Post-Conflict Reconstruction Glossary

Strengthening the skills, abilities, and resources of individuals and institutions to govern effectively and deliver services.

The resumption of armed violence after a peace agreement, occurring in an estimated 40% of post-conflict countries within a decade.

A program designed to disarm combatants, disband military structures, and help former fighters reenter civilian society.

An ethical framework developed by Mary B. Anderson requiring that international assistance avoids inadvertently worsening conflict dynamics.

The process of aligning the efforts and resources of multiple international donors and organizations to avoid duplication, gaps, and contradictory interventions in post-conflict settings.

A country where the government lacks the capacity or willingness to provide basic security, services, and rule of law to its citizens.

People forced to flee their homes due to conflict or persecution who remain within their country's borders, unlike refugees who cross international boundaries.

A court established by the international community to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed during conflicts.

The theoretical framework arguing that democracy, market economics, and rule of law are the necessary foundations for durable post-conflict peace.

The principle that domestic stakeholders should lead and control reconstruction processes for legitimacy and sustainability.

Activities aimed at preventing the recurrence of conflict by addressing root causes and building capacities for peaceful dispute resolution.

The deployment of international military and civilian personnel to monitor ceasefires, protect civilians, and support the implementation of peace agreements.

The comprehensive process of rebuilding a society's political, economic, social, and physical infrastructure following armed conflict.

Governance arrangements that distribute political power among competing groups, often a component of peace agreements in divided societies.

The long-term process of rebuilding relationships and trust between formerly antagonistic groups within a post-conflict society.

Measures to compensate victims of conflict and human rights violations, including financial payments, symbolic gestures, and institutional reforms.

A governance principle where laws are publicly known, equally enforced, and independently adjudicated, essential for post-conflict stability.

The process of reforming a country's military, police, and justice institutions to be professional, accountable, and rights-respecting.

The strategic ordering of political, economic, and security reforms in post-conflict settings to avoid destabilizing fragile peace.

An individual or group that seeks to undermine a peace process because the emerging peace threatens their interests, power, or ideology.

The construction or reconstruction of legitimate governmental institutions capable of providing security, services, and rule of law.

The set of judicial and non-judicial measures implemented to redress legacies of mass human rights abuses.

A temporary body established to investigate and report on a pattern of past human rights abuses, giving victims a voice and creating an official historical record.

The process of screening individuals in public institutions, particularly security forces, to remove those responsible for past human rights abuses.

An economic system structured around conflict, including illicit trade, resource extraction, and armed group financing, that must be transformed for peace.