Conflict, National Peace Building and Post Conflict Economic Agenda
FromNov 20, 2019 To Nov 21, 2019
Cairo, Egypt
Context
Over seven years have now passed since the initial eruption of the Arab uprisings. The civil wars they generated in their wake in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen have brought untold destruction and sufferings, including massive internal and external displacements of population, and reversed years of economic development and social attainments.
Looking forward, it is important to understand the ongoing dynamics that lead to where these countries stand, and reflect on how the ongoing political changes can affect what can be done on the economic front. Yet, the capacity for an endogenous ‘home grown’ policy advice seem to be as impaired as the cohesion of these societies. In this context, ERF launched a call for papers to uncover hidden talents. ERF has also commissioned thematic papers by top notch researchers. Six proposals for case studies were selected to prepare to become the first batch of research papers out of the project to be followed by 2 other calls and a structured project on post conflict growth.
This workshop served as a platform for presenting and discussing the six country case studies touching upon several conflict related issues including causes of conflict, transition from war to peace and the post-conflict economic agenda. These topics were discussed in the light of literature findings and available data. While there is no doubt that the conflict cannot be pinpointed to one cause, it is important to provide evidence for the most pertinent root of conflict to move forward with the other topics. Transition to peace is at the cornerstone of post-conflict development. The workshop also addressed the issue of impact of conflicts on women and children through micro analysis and household data. Finally, post-conflict economic growth agenda was another concrete issue that this workshop tackled. This included assessing the damage that the conflicts have created, and discussing how to rebuild institutions and social cohesion.
The workshop dedicated a special session for the presentation of the new FEMISE report of 2019. The report this round covers the topic of “Repatriation of Refugees from Conflict-afflicted Arab Countries and their Potential Contribution to Post-conflict Economic Development”, which complements well the agenda of the workshop and brings a lot of value to the event.
Workshop Objectives and Agenda
The workshop served as a platform for presenting and discussing the six country case studies touching upon several conflict related issues, and enable cross fertilization and networking with international scholars and promote a multi-disciplinarily approach to researching the conflict related issues.
The workshop gathered around 30 participants over the course of 2 days. Each session was structured such that ample time was left for open discussion.