Book
From Conflict to Recovery in Africa

Establishing peace and reconstructing Africa's war-damaged economies are urgent challenges. For Africa to recover, communities must reconstruct, private sectors must revitalize, and states must transform themselves. Thus, unless communities rebuild and strengthen their livelihoods, neither reconstruction nor growth can be poverty-reducing. But communities cannot prosper unless private investment recreates markets and generates more employment. And neither communities nor entrepreneurs can realise their potential without a development state-one that is democratically accountable and dedicated to poverty-reducing development. The international community can do much to assist-through more aid, debt relief, and peacekeeping-but ultimately the future lies in the hands of Africans themselves. This book examines these themes in a selection of African countries that have gone through intense and prolonged conflict, and its policy conclusions are important for understanding the prospects for peace and recovery not only in Africa, but also in other 'post-conflict' societies across the world. It also discusses the cross-cutting issues of how economic and political reform interact with conflict resolution and 'post-conflict' reconstruction. This interaction is often neglected by both governments and donors. However, reform and reconstruction cannot be kept separate if conflict is to be halted and poverty reduced. The book is one of the first to undertake a thorough examination of the economic dimensions of recovery from war. It places particular emphasis on designing a recovery in which the poor participate, so that the benefits of reconstruction from war do not just flow to a narrow élite. In highlighting the tensions and opportunities that exist in achieving recovery from war, it contributes not only to the debate on economic policy making in Africa, but also to the design of better reconstruction and reform programmes.

Table of contents
  1. Part I: Themes
    Introduction
    Tony Addison
  2. Part I: Themes
    From Conflict to Recovery?
    Tony Addison
  3. Part II: Reconstructing Communities
    From Humanitarian Assistance to Poverty Reduction in Angola
    Mário Adauta de Sousa, Tony Addison, Björn Ekman, Åsa Stenman
    More Working Paper | From Humanitarian Assistance to Poverty Reduction in Angola
  4. Part II: Reconstructing Communities
    Rebuilding Rural Livelihoods and Social Capital in Mozambique
    Clara de Sousa
    More Working Paper | Rebuilding Rural Livelihoods and Social Capital
  5. Part II: Reconstructing Communities
    Displaced Communities and the Reconstruction of Livelihoods in Eritrea
    Gaim Kibreab
    More Working Paper | Displaced Communities and the Reconstruction of Livelihoods in Eritrea
  6. Part II: Reconstructing Communities
    Demobilization, Land and Household Livelihoods in Ethiopia
    Daniel Ali Ayalew, Stefan Dercon, Pramila Krishnan
    More Working Paper | Demobilization, Land and Household Livelihoods
  7. Part II: Reconstructing Communities
    Selecting Priorities for Poverty Reduction and Human Development in Ethiopia
    Arne Bigsten
    More Working Paper | Selecting Priorities for Poverty Reduction and Human Development
  8. Part III: Revitalizing Private Sectors
    Angola's Incomplete Transition
    Renato Aguilar
    More Working Paper | Angola's Incomplete Transition
  9. Part III: Revitalizing Private Sectors
    The Agrarian Question in Mozambique's Transition and Reconstruction
    Marc Wuyts
    More Working Paper | The Agrarian Question in Mozambique's Transition and Reconstruction
  10. Part III: Revitalizing Private Sectors
    Privatization and Economic Strategy in Mozambique
    Carlos Nuno Castel-Branco, Christopher Cramer, Degol Hailu
    More Working Paper | Privatization and Economic Strategy in Mozambique
  11. Part III: Revitalizing Private Sectors
    Ethiopia's New Financial Sector and Its Regulation
    Tony Addison, Alemayehu Geda
    More Working Paper | Ethiopia's New Financial Sector and Its Regulation
  12. Part IV: Transforming States
    Building New States: Lessons from Eritrea
    Göte Hansson
    More Working Paper | Building New States
  13. Part IV: Transforming States
    Reconstruction, Reform, and State Capacity in Guinea-Bissau
    Jens Kovsted, Finn Tarp
    More Working Paper | Guinea-Bissau
  14. Part IV: Transforming States
    The Fiscal Dimensions of Ethiopia's Transition and Reconstruction
    David L. Bevan
    More Working Paper | The Fiscal Dimensions of Ethiopia's Transition and Reconstruction
  15. Part IV: Transforming States
    Overcoming the Fiscal Crisis of the African State
    Tony Addison, Léonce Ndikumana
    More Working Paper | Overcoming the Fiscal Crisis of the African State
  16. Part V: Conclusions
    Communities, Private Sectors, and States
    Tony Addison
    More Working Paper | Reconstruction from War in Africa
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Endorsements

The present hot topics of security discourse have tended to shift attention away from Africa: a big mistake. This continent has been fated to play the role of proving-ground both for conflict's cruelest variants and for the most forward-looking solutions. It strongly illustrates the interweaving of various dimensions of human security, so vital for finding the answers to new threats like mass-impact terrorism. Tony Addison's edited volume focuses on the economic damage invariably done by conflict and the policy challenge of how to repair it, concluding that only an early and sustained effort to address structural reforms can do the trick.' - Alyson J.K. Bailes, Director - SIPRI

'This very timely book should be widely welcomed by social scientists and policy practitioners with an interest in development in post-conflict societies, especially in Africa ... Addison pulls together a clear set of policy recommendations that resonate well beyond the handful of countries on which this intensively researched collection was based.' - Professor Peter Burnell, University of Warwick

'It is sad that a book such as this must be written, but conflict is a tragic fact of life in the sub-Saharan region. This book brings hope for the future, through its sound, professional research. Again, WIDER demonstrates that it is on the 'cutting edge' of development economics.' - John Weeks, Director Centre for Development Policy and Research

'I am confident that this book will serve as an excellent handbook for all those engaged in matters relating to poverty reduction, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of combatants in Africa.' - James O.C. Jonah - Former United Nation's Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and former Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone

'From Conflict to Recovery in Africa is an admirable work. In a painstaking and succinct manner the contributors have satisfactorily examined the whole array of difficult factors and variables that must be tackled if a broad-based recovery from conflict can be achieved ... In my capacity as Minister of Finance, Development and Economic Planning and later as Minister of Finance (1998-2001) in Sierra Leone I was in charge of efforts to manage the country's ruined economy to post conflict development. My regret is that this book was not available at that time, as the case studies would have provided many lessons for countries like Sierra Leone.' - James O.C. Jonah - Former United Nation's Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs and former Minister of Finance of Sierra Leone

'This is a well researched study that combines solid theoretical analysis with a deep understanding of the complex empirical realities of post-conflict reconstruction and development in Africa ... It sends a powerful message to the international community that it has an obligation to assist African countries to achieve durable peace.' - Nitin Desai, Under-Secretary-General United Nations Department for Economic and Social Affairs

'From Conflict to Recovery in Africa is a tour de force, analyzing nation-states in Africa that confront multiple tasks of reconstruction from war, transition from socialism to liberalism, and attaining economic growth and poverty reduction. Readers will benefit from the insights of Tony Addison and contributors to our understanding of the economic development and transformation of Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique.' - E. Wayne Nafziger, University Distinguished Professor, Kansas State University

'From Conflict to Recovery in Africa provides a comprehensive analysis of the challenge of reconstruction in the world's poorest continent. Based on case studies undertaken in five Sub-Saharan states, the volume focuses largely on the role of national actors in the recovery process, a perspective which enables the authors to make a particularly original contribution to our understanding of contemporary Africa.' - Dr Jeff Crisp, Head, Evaluation and Policy Analysis Unit, UNHCR

'The authors make a persuasive case that peacebuilding, economic reform, and democratization can and must go together in Africa. This book is essential reading for all concerned with the transition from war to peace.' - James K. Boyce, Director, Program on Development, Peacebuilding, and the Environment, Political Economy Research Institute, and Professor, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

'From Conflict to Recovery in Africa is an outstanding contribution to the literature on conflict prevention and peace building ... While the book is based on excellent case studies of Angola, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Ethiopia and Eritrea, its conclusions are widely applicable, even to conflict situations and crisis states outside of Africa. I highly recommend it to all those who are interested in the relationship between conflict prevention, peace building and long-term development, for which democratic governance is one of the most effective means of institutional capacity building for sustainable livelihoods and the eradication of poverty.' - Georges Nzongola-Ntalaja, Director, UNDP Oslo Governance Centre, Oslo