Democratic Peacebuilding

Aiding Afghanistan and other Fragile States

Richard J. Ponzio

Written from the dual perspective of scholar and practitioner
Rich qualitative and quantitative data-set
Innovative conceptual framework

Democratic Peacebuilding

Aiding Afghanistan and other Fragile States

Richard J. Ponzio

Description

In a growing number of instances after the cold war, the United Nations and other international actors have sought to rebuild or establish new political institutions in states or territories recovering from violent conflict. From Afghanistan, Iraq, and the western Balkans to less prominent wars in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Central America, and the South Pacific, the international community's response involves extensive intrusions into the domestic affairs of sovereign states. Extending beyond the narrow mandates of traditional peacekeeping and humanitarian relief operations, these interventions aspire to reconstitute local power within a democratic framework. Democratic Peacebuilding examines the evolution of international peacebuilding during this tumultuous period, identifying the factors that limit the progress of international actors to institutionalize democratic authority and the rule of law in war-shattered societies.

Based on extensive field research, the book gives particular attention to Afghanistan's Bonn Agreement process (2001-2005) and Post-Bonn period (2006-2009), in which the country's multiple, competing forms of authority (e.g. religious leaders, tribal elders, militia commanders, and technocrats) challenged efforts to create "modern" forms of political authority rooted in democratic norms and the rule of law. Despite the significant risks involved, Democratic Peacebuilding argues that the institutionalization of democratic legal authority can create the conditions and framework necessary to mediate competing domestic interests and to address the root causes of a conflict peacefully. At the same time, one overlooked problem of international peacebuilding stems from the divergent conceptions, between international officials and the local population, of authority and its sources of legitimacy. By helping a conflict-affected society reconcile the inherent tensions between competing forms of authority and, over time, deepen democracy--rather than lower the metrics for progress and conditions for exit, international peacebuilders can contribute to improved conditions for governance and a reduction in intra-state political violence. This examination of the peacebuilding-democratization nexus in war-torn societies aims to generate new insights for scholars, policy-makers, and practitioners in both the study and practice of politics and international relations.

Democratic Peacebuilding

Aiding Afghanistan and other Fragile States

Richard J. Ponzio

Preface
Maps
Introduction: Democratization after War in Retreat
Part I: Foundations
1. Analytical Tools to Understand and Evaluate Democratic Authority and Rule of law Institutionalization after War
2. International Peacebuilding through Democracy and Rule of Law Promotion: from the Cold War's End to the Peacebuilding Commission
Part II: Democratic Peacebuilding in Practice in Afghanistan
3. Implementing the Bonn Agreement for Afghanistan, 2001 to 2005
4. Democratic Authority and Rule of Law Formation during and after the Bonn Agreement period
Part III: The Furture of Democratic Peacebuilding
5. Democratic Peacebuilding and its Alternatives: A New Approach for Sustainable Peace?
6. The Future of Afghanistan and International Peacebuilding
Appendix I: Interviews Conducted
Appendix II: Afghan Focus Group Questions
Appendix III: Afghanistan Public Opinion Survey Questions

Democratic Peacebuilding

Aiding Afghanistan and other Fragile States

Richard J. Ponzio

Author Information

Dr. Richard Ponzio is a leading expert on international peacebuilding and political development. He has served in the Balkans, Central-South Asia, the South Pacific, and West Africa with the UN and US State Department. He is a former Senior Policy Analyst with the UN Peacebuilding Support Office in New York, as well as Former Visiting Scholar at The Stimson Center and Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C. He is co-editor of Pioneering the Human Development Revolution: An Intellectual Biography of Mahbub ul Haq (OUP 2008).

Democratic Peacebuilding

Aiding Afghanistan and other Fragile States

Richard J. Ponzio

Reviews and Awards

"Whether and how to promote democracy in the context of post-conflict peacebuilding is one of the most vexing issues of our time. Meticulously researched, this study offers invaluable insights into the problems and prospects of democratization after war with particular attention to recent experiences in Afghanistan." --Richard Caplan, Professor of International Relations, Oxford University

"In this new study Richard Ponzio explores the role of democratic reform as an instrument for international peacebuilding, recognizing that the ultimate test of any such intervention is whether in the end one is able to leave behind a society at peace with itself and its neighbors" --Ambassador James Dobbins, Former U.S. Special Envoy for Afghanistan, Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia

"A path-breaking work that tackles one of great conundrums of peace-building. For a peace to be stable, it must also be legitimate; and for the legitimacy to count, it must be locally legitimate. Drawing on in depth studies of the efforts to create peace in Afghanistan and elsewhere, Richard Ponzio exposes readers to all the challenges of legitimate peace-building and points the way toward a new understanding of what best practices should involve." --Michael Doyle, Professor of International Affairs, Law, and Political Science, Columbia University

"An important and timely contribution to our understanding of international peacebuilding in the aftermath of conflict...This thoughtful volume is essential reading for policymakers, academics and students interested in one of the most vital international policy issues of our time." --Dr. Abiodun Williams, Vice President, Center for Conflict Analysis and Prevention, United States Institute of Peace