Building Post-War Capacity: Where to Start?

Despite the general recognition by the UN and other international institutions that post-war reconstruction is essentially a development process requiring long-term commitment and investment in building national capacity, the actual response on the ground is still dominated by a culture of ‘relief’ and short-term perspectives. Building the capacity of national institutions of government and civil society is a declared aim but prevailing practice contradicts it. The UN and in particular its development agency, UNDP, which might be expected to take the lead in promoting the development approach, seems unsure of its role in post-conflict contexts where state institutions are no longer fully functional and civil society lacks organisational structure and experience.