This paper explores the role of local interethnic reconciliation initiatives in state-building processes. Through the analysis of interethnic reconciliation initiatives from a peacebuilding perspective, we identify ways in which these can facilitate statebuilding.
By exploring the trajectory between bottom level interethnic reconciliation and statebuilding, we shed light on the implications of the widely held argument that statebuilding approaches should not only take into consideration interethnic reconciliation as such but also that interethnic reconciliation is best achieved through local, rather than national or international initiatives. We aim to critically discuss and empirically test these propositions.
Based on a revision of field research and secondary resources, we examine initiatives on interethnic reconciliation in Kosovo and South Kyrgyzstan and their linkages to processes of state-building. Our findings support the argument that local reconciliation initiatives can foster the statebuilding process, but also point to some of the conditions and limitations of this symbiotic relationship.
