Peace building in post-war societies

Abstract

Post-Conflict peace building is evidently not a simple process. There are significant limitations and complications that need to be addressed, including political and resource constraints and also peace building in post-conflict societies is a multi-component process, most important of which is finding lasting political solutions within the framework of nation states. While the term peace building is relatively new, external assistance for post-war rebuilding goes back to the reconstruction of post– World War II Europe and Japan. What was new in Boutros Boutros-Ghali's formulation, and what caught the world's attention, was a realization that the end of the Cold War opened new possibilities for international action? The United Nations, individual states and international non- government organizations (INGOs), have become increasingly involved in trying to rebuild peaceful societies in the aftermath of violent Conflict. Post-Conflict peace building encompasses the full range of non-military commitments undertaken by the international community to assist countries to achieve self-sustaining peace and socio- economic development. This article studies one such effort of peace building and sustainable development in a war-torn nation. This paper focuses on the original definition of peace building. More specifically, it examines elements of peace building and interventions by external actors to help war- torn societies not only to avoid a relapse into Conflict, but more importantly, to establish the conditions for sustainable peace.