Reframing State-building and Peacebuilding Narratives in Africa
To date, more than 40 countries have signed the New Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, which places peacebuilding and state-building as two central and mutually reinforcing goals to promote development in fragile and conflict-affected states. Both concepts aim to strengthen state-society relations and promote inclusive political systems. However, realizing these goals requires challenging the entrenched and often exclusionary power structures. This study sets out to question whether peacebuilding, as currently conceived and practiced, is capable of providing a basis for state-building and inclusive political settlements in Africa. It will do so based on field work in five African countries - Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Rwanda, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The study will include a review of existing knowledge on peacebuilding and state-building, as well as country-based research involving primary data collection, such as interviews with key informants. It will also look at established peacebuilding and state-building interventions across the five African cases to assess the most effective way of promoting more inclusive political settlements. It is expected that the new knowledge will foster active debate among African academic and policy institutions about what constitutes effective peacebuilding, and what roles are critical for local and international actors.
Project ID
107454
Project Status
Completed
End Date
Duration
24 months
IDRC Officer
Ramata Thioune
Total Funding
CA$ 489,900.00
Location
Ethiopia
Kenya
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
Programs
Governance and Justice
Governance and Justice
Institution
African Leadership Centre Trust
Institution Website
Institution Country
Kenya
Project Leader
Funmi Olonisakin
Institution
African Leadership Centre Trust, Registered Trustees
Institution Website
Outputs
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Trajectories of state building and peace building in Cote d'Ivoire : a baseline study Study
This paper is part of an African Leadership Centre research project supported by the International Development Research Centre. The paper was presented at the project’s Baseline Study Review Workshop convened on 26-27 June 2014 in Nairobi. Author(s): N'Diaye, Boubacar, Theron, Sonja, Perdigao, Nayanka Language: English |
| Trajectories of state building and peace building in Cote d'Ivoire : integrated field research report Study
This paper is a part of an African Leadership Centre Research project supported by the International Development Research Centre. The paper was presented at the project’s review and validation workshop convened on 18-19 April 2016 in Nairobi. The paper integrates the revised baseline studies, field research notes and reviewers comments. Author(s): N'Diaye, Boubacar, Theron, Sonja, Perdigao, Nayanka Language: English |
| Peacebuilding as statebuilding in Kenya : remembering the role of historical injustices Paper
When peacebuilding and state building are understood and implemented as post-conflict mechanisms alone, they leave out important elements of socio-historical engineering, and historical breaches of trust which, if acknowledged could enhance national cohesion and peace. The paper focuses on three markers of injustice and inequality in Kenya which have generated grievances: the culture of authoritarianism; land ownership and allocation (grabbing); marginalisation and exclusion along ethnic lines, and of minorities/marginalized communities from participation in national affairs. The frustrations of people found their most devastating outlet in the post-election violence of 2007, which claimed 1,133 lives and displaced over 600,000 others. Author(s): Sefa-Nyarko, Clement, Sittoni, Rachel, Bartenge, Catherine, Murunga, Godwin Language: English |
Reframing narratives of peacebuilding and statebuilding in Rwanda : a baseline study Paper
Social and political identity in pre-colonial Rwanda was organized through family, lineages, clans and other complex factors that indicated social and political belonging. It was a well-organized society with features that resembled those of the modern state. In order to understand the origin of the racist project that resulted in a divided Rwanda in the twentieth century, the authors examine historical roots that enabled subsequent ‘divide and conquer’ tactics intrinsic to politicized identity. This paper examines Rwanda’s civil war and genocide, tracing root causes to horrific race theories and state building “conversations,” and discusses the settlement process in terms of root cause factors Author(s): Mwambari, David, Muteru, Alfred, Walsh, Barney, Bugingo, Irenee, Olonisakin, Funmi Language: English |
Trajectories of state building and peace building in Rwanda Paper
The study examines Rwanda’s civil war (1990-1994) and the genocide of 1994 from a historical perspective, tracing root causes surrounding the creation of the post-colonial state of Rwanda. Re-born from the carnage of genocide, Rwanda seeks to move past issues of ethnic identity which dominate the last hundred years. This paper discusses settlement processes and the extent to which they deal with root cause factors. It examines the trajectory of Rwanda’s state building experience; the factors that underlined the conflict that led to civil war and genocide; and the extent to which the resulting peace settlement addresses these factors. Author(s): Mwambari, David, Muteru, Alfred, Walsh, Barney, Bugingo, Irenee, Munyaneza, Thomas, Olonisakin, Funmi Language: English |
Building the state without peace or making peace without the state : the paradox of state-building and peace-building in Sierra Leone Paper
Sierra Leone’s civil war resulted in the deaths of more than 100,000 people. Key issues around international assistance in the search for peace serve as crucial barometers in assessing how the past might predict the future of the country. This study posits that efforts to address four issues underline the state-building conversation and that lasting peace will depend on the extent to which these issues are addressed: identity politics; the search for a legitimate national political culture; the politics involved in management of natural resources; and the re-engagement of societies and communities at the margins of the state. Author(s): Ikpe, Ekaette, Nyokabi, Jacob Kamau, Alao, Abiodun Language: English |
Thinking about peace and the role of state building and political settlement in the pursuit of sustainable peace in Africa Paper
The nature of liberal peace used for reconstitution of states after conflict is essentially a one-size-fits-all paradigm. The central idea in this study is that it is the nature of internal conversations between leaders and peoples that determine the path to a viable, peaceful state. This research aims to reframe the state-building–peacebuilding problematic by re-centring the notion of conversation in the processes of peacebuilding and state building. Charting conversation among contending actors in non-violent ways is not simply a method for post-conflict restoration; it can also result in transformation of institutions. Author(s): Olonisakin, Funmi, Ababu, Alagaw, Muteru, Alfred Language: English |
ALC module outline : reframing narratives of peacebuilding and state-building in Africa Training Materials
The module aims to provide a fresh approach to the debate on peacebuilding and state-building in Africa by situating it in pre-conflict, conflict and post-conflict contexts. It demonstrates how peacebuilding is anchored in and inextricably linked to state-building. This paper provides an outline of the ten week course contents as well as assessment processes. Author(s): Language: English |
ALC course narrative : reframing theories of peace and state-building in Africa Training Materials
In terms of the course aims, three central issues relating to the narrative of peace building are essential: 1) the connection between peacebuilding and state-building 2) the possibility of contradictions and trade-offs between the short term goal of stabilisation and the long term goal of social transformation 3) the underpinning assumptions of liberal notions of peace. The course will acquaint trainees with the peace building and state-building landscape of Africa and reframe it in light of the African Leadership Centre (ALC) research. Hence, it engages the meanings behind state-building and peacebuilding in Africa and problematizes existing understandings, analysis and practices. Author(s): Language: English |
Building the state without peace or making peace without the state : a baseline study on the paradox of state-building and peace-building in Sierra Leone Paper
This study takes a detailed look at the process of Peace-building and State-building in Sierra Leone after its bitter civil war. The paper focuses on four issues: identity politics; an effective national political culture; politics (and intrigues) involved in management of natural resource endowments; and the re-engagement of societies and communities at the margins of the state. It examines the outcomes of the settlement processes including the extent of the transformation of identity markers, and extracts lessons learnt from the peace process. Identity conversations in Sierra Leone’s state building process involve control and domination by political elites with manipulation of ethnic groups. Author(s): Nyokabi, Jacob Kamau, Ikpe, Ekaette, Alao, Abiodun Language: English |
Trajectories of state building and peace building in Ethiopia : the role of political settlement - a baseline study Paper
While the Ethiopian state has been strong in its capacity for control, it has so far been weak in its capacity to command popular legitimacy. The conflicts in 20th century Ethiopia were caused by the exclusionary nature of the state: ethnic domination, political centralization and economic marginalization. Political settlement was not only exclusionary at the outset but continues to be so in present times. This baseline study introduces a research agenda to assess the effect of political settlement on the subsequent trajectories of peace building and state reconstitution in Ethiopia. Author(s): Tadesse, Medhane, Ababu, Alagaw Language: English |
Crises of war-to-peace transition and civil war recurrences : a focus on leadership building and the postcolonial state in Africa Paper
This paper focuses on process-based leadership as an entry point for discussion of war-to-peace transitions. Process-based approaches to leadership reside in the interactions between leaders and followers. Too great an expectation is often placed on individual leaders to effect transformation: armed conflict is likely to re-ignite in more than 40 per cent of conflict situations where peace was previously negotiated. In dealing with conflict relapse, few alternatives exist in academic and policy literature to dominant approaches to peacebuilding. The starting point for war-to-peace transition is a return to the state building conversations that preceded armed conflict in the affected society. Author(s): Olonisakin, Funmi Language: English |
Nature of the state in Somalia and Somaliland : the conversations of the statebuilding and peacebuilding processes Paper
Somalia and Somaliland have taken contrasting routes in the process of state building. While Somalia followed peacebuilding and state building projects from the top down, largely externally-imposed from the international community, Somaliland pursued state building and peacebuilding processes from below through community level accords. Different state structures contribute to political stability in Somaliland, but instability in Somalia, exacerbated by struggles for power through clan politics. This paper addresses these different trajectories: the structural state modes and means, how present and past politics influence patterns of peacebuilding, and resultant models of state building. Author(s): Ingiriis, Mohamed Haji Abdulahi Language: English |
Making a case for reframing narratives of peacebuilding in Africa Paper
This paper examines two main types of violent and armed conflict settings. The first consists of situations of armed conflict where violence ended on the battlefield, such as in Ethiopia and Rwanda. The second includes situations where the end of violence and the post-conflict agenda were negotiated and facilitated either internally or by external interveners such as the United Nations or regional organisations, such as in the case of South Sudan. The study focuses on forms of peace settlement that are able to return to the nation and state building conversations that lie at the root of the conflicts. Author(s): Olonisakin, Funmi Language: English |
Reframing narratives of state building in Africa : lessons from South Sudan Paper
The Sudan peace process and the Comprehensive Peace Agreement/CPA/ of 2005 did not realize viable state and sustainable peace in south Sudan. South Sudan is a deeply divided state under a divided and politically immature ruling party and instead of reducing conflict, independence served to intensify the internal divisions as the SPLM elite competed over control of the state. Four years after becoming an independent state, South Sudan is experiencing a multifaceted crisis that has its epicentre in the SPLM led government, but finds reflection in all spheres of governance and the SPLA. Author(s): Tadesse, Medhane Language: English |
Trajectories of state building and peace building in Ethiopia : the role of peace settlements Paper
In a region that is characterized by minuscule and diminutive span of statehood, Ethiopia nonetheless stands out. For many in Africa and much of the developing world, foreigners appropriated the period of entry into modernity, and the course of history had to be restored. But the Ethiopian case is just the opposite. The sole African state to defeat European colonialists and retain its independence through the 19th century scramble for Africa, its people have an understandable pride in their history, which informed their peace and state building trajectory in a distinct way. Author(s): Tadesse, Medhane, Desta, Dade, Ababu, Alagaw Language: English |
Reframing state-building and peacebuilding narratives in Africa : final technical report Report
This report covers all aspects of the project from its inception, including progress realised on the proposal objectives, outputs produced, challenges and obstacles faced during the research process, and reflections and recommendations going forward. The notion of “conversation” is the thread that binds case studies and research, arguing that much conflict in Africa results from “conversations” around state-building, occurring in varied national contexts. Initial findings indicate the majority of African states are a product of many complex conversations – initially between colonial elites and African peoples and societies; and in the post-independence period, between governing elites and their people. Author(s): Olonisakin, Funmi, Muteru, Alfred, Dipeolu, Adeoti, Nyokabi, Jacob Kamau Language: English |