In Focus: Reconstruction
The "reconstruction" of the status-quo-ante that in the first place led to conflict is futile and counterproductive. The endless string of “donor conferences” for the region is witness to that. Participants in past consultations drew upon lessons from post-war reconstruction in Japan and Finland as they did not merely rebuild what was destroyed but rather focused on the construction of their production base. In Finland, integration of alienated trade unions was achieved by making them stakeholders in the new industries which were partly financed by social security funds. In Japan, the moral hazard of the "Dodge Line"4 of foreign exchange allocations was overcome to rebuild a modern industrial base and infrastructure.
In this sense, post-war reconstruction in WANA can spearhead the transformation of affected communities based on good governance, green industry and infrastructure, socially cohesive policies and an understanding of how to enhance carrying capacity.
At the recent United Nations donors conference (April 2010) for the reconstruction of Haiti, where the international community pledged a total of $9.9bn, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that reconstruction efforts should meet the long-term development priorities of Haiti and not just rebuild the damage caused by the earthquake. This contrasts with the experience of WANA where donors tend to separate reconstruction from development, focusing on the rebuilding of destroyed infrastructure rather than on a comprehensive long-term development strategy. As U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reiterated in his opening remarks at the International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti: "Our goal is not just to rebuild. It is to build back better. It is a plan to create a new Haiti."
In this sense, post-war reconstruction in WANA can spearhead the transformation of affected communities based on good governance, green industry and infrastructure, socially cohesive policies and an understanding of how to enhance carrying capacity.
At the recent United Nations donors conference (April 2010) for the reconstruction of Haiti, where the international community pledged a total of $9.9bn, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that reconstruction efforts should meet the long-term development priorities of Haiti and not just rebuild the damage caused by the earthquake. This contrasts with the experience of WANA where donors tend to separate reconstruction from development, focusing on the rebuilding of destroyed infrastructure rather than on a comprehensive long-term development strategy. As U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon reiterated in his opening remarks at the International Donors' Conference Towards a New Future for Haiti: "Our goal is not just to rebuild. It is to build back better. It is a plan to create a new Haiti."
1 Strategic Foresight Group. Cost of Conflict in the Middle East (2009)
2 Agnew, John. “Mapping Political Power Beyond State Boundaries”. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol.28, No. 3, 1999. For further reading: John Agnew, Globalization and Sovereignty. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (2009)
3 WANA Led Reconstruction & Recovery Expert Consultation Report. WANA Forum (October 2009). www.wanaforum.org
4 The Dodge Line, announced in 1949, was a financial and monetary policy provided for Japan to gain economic independence after World War II.
2 Agnew, John. “Mapping Political Power Beyond State Boundaries”. Millennium: Journal of International Studies, Vol.28, No. 3, 1999. For further reading: John Agnew, Globalization and Sovereignty. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. (2009)
3 WANA Led Reconstruction & Recovery Expert Consultation Report. WANA Forum (October 2009). www.wanaforum.org
4 The Dodge Line, announced in 1949, was a financial and monetary policy provided for Japan to gain economic independence after World War II.
Conflict has cost the region around $12 trillion in missed economic growth and development over the last two decades, according to the Cost of Conflict in the Middle East 2009 report by the Strategic Foresight Group . WANA-led approaches to reconstruction and recovery have the potential to create a supranational mechanism for addressing conflict and its aftermath in the context of territory, identity and movement (TIM).2
The primary objective of the Reconstruction and Recovery Expert Consultation in October 20093 was to extract key lessons from previous experiences in the region and beyond in order to identify barriers to and opportunities for innovative, WANA-led approaches to reconstruction, integrating multidimensional thinking and planning into reconstruction strategies. The three pivotal areas of focus were (i) social and economic reconstruction and development, (ii) green reconstruction and (iii) effective donorship and accountability. Lessons revolved around the importance of state sovereignty, ownership of reconstruction efforts, local participation, capacity building and regional cooperation.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, spoke of "looking a little bit more to the East and a little bit less to the West" and called for developing "home-grown" solutions to the region’s problems. "Although some of us are contributing significantly to the work of managing conflict and reconstruction, the contribution of our region as a whole is not sufficient and not visible enough," he said.
Placing the people and capacities of the WANA region at the centre of efforts to prevent conflict and rebuild war-torn societies has the potential to transform some of the deep and inter-connected challenges facing WANA and provides an opportunity for building a new reality.
The primary objective of the Reconstruction and Recovery Expert Consultation in October 20093 was to extract key lessons from previous experiences in the region and beyond in order to identify barriers to and opportunities for innovative, WANA-led approaches to reconstruction, integrating multidimensional thinking and planning into reconstruction strategies. The three pivotal areas of focus were (i) social and economic reconstruction and development, (ii) green reconstruction and (iii) effective donorship and accountability. Lessons revolved around the importance of state sovereignty, ownership of reconstruction efforts, local participation, capacity building and regional cooperation.
In his opening remarks, Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi, former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, spoke of "looking a little bit more to the East and a little bit less to the West" and called for developing "home-grown" solutions to the region’s problems. "Although some of us are contributing significantly to the work of managing conflict and reconstruction, the contribution of our region as a whole is not sufficient and not visible enough," he said.
Placing the people and capacities of the WANA region at the centre of efforts to prevent conflict and rebuild war-torn societies has the potential to transform some of the deep and inter-connected challenges facing WANA and provides an opportunity for building a new reality.