The Politics of Post-war/post-Conflict Reconstruction
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Thematic Section
The Politics of Post-war/post-Conflict Reconstruction
SHALMALI GUTTAL
ABSTRACT Shalmali Guttal argues that post-conflict/war reconstruction is not simply about rebuilding lives and societies after periods of violent conflicts, crises and upheavals. Reconstruction is about establishing a market based capitalist economic system, twinned with a political regime that is willing to promote and defend free market-capitalism. She proposes that the hallmark of the ‘reconstruction model’ is neo-liberalism – an unregulated, market economy, liberal democracy, free flow of private capital, privatization, removal of domestic regulations and economic protections, and ‘good governance’, which in practice means that the fledgling state’s responsibilities are re-oriented towards facilitating and protecting free market conditions for creating wealth, much of which is expropriated by private sector actors from outside the country and/or consolidated by national elites. KEYWORDS democracy; neo-liberalism; foreign investment; World Bank; economic reform; justice
Introduction Post-war/post-conflict reconstruction literally involves everything, from demobilizing armed groups and peace-keeping, to writing new constitutions, formulating new national laws and fast-tracking foreign investment.Whether in Cambodia, East Timor, Haiti, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Afghanistan or Iraq, the elements that loosely constitute an emerging ‘reconstruction model’are more or less the same. These generally include the following: a UN-led mission for ‘transitional’ administration, peacekeeping and donor coordination; donor support for electoral, constitutional and governance activities to shape new national leadership; formulation of national development plans and policies by foreign experts; national institutional ‘capacity building’ by private (usually foreign) firms; the transfer of key services and assets to private sector firms; and a plethora of international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and newly emerging national/ local ‘civil society organizations’ (CSOs) engaged in activities ranging from micro-credit and primary health care to democracy education and human rights training. Reconstruction is about establishing from the get-go a market-based capitalist economic system, twinned with a political regime that is willing to promote and defend free market capitalism. The success and failure of these reconstruction efforts are not Development (2005) 48(3), 73–81. doi:10.1057/palgrave.development.1100169
Development 48(3): Thematic Section
74
assessed by the economic, social, political and physical security of domestic populations, but by the speed and extent with which an affected country complies with externally determined standards for establishing a market economy, good governance and liberal democracy. Conditions for ‘national sovereignty’ are determined by those who front the cash for reconstruction rather than by democratically elected governments and empowered citizens, and ensure continued control by external powers ove
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