Obstacles to Peacebuilding

Combining the insights of a seasoned practitioner with the academic rigor of a meticulous policy and risk analyst, del Castillo discusses the major obstacles to peacebuilding that need to be removed before war-torn countries can move towards peace, stability, and prosperity. As a new UN Secretary-General assumes leadership in 2017, a top priority must be to address the bleak peacebuilding record where over half of the countries under UN watch relapse back into conflict within a decade.

While policy debate and the academic literature have focused on the security, political, and social aspects of the war-to-peace transition, this book focuses on "the economic transition"—that is, "economic reconstruction" or "the political economy of peace"—which the author argues is the much-neglected aspect of peacebuilding. The book argues that rebuilding war-torn states effectively has acquired a new sense of urgency since extremist groups increasingly recruit people by providing jobs and services to those deprived of them due to government and economic failures.

Based on past lessons and best practices of the last quarter of a century, the author makes recommendations to move forward and improve the record. It will be of great use to students and scholars of peacebuilding, as well as those studying humanitarian aid, development, and international organizations.

Graciana del Castillo is senior fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, a member of several boards and advisory boards, a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a co-founding partner of the Macroeconomics Advisory Group, an international consultancy firm that advises governments, international organizations, and the private sector.

Alvaro de Soto (author of the Prologue) is senior fellow at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies and teaches conflict resolution at Sciences Po in Paris. Ambassador de Soto is an associate fellow at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy; a member of the Global Leadership Foundation and a former Under-Secretary General at the United Nations.