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Towards a Human Security Approach to Peacebuilding 1 www.isp.unu.edu Number 2, 2010 Overview In recent decades, international Towards a Human Security peacebuilding and reconstruction after civil wars have managed to promote stability and contain conflict in many Approach to Peacebuilding regions around the world, ending violence and enabling communities to rebuild their lives and societies. HAT IS THE RECORD, EFFECTIVENESS AND LEGACY However, the peacebuilding record of liberal approaches to peacebuilding in conflict-prone and post-conflict indicates that there are problems W societies? Aside from promoting stability and containing conflict, why does related to the effectiveness and international peacebuilding have a mixed—or even poor—record in promoting legitimacy of peacebuilding, especially welfare, equitable human development and inclusive democratic politics? Have these related to the promotion of liberal shortcomings jeopardized overall peacebuilding objectives and contributed to democracy, market reform and state questions about its legitimacy? How might alternative approaches to peacebuilding, institutions. This brief considers these based upon welfare and public service delivery, promote a more sustainable and limitations and argues that a new human security-based approach may inclusive form of peace? These questions allude to a core concern regarding offer insights for a more sustainable international peacebuilding: the limitations of existing approaches and the need form of peacebuilding. for greater emphasis upon welfare economics, human development and local engagement. Peacebuilding in conflict-prone and post-conflict countries—aimed at preventing the resumption or escalation of violent conflict and establishing a durable and self- sustaining peace—has generated a range of academic and policy debates, and controversies. A key element of these debates relates to the nature and impact of liberal peacebuilding: the top-down, institutionalist promotion of democracy, Written by MadokA Futamura, market-based economic reforms and a range of other institutions associated with 1 EDward NEwman and Shahrbanou “modern” states as a driving force for building “peace”. TadjbAkhsh Despite notable successes in promoting stability and containing conflicts, the record in terms of promoting durable peace—based on sustainable economic growth, © United Nations University, 2010 service delivery, self-sustaining institutions, inclusive democratic practices, personal ISBN 978-92-808-3517-5 security, and the rule of law—has been questionable. The reasons for such ISSN 1816-5796 shortcomings, insofar as the role of the international peacebuilding and development Licensed under the Creative Commons donor community is concerned, may be sought in two areas. One is the rationale Deed “Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivs 2.5” behind the peacebuilding agenda, which has increasingly conflated the need for stability in fragile states as an international security imperative. The other is the problems related to the liberal institutionalist models that guide peacebuilding and development programmes, and the implementation of these models in post-conflict settings. Despite noble intentions, peacebuilding by international actors has often resulted in a heavy reliance on top-down approaches and—according to some observers—a Towards a Human Security Approach to Peacebuilding 1 www.unu.edu lack of sensitivity towards local needs becomes a priority, international About this Research Brief and desires. More importantly, although peacebuilding tends to rely on top-down This Research Brief presents the importance of local ownership has mediation amongst power brokers and some preliminary conclusions been increasingly emphasized, there is on building state institutions, rather of a United Nations University still very limited knowledge of and than bottom-up, community-driven research project entitled research conducted on local opinions, peacebuilding or the resolution of the “Peacebuilding in Conflict- perceptions and experiences that shape underlying sources of conflict. The Affected Societies: Comparative or react to externally-led peacebuilding peacebuilding agenda itself often Experiences and Local processes. becomes an externally (often donor) Perspectives”, which is directed driven exercise, without a genuine by Madoka Futamura and Peacebuilding as International understanding of local political culture, Edward Newman. In connection “Securitization” desires or needs. As a result, this with the project, a workshop The first challenge to successful durable approach can be insensitive towards was organized at the Kofi Annan peacebuilding concerns the motivations local traditions and institutions, if not International Peacekeeping behind interventions in the first place. intrusive. When reduced to a technical Training Centre in Accra, Ghana, There is a wide—although not exercise, the implication is that in September 2009. The authors uncontested—consensus that unstable peacebuilding assistance is essentially would like to acknowledge and and conflict-prone societies pose a value-free and does not represent thank the participants of the threat to international security and important choices and interests. Yet the workshop: stability. Many analysts—especially apolitical model of peacebuilding can Irae Baptista-Lundin after 9/11—now consider these miss the reality on the ground and fail to Pascaline Barankeba situations as the primary security create conditions conducive to durable Mytaher Haskuka challenge of the contemporary era. In stability. In some cases, the process of Bonny Ibhawoh recent years, international peacebuilding identifying and addressing the root- Yasuko Kusakari activities in conflict-prone and post- causes of conflict can itself become Eugene Nkubito conflict countries have increased not politicized and manipulated. Memunatu Pratt only in number and complexity, but The mixed record of peacebuilding, Debey Sayndee also in scope. Peacebuilding has been therefore, owes a lot to its prevailing increasingly conflated with state- rationale to promote strong states building, based upon the assumption and contain conflict as a matter of that effective—preferably liberal— international security, rather than to states form the greatest prospect for a resolve conflicts through meeting the stable international order. Peacebuilding, everyday needs of citizens in local and by extension state-building, has contexts. therefore increasingly become integral to the security agenda. The Liberal Institutionalist Viewing intrastate conflict, weak Approach to Peacebuilding statehood and underdevelopment as The second challenge is the implemen- threats to international security has tation of a liberal institutionalist brought much-needed resources, aid and model in post-conflict situations, capacity-building to conflict-prone disregarding local contexts, experiences countries in the form of international and institutional legacies. The liberal assistance. This has contributed to a institutionalist approach to peace- reduction in the absolute numbers of building and development in fragile civil wars and the consolidation of peace states is driven by the belief that in many countries. the principal “problem” with conflict- However, “peacebuilding as prone and post-conflict states is the securitization” has also raised a number absence of effective state institutions. of critical challenges. When stability With this rationale, (re)building viable 2 Research Brief www.isp.unu.edu institutions—often based on generic, The liberal peacebuilding agenda Western models—becomes a priority emphasizes constrained public and an end in itself. The institutionalist expenditure, deregulation and view assumes that state institutions are privatization. There is thus an internal enough to generate material objectives contradiction: peacebuilding implies the of peacebuilding and concentrates strengthening (or (re)construction) of on institutional benchmarks, such the state, yet the liberal economic/social as sequences and capacity. This policies that are promoted arguably “International peacebuilding is motivated by the desire to promote strong states and contain conflict in the interests of international security.” approach often neglects the idea that undermine the state. Furthermore, there peacebuilding is fundamentally about is ample evidence that marketization is social relations, and in particular, unhelpful in volatile conflict-prone trust. societies, which have been characterized In practice, a wide range of by inequality and social grievances. different case studies have illustrated Contrary to a liberal economic the shortcomings of the liberal approach, the evidence suggests that the institutionalist approach to emphasis should be upon poverty peacebuilding and development. alleviation and employment generation. Externally led state-building based on institutionalist models may undermine Problems and Challenges traditional indigenous authority While aiming to contain instability structures, raising questions of and build generic state institutions legitimacy in addition to efficiency. Self- based upon “external” models, liberal About the Authors sustaining public institutions often fail institutionalist peacebuilding often to take root. When economic growth is neglects the welfare needs of local Madoka Futamura is an Academic largely unregulated and concentrated populations and fails to engage with Programme Officer at the amongst the elite, large sections of the indigenous traditional institutions. United Nations
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