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Abstract
Rebuilding social capital stocks after conflict has become an essential component of post-conflict reconstruction activities. At the community level this policy is translated into projects that combine economic recovery with reinforcing social cohesion through small-scale participatory “bottom-up” projects. This article presents an ethnographic examination of the “solidarity chain” as an example of this approach. It concerns a livestock credit rotating scheme, which combined livestock restocking with the promotion of social cohesion on Burundian hillsides after more than 10 years of civil war. The main findings are twofold. First, it is argued that the distinction between bonding, bridging, and linking social capital proves a useful, analytical framework to assess the impact of such activities on social community cohesion. In particular, the findings show how a combination of “weak” bonding and “unresponsive” linking social capital accounts for the solidarity chain's failure to nurture more inclusive bridging social capital. Second, the general assumption that post-conflict reconstruction policy should focus on the transformation of exclusive bonding into inclusive bridging social capital is nuanced and refined: the findings present micro-empirical insights reaffirming the need to focus also on both the “deficiency” and “dark side” of social capital in post-conflict situations.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Kristof Titeca, Koen Vlassenroot, and Johan Braeckman for their comments on an earlier version of the paper.
Notes
1. Woolcock and Narayan, “Social Capital,” 226.
2. See e.g. Barron et al., “Do Participatory Development Projects Help Villagers Manage Local Conflicts?”; Colletta and Cullen, “The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion”; Colletta and Cullen, “Violent Conflict and the Transformation of Social Capital”; Goodhand, Hulme and Lewer, “Social Capital and Political Economy of Violence”; Goodhand, Aiding Peace?; Morfit, “Rebuilding Social Capital”; Pickering, “Generating Social Capital”; Richards, Bah and Vincent, “Social Capital and Survival”; Varshney, “Ethnic Conflict and Civil Society.”
3. Colletta and Cullen, “The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion.”
4. Englebert, “The World Bank and the Unsuspected Virtues of ‘Social Capital’,” 16–17.
5. Moser and Shrader, “A Conceptual Framework for Violence Reduction,” 11.
6. IFAD. “Proposed Grant to the Republic of Burundi for the Livestock Sector Rehabilitation Support Project,” 2, 5.
7. Putnam, “Commentary: ‘Health by Association’”; Titeca and Vervisch, “The Dynamics of Social Capital and Community Associations in Uganda.”
8. Putnam, “Commentary: ‘Health by Association,’” 668–9.
9. Gittel and Vidal, Community Organizing.
10. Szreter and Woolcock, “Health by Association?”
11. Szreter and Woolcock, “Health by Association?”; Woolcock, “Social Capital in Theory and Practice.”
12. Portes and Landolt, “The Downside of Social Capital.”
13. Colletta and Cullen, “The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion”; Colletta and Cullen, “Violent Conflict and the Transformation of Social Capital.”
14. Rubio, “Perverse Social Capital.”
15. Putnam, “Commentary: ‘Health by Association’.”
16. Szreter and Woolcock, “Health by Association?”; Titeca and Vervisch, “The Dynamics of Social Capital and Community Associations in Uganda.”
17. De Silva et al., “Understanding Sources and Types of Social Capital in Peru”; Szreter, “The State of Social Capital”; Woolcock and Narayan, “Social Capital.”
18. Goodhand, Hulme and Lewer, “Social Capital and Political Economy of Violence,” 390.
19. Colletta and Cullen, “The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion”; Colletta and Cullen, “Violent Conflict and the Transformation of Social Capital.”
20. Portes and Landolt, “The Downside of Social Capital.”
21. Goodhand and Hulme, “NGOs and Peacebuilding in Complex Political Emergencies.”
22. Colletta and Cullen, “The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion,” 4.
23. Goodhand, Aiding Peace?; Morfit, “Rebuilding Social Capital”; Pickering, “Generating Social Capital”; Varshney, “Ethnic Conflict and Civil Society.”
24. Morfit, “Rebuilding Social Capital.”
25. Colletta and Cullen, “The Nexus between Violent Conflict, Social Capital and Social Cohesion,” 27.
26. On the history of conflict in Burundi, see e.g. Daley, “Ethnicity and Political Violence in Africa”; Lemarchand, The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa; Reyntjens, “Burundi: Prospects for Peace”; and Uvin, Life after Violence.
27. Lemarchand, The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa.
28. Uvin, Life after Violence, 29.
29. Laely, “Peasants, Local Communities, and Central Power in Burundi,” 695.
30. Reyntjens, “Burundi: Prospects for Peace,” 19.
31. Uvin, “Structural Causes, Development Cooperation and Conflict Prevention in Burundi and Rwanda.”
32. Sebundandi et al., “The Cumulative Impacts of Peacebuilding in Burundi,” 40–1.
33. cf. Morfit, “Rebuilding Social Capital.”
34. Brachet and Wolpe, “Conflict-sensitive Development Assistance.”
35. Brachet and Wolpe, “Conflict-sensitive Development Assistance.”, 6.
36. Sebundandi et al., “The Cumulative Impacts of Peacebuilding in Burundi.”
37. Sebundandi et al., “The Cumulative Impacts of Peacebuilding in Burundi.”, 41. Cf. “root cause” versus “social capital” approach, Morfit, “Rebuilding Social Capital.”
38. Brachet and Wolpe, “Conflict–sensitive Development Assistance,” 4.
39. Hillsides, administrative unit in Burundi. The selection of the three collines fits in a broader PhD research programme on the interaction between NGO interventions and social capital in post-conflict settings. The identification of the collines used the NGOs as independent variable to select three “typical cases” (Patton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, 236) for each of the NGO interventions. However, in the scope of this article, this variable does not play a role, as it focuses on one particular activity – the solidarity chain – which was implemented by all three NGOs. Obviously, this ethnographic research does not allow for generalizations for the whole of Burundi, Africa, post-conflict situations or development countries.
40. For the sake of discretion, the names of the NGOs are not disclosed.
41. Kuehnast and Dudwick, “Better a Hundred Friends than a Hundred Rubles?”
42. Krueger and Casey, “Designing and Conducting Focus Group Interviews.”
43. Patton, Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods, 385.
44. FAO, “Note sur la chaîne de solidarité communautaire. ”
45. Koyo, “Watershed Management Case Study: Burundi.”
46. Koyo, “Watershed Management Case Study: Burundi.”.
47. Beleli, “Aid as a Peacemaker.”
48. FAO, “Note sur la chaîne de solidarité communautaire”; Republic of Burundi and World Bank, “Rapport d’étude sur l'analyse d'impact environnemental et social du projet”; UNDP, “Programme d'appui à la reintegration/rehabilitation des sinistrés et de lutte contre la pauvreté”; IFAD, “Report and Recommendation of the President to the Executive Board on a Proposed Loan to the Republic of Burundi for the Transitional Programme of Post-Conflict reconstruction.”; IFAD, “Proposed Grant to the Republic of Burundi for the Livestock Sector Rehabilitation Support Project”; Republic of Burundi, “Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.”
49. Interview staff member, 4 May 2007, Muyinga.
50. Interview staff member, 8 June 2007, Muyinga.
51. Trouwborst, “Two Types of Partial Networks in Burundi.”
52. Badionona-Tshondo, “Problématique de la gestion des cooperatives au Burundi,” 9; Trouwborst, “Two Types of Partial Networks in Burundi,” 114.
53. Cf. Kuehnast and Dudwick, “Better a Hundred Friends than a Hundred Rubles?”
54. HRW, Proxy Targets. Civilians in the War in Burundi.
55. Uvin, Life after Violence, 29.
56. Lemarchand, The Dynamics of Violence in Central Africa.
57. WFP, “Comprehensive Food Security & Vulnerability Analysis.”
58. See e.g. HRW, “We Flee When We See Them.”
59. World Bank, “Bosnia and Herzegovina. Local Level Institutions and Social Capital Study,” 5.
60. Uvin, Life after Violence.
61. Focus group, 30 April 2007, Burara colline.
62. International Crisis Group (ICG), “A Framework for Responsible Aid to Burundi.”
63. Swift, “Understanding and Preventing Famine and Famine Mortality.”
64. Cf. Uvin, Life after Violence, 167.
65. Swift, “Understanding and Preventing Famine and Famine Mortality,” 9–10.
66. Lemarchand, Burundi, Ethnic Conflict and Genocide.
67. See e.g. Kaumungi, Oketch and Huggins, “Land Access and the Return and Resettlement of IDPs and Refugees in Burundi.”
68. Uvin, “Structural Causes, Development Cooperation and Conflict Prevention in Burundi and Rwanda.”
69. Uvin, ‘A Brief Discussion of Donor Support’, 1.
70. Sommers, “It Always Rains in the Same Place First.”
71. Lemarchand, Burundi, Ethnic Conflict and Genocide; Ndikumana, “Towards a solution to violence in Burundi”; Ndikumana, “Distributional Conflict, the State and Peacebuilding in Burundi”, Uvin, “Structural Causes, Development Cooperation and Conflict Prevention in Burundi and Rwanda.”
72. Laely, “Peasants, Local Communities, and Central Power in Burundi,” 710.
73. Sommers, “It Always Rains in the Same Place First.”
74. See e.g. Bierschenk, Chauveau and De Sardan, Courtiers en développement; Bierschenk, Chauveau and De Sardan, “Local Development Brokers in Africa”; Platteau, “Monitoring elite capture in community–driven development”; Titeca and Vervisch, “The Dynamics of Social Capital and Community Associations in Uganda.”
75. Platteau, “Monitoring Elite Capture in Community-driven Development,” 227–8.
76. Uvin, Life after Violence, 67.
77. Focus group, 20 April 2007, Burara colline.
78. De Silva et al., “Understanding Sources and Types of Social Capital in Peru”; Szreter, “The State of Social Capital”; Woolcock and Narayan, “Social Capital: Implications for Development Theory, Research, and Policy.”
79. Morfit, “Rebuilding Social Capital.”
80. Cf. World Bank, “Bosnia and Herzegovina. Local Level Institutions and Social Capital Study.”
81. Goodhand, Hulme and Lewer, “Social Capital and Political Economy of Violence,” 390.
82. Goodhand, Aiding Peace?, 40.
