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In the aftermath of armed conflicts, societies grapple with profound impacts on historic city centres, with cultural heritage damage intensifying crises in environments, identities and sense of place. This paper addresses the under-documented post-conflict journey of the Libyan city of Benghazi, focusing on the sudden demolition of its built heritage in March 2023. Grounded in a mixed-methods approach, this study explores reconstruction complexities in post-conflict emerging states through empirical research and a humanistic lens. In addition, the authors investigate aspects, such as the stakeholder’s opinion and the community’s reaction and expectations. The findings reveal that while post-conflict situations globally are inherently complex between balancing change and continuity, the case of Benghazi is exacerbated by political fragmentation, top-down reconstruction approaches, and lack of coordination between decision-makers and the community. The results of the survey indicate that most respondents support the preservation of their cultural heritage. This research concludes that stakeholders in Benghazi should adopt a nuanced approach that aligns with sustainable aspirations for a better future while retaining historical continuity. This paper contributes to the broader post-conflict reconstruction literature by offering insights for cities facing similar challenges and emphasizing the imperatives of inclusion, transparency, justice, and equity during the reconstruction process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) to post-conflict countries is difficult. After conflict ends, governments struggle to perfectly enforce the institutions which otherwise shield investors from political instability. Reflecting this governance problem, this article presents a new explanation linking United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations to subnational allocations of FDI in post-conflict countries. I specifically argue that deployments of UN peacekeeping police credibly signal to foreign firms where future political instability is least likely to disrupt their operations. Data from Liberia's extractive sector support my argument. Increasing the local deployment of UN police encourages foreign firms to establish new natural resource concessions, particularly in areas where the government's capacity to uphold the rule of law is weak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corruption remains a persistent feature in most transitional and fragile countries, raising questions around the processes and outcomes of international development and economic reforms. In the case of Afghanistan, conventional wisdom tends to blame domestic factors, including corruption, in the collapse of the internationally-backed Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, while largely neglecting the co-constitutive nexus between economic reconstruction, criminality, and political authority. Combining the political marketplace framework with a network analysis, this paper traces how a corrupt network formed around the Kabul Bank, grew and metastasised by leveraging neo-liberal and technocratic economic reform policies, and thus, gravely undermined the country's governance and stability. By doing so, it argues that international reconstruction practices and resources reconfigured power in Afghanistan, and helped create a governance system governed by the logic of a criminalised political marketplace. The paper also demonstrates the utility of a political marketplace lens in explaining evolving political dynamics, with a network analysis to generate deeper insights into the complex interactions between the local and global dynamics that produce criminality, corruption, and state capture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locating and identifying missing persons is crucial to protecting human rights and rebuilding war-torn countries like Syria. Biological identity primarily relies on DNA, fingerprints, or dentition. However, post-conflict countries with high deaths, limited databases, insufficient resources, and a reduced or a lack of forensic expertise make this effort more challenging. Teeth are a practical and cost-effective means to identify human remains, particularly when acceptable dental records are available. Still, the application of comparative dental analysis in conflict scenarios needs to be more explored.A survey study in Syria examined whether post-conflict countries could employ comparative dental identification of missing individuals. The attitudes and perceptions of four groups (the public and dentists, forensic odontologists, dental schools, and the Syrian Dental Association) were determined using questionnaires and analysed for the first two groups. Most respondents (>90 %) indicated that addressing disappearance is crucial for post-conflict reconstruction and considered it unachievable without international support and only 20 % had confidence in this support. Issues hindering human identification reported by a high percentage of dentists and forensic odontologists and included education in Forensic Odontology (92 %), expertise in the field (70 %), awareness (90 %), the availability of antemortem records (92.3 %) and political and security influence (50 %). Responses from over 80 % of the public, 50 % of the dentists and 92 % of the forensic odontologists indicated that comparative dental identification in Syria may not be feasible.The results of this study provide strong evidence of the challenges in identifying missing persons using teeth in developing nations, particularly those affected by conflicts. They include the lack of antemortem records and forensic expertise. The international community is urged to support post-conflict nations including Syria.

The twenty-first century has seen near constant crises and conflicts across the Middle East, many of which have had a devastating impact on the region's rich cultural heritage. Confronted by this reality, UNESCO – the world's foremost body designed to promote the protection of heritage – has struggled to meaningfully address site destruction and has been hamstrung by its own institutional inertia. The vacuum created by UNESCO's failures has given rise to a hybrid heritage landscape of multilateral agencies, INGOs, state bodies and local organisations which seek to emulate, improve on or radically re-imagine the work that UNESCO was designed to lead. In turn, this has created burgeoning business opportunities and a thriving consultancy culture for INGOs, often with little public oversight, accountability or effective monitoring. This paper critically examines the rise of these heritage INGOs and their efforts in the Middle East, bringing into question their efficacy and legitimacy by drawing on results from original surveys conducted in both Mosul and Aleppo. The results indicate that these heritage INGOs largely fail to adequately engage locals in their programmes to protect and restore heritage and that respondents would prefer to see domestic control over the future of their past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout human history, cities have been targeted in wars due to their significance for politics, economy, communication and population. Today such Ukrainian cities as Kyiv, Mariupol, Kharkiv and Irpin can be added to this list. This commentary focuses on the long-term challenge of the reconstruction of Ukraine and the role cities may play in this process given their growing role in international decision-making processes. These roles include through the bilateral channels of the twin or sister cities system and international and national city networks. Furthermore, such reconstruction efforts are already evident in Ukraine and highlight how city support activities are not limited only to the post-conflict phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unequal access to education and employment inequalities were major issues that led to the Sierra Leone civil war from 1991 to 2002. Many educational practices were introduced to the country in the direct aftermath of the war to bring more positive changes such as education opportunities and reconciliation. However, by using the social constructionist approach in our analysis, we found that infrastructural issues were neglected by researchers and practitioners which had a long-term negative effect on local residents. In particular, transportation poverty became a major issue in preventing the delivery of peace education practices and teaching pedagogies by preventing regular travelling from urban to rural areas. Consequently, more inequalities could be found in areas of social services. This study suggests that peace education initiatives should consider whether these promoted practices will generate different forms of inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how armed conflict impacts the recalibration of Aleppo's historic urban and cultural fabric, using the Al-Jdeideh quarter as a case study. This article critically reflects on the ongoing (post-)conflict, top-down (post-)reconstruction activities in Aleppo's historic core, drawing on ethnographic research of visual mapping and semi-structured interviews with current Aleppo dwellers in the city and former dwellers displaced across Europe. Our findings highlight that the current reconstruction activities lack locals' values and needs, and amplify the altered socio-economic dynamics between the (former) communities' absence and presence. Therefore, these activities are resulting in a skewed representation of what once was a major hub of culture, commerce, heritage, and everyday life. As such, the paper argues that the current reconstruction attempts lack a comprehensive and context-specific approach, and need to explore more inclusive pathways of human-centered and sustainable recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines a paradigmatic example of post-conflict economic development of Vukovar, Croatia. It represents a pertinent case study for localities encountering analogous challenges, most notably urban areas in Ukraine in the near future. The war that broke out in 1991 brought significant human casualties, population displacement, and extensive destruction of residential, social, and economic infrastructure. The completion of the peaceful reintegration of Vukovar into Croatia's legal system in 1998 marked the beginning of the socio-economic revitalization process. The research scrutinizes the primary impediments and prospects for Vukovar's economic growth, probing why substantial investments in reconstructing housing, transport, communal infrastructure, and fiscal incentives for businesses have not paralleled its economic performance. It concentrates on the local business climate and influential factors as potential explanations for this discrepancy. The topic was designed as a case study and was covered by document analysis, survey method, and semi-structured interviews. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study collates perspectives from entrepreneurs and business support institutions. The results confirmed that reconstruction of housing and social infrastructure is necessary, but more conditions are needed for successful post-conflict economic development, and that the business climate in lagging local units highly depends on state- and locally designed business-support measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores Syrian higher education (HE) teachers' perceptions of their role as change agents in the reconstruction of post-conflict Syria. It utilises the notions of 'change agent' and 'strategic competence' (previously developed in relation to academics by Idahosa and Vincent) for exploring HE teachers' capacity to contribute to the post-conflict reconstruction of Syria. This article is based on a small-scale, qualitative study using in-depth interviews to explore the experiences and perspectives of HE teachers who have been working at a conflict-affected university for the duration of the conflict. The study concludes that HE teachers may be considered change agents in post-conflict societies, but that the challenges these teachers face must be taken into account, as must considerations of how the institution and the HE system can facilitate teachers in their change-making remit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-conflict reconstruction conventionally consists of four pillars--security, political, economic, and social. Ideally, all these pillars are interconnected and develop simultaneously to accelerate the reconstruction and make it stable. Rwanda undoubtedly succeeded in many aspects of its post-conflict reconstruction and it is no wonder that it is frequently presented as a model for other African countries recovering from an intrastate conflict. But is this portrayal real? Aren't there hidden pitfalls which could, in a long-term perspective, reverse the reconstruction into destruction? This paper will address these questions from the very important but usually neglected perspective of the education system, which is an integral part of the social pillar of the reconstruction, and which is perceived as a prerequisite for the development of the country and the reconciliation of different social groups. Through field research conducted in primary schools in Rwanda, the paper suggests that the reform of education after the 1994 Rwandan genocide (and the curriculum in particular) has been politicized and serves as a tool of the current RPF regime, legitimizing its authoritarian practices to establish a uniform and obedient society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip following the 2021 and 2022 wars, placing these efforts in the context of previous reconstruction experiences after the 2008/09, 2012, and 2014 conflicts. Employing a mixed-methods approach that includes interviews, primary data analysis, and policy document reviews, the study uncovers the dynamics and challenges shaping the recent reconstruction processes. A key finding of this research is the marked slowdown and ineffectiveness of the post-2021 reconstruction, contrasting with earlier efforts. Unlike previous rounds where material flow restrictions due to the blockade were the predominant hindrance, the study identifies a critical shift in the recent context: a significant lack of funds emerged as the primary obstacle. This change reflects evolving political, economic, and security landscapes in the region, including donor fatigue and shifting international priorities. The paper explores continuities and discontinuities in the factors influencing reconstruction outcomes in Gaza, offering a nuanced understanding of how the changing context has impacted rebuilding efforts. It examines the implications of these findings for future reconstruction initiatives in Gaza and similar conflict-affected regions, providing insights into the complex interplay of financial, political, and logistical challenges in post-conflict reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise in recognition of children's agency—that is, their status as inalienable right-bearing actors—has been a welcome change in international organizations, albeit often through a set of media activities that depict children variously as victims or beneficiaries of moral leadership. Typically, a handful of children/youth affected directly by a particular tragedy become the recognizable faces of identified human rights abuses. This research explores media representation of children born of war in Bosnia, "invisible" children who only recently were legally categorized as victims of war. As children who were born of wartime rape, the lives of select young activists have been documented through movies and media interviews since their childhood. This paper explores the costs of such disclosure and performativity, and sacrifices that young activists make to expose their "truth" to gain recognition of their attendant rights. It ultimately highlights the tension between the search for the rights of affected children and the dilemmas inherent in the actions of the few youth activists who publicly embrace the conditions of their birth to bring voice to others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on the electoral legacies of civil war violence offers a puzzle. While one strand of research argues that indiscriminate rebel violence will have no effect on the electoral success of rebel-aligned parties, another argues that such violence will harden anti-rebel political attitudes in the long term. This article reconciles these conflicting predictions by examining post-conflict political attitudes over the short and medium term. We hypothesize that the organizational weaknesses that both underpin and result from indiscriminate rebel violence during civil war will constrain the vote mobilization strategies of rebel-aligned parties in post-civil war elections, eventually leading to a reversal of fortune in the medium term. We assess our hypothesis in the empirical context of the state of West Bengal in India, whose southwestern districts, collectively known as Junglemahal, experienced a spell of Maoist insurgency from 2005–2014. Taking a mixed methods approach, combining surveys across West Bengal and within Junglemahal with ethnographic research, we show that voter assessments of pre-election violence had changed sharply between the 2016 legislative assembly and 2019 parliamentary elections with violence triggering a backlash against the rebel-aligned incumbent party in 2019, but not in 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bosnians show little faith in their state-level institutions, and with good reason, as the country ranks poorly on measures of corruption, regulatory quality, and government efficacy. However, the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CBBH) is a notable exception. In a country where the state is still often paralyzed by ethnically aligned obstructionism, the Central Bank is widely lauded as an effective state-level institution, and it backstops, and oversees, a stable, trusted, pan-Bosnian banking system. To explain the Bank's success, we draw on rational choice and institutionalist literature to propose and test a theory of the "CBBH as referee" in its three main functional areas: currency board maintenance, payment system operation, and the coordination of banking supervision. We find evidence for this mechanism in the context of currency board operations, and we also document a Haas-ian neofunctional process, in which the Bank has interacted cyclically with foreign banks to unintentionally de-ethnicize the Bosnian financial sector. Initial Bank reforms facilitated foreign banks' market entry, and their subsequent lack of interest in hewing to prior ethnic divisions served to cement a unified Bosnian financial space. We substantiate this argument with data drawn from interactive interviews with Bosnian policymakers, financial sector experts, and banking sector participants, and in so doing, also show how the commercial behavior of transnational actors can have unexpected policy impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study argues that local ownership of Security Sector Reform (SSR) efforts may not be enough to bring stability to post-conflict countries, especially where the state is collapsed due to armed conflict. Based on the vertical integration approach, the study makes a conceptual distinction between local and national security providers/initiatives and highlights the importance of the balance-building role that international actors should play between them to achieve security and stability during post-conflict reconstruction. The research focuses on the Libyan experience between 2011 and 2014 as a single case study and relies mainly on United Nations (UN) documents and fieldwork-based reports. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The protracted war in Ukraine, sparked in 2014 and persistently escalating, has significantly impacted the country's healthcare system. It has amplified existing challenges, such as shortages of medical supplies and personnel, outdated infrastructure, and restricted access to healthcare services. Destruction of medical facilities, non-adherence to prevention and treatment standards, lack of medical personnel and supplies, and logistical disruptions are hampering the provision of timely healthcare to the Ukrainian population. This study employed a rapid review methodology to synthesize available research concerning the healthcare crisis in Ukraine, with an explicit focus on the war's sustained impact on the healthcare system. Through this review, a series of critical challenges facing Ukraine's healthcare system were identified. These included the shortage of medical supplies and personnel, insufficient infrastructure, and funding deficits. Additionally, the review brought to light various interventions and strategies aimed at counteracting these challenges. These comprised international aid and support, initiatives enhancing the resilience of the Ukrainian health system, and others. Given the ongoing war, this review highlighted the pressing need for continuous support and investment in the Ukrainian healthcare system. This commitment is essential to guarantee access to quality healthcare for the Ukrainian population during the war and in its aftermath. The findings presented here can serve as a guide for policymakers and healthcare professionals working not only in Ukraine but also in other regions impacted by war. These insights can inform the development and implementation of effective strategies and interventions tailored to such challenging contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the global norm favoring women's participation in peace negotiations, women continue to face constraints in accessing, influencing, and benefitting from peace settlements. This special issue of International Negotiation lays the groundwork for a future research agenda, calling for attention to gender-based analysis; mixed-method research designs, comparative case studies, and attention to "negative" cases; more examination of the relationship between gender-inclusivity at peace talks and the subsequent conditions for women; and policy recommendations for international actors. This introduction to the issue provides a review of the literature on women and peace negotiations, offers an overview of the issue's six articles, and proposes a future research agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What makes property restitution "successful" in postwar Kosovo? How are multiple, overlapping, and conflicting property regimes folded into the process of postwar transition? And what can the implementation of rule of law illuminate about international interventionism? Daily practices at the Kosovo Property Agency (KPA, the administrative, quasi‐judicial institution that the United Nations tasked with postwar property restitution) reveal the runaway effect of the growing bureaucratization of international human rights: institutional success is measured through neoliberal "technologies of accountability," and the project itself becomes the key outcome. This is the result of a paradigm shift in global development that saw the legalization of property rights as a cornerstone of post‐conflict state‐building. A parallel shift towards managerialism and auditability in public sector management has given rise to demands for efficiency and accountability in transnational institutions. Together, these moves, which found fertile ground in Kosovo's reconstruction process and determined the mandate and institutional setup of property restitution, transform rule of law from an idealized public good to a shortsighted, box‐ticking exercise chiefly concerned with the production of measurable returns. These benchmarks sidestep the complicated historical legacies of property relations and entitlements and generate new forms of rights inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper examines a paradigmatic example of post-conflict economic development of Vukovar, Croatia. It represents a pertinent case study for localities encountering analogous challenges, most notably urban areas in Ukraine in the near future. The war that broke out in 1991 brought significant human casualties, population displacement, and extensive destruction of residential, social, and economic infrastructure. The completion of the peaceful reintegration of Vukovar into Croatia’s legal system in 1998 marked the beginning of the socio-economic revitalization process. The research scrutinizes the primary impediments and prospects for Vukovar’s economic growth, probing why substantial investments in reconstructing housing, transport, communal infrastructure, and fiscal incentives for businesses have not paralleled its economic performance. It concentrates on the local business climate and influential factors as potential explanations for this discrepancy. The topic was designed as a case study and was covered by document analysis, survey method, and semi-structured interviews. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study collates perspectives from entrepreneurs and business support institutions. The results confirmed that reconstruction of housing and social infrastructure is necessary, but more conditions are needed for successful post-conflict economic development, and that the business climate in lagging local units highly depends on state- and locally designed business-support measures.

Planning and organizing the post-conflict reconstruction of damaged areas is a fundamental challenge that the concerned authorities will face when deciding to begin reconstruction. This challenge lies in the need to determine how to properly plan and organize the process, and to determine the basis on which the process should be designed in order to ensure rapid reconstruction and rapid resettlement of refugees by reconstructing damaged housing stock. In this paper, we found that by adopting the concept of reconstruction priority and reconstruction sequence, we obtained a group of alternatives for planning and organizing the reconstruction process. After this, irrational alternatives were excluded, and the remaining ones were compared to choose the one that gives the shortest duration and, at the same time, less spread in the commissioning of the housing stock. The correlation between the main parameters of these alternatives was then examined and it was concluded that, by determining the approximate output per worker during reconstruction, it is possible to determine the values of other parameters that should be taken into account when designing reconstruction schedules for damaged areas in Syria.

This study analyzes the institutional variation across domestic legal systems, with a focus on common law system's adherence to precedent and reduced recourse to judicial deference, as well as on the degree of independence afforded to courts. These institutional qualities of judiciaries provide the opportunity for courts to play a more active role in the implementation of post-conflict justice, increasing uncertainty for other policymakers concerning the ultimate contours of post-conflict justice processes. To reduce such uncertainty, policymakers ensconced in these types of institutional contexts will be less likely to implement post-conflict justice. Using data from the Post-Conflict Justice dataset, we find that states with common law systems are less likely to pursue and implement post-conflict justice compared to states with civil or Islamic law systems. Moreover, independent courts will be less likely to pursue mixed or restorative forms post-conflict justice, though the impact of judicial independence is weak overall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise in recognition of children’s agency—that is, their status as inalienable right-bearing actors—has been a welcome change in international organizations, albeit often through a set of media activities that depict children variously as victims or beneficiaries of moral leadership. Typically, a handful of children/youth affected directly by a particular tragedy become the recognizable faces of identified human rights abuses. This research explores media representation of children born of war in Bosnia, “invisible” children who only recently were legally categorized as victims of war. As children who were born of wartime rape, the lives of select young activists have been documented through movies and media interviews since their childhood. This paper explores the costs of such disclosure and performativity, and sacrifices that young activists make to expose their “truth” to gain recognition of their attendant rights. It ultimately highlights the tension between the search for the rights of affected children and the dilemmas inherent in the actions of the few youth activists who publicly embrace the conditions of their birth to bring voice to others.

Damaged infrastructure and society's sense of ownership has to be rebuilt simultaneously during the aftermath of civil conflicts. Otherwise, heritage can become a barrier rather than an aid to integrated recovery. Syrian heritage is protected and monitored by the Antiquities Law; however, this law has not been updated since 1999. Thus, it is unable to deal appropriately with the post-war situation. When international actors and funders started reconstructing heritage sites in 2016, they could not rely on a central governmental heritage strategy, so many developed their strategies and agendas. The fragility of Syrian law compared to the international agendas resulted in various treatments and actions. While some projects have achieved a high quality of protection, others have not considered integration within recovery plans. This led to a research gap on the best ways to carry out heritage protection activities in Syria. This paper fills this gap in knowledge by describing the policy environment in Syria regarding the most frequently applied treatment and action methods while differentiating the treatment models and patterns that align modern purposes with authenticity. The results include a comparative classification strategy showcasing the Syrian conservation practice, highlighting the shared ideals, aims, and parameters. The developed assessment method and classification system can be applied to objectively determine the best ways to deal with any new heritage project in the Syrian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relationship between the responsibility to rebuild and post-intervention reconstruction. It aims to determine whether the current interpretation of the responsibility to rebuild is the appropriate framework for attaining the goals of post-intervention reconstruction. The article argues that, despite the urgent need for a post-intervention strategy in the aftermath of humanitarian interventions, the responsibility to rebuild, as it is currently being framed, can end up undermining the goals of post-conflict reconstruction by dissuading states from participating in atrocity prevention, inadvertently increasing atrocity crimes and delegitimizing military humanitarian interventions. The analysis identifies the need for the responsibility to rebuild to incorporate an increased respect for post bellum proportionality and self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to a combination of historical, socioeconomic, political and environmental factors, Ethiopia is unfortunately prone to internal conflicts, such as the one which re-erupted in April 2018 between the Gedeo and Guji ethnic groups in southern Ethiopia. One of the effects of this conflict was that education was severely disrupted in the Gedeo and West Guji zones. Many schools were damaged or looted, and thus no longer provided safe learning environments, while others were repurposed as temporary shelters for internally displaced people. The conflict died down again in July 2018, and the authors of this article conducted their post-conflict case study research between April and June 2019. They investigated six adversely affected schools and their surrounding communities in the Gedeo and West Guji zones. Based on their research, they explore community perceptions of post-conflict reconstruction of education, focusing on early activities such as prioritising education, restoring safety and security, and supplying resources. They examine the reconstruction of education in the study area using primary data gathered from parents, teachers, administrators and humanitarian agencies through qualitative interviews. This study is influenced by four themes derived from the basic premises of complexity theory: emergence, self-organisation, non-linearity and connectedness. Throughout the authors' analysis, they make use of the data collected by focus group discussions, interviews and field observations, complemented by secondary data. Despite numerous stakeholders' efforts to provide humanitarian aid, this study found that post-conflict reconstruction of education is poor and based on short-term normalisation rather than aiming for long-term sustainable safe learning environments for children and youth in the study areas. At the end of their sobering analysis, the authors stress the importance of providing children and youth with a long-term, sustainable and healthy learning environment using targeted strategies and policy options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural resources are often recognised as a driver of conflict and have been found to have played a role in up to 40% of all intrastate conflicts. Natural resource-related conflicts are commonly argued to arise in situations of the scarcity of livelihood resources; abundance of high-value extractable resources; resource dependence; grievances related to resource extraction; and the resource curse – where wealth may harm a state's prospects for development. Minerals such as tin, tungsten, tantalum, gold, and diamonds have been explicitly linked with conflict under the nomenclature of 'conflict minerals' and 'blood diamonds.' In this paper, we introduce an under-recognised association between minerals, conflict and peace, whereby minerals extraction instead provides a refuge for internally displaced peoples (IDPs) in the aftermath of conflict. Whereas high-value export minerals may be a target of control for conflict actors, we present evidence that low-price domestically consumed minerals, so-called Development Minerals, such as crushed stone, sand, limestone and gravel, provide a livelihood opportunity for IDPs during the post-conflict recovery. The demand for construction materials is high during the (re)construction phase after conflicts (war) and a key ingredient in infrastructure such as roads, houses, schools, and health facilities. The paper presents two descriptive case studies based on fieldwork conducted in Northern Uganda and Far North Cameroon. In both cases, the quarry workers (mostly ex-war victims) formed cooperatives to extract construction materials used for post-war reconstruction and provided livelihood to the workers. The findings add to our understanding of the relationships between natural resources, conflict and peace and are part of the growing body of research on the role of Development Minerals in development. • Natural resources are often recognised as a driver of conflict. • Development minerals extraction instead provides a refuge for internally displaced peoples (IDPs) in the aftermath of conflict. • Development Minerals, such as crushed stone, sand, limestone, and gravel, provide a livelihood opportunity for IDPs during the post-conflict recovery. • Development Minerals provide three types of 'refuge': refuge from physical danger, refuge from poverty, and refuge from the risk of isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The contemporary political history of Algeria continues to draw attention of both Russian and foreign IR scholars. However, as a rule, they have focused primarily on internal political trends in Algeria in recent years or on the process of post-conflict reconstruction started in the country at the turn of the century. In contrast, the author stresses that in order to provide the correct understanding of dynamics of political processes in Algeria all these issues should not be viewed in isolation from each other. This paper examines the role of traumatic post-conflict experience in shaping modern Algerian political culture.The author outlines four periods in the contemporary history of Algeria, each of them corresponding to different stages in post-conflict reconstruction of the country. In the first section the author examines initial steps taken by the Algerian government at the end of 1990s and in the mid-2000s in order to stop violence and re-establish the normal functioning of the authorities. The author emphasizes that the Algerian government combined measures directed at establishing a dialogue with the opposition and massive use of military force against radical Islamists. During the second stage of post-conflict reconstruction (the second half of the 2000s), the government had tried to consolidate the society while the third stage, which coincided with the Arab Awakening, was marked by governmental efforts to prevent a possible revolutionary outburst and new destabilization of political system. Finally, mass protests in Algeria in 2019 marked the beginning of the fourth stage of the process during which the national elites have made every effort to guarantee the maintenance of the constitutional order even in case of a rapid change of political regime. The author points out that a living memory of the civil conflict has played an important part in consolidating the Algerian society. On the one hand, this memory helped to keep protests on a peaceful, non-violent track. On the other hand, it pushed the elites towards a more flexible policy and search for a compromise with the opposition. One can notice that despite constant evolution of political situation in the country the legacy of the conflict has always had a considerable and continuous impact on the political process. This issue, even if it is not directly put on the agenda, is still guiding behavioral strategies of both the civil society and the elites.

In the present paper the author continues the study of the challenges faced by Colombia in its struggle to overcome the internal armed conflict, as well as the role of the United States in this process. By 2010 the confrontation between the government forces and the armed rebels had reached a breaking point opening the way to a successful conclusion of the Government of Colombia–FARC peace negotiations and the beginning of the country’s post-conflict reconstruction. The paper thoroughly examines the negotiations process, identifies the key disputed issues and the measures outlined for their resolution, including mechanisms of transitional justice, agrarian reform, programmes for demobilization and reintegration of the former combatants. The results of these talks laid the foundation for the historic Peace Accord of September 26, 2016. However, against all hopes and expectations, the agreement failed to bring an end to the long-standing internal conflict in Colombia. The failure of the national referendum, which was designed to approve the agreement, not only revealed deep divisions in the society, but forced the government to make serious concessions to the opponents of the negotiations with FARC. The author emphasizes the growing erosion of the hard-won consensus in the Colombian society, accompanied by the consolidation of the right-wing conservative camp. In this context the role of external sponsors of the peaceful agreement in general and the United States in particular becomes crucial. The paper presents a comparative analysis of approaches to providing aid to Colombia demonstrated by the administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump. The author concludes that despite substantial differences, for both administrations the ultimate objective was national security of the United States. That was clearly demonstrated by the fact that the US foreign aid to Colombia focused primarily on the fight against the illegal production of and trafficking in drugs, while the issues of peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction received less attention. Assessing Colombia’s experience in overcoming the internal conflict and the role of the United States in that process, the author concludes that although prioritization of security issues may have a considerable organizing potential, at the same time it may be detrimental to the process of post-conflict reconstruction in general.

The all-inclusive interparty negotiations on a national basis aimed at ending an internal conflict, overcoming its consequences and securing conditions for a peaceful development of the society are not by themselves a new phenomenon. At the same time this format, generally referred to as a ‘national dialogue’, has recently gained a new impetus, particularly in the Asian and African countries, affected by the Arab Awakening. Despite this fact the very definition of a ‘national dialogue’ remains vague, both scholars and policy practitioners still lack an adequate and precise understanding of its aims, mechanisms and implications. In order to provide a better understanding of the concept of a ‘national dialogue’, the author summarizes the most widely accepted definitions and considers them by reference to a concrete country case. As such, the author examines the national dialogue initiated by Bahrain’s authorities in the face of the Arab Awakening. The author concludes that in its most general sense the national dialogue implies an attempt to unify the efforts of all conflicting parties and actors (both state and non-state) to promote a national consensus on the key issues of reconciliation. In that context both the key task of and the major challenge to the national dialogue is to ensure maximal inclusiveness. In order to do so a few methodological, as well as purely practical questions need to be addressed: interests of what political forces (groups) must be considered, who is to elaborate the criteria and methods of selecting actual participants of the negotiations, how to assess their real representativeness and legitimacy and so on. It is from this perspective that the paper assesses Bahrain’s experience in organizing the national dialogue. The paper describes in detail a preparatory process for negotiations, their key participants, and their progress. The author concludes that though experts traditionally refer to Bahrain’s national dialogue as, at best, unsuccessful, its more detailed examination allows to reevaluate some of its aspects. The modest success of negotiations is explained by both subjective (the position of the ruling elites and their political opponents) and objective factors (a highly polarized and conflictual nature of the society). Nevertheless, the dialogue managed to reduce the level of political tension in the country and this experience could prove very useful.

Political instability in the Middle East and North Africa in the early 2010s, accompanied by an escalation of the terrorist threat and uncontrolled migration, caused serious concern in the European Union about the situation in the Arab world. As a consequence, the EU has noticeably increased assistance to Iraq, providing Baghdad with substantial support in the fight against the Islamic State, preventing the humanitarian crisis, stabilizing the situation and promoting post-conflict reconstruction. However, these efforts have not yet been explored in depth by the Russian experts, who traditionally focus on the EU relations with the Southern Mediterranean countries.The author aims to reveal the logic behind the evolution of the European Union’s policy towards Iraq since 2014, as well as its impact on the EU assistance programmes to this country. The paper consists of three sections: the first one outlines the evolution of the EU strategic priorities in Iraq during 2014–2019, the second covers the major assistance programmes implemented by the European Union, both bilaterally and multilaterally, in Iraq; the third examines the EU reaction to the rising tensions in Iraq at the turn of 2019–2020.The author concludes that the EU’s growing interest in Iraq in recent years stems not only from concerns about transformation of this country into a source of cross-border challenges and threats, but also from the conviction of the EU officials that Iraq might potentially become the cornerstone of a new regional security architecture. On the basis of these considerations, the EU provides a comprehensive support to Iraq, including both humanitarian aid and development assistance aimed primarily at eliminating the fundamental causes of instability and radicalization. At the same time while demonstrating its commitment to develop cooperation with both government agencies and non-governmental organizations, the EU clearly prefers to assist Iraq through international organizations, rather than directly. Although the EU’s ability to influence Baghdad remains limited, compared to that of the US and regional actors, the European Union is perceived in Iraq as a neutral player and this might facilitate the achievement of its policy objectives. However, taking into account such factors as a high level of corruption in Iraq, substantial resources for reconstruction already available for the country, as well as Brussels’ focus on Syria, the scope of the EU’s further involvement in Iraq remains unclear.

In the 2010s amid the destabilization of the region and the outbreak of new armed conflicts the influence of the Republic of Turkey in the Arab world has significantly increased. The proclamation of the Islamic State in the neighbouring countries in the sphere of Turkey’s interest — Syria and Iraq — became a kind of watershed. And whereas Ankara’s strategy in Syria has received substantial attention of researchers, its policy towards Iraq which included both military and non-military measures remains understudied. The paper aims to uncover the logic behind Turkey’s assistance to Iraq to counter territorial expansion of the Islamic State and to remedy the negative impact of its presence. The paper is divided into two sections. The first section focuses on the military-political interaction between the Republic of Turkey and Iraq after 2014. The second examines specifics of the Turkish non-military assistance to its neighbour. The author stresses that Ankara’s military support to Baghdad in the fight against ‘ISIS’ included expansion of the Turkish troops’ presence in Iraq and escalation of tensions with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. That has, in turn, led to the growing tension between Turkey and Iraq. As for the civilian assistance, Turkey has focused on its humanitarian dimension implementing relatively small projects — mainly in the areas populated by the Iraqi Turkomans. After declaring victory over the Islamic State, Ankara did not rush to increase the level of its grant assistance that remained relatively low. At the same time Turkey sought to create, particularly through tied loans, advantageous conditions to attract Turkish construction companies to the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure in Iraq. Thus, the paper shows that during this internationalized internal conflict, as well as after its formal end, Turkey has tended to prioritize its national interests, aiming to strengthen its strategic and economic presence in the neighbouring country through a combination of military and non-military measures. However, a recent destabilization of the situation in Iraq poses new challenges to the Ankara’s strategy towards Iraq and highlights the need for further monitoring of the development of Turkish-Iraqi relations.

Post-conflict reconstruction (PCR) has come away from a dynamic reading of the role of the state within contemporary reflections on peacebuilding. This article introduces the framework of developmental PCR that draws on the developmental state paradigm to offer a lens for understanding the role of the state and its complex interlinkages with other milieus such as the market in PCR. Developmental PCR is premised on three tenets: interdependence between economic development and security; the importance of state–market interdependencies within industrial development, as reconstruction; and how characterisations of statehood interact with reconstruction. The deployment of developmental PCR in the case study of the Nigerian Civil War illuminates certain realities such as the significance of economic nationalism to security, complex interdependencies across the state and market that underpinned key elements of industrial policy during reconstruction, and the nuances in the characterisation of the Nigerian state as strong on account of military regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]