Activism in Postconflict and Reconstruction

Although conflict has been around throughout history, the nature of conflict in the world has changed. Conflict no longer is limited to a single nation or geographical region. The past 2 decades have seen an emergence of conflicts within nations that have had a global impact. The advancements in media, communications, and technology are among the factors that have influenced this change. Not only has the nature of conflict changed, but how it affects communities has also dramatically changed.

The conflicts that have emerged have been the result of a breakdown of dictatorships or outbreak of civil war. Within these conflicts, military and civilian are not distinguished. The International Rescue Committee, an organization founded in 1933, which works in postconflict countries, helps illustrate this point by comparing the death rate ratio of soldiers to civilians in the wars of the 1950s. In the 1950s, the death ratio of soldiers to civilians was 9 to 1, whereas today for every 1 soldier killed, 9 civilians die. The World Bank estimates that during the 1990s, civilian war-related deaths accounted for 90% of all war-related deaths, and violence created approximately 13 million refugees and 38 million internally displaced persons worldwide. Political forces openly use ethnic, national, and religious differences as a mobilizing force for war and conflict. As a result, it is not nations or countries that are destroyed, but an entire way of life. Human capital, economic infrastructure, and the social contract are ripped apart during times of conflict. The World Bank claims that over the past 15 years, 80% of countries defined as the world's poorest have been through a civil war. It is believed that on average 40% of countries coming out of war may fall back into conflict in the first five years of peace.

The changing nature of conflict has called for a changing approach to postconflict reconstruction. Long gone are the formalized peace treaties signifying the end of war and the beginning of the road of reconstruction. The Treaty of Versailles, the peace settlement reluctantly signed by the defeated countries after World War I, has been acknowledged as an ineffective mechanism to moving forward. Many historians attribute the harsh stipulations from the allied forces on the defeated countries as one of the causes for the conflict that led to World War II. It has become accepted by international actors and by most governments that the concept of punishing a nation for erupting conflict is ineffective for reconstruction and establishing global security. In addition, rarely are there formalized internationally binding peace treaties ending conflicts today. Today's peace negotiations are ongoing; treaties are signed and constantly violated, and postconflict relapses into violent conflict overnight.

These changing forces have led to a new form of activism in postconflict and reconstruction. In the past, assistance to postconflict areas was mainly in the form of emergency aid and humanitarian assistance. Today, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and international activists work on creating a balanced approach to helping a nation emerging out of conflict. There is a strong belief that, in addition to providing short-term needs and restoring the physical infrastructure, there need to be programs focused on creating a new social contract between the people and [Page 32]their institutions. Conflict resolution mechanisms and new social structures are often introduced to safeguard against a reversion into conflict. Development and aid agencies strongly emphasize that postconflict reconstruction cannot be addressed through one avenue but needs a holistic approach in order to be successful.

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