Arms and Reconstruction in Post-Conflict Societies

Abstract

Abstract Five case studies of international involvement in demilitarization/reconstruction processes are reviewed: Somalia (UNOSOM & UNITAF); Rhodesia/Zimbabwe; former Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR); Cambodia (UNTAC); and Mozambique (ONUMOZ). A central defect of these studies is that they do not include broader issues in their consideration of peace, nor do they contain any indications of the conditions for its sustenance in the post-settlement stage. Managing arms is only one aspect of a peace process. The transition process is more usefully conceptualized as a multifaceted one, in which military, political, psycho-social, humanitarian, as well as economic questions are seen as closely interwoven.