Presentation at Foni Berefet for the Youth Ambassadors of Peace on Post-war recontruction-17 November 2007
Tuesday 27th November 2007

Assuming it was a man-made disaster, one or more of the following conditions are usually used to define the process of transition from conflict to peace:

The signing of a formal peace agreement;

A process of political transition achieved through free and fair elections;

A negotiated transfer of power; and

The perception among national and international actors that there is an opportunity for peace and recovery.

The term Post-war Reconstruction will then indicate: the restoration of the physical infrastructure and essential government functions and services; institution building to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of existing institutions; and, the structural reform of political, economic, social, and security sectors. The aim is to have a corrective dimension that promotes socio-economic change and not just the restoration of the status quo.

Models for Government Of Post-war Reconstruction

These can be identified as:

The Capitalist model;

The merchant-state model;

The command economy model;

Transitional Administration model; and

Authoritarian model.

The Capitalist model

This encourages the development of a stable economy which encourages investment. Investment occurs only when there is stability and stability increases with investment.

The Merchant-state model

This is the anti-thesis of the capitalist model. It means the economy in the hands of few powerful individuals, e.g. Liberia under Charles Tailor.

Command-economy model

Government retaining extensive control over the economy and jobs are provided by the government.

Transitional Authority

The United Nations has had increasing experience of establishing a transitional authority in lieu of a government in post-war environments, e.g. East Timor. Here the authority is tasked with establishing the necessary administrative bodies prior to holding elections and transferring control to an elected government.

Authoritarian Model

This is based on the ‘strongman’ principle. In this model the priority is for strong and effective government.

Factors That Determine the Choice Of Model

This may include:

Internal political preference and the ability to articulate it;

The history of the country;

Neighbouring and regional political preferences; and

The need for and level of commitment of outside powers and international financial organizations.

Discussion

Contributions from participants

Conclusion

The reconstruction of Uganda is considered an excellent example of an African state successfully emerging from civil war and establishing an effective and representative government.

On of the key factors in this was the inclusion of resistance councils (RCs), a form of locally based indirect participatory democracy without political parties. The RCs allow many former rebels to occupy prominent positions at all levels and devote their energy to peaceful dialogue.