Success and Failure of Peacebuilding

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that international peacebuilding projects are characterized by their complexity - from the tapestry of actors and interests to the conflicting time horizons to the interconnected nature of the issues that define the operational and policy environments. Amidst all of this is the question: how do we know when a peacebuilding effort has been successful? This question is about distilling and capturing lessons learned. It is also about narratives of success and failure and how these narratives become ingrained in the political and social commentaries of families, communities, governments, media and more. Success and failure in the context of peacebuilding involves a critical examination of perspectives (success for whom, for what purpose, at what point in time?) and metrics (what do we measure, how do we measure and what does measurement look like in the context of complex relationships?). We are looking forward to hearing from five panelists – each of whom will explore these questions from different perspectives. Please join us to hear more about the challenges of impact measurement in peacebuilding projects in Guinea, the creation and reinforcement of peacebuilding in Mozambique as a ‘success’ story, perceptions of success in UN peacekeeping operations, an analysis of safe spaces as a tool for protecting civilians in peacebuilding missions and a comparative analysis of lessons learned from the peacebuilding efforts in Somaliland and Somalia.