actors in the making of peace, and an aversion to templates and policies for engaging in peace processes. Secondly, the article also highlights that in deploying these features, Chinese engagement in conflict management in Myanmar not only generates tensions between the various features, but is also seen to overlook local needs, bolster elite control of the state, discount the political context of peace processes, and indeed fluctuate in accordance with Chinese strategic and economic interests: all issues that resonate with the dominant critique of liberal peacebuilding projects. In proffering these arguments, the article cautions that as the Chinese approach to peacebuilding matures and strengthens, the ironing out of these contradictions is likely to be challenging.

Determinants of the firm performance of returnee entrepreneurs in Somalia: the effects of external environmental conditions

Purpose This study aims to examine the role of returning Somali diaspora entrepreneurs on firm performance and their perceived environmental obstacles. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on a broad literature review and covers a theoretical background to develop a research framework. It presents several propositions to be empirically tested to determine the influence of returnee entrepreneurs’ success and the challenges they face in the process. Findings The paper offers an overview of how Somali diaspora returnee entrepreneurs can use their resources to succeed in their business and the possible environmental uncertainties that could hinder them. The study highlights some under-researched areas and provides future research directions. Research limitations/implications A research investigation is needed to test the proposed conceptual framework empirically. Further research is also recommended to use other predictors when investigating the perceived environmental uncertainty faced by returnee entrepreneurs. Practical implications In the diaspora entrepreneurship literature, returnee entrepreneurs in post-conflict African countries did not get enough attention. Hence, the study will contribute theoretically to the literature. Originality/value The paper provides a conceptual framework that will help understand returnee entrepreneurs in post-conflict states in Africa, paving the way for empirical studies on the topic.

Contested peace: duality of security in post-conflict North Waziristan

ABSTRACT This paper attempts to disentangle the concept of security by exploring the duality between state security and societal security in post-conflict North Waziristan, Pakistan. The conceptual explications are centered on the interrelation between state security and societal security, to assess the securitizing potentials of state and society, which impact the durability of post-conflict peace. The reconceptualization is steered through an empirical overemphasis on the state-led security practices for reconstructing post-conflict security in North Waziristan and the consequent provincial merger (FATA-KP merger) that followed. Simply put, this paper intertwines conceptual analysis with empirical observations on post-conflict state security and societal security in North Waziristan to illuminate the underlying causes of the 'contested' peace in the former tribal Agency. Although this discussion is context-driven, most of the analysis is applicable, mutatis mutandis, to analyze state security and societal security in post-conflict settings.

Collective Memory and Nation-Building in Africa

Based on documentary analysis, this article argues that lessons of violent conflicts are rarely appropriated positively for nation-building in the context of post-conflict African societies. The article further stresses that the reasons often projected as causes of ineffective nation-building, such as multiple ethnicity and neo-colonialism, are unjustifiably projected as causal factors. It argues that diverse ethnicity remains a dormant destructive force until operationalised for political gains through misappropriation and deployment of collective memories. In the African context, post-conflict societies adopt the mixed approach of selective amnesia which emphasises amnesty, reconciliation, rehabilitation and reintegration as necessary for nation-building. Experience, however, suggests that the operationalisation of this approach is always marred by inconsistencies and repression. Consequently, repressive mechanisms suppress violence and achieve relative stability. True reconciliation which is critical for nation-building is never achieved. Among loser ethnic groups (hereafter loser groups), resistance to selective amnesia and simultaneous preoccupation with collective memory of victimisation, discrimination and injustice continue to reinforce sentiments of group exceptionality and separatist impulses rather than national consciousness. Therefore, cautious expression of citizenship among segments of the loser groups continues to attract mutual suspicion and distrust from leadership of post-conflict states. It is concluded that the challenge of social contradictions in post-conflict societies is serious because neither the state nor loser groups positively deploy memory of conflict for nation-building. A new reconciliatory approach drawn largely from lessons of history is recommended for post-conflict nation-building efforts in post-conflict African states. Positive appropriation and deployment of memory for nation-building ensures amnesty and restoration without repercussions; and remembrance without resentment.

India’s Engagement in Development and Peacebuilding Assistance in the Post-Conflict States: An Assessment

The emotional and ideological factor to express solidarity with the other developing countries is the main driving factor for India to engage in development assistance. In the changed geopolitical and geo-economic context in the globalized world, the economic factor of access to the market for Indian products and natural resources for its growing industrial sector became the additional motivation. As India does not subscribe to peacebuilding, it has no separate category of peacebuilding assistance. This study’s central focus is on why India’s way of providing development and peacebuilding assistance captured the world’s attention in the 21st century and how India’s ways are different from that of the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) countries. It highlights India’s unique guiding principles, approaches, and modalities for development and peacebuilding assistance. It focuses on why the developing countries appreciated India’s development and peacebuilding assistance, although it is not much in terms of volume compared to the Development Assistance Committee countries. It emphasizes the advantages of accepting diversity instead of an attempt for uniformity in peacebuilding assistance.

Patrons and Personnel: The Foreign Determinants of Military Recruitment Policies

Why do some states develop conscript armies, whereas others rely on volunteers? Most theories of military design describe domestic elites as making decisions based on rational security demands or cultural understandings of what a military should look like. Contrary to these explanations, many states faced with the challenge of building a military are dependent on powerful military patrons with strong beliefs about how to design their clients’ militaries. When states that are building new militaries have foreign military patrons, they are likely to emulate their patron’s recruitment practices. Patrons with sufficient interest and will to engage in security force assistance use their influence to shape recruitment practices in new or postconflict states. This article describes the dynamics of military patronage as they relate to recruitment decisions and finds support for the argument using both original quantitative data and a brief case comparison.

Policing Institutions and Post-Conflict Peace

How do policing institutions affect the prospects for peace in post-conflict settings? We present a principal-agent theoretical framework to explain how the institutional design of policing affects the recurrence of civil conflict. We argue that the fragmentation of police forces can reignite conflict dynamics by impeding coordinated action, undermining information sharing, and enabling agents to pursue their own interests. We test these expectations with the Police Force Organization Dataset (PFOD) on police forces in over 100 developing states. Our empirical analyses show that increasing the number of distinct police forces is systematically associated with an increased risk of conflict recurrence in post-conflict states. We also find that a larger number of police forces is associated with more abuse against civilian populations in post-conflict states, setting the stage for new grievances that may undermine peace.

Policies on return and reintegration of displaced healthcare workers towards rebuilding conflict-affected health systems: a review for The Lancet-AUB Commission on Syria

BackgroundWar and armed conflicts severely disrupt all health system components, including the healthcare workforce. Although data is limited on the scale of health care worker (HCW) displacement in conflict zones, it is widely acknowledged that conflict conditions result in the displacement of a significant portion of qualified HCWs from their country of origin. While voluntary HCW return is integral to health system rebuilding in conflict-affected and post-conflict settings, there has been little exploration of the nature of national or international policies which encourage HCW return and reintegration to their home countries in the post-conflict period.MethodsWe conducted a systematic review to identify policies and policy recommendations intended to facilitate the return of displaced HCWs to their home countries and acknowledge their contribution to rebuilding the post-conflict health system. We searched three bibliographic databases and a range of organisational and national health agency websites to identify peer-reviewed articles and grey literature published in English or Arabic between 1 January 1990 to 24 January 2021, and extracted relevant information. We classified policies and policy recommendations using an adapted version of the UNHCR 4Rs Framework.ResultsWe identified nine peer-review articles and four grey literature reports that fit our inclusion criteria, all of which were published in English. These covered issues of repatriation (n = 3), reintegration (n = 2), health system rehabilitation and reconstruction (n = 2); six documents covered several of these themes. Information was available for nine conflict contexts: Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Lebanon, Namibia, Northern Uganda, South Sudan, Timor Leste, and Zimbabwe. Findings demonstrate that health system rebuilding and rehabilitation serve as precursors and reinforcers of the successful return, repatriation, and reintegration of displaced HCWs.ConclusionsDespite the significant numbers of HCWs displaced by conflict, this study identified few specific policies and limited information explicitly focused on the repatriation and reintegration of such workers to their home country in the post-conflict period. Additional research is needed to understand the particular barriers faced by conflict-displaced HCWs in returning to their home country. Conflict-affected and post-conflict states should develop policies and initiatives that address factors within and beyond the health sector to encourage displaced HCW return and provide sustainable reintegration solutions for those who return to post-conflict health systems.