Portal:Conflict and state-building

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Welcome to the Conflict and state-building portal

Welcome to read our portal.Conflict conditions and state building challenges exist in many countries throughout the world, but in all cases the main policy around rebuilding a State once conflict has been resolved encompasses three main concepts;

Creating greater levels of security
Reconciliation
Development

Once conflict has ended the immediate needs are to provide humanitarian relief and create an effective military and police presence to rebuild and maintain order and physical security for state citizens. Furthermore the reinforcement of State institutions requires political choices that are shaped by local values. State institutions must be tailored to take into account specific socio economic factors such as resource distribution, ethnic fragmentation, and the post conflict power balances. This will quickly expand to the process of rebuilding a more normal pattern of economic activity within the country.

State building essentially seeks to (re)build trust in the government, foster a sense of security among all citizens, and is often suggested as a possible route to peace. Conflict is a term that can be closely linked to state building, as conflict is often used for state expansion and construction.

This week's featured IPM wiki article

Israel needs West Bank presence

The Israeli prime minister has said that Israeli security forces must be allowed to operate inside any future Palestinian state.

Binyamin Netanyahu said that Israel would need to maintain a "presence" along the West Bank's eastern border to prevent weapons being smuggled to Palestinian fighters. Referring to sporadic rocket attacks which are currently launched from Lebanon and Gaza, Netanyahu said Israel must be able to prevent such weapons from being brought into a Palestinian state based on the West Bank. In the case of a future settlement with the Palestinians, this will require an Israeli presence on the eastern side of a prospective Palestinian state.

In the news

Israeli journalist will speak on Palestinian conflict, threat from Iran.

12.56 GMT, Monday, 12 february 2010

Katz's talk, titled "A Dangerous Neighborhood: Israel's Challenges for 2010, will address the Palestinian conflict as well as the Israeli military's stance on Iran's nuclear program and Israel's options in the face of what is being described by some as the greatest threat in the country's history.

Historical perspective

State-building

Post WWI industrialized states and the League of Nations valued international security above economic or social justice. Subsequently their efforts toward rebuilding states focused on preventing instability within states and preventing them from threatening the National security of other states in the international system.

Later on the end of the Cold War placed greater emphasis on state building as a relatively new approach to conflict resolution. State building in various forms has always been an important component of foreign policy, the activities of which have continued to develop over time while retaining the primary goal of (re)construction of a sovereignty state capable of independent political, economic, and social functioning that meets the needs of its people. A core concept agreed upon between scholars and policymakers is the idea that democratic systems produce long term stability and peace when genuinely implemented.

Policymakers placed greater importance on ensuring freedom from government persecution and the creation of a stable financial base. Consequently state building activities during the inter-war period were aimed at preventing recurrence of conflict both within and between states, and maintaining a secure national order. The activity largely excluded issues such as social and economic equality, form of government, and general levels of industrialization and development.

9/11 catapulted state building and third party intervention onto a new level importance in international relations with policymakers now viewing state building as a means preventing terrorist groups from operating and flourishing. Similarly international intervention during conflict is an action now taken unilaterally by sovereign states, international governmental organizations, regional organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations, and sympathizing groups located in other (often neighbouring) states. The nature of these interventions can be economic sanctions against one or more parties or the state as a whole, economic and humanitarian assistance and military intervention, and may occur at any stage of conflict.

Conflict

Conflict has always played a large part in world history with around 90% of known societies experiencing warfare in some shape or form. (War Before Civilization, Lawrence H. Keeley). Historically military conflict centered around a society’s willingness and ability to economically support war. The impact felt by society in relation to conflict based activities throughout time has increased dramatically thanks mainly to technological developments, however basic strategies focused at striking fear into and overcoming opponants have remained essentially the same. It is important to note that conflict in terms of war is not necessarily the same as genocide or murder. This is largely due to the reciprocal and organized nature of the violent struggle and the units or parties involved.

Policy practices compared

Comparison of Policy practices in two nations: Kosovo and Afghanistan

Afghanistan and Kosovo are two countries the media has focused on due to their conflict and state building difficulties. In this section we will compare security, social welfare and institutional policies between these two countries.

Security

The main issue facing Afghanistan is a lack of security nation wide, an issue which must be resolved in order for other state building goals to be achieved. also Afganistan aimed to achieve this by the reformation and professionalization of the Afghan army and police units, reducing weapon misuse by the introduction of new weapons laws, and the removal of landmines by 2013. As with the situation in Afghanistan, Kosovo has military and police units, however Kosovo also created a new force, the Kosovo Security Force or KSF, for ensuring the protection of Kosovan citizens.

Social Welfare

Healthcare officials in Afghanistan aim to improve medical facilities throughout the country with the goal of making medical care available to all nationwide. Presently only those who can afford it have access to treatment. Education and healthcare in Kosovo is more developed than Afghanistan but there are improvements to be made, with Kosovo desiring its education system to reach the standard of Western countries and improve its teacher training.

Political Institutions

Effectively functioning institutions are key to successful state building. Policies used in Afghanistan aim to achieve this by strengthening the democratic assemblies and law institutions, developing the capacity of national and subnational civil servants, improving budget making and financial management, and enhancing information management. Fighting corruption is high on the priority list. Political institutions in Kosovo are more effectively developed, however just as in Afghanistan, the main goal is to fight corruption and organised crime within the state.

Did you know...?

That most of the issues that generate conflict and state building situations are rooted in the historical, political and social context of a country.
That United Nations was created as a replacement of the League of Nations and that it is the largest intergovenmental organization worldwide involved in maintaining international peace and security, developing relations among nations, working to solve international issues, and promoting human rights.
There are 195 independent countries and states worldwide, 192 of which are official members of the United Nations.
That the United Nations security council has 5 permanent members (China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States)
On September 2000, General Assembly adopted the Millennium Declaration. The Millennium Declaration consist of 8 international development goals adopted by 189 UN world leaders.

Reducing extreme Poverty
Achive universal primary education
Gender equality
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases
Enviromental sustainability
Strengthen the United Nations

More than halfway to the 2015 deadline to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, major advances in the fight against poverty and hunger have begun to slow or even reverse as a result of the global recession and food crises, there are fewer trade opportunities for the developing countries,a progress report by the United Nations has found. Overall progress has been too slow for most of the targets to be met by 2015.

It is estimated that over 300,000 children participate in Armed conflict worldwide each year. Many child soilders are abdutched and some forced into fighting to protect their families.

Institutions

People

Ban Ki-moon

Secretary General of the UN.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen

NATO Secretary General

Marc Perrin de Brichambaut

Secretary General for the OSCE.

Angel Gurría

Secretary General for the OECD.

Robert Zoellick

President of the World Bank.

Gail McGovern

President and CEO of the American Red Cross.

John Gaventa

Chair of governing body of Oxfam.

Bill Clinton

42nd President of the United States

Yitzhak Rabin

fifth Prime Minister of Israel

Yasser Arafat

President of the Palestinian National Authority