April 23: Int'l Arena - The Players and the Processes

Conflict. Chap 21: Peace Building

This chapter talked about the role of third parties in peace-building operations in the international arena. The authors argue that the most important and immediate task in post-conflict peace-building is managing short-term relations and preventing a renewal of violence. In order to work toward a peaceful society and conflict resolution, it is important to work toward social reconstruction. Third parties can play a major role in the realms of human rights protection and advocation, development, and physical protection of citizens. While it is helpful and sometimes necessary for third parties to assist in post-conflict societies, it can be dangerous for the future autonomy of the nation itself. When outside nations feed money and resources into a state to help bring about and/or maintain peace, the state can become dependent on the foreign aid. Because of this, it is important for third parties to focus efforts on the restructuring of the society so that it can become self-sustaining. A state that becomes dependent risks falling back into conflict or functioning at the will of other nations.
I didn't think this chapter gave a lot of new information, but it reinforced different ideas that we have learned in the course so far. I liked that the authors stressed the idea that third parties can be helpful and harmful in the ultimate goal of building a restructured peaceful nation in conflict resolution. It seems like a lot of nations are willing to give monetary support to rebuilding nations, but they are much more resistant when it comes to putting in the time and effort necessary for development projects. Do nations use the opportunity to help a nation rebuild in order to make that nation dependent on them? This could be a good short-term strategy, but overall, I think it would be a harmful one. A close connection such as this could drag the supporting nation into unfavorable situations in the future, especially in a world where the international community watches every nation's move very closely.