 | ISBN: 978-1-55587-770-5 $9.95 | |
| 1998/107 pages A project of the International Peace Institute | ||
A basket of nonmilitary activities designed to address some of the primary causes of violence—weak institutions, underdevelopment, poverty—have come to be referred to as postconflict peacebuilding in the Haitian context. How do these activities differ from the numerous development schemes launched from the mid-1960s onward? Is peacebuilding essentially about successful development? Kumar engages the recent heated debate about these issues.
Haitians have struggled among themselves to define the nature, structure, and power base of a state that can best provide for its constituents—and their conception frequently is at odds with the one promoted by the international community. Building a lasting peace, Kumar emphasizes, will be possible only if Haitians themselves support any given understanding of what a successful polity and economy should look like, and if they participate in bringing it about. He concludes with recommendations aimed at encouraging that participation.