World Public Sector Report 2010 - Reconstructing Public Administration after Conflict

8/9/2019 World Public Sector Report 2010 - Reconstructing Public Administration after Conflict

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ReconstructingPublic Administrationater Confict:Challenges, Practices and Lessons Learned

World Public Sector Report 2010


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Published by the United NationsISBN: 978-92-1-123182-3

Sales No.: E.10.II.H.1

Price: USD 60.00

March 2010

Countries emerging rom conict situations are almost always plagued by socialupheaval, damaged inrastructure, reduced productive capacity, severe revenue

shortalls, seriously weakened human resources and greatly diminished security.

Te challenges are daunting as post-conict governments strive to ensure peace

and security, oster social reconciliation and promote development. Yet recovery

is possible i the public administration can earn the trust o the people, efectively

provide services to all and operate in an ecient, efective, transparent and

accountable way. In act, whereas the root causes o intrastate conict are usually

assumed to be poverty and economic inequality or clashes among diferent

ethnic or religious groups, the central cause o violent conict is inefective

leadership, weak governance institutions, inappropriate human resources, lack

o mechanisms to engage citizens in public policy-making decisions and lack o

or inefective delivery o public services.

Te report emphasizes that because post-conict situations are heterogeneous,

there are no one size ts all solutions to governance challenges. In each country,public administration reorms should be tailored to local needs. Te report also

highlights that contrary to commonly held belie, post-conict situations not

only present challenges, but also ofer numerous opportunities to leaprog stages

o development by adopting innovative practices in public administration,

particularly the application o ICs in government and service delivery in the

inormation age we all live in.


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ST/ESA/PAD/SER.E/135

Department of Economic and Social Affairs

New York, 2010

ReconstructingPublic Administration

ater Confict:Challenges, Practices and Lessons Learned

World Public Sector Report 2010


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WoRl Publc coR RPoR 2010

DESA Mission Statement

Te Department o Economic and Social Afairs o the United Nations Secretariat is a vital inter-ace between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national ac-tion. Te Department works in three main interlinked areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analy-ses a wide range o economic, social and environmental data and inormation on which MemberStates o the United Nations draw to review common problems and to take stock o policy op-tions; (ii) it acilitates the negotiations o Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on

joint courses o action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises inter-ested Governments on the ways and means o translating policy rameworks developed in UnitedNations conerences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technicalassistance, helps build national capacities.

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* CollierandSambanis2005,p.ix.


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Preace

Since the World Public Sector Report was launched in 2001, it hasbecome a major reerence on governance and public administrationtrends and issues or policymakers, the academia and practitionersrom around the world. So ar, ve editions o this series have been

published in a number o crucial thematic areas, including Globaliza-tion and the State, 2001; E-government at the Crossroads, 2003;Unlocking the Human Potential or Public Sector Perormance,2005, and People Matter: Civic Engagement in Public Governance,2008. In 2008, at its Seventh Session, the United Nations Committeeo Experts on Public Administration recommended that the Depart-ment o Economic and Social Afairs ocus its 2010 World Public Sec-tor Report on lessons learned in reconstructing governance and pub-lic administration aer violent conict.

Tis 2010 Report brings to the ore a very critical issue - how toreconstruct public administration in post-conict situations so as to

enable it to promote peace and development in countries that havebeen afected by civil war and destruction. It is a question that has re-mained unresolved or decades and has brought poverty, despair, anddeath to people in many corners o the world. Over 20 million peoplehave died since World War II because o civil wars, and many morehave been internally displaced*.

Tis Report shows that no progress can be made in promotingpeace, development and protection o human rights unless appropri-

ate governance and public administration institutions are established.Such institutions can help mediate diferences and set the ounda-tions or an efective, ecient, transparent, accountable and innova-tive government. Tis Report emphasizes that there are no one sizets all solutions to governance challenges in post-conict situations.In each country, public administration reorms should be tailored tolocal needs.

Tis Report also highlights that institutions will be meaningulwhen there are efective leadership and competent civil servants in thepublic sector. But leaders and civil servants cannot accomplish the mis-sion o re-establishing peace and development on their own. Te pro-cess o reconstruction can lead to an inclusive and sustainable peace


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only by involving all stakeholders. Finally, unless newly establishedgovernments are able to provide essential public services to the popula-tion, including saety, security, health, education, shelter, access to wa-

ter and sanitation and job opportunities, there will be no durablepeace. ensions over access to scarce economic and natural resourceswill rapidly re-escalate and lead to more violence.

Te Report also highlights that contrary to commonly held be-lie, post-conict situations not only present challenges, but also nu-merous opportunities to leaprog stages o development by adoptinginnovative practices in public administration, particularly the applica-tion o ICs in government and service delivery. By illustrating someo the most critical issues and strategies or public sector capacitybuilding in countries emerging rom conict, this Report provides animportant contribution to a better understanding o the diculties,but also o the opportunities that countries ace in rebuilding their

public administration institutions, mechanisms and processes in theirquest or durable peace and sustainable development.

SHA ZukangUnder Secretary-General or Economic and Social Afairs


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Acknowledgments

Te 2010 World Public Sector Report (WPSR) was nalized, under theoverall guidance o Jomo Kwame Sundaram, United Nations AssistantSecretary-General or Economic and Social Afairs (DESA), by the Di-

vision or Public Administration and Development Management(DPADM). Within the Division, a team o experts lead by Haiyan Qian,Director o DPADM, produced the report. John-Mary Kauzya, Chie othe Governance and Public Administration Branch and Adriana Alber-ti, Governance and Public Administration Ocer in DPADM, coordi-nated the nal production o the publication. Adriana Alberti also au-thored Chapter I, together with Peride K. Blind, ormer Governanceand Public Administration Ocer in DPADM, Chapter II together

with John-Mary Kauzya and Chapter III. John-Mary Kauzya is the au-thor o Chapter IV. Chapter V was prepared by Valentina Resta, Gover-nance and Public Administration Ocer, DPADM, and Chapter VI

was authored by Seema Haeez, Senior Governance and Public Admin-

istration Ocer, DPADM. Kathryn Dahl provided external technicalediting and copy-editing. Tis publication was designed by Eliot Sela, adesign director consultant. Lois Warner, Associate Governance andPublic Administration Ocer in DPADM, provided support in nal-izing the reerences. Roseanne Greco provided administrative support,and Mutya Delos Reyes, an intern at DESA, helped ormat the report.

Te WPSR team beneted rom the technical advice o in-housecolleagues, including Alphonse Mekolo, Atnau Almaz, Garegin Ma-

nukyan, Ulrich Graute, Yoshinobu Yonekawa and Lois Warner, androm the comments o Gay Rosenblum-Kumar and Anita Estroneferat the Bureau or Crisis Prevention and Recovery in the United Na-tions Development Programme (UNDP). DESA, through DPADM,has done a great deal o work in the eld o governance and public ad-ministration, including in countries emerging rom conict. DPADMhas engaged in analytical studies, advocacy and capacity-building in

post-conict societies by ostering dialogue and providing governmentocials with concrete tools to manage conict. Moreover, to helpcountries prevent conict rom occurring or recurring, DPADM hasincreasingly ocused on strategies to integrate conict-sensitive poli-cies and conict-prevention measures into public administration sys-tems, institutions and practices.


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Invaluable input or the report also came rom various organiza-tions dealing with issues related to rebuilding governance and publicadministration. We are grateul to the Center or Global Peace and

Conict Studies at the University o Caliornia, Irvine; South Ari-cas Centre or Conict Resolution; the German Agency or echni-cal Cooperation; the International Development Research Centre;the U.K.s Department or International Development; the UnitedNations Capital Development Fund; the United Nations EconomicCommission or Arica; the United Nations Development Fund or

Women; selected UNDP country oces; the UNDP Regional Bu-reau or Asia and the Pacic; the UNDP Regional Centre or East-ern and Southern Arica; UNDPs Bureau or Policy Development;the United Nations Peace Building Support Oce; United NationsDepartment o Economic and Social Afairs; the University o Cali-ornia, Irvine (USA); the University or Peace; the University oDenver; the World Bank; and the Woodrow Wilson InternationalCenter or Scholars.


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Executive Summary

Te World Public Sector Report is produced by DPADM every two years as a research and analytical tool to provide policymakers andcivil society with relevant research ndings, inormation and lessonslearned on subjects related to the public sector. It also addressesemerging issues, trends and innovative practices in governance and

public administration rom around the world, with a particular ocuson those that contribute to the realization o the United Nations De-

velopment Agenda, including the Millennium Development Goals.Te report was established ollowing the recommendations o theGroup o Experts on the United Nations Programme on Public Ad-ministration and Finance (later renamed the Committee o Expertson Public Administration) at its eenth session in 2000. Te Eco-nomic and Social Council endorsed this recommendation in its reso-lution E/RES/45/2001.

Te main objective o the 2010 World Public Sector Report is to

analyse challenges, practices and lessons learned in rebuilding publicadministration aer conict. Te report is intended or decision mak-ers in conict or conict-prone situations; personnel in regional andinternational organizations; practitioners and experts involved in re-constructing governance and public administration, particularly indeveloping countries and transition economies; educators, scholarsand students at academic institutions, think-tanks and policy centres;and interested laypersons. Te report is also intended to acilitate and

inorm discussions o United Nations inter-governmental bodies onissues related to governance and public administration reconstructionin post-conict situations.

Several reports and studies have been written on how to restorepeace aer violent conict, ocusing mainly on peacemaking, peace-building and economic and social recovery. Tis report ocuses exclu-sively on rebuilding public administration in post-conict situations.It is unique in providing key lessons learned about transorming gov-ernments to gain trust rom citizens and promote peaceul coexistence,sustainable development and prosperity or all.

Te report is based on a literature review o the main theories andissues involved in post-conict reconstruction, coupled with an analy-sis o relevant case studies and good practices rom all ve regions o


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the world, dating rom the end o World War II to the present.DPADM also organized three ad hoc expert group meetingsin Mo-zambique in 2005, in Cameroon in 2006 and in Ghana in 2008

which yielded insightul discussion o technical papers and practicalcases. In addition, at United Nations Headquarters in November2008, a panel o the Second Committee o the General Assembly dis-cussed the topic o State capacity or post-conict reconstruction. Par-ticipants at these events provided invaluable inputs; they includedrepresentatives rom the Center or Global Peace and Conict Studiesat the University o Caliornia, Irvine; South Aricas Centre or Con-ict Resolution; the German Agency or echnical Cooperation; theInternational Development Research Centre; the U.K.s Departmentor International Development; the United Nations Capital Develop-ment Fund; the United Nations Economic Commission or Arica;the United Nations Development Fund or Women; selected UnitedNations Development Programme (UNDP) country oces; theUNDP Regional Bureau or Asia and the Pacic; the UNDP Region-al Centre or Eastern and Southern Arica; UNDPs Bureau or Policy

Development; the United Nations Peace Building Support Oce;United Nations Headquarters; the University o Caliornia, Irvine;the University or Peace; the University o Denver; the World Bank;and the Woodrow Wilson International Center or Scholars.

Te report identies a number o lessons learned and recommen-dations or governments in post-conict situations. Tey can be sum-marized as ollows.

1. RebuildingTrustinGovernmentInstitutions:A Key Challenge in Post-Conict Reconstruction

Countries emerging rom conict situations ace a number o uniquechallenges in rebuilding their public administration systemsensur-ing peace and security, ostering social reconciliation and promotingdevelopment. Success depends largely on the efectiveness o publicadministration and the promotion o an ecient, efective, transpar-ent, accountable and innovative government that works in partnership

with all stakeholders. Te public service is the connecting link betweenthe State and the people, and as such, it is the incubator o public trustor mistrust in government. Other actors may also play a role, but peo-

ple are most likely to trust government when public servants efective-ly deliver desired services in a timely manner, behave transparently and


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ethically, demonstrate accountability and integrity, are responsive tothe needs o the people and mirror the diversity within the population.

In each country, depending on the past and present government

institutions, structures, practices and leadership capacities, the needsor reconstruction vary greatly. In Rwanda, or example, aer the 1994genocide, the public administration system was completely destroyedand could not be reormed; it had to be rebuilt. Similarly, in imor-Leste and in Kosovo, the United Nations had to intervene to re-estab-lish public administration. In other cases, however, where relativelystrong institutions existed beore the outbreak o violence, reorm andreconguration would be most appropriate. A common denominator,however, is that the public service must be seen to be undamentallyand positively diferent rom the previous government. Tis is oen achallenge, i the public administration that is supposed to enact re-orms is the same one that contributed, either directly or indirectly, tothe original conict. In order to rebuild trust, appropriate institutions,systems and mechanisms need to be put in place to engage citizens inidentiying their needs and priorities, as well as in planning, imple-

menting and evaluating policies, programmes and public services thatare citizen-centric and equitable.

2.Post-ConfictReconstruction:

A Complex Task Requiring Efective Leadership

Te root causes o intrastate conict are usually assumed to be povertyand economic inequality or clashes among diferent ethnic or religiousgroups. However, the central cause o violent conict is weak gover-

nance institutions characterized by a lack o predictable and sustain-able systems and by leaders who use public oce to benet themselvesand their aliates. Te result is divisive politics based on the monopo-lization o power and the exclusion o major social and political groups.Factional disputes and the States inability to unction efectively, letalone achieve economic and social progress, breed violent conict. InUganda, or example, rebel groups took up arms in response to a suc-cession o autocratic leaders who repressed the opposition and wereaccused o rigging the 1980 general elections. In Rwanda, a successiono Hutu-dominated governments excluded and expelled utsis, trig-gering a utsi-led armed rebellion that in turn led the Hutus to try ex-terminating the utsi in the 1994 genocide. In Somalia, Siad Barremonopolized power rom 1969 until 1991 by avoring his own clan


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and imprisoning and killing opponents. Tereore, a major priority opost-conict governance is to transorm previous patterns o divisiveoppositional politics.

Developing leadership capacities in post-conict countries is pre-eminently an endogenous process that can be aided by impartial acili-tators and by donor-supported initiatives to bring contending partiestogether and to strengthen the capacities o the capacity builders.Leadership is critical in post-conict situations to establish appropri-ate systems and institutions, to enhance human resources, to judicious-ly manage scarce resources, to promote knowledge and last but notleast, to promote innovation and technological usage. Leaders musthave a vision o the uture in order to implement institutional reorms.Tey must also be able to mobilize the people around them to movereorms in the right direction and achieve shared goals.

It is not possible to transorm public administration without trans-orming the belies, attitudes and behaviours o leaders and civil servantsso that they perorm efectively within a democratic setting. Tus, al-though there is a great emphasis on building technical and managerial

skills, it is equally important to develop trust between leaders o compet-ing actions and among competing actions themselves. Most impor-tantly, the perception o politics as a zero-sum game needs to be trans-ormed into a mindset that emphasizes collaboration and respect or theunderlying values and principles o agreed-upon governance institu-tions. Leadership and institutional development are symbiotic. Leaderscreate institutions, but they must then be willing to accept to submitthemselves to those institutions. Unless a political and technical leader-

ship emerges aer conict to champion the creation and operationaliza-tion o the right institutions, no lasting peace can be guaranteed.

3. Institution-Building:

Establishing Formal Rules o Goernance Is Not Enough;

eir Underlying Values and Belie Systems Must Also

Be Internalized by All Actors

Rebuilding appropriate governance and public administration institu-tions, systems and mechanisms is undoubtedly one o the most criticalissues in ensuring peace and security, human rights and socio-econom-ic development in countries emerging rom violent conict. Every

post-conict situation is unique and requires a unique institutionaldevelopment strategy, which should begin rom an accurate assess-


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ment o the past. Te degree o institutional development needed ineach country depends on the nature o the systems and institutions,

practices and behaviours, and local political culture that were present

beore the upsurge o violence. Redesigning democratic institutions incountries where they previously existed is very diferent rom design-ing new governance institutions where there were none beore. In ad-dition, institution-building is afected by the duration o a conict andthe way it ends (whether with a negotiated peace settlement, a power-sharing arrangement, or the outright victory o one party).

One o the most challenging yet vital tasks or a country in theaermath o civil war is to create a common vision or the uture. Aspi-rations or socio-politico-economic developmentand the challengesthat stand in the wayshould be discussed and agreed in consultation

with a cross-section o the population. At the same time, discussionsmust address how responsibilities will be shared among diferent stake-holders and what mechanisms will be used to encourage collaborationand participation by all sectors (public, private and civil society). InSouth Arica, or example, the Arican National Congress leadership

prepared a White Paper outlining its proposals or transorming the public service, and then invitedand receivedextensive publiccomment. Te White Paper proved to be a very efective mechanismor ensuring public participation and achieving unity in the country.

Te main challenge is not designing new institutions per se, butpromoting mechanisms to ensure that public servants behave accord-ing to agreed-upon rules and values. In other words, the ormal rulesand the underlying values and belie systems must be well understood,

shared and internalized by all stakeholders.Because post-conict situations are heterogeneous, there are no

one size ts all institutional solutions to governance challenges. Ineach country, institutional reorms should be tailored to current needs

while taking into account the legacy o pre-existing institutions, includ-ing past values and belie systems. Rebuilding the same institutions thatled to violent conict should be avoided, but some traditional practicesmight be worthy o retaining or creatively adapting. Uganda, or exam-

ple, reintroduced kingdoms and traditional leadership institutions butconerred on them missions related to economic development and cul-tural development. Rwanda introduced the gacaca court system, basedon traditional communal law-enorcement practices, to meet the chal-lenges brought about by the genocide o 1994.


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Efective institution-building rests on the ollowing steps: (i) design-ing, through dialogue with stakeholders, a comprehensive national

programme or strengthening governance and public administration;

(ii) developing a shared vision and clear mission or governance and public administration institutions; (iii) enshrining the principles ogood governance in ormal rameworks such as written constitutions;(iv) harmonizing traditional and modern institutions; (e) promoting

participatory democracy and local governance; and ( ) building an in-rastructure or peace, including institutions and mechanisms to medi-ate disputes.

4.ePublicService:

A Central Actor in the Reconstruction Process

Te public service is integral to the social, political, economic andcultural lie o every country. Consequently, in conict situations, the

public service is generally both a contributing actor to the conictand a casualty o it. It is also a central actor in the reconstruction pro-cess, and as such, the public service must transorm itsel so that it can

appropriately manage the changed and changing public administra-tion environment.Te success o government in a post-conict society depends on

the perormance o the public service in providing critical services tothe population and restoring trust and condence in governance.Public servants are engaged in every acet o government activityeducation, health care, public saety, inrastructure, environmental

protection, etc.,and most o them work directly with citizens, to

whom they represent the ace o government. Tereore, the qualityo public servants in terms o knowledge, skills, ethics, attitudes andnetworks can make or break public trust in a post-conict govern-ment. Tis makes capacity-building in the public service essential or

post-conict recovery.Te human resources challenges that countries ace aer conict

are serious, since many skilled government workers die or ee to othercountries. imor-Leste, or example, lost an estimated 7,000 civil ser-

vants aer Indonesian rule collapsed in 1999, leaving a vacuum in allareas o government. Uganda had a very diferent problem aer itscivil war ended in 1986. Ugandas post-conict public service wasoverstafedbloated by redundant positions with overlapping unc-tions. Ghost workers on the State payroll also create problems. Coun-


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tries in such situations may nd that they do not have enough staf torun the public service, yet payroll records reveal more employees thanthe budget can support.

Another challenge in reconstructing human resources in the pub-lic service aer conict is modiying the behaviour o public servants.In all cases, violence not only thins the ranks o the civil service, butalso warps the behaviour and motivation o those who remain. In Bos-nia and Herzegovina, or example, the war was the beginning o totallyunacceptable practices in the public sector. Te political parties in

power protected certain ethnic and religious interests, and corruptionand nepotism ourished. Ugandas public service was likewise plaguedby corrupt or uncommitted personnel.

In most post-conict and crisis situations, there are also tensionsamong various ethnic, socio-politico-cultural or religious groups. Suchsituations are ripe or conict and need to be careully managed. SouthArica, or example, by emphasizing reconciliation and inclusiveness,successully managed to turn its diversity to an advantage and create a

pluralistic workorce o high-perorming public servants.

Reconstruction eforts should proceed rom an accurate count oa countrys public servants and an accurate picture o their knowledgeand skills. Because employee censuses are expensive, they should be

planned to t within the overall strategy or developing human re-sources in the public service. It is highly desirable or oversight o therecruitment process to be managed by independent bodies such ascivil service commissions to avoid cronyism, nepotism, and otherorms o avoritism. But because it takes time to create and develop

such institutions, interim measures should be devised to address theimmediate challenge o recruiting competent personnel. I merit-based recruitment is introduced early, there is a greater chance o lim-iting patronage and other harmul practices and instead ensuring a

well-unctioning public service. Eforts must also be made to restoreintegrity, ethics and proessional conduct in the public service. More-over, diversity within the population should be reected within the

public service. I men and women, as well as members o all ethnic,religious and other groups, are actively included in the government,then conict is less likely to erupt. A representative, merit-based, ser-

vice-oriented public service can provide a model or participation,inclusive decision-making, reconciliation and social cohesion, and

proactive peacebuilding.


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5.EngagingCitizensinPost-ConfictReconstruction:

An Essential Ingredient or Sustainable Peace

Participatory governance can be ostered in many ways. One key strategy

is decentralization, which allows or the shared exercise o power andacilitates the involvement o local communities in policy decisionsabout their own development. Decentralization is not a panacea, how-ever. I implemented without proper planning and accountability mech-anisms, decentralization can reallocate power and resources in a way thatleads to power struggles and renewed conict. Moreover, i it does notempower citizens to participate in decision-making processes so as to en-sure that policies are citizen-centric, responsive and sustainable, thendecentralization is not efective. How the process is managed has a greatimpact on its efectiveness as a tool or participation. Te engagement ostakeholders in inter-group negotiations reduces the propensity or con-ict and osters social, political and economic stability.

Guatemalas experience is inormative because o the extraordinarydegree to which decentralization opened doors or civil societypar-ticularly long-marginalized indigenous populationsto take part in

the decision making processes o government. Peace accords weresigned in Guatemala in 1999 at the end o 36 years o conict and au-thoritarian rule. As part o the peace agreement, the Governmentagreed to reorm the municipal code to ensure local input into localdecisions through the cabildo abiertothe Guatemalan equivalent othe town meeting. Te Government also committed to restoring localdevelopment councils to ensure that community groupsassociationso indigenous people, campesino organizations, womens groups, etc.

help ormulate local investment priorities. Guatemala needs to do moreto institutionalize the participatory mechanisms it has created, but theemphasis on citizen engagement has helped prevent or resolve someconicts and laid the oundations or a more peaceul society.

Another positive example is that o South Arica. In 1994, in re-sponse to popular demand, the countrys rst democratically electedGovernment initiated a post-conict recovery process that includedextensive negotiations or decentralization as well as or a post-apart-heid national constitution. Te negotiations were crucial or mobilizingall South Aricans to accept the principle o empowering local commu-nities and dismantling the apartheid system that had le the country

with racially divided business and residential areas. Te structural ar-rangement that acilitated the ormulation o these plans was the Inte-


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grated Development Plan Representative Forum. It also ensured propercommunication between all stakeholders and the municipality, as wellas the monitoring o planning and implementation processes. Commu-

nity members elt empowered to participate and inuence the social,political and economic decisions o concern to them.

In Rwanda, the push to decentralize came rom the top. Aer thegenocidal conict in 1994, the government undertook decentraliza-tion as part o peacebuilding. Old politico-administrative structures,leadership groups and mentalities were replaced by new ones moresuited to promoting peace and social reconciliation. Participatory de-cision-making, based on local leadership, was encouraged through theestablishment o Community Development Committees attended byall community members o voting age. Gender issues were also main-streamed into development planning, and it was mandated that wom-en should represent 33 per cent o local government council represen-tatives. Although political will was responsible or initiating thedecentralization, civic will was cultivated through extensive consulta-tion and sensitization.

Rwandas eforts to engage women in governance are notable be-cause in many countries, women have been excluded rom the negoti-ating tables and le out o the ensuing peacebuilding processes, despitetheir vital contributions during the conict and recovery periods. InMozambique, to cite just one example, women played a critical roleduring the liberation struggle that brought independence to the coun-try, but they were totally absent rom the Rome peace process thatended the civil war. Arguably, peace cannot be lasting unless both men

and women can participate in peacebuilding, inuence reconstructionand development eforts and equally enjoy their benets. Ethnic andreligious minorities and other marginalized groups must also be drawninto public administration reconstruction.

Governments in post-conict settings should adopt strategiesaimed at promoting institutionalized collaboration o State and non-State actors in identiying, analyzing and addressing the root causes oconict. Experiences rom around the world clearly point to the criti-cal importance o engaging civil society, in all its diversity, to ensurethat actions are responsive to the actual needs o the population. Tiscan be o enormous help in achieving governmental and societal trans-ormation aer conict and bringing countries orward on a path olong-lasting peace and development.


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6.Citizen-CentricServiceDeliveryinPost-

ConfictSituations:

e Raison dtre o Public Administration

Post-Conict ReconstructionTe undamental raison dtre o government is the delivery o servicesto its people. ragically, in times o violent conict, attention and re-sources shi rom production to destruction, and the governmentscapacity to provide services becomes severely impaired. Te efects onthe population are devastating. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, or exam-

ple, ewer than 35 per cent o children were immunized during theghting in 1994, compared with 95 per cent beore hostilities brokeout. During Liberias 15-year civil war, at least 50 per cent o all schools

were destroyed, depriving 800,000 children o education.Te governments inability to provide security, health care, educa-

tion, access to clean water and other basic services not only threatens peoples welare; it also erodes the States credibility and legitimacy.Consequently, restoring efective delivery o public services aer vio-lent conict is necessary not just to ensure the survival o the people,

but also to re-establish public trust in government. Improving servicedelivery can also reduce tensions and grievances among groups strug-gling to meet basic needs and competing or scarce resources. In this

way, strengthening government capacity to provide services becomes ameans o promoting peace and spearheading economic development.

In the aermath o conict, States rarely have adequate nancial,human and other resources to undertake efective reconstruction andrebuilding eforts. In this context, the involvement o multiple stake-

holders is necessary. Public ocials should adopt an inclusive ap-proach that brings together both State and non-State players, includ-ing multilateral and bilateral donors and local and internationalnon-governmental organizations, to solidiy public service delivery ca-

pacities. However, when oreign donors are involved, there must be anunderstanding that they are partners in the process, not directors o it.Reconstruction and reorm programmes must be designed, decidedand implemented with the participation and ownership o nationals.Service delivery systems should be craed to use local resources, deliv-er tangible outputs based on need and target the poorest and mostmarginalized groups. Aid donors took such an approach in Nepal aerinsurgents declared a peoples war in 1996. Te biggest need or pub-lic services was in remote, rural communities, where security concerns


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made access even more challenging. o successully provide public services, donors made arrangements on a case by case basis with localcommunity organizations and other partners.

In devising efective strategies or public service delivery, it is im-portant to allow room or exibility and innovation. Stakeholders alsoneed to recognize the benets o using inormation and communica-tions technologies (ICs) as an integral part o the overall reconstruc-tion o public administration and service delivery capacities in postconict situations. Inormation dissemination should be treated as abasic service in post-conict societies. In the short term, inormationabout security, emergency relie and services or displaced persons andreugees may literally mean the diference between lie and death. Inthe long run, inormation on various development initiatives, such as

public health and education programmes, can contribute to efectiveservice delivery, nation building and sustainable development.

Te IC tools available or communicating inormation includeradio, television, mobile phones and the Internet. For example, duringthe conict in the Democratic Repulic o Congo, the United Nations

and other donors set up Radio Okapi to help keep peace by dissemi-nating reliable and credible inormation rom an independent source.Te ree ow o inormation can also empower public institutions, so-cietal groups and citizens to produce and share knowledgebetweenand within service delivery sectorsto bring a greater degree o cohe-sion, transparency and accountability.

New technologies can, moreover, be used to directly acilitate thedelivery o more tangible public services. An example is the Sahana

disaster management system developed aer the Asian tsunami in De-cember 2004. Sahana is an open-source, Web-based collaboration toolthat has acilitated the coordination and distribution o relie aernatural disasters. Another example is the introduction o new tech-nologies to support the provision o water and electricity at the head-quarters o the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. Te ICsused there allow or constant monitoring o the water supply levels andthe electrical grid. Te system enables quick repair o any ault beoreany operations are afected, minimizing service disruptions and engen-dering cost savings.

ICs have not yet been widely incorporated into strategies or improving public service delivery in post-conict situations. However,the donor community does have considerable experience using ICs


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xviii

in disaster relie eforts. Various international organizations, non-gov-ernmental organizations and private companies have gone beyond thebasic applications o ICs and are providing interactive tools, search-

able databases, maps and GIS and electronic orums or disaster man-agement. I such strategies are adapted or use in post-conict situa-tions, they can transorm the whole operation o government, which

will enable it to provide citizen-centric, more ecient, efective, trans-parent, and accountable public services.


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xix

Introduction

Tis Report is divided into six chapters each one dealing with specicareas o public administration reconstruction aer conict. Moreover,each chapter highlights challenges, strategies, and lessons learned so asto provide concrete policy options. Chapter I analyzes the critical chal-lenges and goals o reconstructing public administration aer conict.It begins by providing an overview o instrastate violent conict aer

World War II. It then attempts to dene post-conict reconstructiona relatively new term that is not universally understood. Te chapterthen presents the overarching goals o post-conict governments andthe specic challenges they ace in rebuilding public administration.

Chapter II ocuses on leadership capacity-building in post-con-ict situations. One o the most critical elements or the success o

post-conict reconstruction is the presence o capable leaders, at alllevels o government, who are committed to transorming conict into

peaceul coexistence and collaboration. Yet as energy is exerted on

peace negotiations, peacekeeping operations and basic humanitarianassistance, too little attention is paid to cultivating efective leaders andpromoting respect or institutions. Instead, the conversation is domi-nated by discussion about how parties to the conict should share

power and wealth. Tis approach oen reignites conict, demonstrat-ing the need to ocus more sharply on leadership transormation andcapacity-building. Tis chapter looks at the challenges in building e-ective leadership, the capacities needed by post-conict leaders and

strategies or developing those capacities. Te chapter also analyzes therole o international and regional donors in promoting leadership ca-

pacity development.Chapter III looks at institution-building. Institutions are gener-

ally dened as the rules o the game in economic, political and socialinteractions. Put another way, they equate to the ormal (e.g., the con-stitution and party systems) rules and procedures governing humanbehavior. In governance, institutions encompass (i) all standard oper-ating procedures o governments, (ii) more overarching structures oState, and (iii) a nations normative social order (Ikenberry 1988).Only recently has attention been given to public administration re-orms, including civil service reorms, in post-conict States. Interna-tional organizations and donors have oen ocused on elections as the


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political tool or institution-building and on macroeconomic develop-ment as the economic engine o growth. International nancial insti-tutions have prescribed the reduction o public sector expenditures,

including civil service expenditures (Vandermoortele 2003). Yet it isequally important, i not more so, to pay explicit attention to institu-tion-building as an ongoing process in post-conict societies. Tischapter begins by looking at the key issues involved in building institu-tions aer conict. It then discusses ways to strengthen public sectorinstitutions, ocusing on the civil service, legislative institutions andthe judiciary. It also addresses mechanisms to improve the public sec-tors perormance in delivering public services and preventing relapsesinto conict.

Chapter IV explores the critical issue o human resources capacitybuilding in post-conict situations. Te public service is integral to thesocial, political, economic and cultural lie o every country. Conse-quently, in conict situations, the public service is generally both acontributing actor to the conict and a casualty o it. It is also a centralactor in the reconstruction process, and as such, the public service

must transorm itsel so that it can appropriately manage the changedand changing public administration environment. Tis chapter looksrst at why a strong public service is so important in post-conict situ-ations, and how human resources capacity varies rom country tocountry. Te chapter then ocuses on challenges and strategies relatedto the development o human resources capacity aer conict. It ad-dresses the ollowing issues: controlling the number o public servantson the payroll; practicing merit-based recruitment; promoting trans-

parency, accountability, integrity, proessionalism and ethics; respect-ing diversity in the public service and tapping its potential benets;

paying civil servants in a post-conict situation; and counteractingbrain drain.

Post-conict reconstruction is most successul when all segmentso society are engaged in the process. Tereore, as part o their efortsto rebuild robust public administration systems, post-conict coun-tries must seek to involve citizens in decisionmaking. One key strate-gy in this regard is decentralizationthe transer o powers, unc-tions, responsibilities and resources rom the central government tolocal authorities or other subnational entities. In practical terms, de-centralization involves striking a balance between the claims o the

periphery and the demands o the centre. Chapter V, thereore, exam-


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ines decentralization as a mechanism or institutionalizing engagedgovernance and promoting sustainable peace. It analyzes the concepto decentralization, the challenges in implementing it, and the experi-

ences o several post-conict countries. Te chapter then discusses theimportance o engaging two particular constituencieswomen andminority groupsin governance, highlighting challenges as well asstrategies or success.

Te undamental raison dtre o government is the delivery oservices to its people. Tese include social services (primary educationand basic health services), inrastructure (water and sanitation, roadsand bridges) and services that promote personal security (justice sys-tem and police services), whether provided directly by the public sec-tor or by government-nanced private providers. Tus, Chapter VIlooks at the challenges and strategies involved in rebuilding capacitiesor public service delivery. In particular, the chapter analyses the ben-ets o a multistakeholder approach and the crucial role that inorma-tion and communication technologies (ICs) can play. n


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xxiii

Contents

Preface iii Acknowledgements v Executive Summary vii

Introduction xxi

Abbreviations and Acronyms xxiii

Chapter I

Public Administration Challenges

ater Confict 1

1. Overview o Instrastate Violent Conictaer World War II 3

2. Denition and phases o post-conict reconstruction 6

Dening post-conict reconstruction 6

Phases o post-conict reconstruction 13

3. Goals o public administration reconstructionaer conict 16

Ensuring peace and security 17

Fostering social reconciliation 17 Promoting socio-economic development 18

4. Challenges in reconstructing publicadministration aer conict 19

Developing efective public sector leadership 20

Building efective public institutions 20

Strengthening human resources in thepublic sector 21

Establishing mechanisms or inclusive

governance 21 Providing citizen-centric public

service delivery 22

Chapter II

Developing Eective Public

Sector Leadership 23

1. Challenges in reconstructing publicsector leadership 25

Overcoming weak governance structuresand unpredictable systems 25

Obstacles to institutionalizing new models oleadership 26

Divergence between rules and behaviours 27

2. Capacities needed or post-conict leadership 28

Commitment to change 30

Ability to unite citizens and build a positive vision o the uture 31

Ability to oster inclusiveness andmanage diversity 34

Willingness to nurture uture leaders 34

Skill in managing citizens expectationsand communicating efectively 35

Balanced skills and personal qualities 37

3. Strategies and tools or leadershipcapacity-building 37

Visioning workshops and simulation activities 39

Leadership coaching 40

Staf exchanges and visits 41

Peer-to-peer learning 41

4. Te role o external partners in buildingleadership capacity 42

Providing appropriate assistance 43

Coordinating assistance 46

5. Lessons learned 46


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xxiv

Chapter III

Building Eective Public

Administration Institutions 49

1. Public administration institutions as

oundations o good governance 51 Designing a comprehensive programme

to strengthen governance and publicadministration through dialogue

with stakeholders 53

Developing a shared vision and clearmission or governance and publicadministration institutions 53

Creating ormal rameworks or governance 54

Harmonizing traditional and

modern institutions 56 Promoting participatory democracy

and local governance 57

2 Strengthening public sector institutions 58

Te civil service 58

Legislative institutions 61

Te judiciary 62

3. Improving public sector perormance 66

Building efective mechanisms orcitizen-centric public service delivery 66

Building an inrastructure or peace 66


Chapter IV

Strengthening Human Resources

in the Public Service 71

1. Te central role o the public service 73

2. Variation in human resources capacityaer conict 74

3. Challenges and strategies involved in managing public service personnel 75

Controlling the number o public servantson the payroll 76

Practicing merit-based recruitment 77

Promoting transparency, accountability,integrity, proessionalism and ethics 78

Respecting diversity and tapping its potential benets 79

Paying civil servants in a post-conict situation 80

Fighting brain drain in post-conict situations 82


Chapter V

Engaging Citizens in Post-

confict Reconstruction:

Decentralization or Participatory Governance 85

1. Decentralization in post-conict contexts 87 Horizontal decentralization 87

Elements o successul decentralization 88

2. Challenges in decentralizing 89

3. Decentralization experiences in selected countries 90

South Arica 91

Rwanda 91

Uganda 92

Mozambique 93

El Salvador 93

Guatemala 94

4. Engaging women in governance:Challenges and strategies 95

Challenges impeding womens participation 97

Strategies or engaging women 98

5. Engaging minority groups in governance:Challenges and strategies 100

Challenges impeding the participationo minority groups 100

Strategies or engaging minority groups 101


Chapter VI

Promoting Citizen-Centric Public Service

Delivery in Post-Confict Situations 105

1. Te challenges o delivering citizen-

centric services aer conict 1092. A multi-stakeholder approach to public

service delivery 111

3. Strategies or efective delivery o services 113

Allowing or exibility and innovation 113

Promoting equality o access and inclusion 114

Ensuring coordination amongservice providers 114

4. Building ICs into strategies or citizen-centric public service delivery 115

Te role o ICs in post-conict situations 115

Use o ICs aer disasters:A model or post-conict situations 118



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xxv

Bibliography 123

Boxes

II.1 Challenges in building leadershipin Sierra Leone 36

V.1 Rwandas success in engaging womenin governance 98

VI.1 Post-conict rebuilding in Sierra Leone 110

VI.2 Health care delivery in Angola:Poor coordination, poor results 112

VI.3 Innovative approaches to service

delivery in Nepal 114VI.4 Sahanas innovative use o ICs

or humanitarian relie 119

Figures

I.1 Violent conicts o high intensity in 2007 4

II.1 Conict transormation triangle 33

VI.1 Virtuous cycle o state legitimacy,efectiveness and public service delivery 107

VI.2 Post-conict public service delivery and IC 116

Tables

I.1 Early use o post-conict terminologyby international organizations 7

I.2 Post-conict reconstruction roma process-oriented perspective 9

I.3 Post-conict activity by the UnitedNations: Key concepts 12

II.1 Comparison o the context or capacity-development eforts in post-conictand non-ragile States 29

II.2 Psycho-social challenges tosustainable governance 30

VI.1 Erosion o public services and efects onthe population in conict-torn countries 108


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xxvi

ANC Arican National Congress

APC All Peoples Congress

BCPR-UNDP Bureau or ConictPrevention and Recovery

CDCs Community DevelopmentCommittees

CIAA Commission or Investiga-tion o Abuse o Authority

DAC Development AssistanceCommittee

DFID United Kingdom Depart-ment or InternationalDevelopment

DPADM Division or Public

Administration and Develop-ment Management

ECA United Nations EconomicCommission or Arica

ECOSOC Economic and SocialCouncil

EU European Union

FYROM Former YugoslavRepublic o Macedonia

GDP Gross Domestic Product

GIS Geographic InormationSystems

GTZ German Agency orechnical Cooperation

HIIK Heidelberger Instituteor International ConictResearch

HIV/AIDS Human Immuno-deciency Virus/ AcquiredImmunodeciency Syndrome

HRD/M Human ResourceDevelopment/ Management

ICT Inormation andCommunications echnology

IDRC International DevelopmentResearch Centre

IOM International Organizationor Migration

IRIN Integrated RegionalIntegration Network

ITU International elecommuni-cations Unit

LANS Local Area Network

LDCs Least Developed Countries

LICUS Low Income Countriesunder Stress

MDGs Millennium DevelopmentGoals

NATO North Atlantic reatyOrganization

NGOs Non Governmental Orga-nizations

OCHA United Nations Oce orthe Coordination Humanitar-ian Afairs

OECD Organization Economic

Cooperation and Development

PACTEC Partners in echnologyInternational

SIGMA Support or Improve-ment in Governance andManagement

TOKTEN ranser o Knowledgethrough Expatriate Nationals

TSF lcoms sans Frontires

UNCDF United Nations CapitalDevelopment Fund

UNDESA United NationsDepartment o Economic andSocial Afairs

UNDP United NationsDevelopment Programme

UNHCR United Nations HumanRights Commission

UNIFEM United Nations Devel-opment Fund or Women

UNPBC United Nations Peace-building Commission

UNPBSO United Nations Peace-building Support Oce

WANS Wide Area Network

WFP United Nations WorldFood Program

WHO World Health Organization

WPSR World Public SectorReport

WSIS World Summit orInormation Society

Abbreviations and Acronyms


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1

RcoRuc Publc AmRAo AfR coflcRcoRuc Publc AmRAo AfR coflc

Chapter I

Public AdministrationChallenges aterConfict

his hapter anayzes the ritia haenges renstrting pi

adinistratin ater nit. t egins y prviding an verview

instrastate vient nit ater Wrd War . t then attepts t dene

pst-nit renstrtina reativey new ter that is nt

niversay nderstd. he hapter then presents the verarhing

gas pst-nit gvernents and the spei haenges theyae in reiding pi adinistratin.


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3


1. Overview o Instrastate Violent Confict

ater World War II

Since the end o the Second World War, most armed conicts havebeen within states rather than between thema shi rom the inter-state warare that marked much o the nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies. Civil wars around the world have killed since 1945 approx-imately 20 million people and displaced at least 67 million1. Civiliandeaths as a percentage o all war-related deaths increased rom 50 percent in the eighteenth century to 90 per cent in 1990.

Te United Nations High Commissioner or Reugees estimatedthat in December 2006, there was a global population o 8.8 millionregistered reugees and as many as 24.5 million internally displaced

people in more than 50 countries. Te actual global population o re-ugees is probably closer to 10 million, given the estimated 1.5 millionIraqi reugees displaced throughout the Middle East. Internal warshave not only caused alarmingly high rates o casualties, but they have

also contributed to the destabilization o entire regions while causingeconomic deterioration and exacerbating social inequalities. More-over, research has shown that o all countries emerging rom war, near-ly 50 per cent ace relapse into conict within a decade.

Since 1948, the United Nations Security Council has authorized63 UN peacekeeping operations (see the annex to this report). Just 18o these were established between 1948 and 1990; 45 operations wereestablished between 1990 and 2008; and 16 are still ongoing. As o late

2009, about 35 countries could be described as having entered a post-conict phase since the Cold War era (UNDP 2008).

Te worst intrastate conicts over the past decades have takenplace in the developing world and in newly independent states, par-ticularly in Sub-Saharan Arica (the site o more than 20 civil warssince 1945), the Middle East and Maghreb, Asia and the Pacic, andto a lesser extent, the Americas.2 In Europe, internal conicts haveerupted in Cyprus, Georgia, Greece, Russia, Spain, the United King-

1 (CollierandSambanis2005,p.ix)2 Sub-SaharanAfricancountriesaffectedbyconictincludeAngola,Burundi,CentralAfricanRepublic,Chad,theRepublicofCongo,Djibouti,

Ethiopia,Guinea-Bissau,Kenya,Liberia,Mali,Mozambique,Namibia,Nigeria,Rwanda,Senegal,SierraLeone,Somalia,SouthAfrica,Sudan,

Uganda,Zaire/DemocraticRepublicofCongoandZimbabwe.IntheMiddleEastandMaghreb,conicthaseruptedinAlgeria,Egypt,Israel,

Lebanon,Morocco/WesternSahara,JordanandSyria.InAsiaandthePacic,internalconictshavetakenplaceinAfghanistan,Azerbaijan,

Bangladesh,Cambodia,China,India,Indonesia,Iran,Iraq,Laos,Myanmar/Burma,Nepal,Oman,Pakistan,PapuaNewGuinea,thePhilippines,

SriLanka,Tajikistan,Thailand,Turkey,VietnamandYemen.IntheAmericas,conictshaveeruptedinArgentina,Bolivia,Colombia,CostaRica,

Cuba,theDominicanRepublic,ElSalvador,Guatemala,Haiti,Nicaragua,ParaguayandPeru.

Since 1945 about 20

million people have

died and 67 million

were displaced due

to civil wars

Te UN Security

Council has

authorized 63

UN Peacekeeping

operations

Te worst intrastate

conicts over the

past decades have

taken place in the

developing world


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4


dom (Ireland) and the ormer Yugoslavia, including Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo. Figure 1 shows violent conicts o highintensity in 2007.

Since 1945, there have been two major periods in internationalpolitics that have directly or indirectly inuenced the burgeoning o

Figure I.1 Violent conficts o high intensity in 2007

WarSevere crises

All other countries

The countries addectedby conflicts are markedregarding the highestintensity

22

3

29

2528

12

10

23

24

15

1327

56

19

14

18

16

7

2

1

26

411

17

20

21

31

30

8

9

A severe crisis is defned as a conict involving the repeated use o violent orce in an organized way. A war is a conict in which violent orce is used with continuity in an organized and

systematic way that results in massive destruction o long duration.

Legend

No.Nameandconictitems

Sub-Saharan Africa: Severe crises 1.Central African Republic(UFDR,APRD):

nationalpower

2.Chad(ethnicgroups):

regionalpredominance

3.Chad(variousrebelgroups):

nationalpower

4.DR Congo(ex-RCD-G,Interahamwe,FDLR):

nationalpower

5.Ethiopia(ONLF/Ogaden):secession

6.Kenya(ethnicgroups):resources

7.Nigeria(NigerDelta/Ijaw):

regionalpredominance,resources

Sub-Saharan Africa: Wars

8.Somalia(UIC):

system/ideology,nationalpower

9.Sudan(Darfur):

regionalpredominance,resources

The Americas: Severe crises

10.Colombia(FARC/ELN):system/ideology,regional

predominance,resources

11.Colombia(FARC):system/ideology,regionalpredominance,resources

12.Mexico(drugcartels)

regionalpredominance

Asia and Oceania: Severe crises

13. India(Kashmir):secession

14. India(Naxalites):system/ideology

15.Myanmar(KNU,KNLA,KNPP,KnA-UWSA,

DKBA,government/KarenState,KayahState):

secession

16.Myanmar(opposition):


17.Pakistan(Islamists):system/ideology

18.Pakistan(Sunnites/Shiites):

system/ideology,regionalpredominance

19.Thailand(Muslimseparatists/southernborder

provinces):secession

Asia and Oceania: Wars

20.Pakistan(NorthandSouthWaziristan):regional

predominance

21.Sri Lanka(LTTE):secession

The Middle East and Maghreb: Severe

crises

22.Algeria(Islamistgroups):

system/ideology,nationalpower23. Iran(PJAK/Kurdishareas):autonomy

.24.Iraq(al-Sadrgroup):


25. Iraq(al-Zarqawigroup):


26. Israel(al-Fatah,Hamas):

system/ideology,regionalpredominance

27. Israel(PNA,al-Fatah,Hamas/Palestine):

secession,system/ideology,resources

28.Lebanon(Hezbollah,Fatahal-Islam):


29.Turkey(PKK/KONGRA-GEL/Kurdishareas):

autonomy

The Middle East and Maghreb: Wars

30.Afghanistan(Taliban):


31. Iraq(insurgents)


Source: HIIK (2007), p. 2


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5


conict within countries around the world. First, the end o WorldWar II led to a wave o decolonization and the consequent advent othe international bipolar system and a number o proxy wars. Second,

the demise o the Cold War in the early 1990s ed a struggle or inde-pendence and sel-determination in several nations that were ormerlypart o the Soviet Union.

During the rst historical periodthat is, in the aermath o theSecond World Wartwo diferent trends in reconstruction and re-covery unolded. Countries in the West received an enormous boostin nancial aid and state-building support rom a single donor, theUnited States, through the European Recovery Plan, best known asthe Marshall Plan. Meanwhile, countries in other regions o the world

were still struggling or political independence. Te decolonizationmovement that occurred between 1946 and 1960 was characterizedby peaceul liberation in some countries, and by internal conict andstruggle in others. Te high hopes that countries had aer gaining in-dependence were oen ollowed by bitter disappointment, as domi-nation by a oreign country was replaced by coups dtats or loss o

state authority and political legitimacy. Tese developments broughtan increased use o violent means in order to ensure survival, securityand access to resources.

Many o these violent conicts were exacerbated by the ColdWar ideological struggle. Te two superpowers did not intend to ghtwars directly (because both sides possessed atomic weapons), but theysupported a number o proxy wars throughout the world. For exam-

ple, the Soviet Union encouraged uprisings in Vietnam, Nicaragua,

Congo and Sudan as part o its ideological battle against coloniza-tion, which it viewed as the epitome o capitalism and imperialism.Te United States, or its part, aided actions ghting against thecommunist ideology. Tis indirect competition between the super-

powers worsened the internal conicts in several countries by addingmore uel to escalating tensions.

Following the end o the Cold War in the early 1990s, a move-ment or independence and sel-determination swept through EasternEurope. With the dismantling o old state institutions and the com-

plexity o the geo-political and ethnic conguration o nations in theormer Eastern Bloc, a number o conicts erupted within the bound-aries o this region. Te Western Balkans, or example, sufered in-creased ethnic and religious strie. Conicts also developed in coun-

Many of the violent

conicts that erupted

aer decolonization

were exacerbated

by the Cold War

ideological struggle


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6


tries like Algeria and Aghanistan, as religious undamentalist groupstried to control political institutions and dominate public lie.

As intrastate wars became increasingly common, international

and regional organizations such as the United Nations, the NorthAtlantic reaty Organization (NAO) and the European Union3shied their ocus towards issues o peace and security within statesrather than between them. State-buildinginternational interven-tion to restore order and strengthen government institutions in theaermath o conictemerged as a key strategy. Tis ocus is espe-cially needed in the post-9/11 era; there is now heightened aware-ness that weak statesthose that lack the capacity to control theirown territory and to implement public policiescan become saehavens or terrorists, drug trackers and extremist groups. As such,they pose a grave threat to regional and international security.

o help counter this threat and to support peace eforts in coun-tries emerging rom conict, the United Nations Peacebuilding Com-mission was established in 2005. Te Commission now plays a key rolein advancing the international communitys broad peace agenda.

2. Denition and phases o post-confict

reconstruction

Deningpost-confictreconstruction

In recent years, the concept o post-conict reconstruction has re-ceived much attention rom scholars and practitioners, as well as rominternational organizations including the United Nations. Neverthe-less, because o the complexities inherent to post-conict situations,the term continues to lack a precise denition.

Conict is age-old in the history o humanity, but post-conictreconstruction has only recently become a domain o internationalinterest (see table I.1). It was not until the 1990s that the United Na-tions began to ocus on post-conict reconstruction as a distinctiveactivity, separate rom peacemaking, peacekeeping and conict pre-

vention. In act, an analysis o United Nations documents written

3 TheEuropeanUnion,originally calledtheEuropeanCommunity,wascreatedafterWorldWarIIwiththeoverridingaimof preventingfuturewars

amongsovereignstates.

Te UN started

focusing on

post-conict

reconstruction in

the 1990s

With the increase

of intrastate wars,international

and regional

organizations

shied their focus

towards issues of

peace and security

within states rather

than between them


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7


beore 1990 shows that the term post-conict reconstruction eitherdid not appear or was used ad hoc to reer to activities during specic

periods such as the post-colonial, post-World War II and post-com-

munism eras.4

Tereaer, it took more than a decade to institutionalize bothpost-conict reconstruction and peacebuilding in practice as well asin theory. A turning point came when the United Nations Peace-building Commission was created with resolution 60/180 and reso-lution 1645 (2005) o Dec. 20, 2005. Te Commission was explicitycharged, among other things, with advising on and proposing inte-grated strategies or post-conict peacebuilding and recovery. Te

creation o the Commission reected a commitment by the interna-tional community to undertake sustained engagement in countriesemerging rom conict.

On Oct. 11, 2006, the United Nations also launched the Peace-building Fund, which relied on voluntary contributions rom Mem-ber States to nance the Peacebuilding Commission. With the cre-ation o both the Commission and the Fund, post-conictreconstruction became rmly linked with peacebuilding, while at thesame time, questions began to arise about the nature and scope o the

peacebuilding process.

4 Therstinitiativeincarvingoutpost-conictreconstructionasanicheofitsowncameinJuly1992,whentheSecretary-Generalatthetime,

BoutrosBoutros-Ghali,presentedhisAgendaforPeacetotheSecurityCouncil.Hesaid,TheCouncilhasspecicallyrequestedthatI

consider:preventivediplomacy,peacemakingandpeace-keepingtowhichIhaveaddedacloselyrelatedconcept,post-conictpeace-

building(UnitedNations1992).

In 2005, the UN

Peacebuilding

Commission was

established

Table I.1 Early use o post-confict terminology by international organizations

Year Term Context

1992 Post-conict peacebuilding Post-conict peacebuilding is highlighted in An Agenda or Peace, a United Nations Secretary-

General Report.

1995 Post-conict countr ies The International Monetary Fund introduces a new

fnancing instrument or post-conict countries ocusing on institution-building.

1997 Post-conict reconstruction The World Bank develops its Framework or World Bank Involvement in Post-Confict Reconstructionand

establishes the Post-Conict Fund. The Organisation or Economic Co-operation and

Development establishes the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and the DAC Task

Force to guide investments in post-conict countries. It also sets up a Conict Prevention and

Conict Reconstruction Network.

2005 Post-conict peacebuilding

and recovery

The United Nations establishes the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC).


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8


Te United Nations was not alone in recognizing that post-conictsituations present special challenges and require special remedies. In1997, the World Bank issued its Framework or World Bank Involve-

ment in Post-Confict Reconstruction, and to implement the rame-work, it established the Post-Conict Fund in the newly created Con-ict Prevention and Reconstruction Unit. Another und targetingragile and conict-afected countries, called the Low-Income Countriesunder Stress rust Fund, was also set up in the same unit in 2004.

Meanwhile, in 1995, the International Monetary Fund, which ismostly geared towards crisis lending and short-term stabilization oeconomic imbalances, introduced a new nancing instrument or

post-conict countries, ocusing on technical assistance to help itsmembers with institution-building. Te Organisation or EconomicCo-operation and Development (OECD) likewise took up post-con-ict peacebuilding within a larger policy ramework linking conictand development. It created the OECD Development AssistanceCommittee (DAC). In 1997 it then established a task orce to coordi-nate individual donor innovations and a collective response. A Con-

ict Prevention and Post-Conict Reconstruction Network o 30units was set up in tandem to apply the DAC guidelines, which startedan era o convergence between conict prevention and peacebuilding.

Despite taking up post-conict reconstruction as a distinctive ac-tivity, no international organization provided a precise denition othe term. Te World Bank chose to associate post-conict mostly

with transitional countries undergoing their rst elections aer a vio-lent conict. Consequently, the Banks post-conict assistance pro-

grams consisted mainly o developing the economic inrastructure andsupporting lending or social services with a view towards uture in-

vestments (Flores and Nooruddin 2007). Te United Nations equated post-conict situations simply with the aermath o war, withoutspeciying exactly when that was. One rule o thumb, however, wasthat while conict cases were associated with humanitarian relie,

peacemaking and peacekeeping activities by the United Nations, post-conict activities almost unequivocally involved peacebuilding, un-derstood as the ull range o non-military commitments undertakento assist countries to achieve sel-sustaining peace and socio-economicdevelopment (schirgi 2004, p. 2).

Clearly, thereore, post-conict did not lend itsel to easy de-nitions. One problem was dening conictdetermining i violent

Post-conict

reconstruction

continues to

lack a precisedenition due to the

complexity of post-

conict situations

It is commonly

assumed that the

post-conict period

starts aer a peace

agreement has

been signed

Yet, signing a peace

agreementdoes not

necessarily qualify

a country as post-

conict as conict

oen continues


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conict can be equated with war, and i so, what type and extent o war.Te second problem was delineating when a conict starts and ends.Countless documents on conict cases talked about pre-conict, con-ict and post-conict phases without dening those periods or evenidentiying them consistently.

able I.2 outlines the process o post-conict reconstruction interms o milestones and progress indicators. Tis approach denespost-conict reconstruction indirectly by ocusing on the main ac-tivities undertaken in the process.

Post-conict

reconstruction is

dened in terms

of milestones and

progress indicators

Table I.2 Post-confict reconstruction rom a process-oriented perspective

Peace milestones Possible indicators of progress

Cessation o hostilities

and violence

Reduction in the number o conict atalities

Reduction in the number o violent attacks

Time passed since major fghting stopped

Single political/ peace

agreements

Signing o and adherence to cease fre agreements

Signing and implementation o a comprehensive political agreement, which addresses the causes o

the conict

Endorsement o peace/political agreement by all major actions and parties to the conict

Demobilisation,

disarmament and

reintegration

No. o weapons handed in

No./proportion o combatants released rom active duty and returned to barracks

No. o military barracks closed

Successulness o reinsertion programs or ex-combatants

Reduction in total number o active soldiers/combatants

Spending cuts on military procurements

Reugee repatriation No./proportion o displaced persons and reugees that have returned home voluntarily

No. o displaced persons and reugees still living involuntarily in reugees centres within conict country or abroad

Establishing a

unctioning state

The extent to which impunity and lawlessness have been reduced

The extent to which the rule o law is introduced and maintained

The extent to which corruption has been reduced Tax revenue as a proportion o GDP

Achieving reconciliation

and social integration

Number o violent incidents between groups

Perceptions o others (via surveys)

Extent o trust (via surveys)

Economic recovery Economic growth recovery

Increased revenue mobilization

Restoring o economic inrastructure

Increased oreign direct investment

Source: Brown, Langer and Stewart (2008), table 1.


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Te prevailing view among conict epxerts is that the post-con-ict period starts aer a peace agreement has been signed. Yet there isalso awareness that signing a peace agreement does not necessarily

qualiy a country as post-conict, because conict oen continues ir-regardless, albeit in a disguised orm.

Experience shows that post-conict countries are almost always plagued by population displacements, damaged inrastructure, re-duced productive capacity, devastated government revenue base, seri-ously weakened human and social capital, and greatly reduced security(World Bank 2005). Te main activities in the early post-conict

phase oen consist o (i) demobilization and reintegration o ex-com-batants, (ii) reintegration o displaced populations, and (iii) deminingas a prerequisite or the normalization o civilian lie and the start odevelopment activities. Later phases o post-conict reconstructioninclude institution- and capacity-building activities, including the en-gendering, maintenance and strengthening o the rule o law, efectivegovernance, social policymaking and economic development.

Te rst phase o post-conict reconstruction coincides with the

early phase o peacebuilding, originally dened as non-military or ci-vilian dimension o eforts to support countries emerging rom con-fict. Since its conception in the 1990s, peacebuilding has graduallybecome a catchall concept encompassing preventive diplomacy, preven-tive development, conict prevention, conict resolution and post-conict reconstruction. In act, the 2000 Report o the Panel on Unit-ed Nations Peace Operations, also known as the Brahimi Report,acknowledged the growing interlinkages between conict and peace

and adopted a longer-term view o peacebuilding, as epitomized in itsdoctrinal shi away rom international civilian policing to rule-o-lawteams. However, the emphasis in this report, as in other United Nationsdocuments since 2000, is on the need to take a more in-depth view o

peacebuilding that ocuses on the structural causes o conict.Like the Brahimi Report, a 2004 report by the Secretary-Gener-

als High-level Panel on Treats, Challenges and Change (United Na-tions 2004a) put special emphasis on policies or preventing conict,underlining that development is a condition or security and peacerather than a mere consequence. Te 2004 report, however, went a stepurther to enumerate and discuss the emerging threats to peace andsecurity, which include poverty; inectious disease and environmentaldegradation; nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons;

Te rst phase

of post-conictreconstruction

coincides with the

early phase

of peacebuilding


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11


terrorism; and transnational organized crime. o counter these threats,the report discussed deploying military capacities as a means o peace-keeping and peace enorcement.

Te report suggested that peacebuilding, by contrast, involvesrebuilding shattered societies. Successul peacebuilding, it said,requires the deployment o peacekeepers with the right mandatesand sucient capacity to deter would-be spoilers; unds or demo-bilization and disarmament, built into peacekeeping budgets; re-habilitation and reintegration o combatants, as well as other earlyreconstruction tasks; and a ocus on building State institutions andcapacity, especially in the rule o law (United Nations 2004b, p. 5).Tus the report ocused on the activities and objectives o peace-building undertaken under the banner o post-conict reconstruc-tion, which it associated mainly with the dominance o non-mili-tary eforts:

re-establishing the conditions or sel-sustaining human devel-opment with or without the help o peacekeeping orces,

managing the major risk actors o conict relapse, including

unemployment, poverty, socioeconomic gaps and political im-balances in the institutional structures, and undertaking a long-term perspective on building the institu-

tions o State and society.Te United Nations Development Programme, in a recent publi-

cation titled Post-Confict Economic Recovery, characterizes post-conict countries according to their progress along a range o peace-building milestones. Te report states:

A post-conict country should be seen as lying somewherealong a continuum on each of these milestones, recognizing that it

could sometimes moe backwards. As long as a country does not

slip back on too many of these milestones at once, it can reasonably

be expected to continue towards recoery. Te following are the

most important peacebuilding milestones:

Ceasing hostilities and violence; Signing o peace agreements; Demobilization, disarmament and reintegration; Return o reugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs);

Establishing the oundations or a unctioning State;

Initiating reconciliation and societal integration; and Commencing economic recovery. (UNDP 2008, p. xviii)

A post-conictcountry should

be seen as lying

somewhere along

a continuum of

peacebuilding

milestones,

recognizing that

it could sometimes

moe backwards


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While post-conict peacebuilding might overlap with peacekeep-ing activities, there is no doubt that it extends to the processes o build-

ing and strengthening State institutions. Post-conict peacebuilding,in other words, does not end with the establishment o nascent govern-ment structures, including the immediate transition o authority tothe new government; its nuts and bolts start there.

able I.3 provides details about how the United Nations de-nes peacemaking, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and post-conict reconstruction. o sum up, however, post-conict recon-struction (i) is part o the progression rom peacekeeping to

peacebuilding, (ii) can include both at times, i conict continueseven aer the signing o a peace agreement, and (iii) transpires as acomprehensive, multidimensional and long-term undertaking tobuild institutions and promote good governance aer the signing o

peace agreements.

While post-conict

peacebuilding

might overlapwith peacekeeping

activities, there is no

doubt that it extends

to the processes

of building and

strengthening State

institutions

Table I.3 Post-confict activity by the United Nations: Key concepts

Peacemaking Peacemaking is action to bring hostile parties to agreement, essentially through such peaceul means as those

oreseen in Chapter VI o the Charter o the United Nations; Pacifc Settlement o Disputes (United Nations 1992). In

this sense, peacemaking is a diplomatic eort to promote the orging o a settlement between disputing parties.

Peacekeeping The term peacekeeping is not ound in the United Nations Charter and defes simple defnition. Peacekeeping

reers to a United Nations presence in the feld (normally involving civilian and military personnel) that, with the

consent o the conicting parties, implements or monitors arrangements relating to the control o conicts and their

resolution, or ensures the sae delivery o humanitarian relie. Peacekeeping can be divided into three broad

categories: (i) assistance in maintenance o cease-fres, (ii) implementation o comprehensive settlements, and (iii)

protection o humanitarian operations. As the United Nations Peacekeeping website explains, todays peacekeepers

undertake a wide variety o complex tasks, rom helping to build sustainable institutions o governance, to human

rights monitoring, to security sector reorm, to the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration o ormer

combatants (see: www.un.org/Depts/dpko/dpko).

Peacebuilding Peacebuilding is associated with the transition rom the end o a conict to the attainment o lasting peace and

sustainable development. The term peacebuilding came into widespread use ater 1992 ollowing the ormer

United Nations Secretary General's Agenda or Peace (United Nations, 1992). According to the Secretary-Generals

High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, peacebuilding involves deployment o peacekeepers with the

right mandates and sufcient capacity to deter would-be spoilers; enough unds or demobilization and

disarmament, built into peacekeeping budgets; rehabilitation and reintegration o combatants, as well as other

early reconstruction tasks; and a ocus on building State institutions and capacity, especially in the rule o law

(United Nations 2004b, p. 5). And in a press release issued July 23, 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said,

Building peace is about much more than ending war. It is about putting in place t

Documents

World Public Sector Report 2010 - Reconstructing Public Administration after Conflict