Building bridges of peace : linking peacebuilding & infrastructure development in post-conflict zones

Abstract

This paper assesses the importance of infrastructure development as a factor in successful peacebuilding and vice versa in post-conflict zones. By acknowledging the changing nature of war, it recognizes the need for changing methods of post-conflict intervention and describes how linking the different sectors of development and peacebuilding can lead to more sustainable and effective results. Successful methods of integration, implementation, and evaluation of the two practices are presented as well as a case study on development projects in Kosovo in order to demonstrate the ways in which peacebuilding and development projects can be integrated to varying degrees of success. Examination suggests that while there are obvious theoretical linkages between peacebuilding and development and some successful projects utilizing the two concepts, further integration and evaluation of such practices are needed in order to improve reconstruction and reconciliation in post-conflict zones.