Statebuilding (PDF)

After civil wars end, what can sustain peace in the long-term? In
particular, how can outsiders facilitate durable conflict-managing
institutions through statebuilding - a process that historically
has been the outcome of bloody struggles to establish the state's
authority over warlords, traditional authorities, and lawless
territories?

In this book, Timothy Sisk explores international efforts to help
the world's most fragile post-civil war countries today build
viable states that can provide for security and deliver the basic
services essential for development. Tracing the historical roots of
statebuilding to the present day, he demonstrates how the United
Nations, leading powers, and well-meaning donors have engaged in
statebuilding as a strategic approach to peacebuilding after war.
Their efforts are informed by three key objectives: to enhance
security by preventing war recurrence and fostering community and
human security; to promote development through state provision of
essential services such as water, sanitation, and education; to
enhance human rights and democracy, reflecting the liberal
international order that reaffirms the principles of democracy and
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Improving governance, alongside the state's ability to integrate
social differences and manage conflicts over resources, identity,
and national priorities, is essential for long-term peace. Whether
the global statebuilding enterprise can succeed in creating a world
of peaceful, well-governed, development-focused states is unclear.
But the book concludes with a road map toward a better global
regime to enable peacebuilding and development-oriented
statebuilding into the 21st century.