Governance for reconstruction in Africa: challenges for policy communities and coalitions

Abstract

This article seeks to advance analyses and responses to conflict prevention and reconstruction in Africa that go beyond state-centric perspectives to include a range of non-state players. Drawing on examples from both Uganda and Canada, it focuses on the activities of NGOs that have 'partnered' with state-based actors in various peacekeeping and peace-building operations as well as on the increasingly important role played by think-tanks. The latter have emerged in Africa as major contributors to the proliferating literature on the political economy of violence, an approach that recognizes that African conflict reflects imperatives of production and consumption in relations that juxtapose Africa's political institutions and cultures with international and global political economies. The article argues that novel forms of 'security communities' are emerging from the non-state/state/international partnerships and coalitions that have developed around contemporary issues like 'blood' diamonds, small arms, debt and HIV/AIDS, thus drawing attention to connections between conflict and development.As Africa entered the new century, 'internal' conflicts, regional effects and global responses posed challenges for analysis and practice for both states and non-state actors, soldiers and civil societies. These challenges have been intensified with the growing awareness that such conflicts are not often 'complex political emergencies' (CPEs) (Cliffe 1999) but rather reflections of deep-seated development difficulties and deficiencies: hence, the emergence of a literature on the political economy of violence that recognizes that conflict is not an aberration but rather a reflection of the imperatives of basic needs for local communities given cumulative negative impacts of globalizations and structural adjustments over the last two decades (Reno 1998 andSmillie et al. 2000;Stein 2001). Such awareness poses profound challenges to appropriate responses from African and international agencies: the appearance of African think-tanks on security as well as on development, ecology and gender. This has led to the continuing identification and privileging of a range of 'new' issues and partnerships as exemplified by the Uganda Debt Network (UDN) treated below as it seeks to improve the economic context for peace-building.In this article we suggest that the very profundity of emerging challenges to human security and development reinforces new attention to the role of a variety of non-state actors in a variety of peace-keeping, peace-building or peace-making responses: from indigenous, intermediary and international NGOs to think-tanks (Nation

Regional dimensions of conflict and peace‐building in contemporary Africa

“…These often play regional rather than just national roles and tend to be concentrated in Southern Africa rather than elsewhere. Moreover, the regional salience of such embryonic analytic and/or advocacy communities (Mbabazi et al, 2002) varies considerably; i.e. progress towards any regional 'security community' (Adler and Barnett, 1998) is uneven and certainly not unilinear.…”

“…progress towards any regional 'security community' (Adler and Barnett, 1998) is uneven and certainly not unilinear. These may also be involved in direct 'track two' type confidence-and peace-building activities in addition to engaging in informed analysis and creative policy inputs (Mbabazi et al, 2002;. Such not-for-profit institutions have become especially well-developed in post-apartheid South Africa but are also to be found elsewhere.…”

“…from human development to human security-and onto 'partnerships' with the other pair of actor types (i.e. corporations and states) (Mbabazi and Shaw, 2000;Mbabazi et al, 2002).…”

“…But how sustainable and representative are such networks/partnerships, given the palpable jealousies of some African presidents? (Mbabazi et al, 2002;Thomas, 2000).…”

Diamond Mining, Governance Initiatives and Post-Conflict Development in Sierra Leone

“…In recent years, a burgeoning body of research has examined the links between 'lootable' resources, poor governance and underdevelopment in sub-Saharan Africa (Collier and Hoeffler, 2005;Campbell, 2003;Mbabazi et al, 2002). Proponents of the 'resource curse' hypothesis argue that African countries with significant natural wealth reap limited rewards and have experienced underdevelopment, corruption, political instability, and in some cases, violent conflict (Elbadawi and Sambanis, 2002;Collier and Hoeffler, 2001).…”