12.07.2015 Views

From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

From Poverty to Power Green, Oxfam 2008 - weman

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FROM POVERTY TO POWERIn the Horn of Africa, Somaliland has demonstrated that change ispossible in even the most unpromising of circumstances.After declaringindependence from the conflict-ridden and collapsing state ofSomalia in 1991, Somaliland has achieved remarkable internal stabilitybased on a combination of presidential and parliamentary electionsand traditional councils of elders. It has developed an innovative,community-based approach <strong>to</strong> peace-building and has harnessedinterest and resources from its large international diaspora.A recent study of efforts <strong>to</strong> rebuild African states after conflictsconcluded that the prospects for stability depend fundamentally onthe nature of the political coalition in power. 149 Whether or not thepolitical settlement resolves the differences that led <strong>to</strong> war, eitherthrough real compromise or by the clear vic<strong>to</strong>ry of one group overothers, appears <strong>to</strong> be crucial. Thus clear vic<strong>to</strong>ries in civil wars inUganda, Ethiopia, and Rwanda ushered in periods of stability andstate-building, while a negotiated settlement that excluded key partiesin the Congo left a weak government. This could also apply <strong>to</strong> thecases of real compromise in the settlement of El Salvador’s civil war, or<strong>to</strong> the exclusion of parties from the more recent peace agreement inAfghanistan. If this is true, it offers a lesson about how <strong>to</strong> resolveconflicts: an incomplete negotiated settlement may temporarily reducehuman suffering but condemn a country <strong>to</strong> prolonged instability.Success in state-building often depends on seizing a moment ofpolitical and social consensus after a war, an economic crisis, or areturn <strong>to</strong> democracy <strong>to</strong> strengthen state institutions, through meanssuch as galvanising the economy (Viet Nam, Mozambique), tax reform(Chile), or rewriting the national constitution (Brazil). Countries’ability <strong>to</strong> seize that moment invariably depends on domestic politicsand institutions. These manage tensions, guarantee (or undermine)stability,and create (or destroy) an ‘enabling environment’for businesses.Above all, they respect (or deny) rights, and reduce (or exacerbate)inequality and poverty.None of this is easy. The German philosopher Georg Hegeldescribed the state as a ‘work of art’. As works of conscious design, thegreatest constitutions and states stand comparison with the finestachievements of civilisation in visual arts, music, philosophy, or poetry.102

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