Building States to Build Peace

Book excerpt: There is increasing consensus among scholars and policy analysts that successful peacebuilding can occur only in the context of capable state institutions. But how can legitimate and sustainable states best be established in the aftermath of civil wars? And what role should international actors play in supporting the vital process? Addressing these questions, this state-of-the-art volume explores the core challenges involved in institutionalizing postconflict states. The combination of thematic chapters and in-depth case studies covers the full range of the most vexing and diverse problems confronting domestic and international actors seeking to build states while building peace.Charles T. Call is assistant professor of international relations at American University. Editor of Constructing Justice and Security After War, he has conducted field research on postconflict issues in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Central America, Haiti, Kosovo, and West Africa.Contents: Ending Wars, Building States?C.T. Call. Context. The Politics of Security in State Building?B. Rubin. Peacebuilding and Public Finance?C. Lockhart and M. Carnahan. Postconflict Economic Policy?P. Collier. Participation and State Legitimation?K. Papagianni. Justice and the Rule of Law?E. Jensen. The Limits of Bottom-Up State Building?W. Reno. Cross-Cutting Challenges?S. Cliffe and N. Manning. Cases. Somalia?K. Menkhaus. Palestine?R. Brynen. Bosnia?M. Cox. East Timor?E. Bowles and T. Hohe. Afghanistan?J. Sherman. Liberia?M. McGovern. Conclusion. State Building, War, and Peace?C.T. Call.