Post Conflict

Este artículo analiza cómo el patrimonio cultural inmaterial puede contribuir a los procesos de construcción de paz durante periodos posteriores a la firma de acuerdos de paz. Asimismo pretende enriquecer el debate alrededor del proceso de paz que vive actualmente Colombia. La investigación utiliza una metodología cualitativa con técnicas de recolección de información como observación, entrevistas a expertos, comunicaciones con personas relevantes y análisis documental. Argumentamos que el uso del patrimonio cultural permite un mayor involucramiento de la población en la construcción de paz y apropiación del proceso. Puede ayudar a reconstruir el tejido social afectado por la guerra y reducir la violencia cultural y estructural presente en la sociedad posconflicto. Más específicamente, puede promover la justicia transicional, la reintegración social de los excombatientes y la transformación pacífica de los conflictos. A pesar de este potencial, el patrimonio cultural también puede p...

This paper explores contemporary gender roles, particularly those of women, in the post-conflict or post-war setting of Timor-Leste (East Timor). This exploration is made in terms of feminist academic Cynthia Enloe's analysis of gender dynamics in post-war societies. A well-documented gender inequality, favouring men, is evident in East Timor and there is pressure for women to conform to ‘traditional’ cultural norms now the war is over. However, through a tracing of gender historically, I argue that ‘traditional’ social patterns are problematic to define. I will also argue that those pushing women to return to ‘tradition’ are simply advocating a subordinate role for women.The impact of conflict and violence has been profound for the new nation and its people, so that today both public and private, or domestic, violence is pervasive. Part of this impact is the dominance of an elite male political and military leadership, mostly from former resistance organizations, who are seen as largely responsible for outbreaks of violence on a national scale (occurring between 2004 and 2008). In Enloe's terms such a post-war society may be characterized as militaristic in nature. When such post-war societies privilege a militarized masculinity it is sure to have a detrimental effect on women's participation. I argue here that this dynamic is central to the current pressure for women in Timor-Leste to return to ‘traditional’ roles now the conflict is over.

This article explores practices of memorialisation in post-conflict society, through the case study of the McCurrie Neill Memorial Garden, located in East Belfast, which has been vandalised on a number of occasions. After noting the similarities between these attacks and Jenny Edkins’ theorisation of resistance at sites of state memory, I argue that in this context such resistance serves only to replicate patterns of division. The article therefore turns to the work of Jacques Derrida, in order to employ a deconstructive ‘double reading’ of the memorial, which avoids the trap of treating the past as something which can be instrumentally utilised in the present. This is undertaken in order to suggest a form of resistance to memorialisation which does more than replicate patterns of division through essentialised versions of history.

This book addresses the practices, treatment and commemoration of victims’ remains in post-genocide and mass violence contexts. Whether reburied, concealed, stored, abandoned or publically displayed, human remains raise a vast number of questions regarding their legal, ethical and social uses. Human Remains in Society will raise these issues by examining when, how and why bodies are hidden or exhibited. Using case studies from multiple continents, each chapter will interrogate their effect on human remains, either desired or unintended, on various political, cultural or religious practices. How, for instance, do issues of confiscation, concealment or the destruction of bodies and body parts in mass crime impact on transitional processes, commemoration or judicial procedures?

The Republic of South Sudan continues to face considerable challenges in meeting maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) care needs and improving health outcomes. Ongoing instability and population displacement undermine scope for development, and damaged infrastructure, low coverage of health services, and limited government capacity and a human resource base have resulted in a fragmented health system. Despite considerable attention, effort and support, the issues and challenges facing South Sudan remain deep and sustained, and urban–rural disparities are considerable. There is a need to maintain investments in MNCH care and to support developing systems, institutions, and programs. This review of the literature offers a commentary and appraisal of the current MNCH situation in South Sudan. It explores the barriers and challenges of promoting MNCH gains, and identifies priorities that will contribute to addressing the Millennium Development Goals and the emerging health prioriti...

Does development aid attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in post-conflict countries? This article contributes to the growing literature on effects of aid and on determinants of FDI by explaining how development aid in low-information environments is a signal that can attract investment. Before investing abroad, firms seek data on potential host countries. In post-conflict countries, reliable information is poor, in part because governments face unusual incentives to misrepresent information. In these conditions, firms look to signals. One is development aid, because donors tend to give more to countries they trust to properly handle the funds. Our results show that aid seems to draw FDI—however, this is conditional on whether the aid can be considered geostrategically motivated. We also show that this effect decreases as time elapses after the conflict. This suggests that aid’s signaling effect is specific to low-information environments, and helps rule out alternative causal mechanisms linking aid and FDI.

There can be no meaningful separation between state-building, peace-building, and revival at the end of a conflict, especially as post-conflict state institutions are the only apparatus which can be somewhat directly or indirectly accountable toward their populations for the management of the country.

This article examines Australia's post-conflict reconstruction and development initiatives in Iraq following the intervention of 2003. Overall, it finds that Australia privileged the neo-liberal model of post-conflict state building by investing in projects that would enhance the capacity of the new Iraqi state, its key institutions and the private sector towards the imposition of a liberal democracy and a free-market economy. To demonstrate, this article documents the failures of the Australian government's stated aims to " support agriculture " and " support vulnerable populations " via interviews conducted in Iraq with rural farmers and tribal members and those working in, or the beneficiaries of, Iraq's disability sector. It concludes by noting that such failures are not only indicative of the inadequacy of the neo-liberal state building model, but also that these failures point the way forward for future post-conflict reconstruction and development projects which ought to be premised on a genuine and sustained commitment to addressing the needs of those made most vulnerable by war and regime change.