Beyond post‐conflict peacebuilding: What links to sustainable development and human security?

Abstract

The proliferation of peacekeeping and coalition operations in Africa over the last five to ten years poses profound challenges for analysis and praxis, explanation and prescription. This article is premised on the assumption that at least some of the causes of the social conflicts ‐ that have led to the growing demand for diverse elements in the peacekeeping nexus ‐ lie in the character and consequences of structural adjustment programmes. The seeming elusiveness of sustainable development and human security in Africa raises questions about prospects for the consolidation of either capitalism or democracy. Rather, varieties of corporatism, authoritarianism and anarchy are more likely to emerge in the next century. The central role of civil society ‐ at local, national, regional and global levels ‐ is crucial in determining which scenario is most plausible, given the heterogeneity in Africa's political economies and cultures. Hence the imperative of including civil society in any analytic and prescriptive purview of structural adjustment and peacekeeping.