Security Governance in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding
Publisher: The Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF)
Volume: 300 pages, pdf
Description:
It may seem counterintuitive, but the number of active armed conflicts in the world is in steady decline. This may be largely attributed to the numerous interventions of the international community in war-torn countries since the end of the Cold War – interventions aimed at making, keeping and building peace.These interventions, however, have shown mixed results. While the number of active armed conflicts is in decline, the number of post-conflict states or state-like entities under international tutelage is on the rise. This is because making and keeping peace appears to be easier to achieve than building it. Yet, if the transition from armed conflict to sustainable peace fails, then, in the long run, post-conflict situations may easily become preconflict situations. As UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has noted, roughly half of all countries that emerge from war relapse into violence within five years.5 Building peace after conflict in a sustained and sustainable manner – as daunting a task as it may be given the formidable challenges this entails – is the key to preventing such outcomes.