Local Peacebuilding in a Victor’s Peace. Why Local Peace Fails Without National Reconciliation

Abstract

The literature on peacebuilding has increasingly emphasized the importance of the local level -a trend that has been called the local turn. For some researchers, the local turn can improve international peacebuilding interventions, while for others it is an agenda to promote an emancipatory and legitimate peace. There is however mixed evidence backing the argument that addressing local level issues in peacebuilding can make a substantial difference. The local turn reposes on assumptions that appear particularly problematic in an environment characterised by the lack of an elite-level pact, such as a conflict terminated in a military victory. Looking at the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire, which terminated in 2011 with the defeat of former president Laurent Gbagbo, this paper highlights how the lack of elite level reconciliation compromises the effectiveness of actions aiming to promote local 'social cohesion'. It also shows how the discourse and practices of the local turn can be appropriated by semi-authoritarian post-conflict governments in order to depoliticize the peacebuilding process. It concludes that the popularity of the 'local turn' among peacebuilders might be due more to the 2 opportunity that it offers to eschew delicate national-level political issues, than to its supposed emancipatory potential.

Land reform and peacebuilding in Côte d'Ivoire: Navigating the minefield

“…This strategic approach is consistent with some of the literature on peacebuilding, which warns that a focus on the root causes of conflict may not improve outcomes and could even be counterproductive (Woodward, 2007). It also echoes critiques against the “local turn” in peacebuilding to the detriment of addressing more pressing national‐level issues (Piccolino, 2019).…”

“…Writing about the perils of privileging this approach for successfully ending conflict, Woodward (2007, p. 164) suggests there are two other aspects more important than “root causes,” notably addressing changes wrought by the war itself, as well as the political arrangements that can reduce extreme uncertainty over power. In a national political context characterized by deep political and military divides, a focus on more local level dynamics (i.e., land tensions) may have undermined the ability of peacebuilders to manage the most pressing and politically sensitive national issues (Piccolino, 2019).…”

“…Such concerns materialized in the 2020 presidential elections when Ouattara reneged on his earlier commitment to not stand for reelection, resulting in a further deepening of political divides and a return to open conflict (Al Jazeera, 2020;BBC News, 2020). As recent political developments make clear, in the absence of conflict resolution and reconciliation at the national level between the country's political elites, local level peacebuilding initiatives can only go so far in forging peace (Piccolino, 2017(Piccolino, , 2019. In short, land reform will not prove to be a silver bullet for resolving Côte d'Ivoire's protracted political troubles.…”

“…See Allouche and Padonou (2017), Lyngaas (2017), and Schiel and Faulkner (2017). On the ongoing concerns surrounding the threat of national-level cleavages to peacebuilding and statebuilding, see Piccolino (2018Piccolino ( , 2019. 3 The term 'autochthony' refers to those who literally emerged directly from the soil itself.…”

Mediating anti-political peace in Abidjan: Radio, place and power

“…Likewise, the National Programme for Social Cohesion (PNCS), the Ivoirian state's funding arm for peace projects and reparations, primarily targeted small-scale initiatives. Giulia Piccolino (2019) further notes that the spatialisation of peace in Côte d'Ivoire can be tied to a "local turn" in the field of international peace-building. The most prominent international funders in Abidjan at the time of my fieldwork all privileged explicitly local projects.…”