Issue #0

Post-conflict reconstruction

the role of the World Bank.

Plot

The nature, scale, and proliferation of conflicts--particularly interstate conflicts--in this post-cold war era are undermining development in a wide range of countries, threatening national and regional stability in some areas and diverting international attention and scarce resources from pressing development problems. In recent years operations in countries emerging from conflict have become a significant proportion of the Bank ' s portfolio. The costs of reconstruction can be large, requiring the international community to act in concert. The Bank needs to consolidate its learning and more clearly define its evolving role to ensure that its comparative advantage is put to its best use, and that its operations realize the potentially high returns to reconstruction activities. This report first examines the impact of conflicts on international development efforts. Then it briefly discusses the factors that can precede, sustain, or re-ignite conflict. Subsequent sections deal with the need to integrate the issue of conflict prevention into the overall development paradigm, the challenges of post-conflict reconstruction, and the roles of various players that are part of the international response. It then sums up Bank experience to date and reviews its emerging role in post-conflict reconstruction, and its strengths and weaknesses in fulfilling this role. Finally, it makes recommendations to improve Bank responsiveness to the realities of post-conflict situations.