Post-Conflict Peacebuilding

Completed in December 2009

The rapid move of post-conflict peacebuilding towards the top of the international political agenda has been accompanied by added scrutiny, as the international community seeks to meet the multi-dimensional challenges of building a just and sustainable peace in societies ravaged by war.

Beyond the strictly operational dimension, there is considerable ambiguity in the concepts and terminology used to discuss post-conflict peacebuilding. This tends to undermine efforts to agree on common understandings of how peace can be most effectively 'built', thereby impeding swift, coherent action.

This research project, supervised by the Geneva Academy in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Library of the United Nations Office at Geneva, European Institute of the University of Geneva, School of Translation and Interpretation of the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, therefore aimed to clarify the multiple facets of post-conflict peacebuilding.

Research Team

Coordinated by Professor Vincent Chetail, it brought together 34 experts of worldwide reputation from various disciplines.

OUTPUT

The project’s findings resulted in the publication of an instructive and practical lexicon, Post-Conflict Peacebuilding (Oxford University Press, 2009), intended for a broad audience, including international and national civil servants, diplomats, practitioners, journalists, academics, researchers, students and any person concerned by post-conflict peacebuilding.

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