Publication: Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction
Date
2003-12
ISSN
Published
2003-12
Author(s)
World Bank
Abstract
Those of us helping countries to build
capacity to manage reconstruction after a conflict has ended
need to be fully aware of the context in which we operate.
Apart from the obvious destruction of infrastructure,
presence of armed groups and difficult working conditions,
there are several other characteristics of post-conflict
conditions that we need to appreciate. First, civil
conflicts seldom end in clear cut victories for one side.
Post-conflict conditions are inherently unstable. There are
winners and losers. The winners may have settled for less
than they sought to achieve. Even if one side appears to
have won, how the winner treats the defeated party will be
critical to whether national reconciliation takes place and
the sustainability of peace. A new government may be an
unstable alliance of competing parties or consist of an
uneasy collection of former fighters and technocrats who sat
out the war in relative comfort abroad.
Citation
“World Bank. 2003. Conflict Prevention and Reconstruction. Social Development Notes; No. 14; Viewpoint. © Washington, DC. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/4646e7a7-00bd-520f-a03f-e3b1fc069b45 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”