The State of Peacebuilding in Africa: Lessons Learned for Policymakers and Practitioners

Peacebuilding has been near the top of the global agenda for a quarter of a century. Funding for peacebuilding activities has grown year after year, decision makers and practitioners can access a vast literature on peacebuilding policy and experiences, and the reasons why societies relapse into conflict are well known. Despite this, the challenge of how to rebuild societies following conflict has not become easier.

The State of Peacebuilding in Africa: Lessons Learned for Policymakers and Practitioners analyzes the last 30 years of peacebuilding in Africa and brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to analyze critically the evolution and current state of peacebuilding in Africa. The book features key lessons learned, best practices, and creative solutions that address varying dimensions of peacebuilding, including conflict prevention, mediation, management, and post-conflict reconstruction. In addition to six country and regional case studies on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique, and the Sahel/Mali complement the analysis. Each chapter concludes with a set of key recommendations to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. 

The book is available via Open Access.

The State of Peacebuilding in Africawas born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP). The SVNP is a continent-wide network of African policy, research and academic organizations that works with the Wilson Center’s Africa Program to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. Established in 2011 and supported by the generous financial support of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the project provides avenues for African researchers and practitioners to engage with and exchange analyses and perspectives with U.S., African, and international policymakers in order to develop the most appropriate, cohesive, and inclusive policy frameworks and approaches to achieving sustainable peace in Africa.

1. Introduction
2. Learning Lessons from Peace Operations in Africa
3. The Economics of Peacebuilding: International Organizations for Dealing with Victor and Vanquished
4. Religion and Peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa
5. Field Reflections on Post-Conflict Reconstruction: The Social Imperatives of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration
6. United Nations Peacekeeping, Human Rights, and the Protection of Civilians
7. Sustaining the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda: The Role of UN Peacekeeping in Africa
8. Local Peace Committees and Grassroots Peacebuilding in Africa
9. Three Decades of Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration of Ex-Combatants in Africa: Lessons Learned and Challenges Ahead
10. The Changing Nature of Elections in Africa: Impact on Peacebuilding
11. Contributions of Early Warning to the African Peace and Security Architecture: The Experience of the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP)
12. The African Union in Peacebuilding in Africa
13. Trends in SADC Mediation and Long-Term Conflict Transformation
14. The International Criminal Court’s Impact on Peacebuilding in Africa
15. Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding: Incompatible or Complementary?
16. Peace Management and Conflict Resolution: A Practitioner’s Perspective
17. Peacebuilding as State Building? Lessons from the Democratic Republic of the Congo
18. Violence, Peacebuilding, and Elite Bargains in Mozambique Since Independence
19. The Dog That Did Not Bark: Why Has Sierra Leone Not Returned to War After Peacekeepers Left?
20. Lessons in Failure: Peacebuilding in Sudan/South Sudan
21. Such a Long Journey: Peacebuilding After Genocide in Rwanda
22. Crisis and Transition in the Sahel
23. Conclusion