Social Cohesion as Peacebuilding in the Central African Republic and Beyond

Abstract

Social cohesion has increasingly been touted as a tool of peacebuilding. Theoretically, the concept is linked with efforts to address inequality and build social capital. Practically, social cohesion is bandied about in settings such as the Central African Republic (CAR) as an important objective for building sustainable peace. We argue that peacebuilding scholars focus more on social cohesion as an end goal than they do on the policy-making and implementation aspects of the concept. After reviewing two key social cohesion initiatives in CAR, we find practitioners equally remiss in thinking about process. Also, both communities involved in the initiatives face challenges in grasping the complexity of the horizontal and vertical linkages that sustain conflict and which need to be restructured to build social cohesion. The paper documents these shortcomings and suggests tentative ways forward.

Keywords::

• social cohesion
• peacebuilding
• Central African Republic
• state–society relations
• inequality
• vertical linkages
• horizontal linkages

Notes

¹ Although the authors did not conduct fieldwork for the specific purpose of this paper, both have spent extended periods of time in the Central African Republic on assignment for the United Nations. Privileged information obtained during these assignments was not used in this paper.

² While research has been conducted on the impact of development aid on social cohesion, democratic attitudes, local participation in policy-making and the like (Weinstein et al. 2009; King et al. 2010; King 2013, there is little or no research assessing programmes designed to increase social cohesion with the partial exception of research on peace education.

³ Data from the UNHCR website: http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e45c156.html, accessed 8 December 2014.

⁴ The ranks of the ex-Seleka also included a number of foreign fighters from Chad and Sudan.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael J. Brown

MICHAEL J. BROWN is the United Nations’ Senior Mediation Expert on Natural Resource and Land-Related Conflicts, and a Professor of Practice in Conflict Mediation at McGill University's Institute for the Study of International Development.

Marie-Joëlle Zahar

MARIE-JOËLLE ZAHAR is the United Nations’ Senior Mediation Expert on Power Sharing, and a Professor of Political Science and Research Director of the Research Network on Peace Operations at the Université de Montréal.