How can the international community help to rebuild state-society relations in post-conflict situations? This study from the World Bank argues that current donor approaches to statebuilding are too narrowly focused and too fragmented to fully address the ‘invisible’ yet critical processes of state-society relations. It recommends the adoption of a governance framework based on the concept of the public sphere in order to foster positive collaboration and engagement within post-conflict societies.
Post-conflict environments pose unique governance challenges. Current statebuilding practice places great emphasis on restoring public sector capacity and service delivery, with additional resources set aside for bolstering civil society and media organisations. Little attention, however, is paid to the residual societal and perceptual consequences of conflict, such as the lack of civic trust, societal fragmentation, and exclusion.
Moreover, the compartmentalised approach to statebuilding in which different areas of assistance are implemented by different teams fails to recognise the processes that serve as the connective tissue linking the state and society together. These challenges are less visible than the destruction of infrastructure and assets, but ignoring them renders statebuilding strategies incomplete and ineffective. A review of post-conflict interventions offers the following findings:
- Capturing the connective processes requires a new framework, one based on the public sphere.
- Deterioration of governance structures in post-conflict and fragile states cause fragmentation of the public sphere, resulting in public policy decisions guided by narrow political and economic interests.
- Restoring the public sphere lies at the heart of accountable and participatory governance and addressing public expectations and trust in post-conflict settings.
The international community has a big role to play in post-conflict settings, but its interventions must well-planned and strategic. Building public trust and inclusive public participation present challenges particularly where citizen-state relations carry a negative legacy, and when legal and social frameworks, as well as mind-sets, need to be changed with limited resources. As each country faces particular challenges related to its history and the nature of its conflict, there is no ‘one for all’ approach; each public sphere strategy should be tailored to the specific context. Yet, some recommendations are universally applicable:
- Think systematically. Ensure cross-sector planning and donor coordination to create synergies and to capture public sphere dynamics.
- In building state institutions pay particular attention to the creation of entry points for public participation and to the listening capacity of both central and local structures.
- Recognise that media development and communication capacity within government go hand-in-hand, as one outpacing the other carries the risk of manipulation or alienation.
- Promote inclusive national civil society networks and internal, downward accountability within the networks, and support civic education programmes that promote public understanding about freedom of information.
- Develop legislative frameworks and cultivate political will and resources: engage in strategic advocacy.
- Ensure donor behaviour is inclusive and transparent.
