A seminar on: "Balancing State and Peace-building: An Evolving Development Agenda" took place on October 14, 2008 at the World bank in Washington DC. The overarching purpose of the seminar was to provide a forum for interested government and donor representatives, and Bank staff, to critically discuss fragility and conflict and to inform the Bank’s evolving corporate strategy. The key objectives were to: (i) report to attendees on the discussions and conclusions reached in the first Headline Seminar (HS) - "Transition from Conflict to Peace: Dynamic Tensions between State-building and Peace-building"; (ii) discuss effective approaches for balancing the complementary aims of state-building and peace-building in fragile and conflict-affected countries; and (iii) validate the conclusions of the first HS with a broader range of officials from fragile states and donor governments.
The themes developed during the seminar focused on:
Development, State and Nation-building - How can, and to what extent should, the international development community more effectively contribute to state and/or nation-building?
State Functions, Institutions and Capacity - What is the optimal scope for development implementation in fragile and conflict-affected states?
Peace Building and Development - Should development practitioners be involved in peace processes and engage in unstable environments? If so, when?
The seminar was chaired by Jeff Gutman, VP for OPCS. The meeting started off with a presentation by Alastair McKechnie, Director at OPCFC, who discussed the observations made by the group of leading intellectuals and practitioners that came together for the 1st HS. Subsequently, the seminar benefited from the intervention of the three panelist: Emilia Pires - Minister for Planning and Finance, Timor Leste; Ousmane Dore – Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning, Guinea; and Raymond Gilpin – Associate Vice President, US Institute of Peace. A Q&A moderated by Mr. Gutman followed. Key questions that emerged during the open session included, inter alia, the international architecture of post-conflict engagement (e.g. coordination between the UN, WB and other institutions); the sequencing between peace-building, state-building and nation-building; the role of emerging donors (e.g. BRICs) in context of fragility and post-conflict; and issues of capacity, vision and leadership in recovery efforts.
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