NOREF - Noref Report 7 - Peacebuilding In Guinea-Bissau: A Critical Approach

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Sílvia Roque

Sílvia Roque is a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra. She holds a master’s degree in African Studies from ISCTE (Lisbon) and a BSc in International Relations from the School of Economics of the University of Coimbra. She is a completing her PhD in Internatio...
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Noref Report 7 - Peacebuilding In Guinea-Bissau: A Critical Approach

Sílvia Roque, 3 June 2009

Ten years after the war, Guinea-Bissau is still going through a period internationally designated as stabilisation or post-conflict. This paper analyses the root causes of this instability as a product of historical violence associated with state building dynamics and their collapse. It calls attention to the fact that international actors have failed to prevent pervasive conflict and violence although they have attempted to contain the worst case scenario, namely, massive war.

International partners are developing peacebuilding strategies mostly centred on sequential action in Guinea-Bissau (security first, then development). Consequently, peacebuilding policies appear to give rise to a simulation of peace rather than tangible and sustainable peacebuilding results. Peacebuilding strategies with a different focus are urgently required.