Post-conflict economic reconstruction is a critical part of the political economy of peacetime and one of the most important challenges in any peace-building or state-building strategy. After wars end, countries must negotiate a multi-pronged transition to peace: Violence must give way to public security; lawlessness, political exclusion, and violation of human rights must give way to the rule of law and participatory government; ethnic, religious, ideological, or class/caste confrontation must give way to national reconciliation; and ravaged and mismanaged war economies must be reconstructed and transformed into functioning market economies that enable people to earn a decent living. Yet, how can these vitally important tasks each be successfully managed? How should we go about rehabilitating basic services and physical and human infrastructure? Which policies and institutions are necessary to reactivate the economy in the short run and ensure sustainable development in the long run? What steps should countries take to bring about national reconciliation and the consolidation of peace? In all of these cases, unless the political objectives of peacetime prevail at all times, peace will be ephemeral, while policies that pursue purely economic objectives can have tragic consequences. This book argues that any strategy for post-conflict economic reconstruction must be based on five premises and examines specific post-conflict reconstruction experiences to identify not only where these premises have been disregarded, but also where policies have worked, and the specific conditions that have influenced their success and failure.

During the last few years millions of people fleeing from communal violence, political persecution, and other human rights abuses have been forced to abandon their homes. In a disturbing number of situations, mass expulsions and population relocations have been explicitly used by states and other actors as a means of exerting political and territorial control. While the plight of uprooted populations continues to be a matter of pressing humanitarian concern, the problem of forced displacement has also assumed a much broader political significance. Refugee movements are undoubtedly a symptom of the injustices and inequities which afflict our world, but they also have an increasingly significant impact on the search for regional and global security. This invaluable book from UNHCR analyzes the international community's evolving response to the problem of forced displacement, focusing on issues such as the rights of asylum seekers, the protection of refugees and internally displaced people, the challenge of repatriation and reintegration, and the reduction of statelessness. In addition to providing a comprehensive examination of these crucially important humanitarian issues, the report presents a wide range of case studies, maps, statistics, and other reference material, describing the state of the world's uprooted people and the world's repsonse to their plight. Essential reading for decision-makers, journalists, aid agency personnel, as well as scholars and students, The State of the World's Refugees 1997 provides the definitive, detailed, and up-to-date analysis of the plight of the world's many millions of displaced people.

Proceedings of the International Workshop on the Challenge of Rebuilding Afghanistan, held at Islamabad during 2-3 March 2005.

The United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) is an autonomous agency that engages in multi-disciplinary research on the social dimensions of contemporary problems affecting development. Its work is guided by the conviction that, for effective development policies to be formulated, an understanding of the social and political context is crucial. The Institute attempts to provide governments, development agencies, grassroots organizations and scholars with a better understanding of how development policies and processes of economic, social and environmental change affect different social groups. Working through a extensive network of national research centres, UNRISD aims to promote original research and strengthen research capacity in developing countries.