Post-Conflict Economic Reconstruction

Post-conflict economic reconstruction is a critical aspect of the political economy of peacetime and one of the most important challenges in any peace-building or state-building strategy. After wars end, countries must negotiate a multi-pronged transition to peace: Violence must give way to public security; lawlessness, political exclusion, and violation of human rights must give way to the rule of law and participatory government; ethnic, religious, ideological, or class/caste confrontation must give way to national reconciliation; and ravaged and mismanaged war economies must be reconstructed and transformed into functioning market economies that enable people to earn a decent living. The book argues that because economic reconstruction takes place amid this multi-pronged transition it is fundamentally different from development as usual. The book identifies six basic premises which are needed for an effective strategy for reconstruction, and analyzes specific cases to draw lessons, best practices and policy guidelines.