Conflict and reconstruction : roles for the World Bank
For only the first few years after the establishment of the World Bank, the institution's lending and analytic activities concentrated on post Second World War reconstruction rather than development. After several decades of dedication to development, reconstruction after conflict or state collapse has reemerged as an important area of Bank operations. In recent years a growing number of states have experienced erosion or collapse of governance, extended civil war, even genocide. These societies face problems of rehabilitation and reconstruction far more complex than repair and replacement of physical capital. The crises they produce create humanitarian disasters that often spill over into neighboring states, undo years of investment, send countries into arrears, destroy infrastructure (including some previously financed by the Bank), and later in the reconstruction period claim large international assistance. To promote implementation of this policy the Bank should establish a special unit devoted to the problems of failing states and post conflict recovery. The unit would undertake analysis, information gathering, staff orientation, project support, and coordination with other agencies. It would undertake to clarify, evaluate, and assist in the development of an expanded and regularized Bank role with respect to failing, failed, or recovering states. This study attempts to cull from 13 country experiences, ranging from some that have been undergoing reconstruction for some years already, to others barely emergent from destructive crisis (Angola, Mozambique), to others still in the midst of civil deterioration (Burundi, Sierra Leone). Given the brief time available for its preparation, the study should be read as a prologue to further in-depth examination of the various problems faced in these and other countries and the implications for the Bank's new reconstruction role.
The Mohonk Criteria for Humanitarian Assistance in Complex Emergencies: Task Force on Ethical and Legal Issues in Humanitarian Assistance
The end of the cold war brought with it humanitarian disasters of increased complexity. To a degree never before experienced, humanitarian aid organizations were confronted with contexts so violent that many chose to hire armed guards and request the assistance of military organizations for protection, logistics, and communications support. Other organizations opposed this on principled grounds. Many found that long-held principles and modes of operation were inadequate for coping with new realities. Increased use of military resources and differences of response brought about difficulties in coordination. The informal consensus among humanitarian actors was in need of repair. To facilitate the formation of a new consensus, a Task Force on Ethical
The Politics of Truth: Power in Nietzsche’s Epistemology
This article concerns first a curiosity found in Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Antichrist. In the midst of a heated attack on Christianity, Nietzsche detours into a discussion of epistemology. I argue that this turn indicates the importance of epistemology, and illustrates its political and moral character. The weak, who cannot tolerate uncertainty and shades of gray, seek to impose an epistemology of clarity and certainty. At the same time, the strong, who revel in ambiguity, seek to enjoy the richness and subtlety of a non-dichotomous view of the world. This is a political struggle because the weak cannot allow the strong’s epistemology to exist, let alone prevail. It is not surprising, then, that Nietzsche talks about epistemology in the midst of attacking Christianity: its view of truth is essential to its mission of taming the nobles. Here, I consider Nietzsche as a political thinker in a different light. Political battles are fought far beyond the halls of government. Nietzsche is a political thinker; one, however, who looks at politics in an uncommon way.