ON THE WAY TO A NEW LIFE : Comparative analysis on DDR post-war reconstruction processes

Abstract

The end of armed conflict presents an array of complex challenges for those working to develop a lasting peace. It can be relatively simple to conceptualize the importance of negotiations, troop deployments, and peace accords when seeking to end violence and achieve cold peace. Much more difficult is the process of working toward long-term peace, or warm peace which involves the complex task of rebuilding society, healing the wounds of war, and creating the conditions necessary for a sustainable peace.The changes in the international system and the nature of contemporary conflict, including global terrorism, have fragmented the traditional boundaries that defined the post-World War II system. In this senario, peace is not just the process of restoring relationships between states, but also the mainstream to properly address specific related issues such as physical infrastructures, political systems, economic markets, social tissues and psychological wounds at the sub-national, even individual level.Peace must also address the global and regional dynamics that have an impact on the conflict: global terrorism is often founded in the perceived antagonism or incompatibility between religious and/or cultural values that span across borders. Some have argued that the inequities of the global economic system pushes the disenfranchised to terrorism and violence. The focus on democratic reforms, Human Rights, and free trade, key elements of U.S. foreign policy, is one way of addressing peace at the sub-national level while recognizing the global dimensions of the sources of conflict, but at the same time, failure or disruption of the process can have a negative impact on the regional stability of the region.Ten years from the signature of the Dayton Agreement and thirteen years after the end of the conflict in Mozambique, the first “complex emergency” in history, reflection on the process of post-war reconstruction and peace-building in the wake of international peace missions has become a necessity.The crises of the last fifteen years clearly show the enormous human, physical and political costs of stabilisation and reconstruction processes, borne by the International Community and especially by the war-affected people. The most recent one in Syria brings into sharp focus such consequences, while we are still waiting for consistency over the last 12 years effort spent by the International Community and the International NATO Coalition Forces in rebuilding the political, economic, social and security structure of the post-anti-terror war in Afghanistan.The reconstruction process aims both towards physical reconstruction and the promotion of regional and national capacity for conflict resolution, and frequently, these initiatives lack a strategy. Accordingly, a detailed evaluation of post-war reconstruction should identify a methodological framework to analyse the impact of peace and conflict in the affected countries, taking into consideration the “complexity” of the context.In many cases, donors and the international cooperation agencies neglect and minimize the lessons learned and the principles of development co-operation: ownership, participation, and sustainability.The present study is based on three assumptions. Firstly, that in order to promote peaceful co-existence, post-war reconstruction requires a time frame which cannot be precisely determined, as it begins before the peace process starts and may need decades to beviicompleted. Secondly, that reconstruction needs to incorporate a strategic view of development in its various aspects: economic, social and political. Thirdly, that the analysis of the selected crises – Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Mozambique – might highlight new trends in peace keeping operations both as regards the humanitarian action and the reconstruction process.Reconstruction is carried out, at the field level, by a wide variety of actors, including: the war-affected community, which often does not guide or chose the modality of the reconstruction; civilian and military operators; combatants and merchants; politicians and humanitarian operators. In addition, it is indispensable to identify a suitable methodology in order to analyse the impact of peace and conflict on the reconstruction process.This study seeks to contribute to the identification of the approaches and means necessary to promote a positive outcome for the reconstruction processes, therefore trying to providing valuable lessons in the light of the recent international trends on the issue of security.This study undertook a comprehensive analysis of the relevant post-war reconciliation processes, assessing in particular the role of civil society organizations in the reconciliation and reconstruction process, the role of the international political process and the demobilization initiatives, including the reconstitution of police and army forces, focusing also on actions taken in favour of individuals exposed to war zone-related traumatic events and at risk for a variety of psychological problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Some relevant reconstruction processes issues which have been took into account to define the context of the investigation, are directly related to the key role played by the military mandate and the rules of engagement as they have a strong impact on post-conflict reconstruction, the role of civil society in the reconciliation processes within local communities and its commitment towards sustainable development processes, and the need to analyse the links between the negotiation process among the parties at conflict, and the post-conflict reconstruction, as they interact and influence each other.One or more conditions contribute to determining an uncertain and ambiguous context, in the so called transitional grey zone, while others contribute towards the creation of structural stability. This research pointed its interest to analyse some of these conditions that can be divided into four groups: Peace process, Governance and democratisation, Reconstruction and Security, and this in order to better understand the overall context, its dynamics, and determine possible outcomes and Lessons Learned, taking into account that the reconstruction process can be affected by several factors: the financial resources made available by donors, the coherence of the long term policies applied and the adoption of methodologies appropriate to the single context.