Part VIII

Democracy, Democratisation and Peace – Lessons from Recent Experience
Dan Smith, International Alert
28^th November 2011

The eights and last essay takes a look at democratisation. It is generally acknowledged that democracy is good for peace. This has become an unchallenged truth, often expressed without important nuances. Support for democratisation is widely and rightly regarded as an essential component of building peace and stability but the lack of nuance means there is a persistent risk that the challenges involved in democratisation are ignored or at least under-stated.

Download (pdf, 7 p., 155 KB)

Part VII

Land, conflict and the challenge of pro-poor peacebuilding
Saturnino M. Borras Jr. and Jennifer C. Franco, Transnational Institute
18^th October 2011

The seventh and second to last essay deals with the linkages between land, peacebuilidng and development. The authors identify nine interlinked key themes which they deem important to consider for any efforts at pushing for peacebuilding process in the context of resolving resource-oriented conflicts within and between communities.

Download (pdf, 9 p., 175 KB)

Part VI

Peacebuilding at the UN over the last 10 years
Vanessa Wyeth, International Peace Institute (IPI)
25^th September 2011

This essay takes a look back on the development of the concept, practice, and institutions of peacebuilding in the United Nations over the last decade, with a focus on policy debates in UN headquarters. Vanessa Wyeth concludes that lasting peace can really only built from within. But it might just not happen without the United Nations.

Download (pdf, 11 p., 366 KB)

Part V

Fixing Obstacles Blocking a Multi-Stakeholder Approach to Peace and Development
Prof. Lisa Schirch, Director of 3P Human Security: Partners for Peacebuilding Policy
19^th August 2011

Fostering peace and development in conflict-affected regions requires a citizen oriented state working in partnership with an active civil society. The slow progress toward both peace and sustainable development is due in part toward conflicting and uncoordinated approaches between these diverse stakeholders. Moving toward a comprehensive approach requires first diagnosing the key issues and obstacles to stakeholder coordination. Current obstacles include unbalanced approaches to statebuilding, faulty conceptions of civil society, and fundamental disagreements about the overall mission or goal. This essay by Lisa Schirch describes these obstacles and then outlines how to address these issues.

Download (pdf, 3 p., 110 KB)

Part IV

This essay provides a brief summary of three ways in which we can think about the role of education in conflict-affected societies. In broad terms they represent areas that have gained greater attention over the past decade in international development discourses, al-though their roots go back to at least the Second World War. Each represents a slightly different perspective arising from a common concern about the way that violent conflict affects the lives of children and their right to education.

Download (pdf, 7 p., 134 KB)

Part III

Linking Peacebuilding and Health in post-conflict settings
Lisa J. Laplante, University of Connecticut
20^th June 2011

The third part of the essay series takes a deeper look at the linkages between Health and Peacebuilding. It is now a well-accepted presumption that war causes grave harm to the health of individuals caught in the maelstrom of violence. Thus, public health policy should be a central concern of all post-conflict recovery activities. Lisa Laplante explains, why a new approach to health care for the extraordinary demands of conflict recovery is needed.

Download (pdf, 7 p., 169 KB)