‘Preventing Crises, Resolving Conflicts, Building Peace’ are key challenges for Germany’s and Europe’s evolving international role. Berlin is investing in the field, both financially and conceptually. On this blog, we discuss how to target these investments towards better crisis prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding. Most contributions are in German, but we occasionally ask international experts for their views. This section collects contributions in English. You are warmly invited to join the discussion: Subscribe to our weekly email-updates (in German), share and comment on posts on social media (@PeaceLabBlog, #PeaceLab), read our summary of the preceding “PeaceLab2016” debate or send us an email at peacelab@gppi.net.
Artikel International Rule of Law Assistance: Learning from Failures in Afghanistan 18 years of rule of law assistance in Afghanistan provide key lessons for donors: Ensure that assistance for security and assistance for justice go hand in hand and make fighting corruption a priority. In supporting local organizations, Germany should combine clear criteria for funding with the flexibility needed to work in a country like Afghanistan. Lutforahman Saeed • 08. Mai 2019
Artikel Civil Society and Rule of Law Assistance in Fragile States: Lessons from Libya When working with civil society, donors need to be flexible, provide regular psychological and security support and advocate for official channels for civil society participation in the design of rule of law initiatives. “Civil society” is not a homogenous entity. Projects therefore need to factor in time and space for debate within civil society. Rebecca Wright • 06. Mai 2019
Artikel Sustaining Peace, Building Justice: Lessons from the International Development Law Organization Strong rule of law institutions are crucial for preventing conflicts and building peace. Effectively promoting the rule of law requires sustained and context-sensitive engagement, quick wins, grassroots partnerships and empowered citizens. Such work needs to involve informal justice mechanisms, combat violence against women and stay engaged during all phases of conflict. International Development Law Organization • 20. Mai 2019
Artikel Attacking the Rule of Law as a Peril for Democracy The rule of law is under attack – in Europe and elsewhere. This has destructive consequences for democracy as well since both are inseparably connected. The German government must not underestimate the fragility of the rule of law and should closely study the concrete political and legal instruments that undermine it. Matthias Mahlmann • 16. Mai 2019
Artikel Making Power-Sharing Work: The Role of Mediation While the promise of power-sharing is often necessary to reach peace agreements, power-sharing institutions are unlikely to function effectively in post-conflict settings. Mediation can help making power-sharing work – if it improves inter-elite relationships, addresses issues unresolved in peace agreements, and provides a framework for local conflict resolution. Alexandre Raffoul • 15. Mai 2019
Artikel Lessons from German Rule of Law Support in Sudan and South Sudan Establishing access to justice for all in fragile states requires looking into practical realities and understanding where people actually seek justice. Experiences from Sudan and South Sudan show that Germany should (1) support more informal justice providers; and (2) more women at the community level; and (3) combine rule of law promotion with the fight against inequality and discrimination. Noha Ibrahim Abdelgabar,Pall Davidson • 07. Mai 2019
Artikel Global Consultations on the World Bank Group’s Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence By 2030, at least half of the world’s poor will be living in fragile and conflict-affected settings. To address this challenge, the World Bank Group is developing its first Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence. Now it is looking for input: How to best invest in prevention? How to enhance operational effectiveness in the most insecure environments? How to maximize impact on the ground? Join the discussion! Franck Bousquet • 03. Mai 2019
Artikel Rule of Law Assistance to the Palestinian Authority: Challenges Ahead In the Palestinian context, rule of law is severely hindered by the Israeli occupation, the internal Palestinian division and the lack of a democratic process. Thus, rule of law programs should address internal and external factors, e.g., through assisting in conducting free and fair elections, empowering citizens and strengthening civil society organisations which educate the public about their rights. Karam Omar,Jamil Salem,Asem Khalil • 30. April 2019
Artikel Prioritizing Legitimacy, Anti-corruption and Accountability for Serious Crimes at the National Level Three rule of law issues require increased support and innovative approaches by the UN and key member states like Germany: (1) rule of law assistance to reinforce the legitimacy of state; (2) rule of law initiatives with a clearer anti-corruption lens; and (3) enhanced technical, financial and political support for national-level investigations and prosecutions of serious crimes. Charles Briefel • 24. April 2019
Artikel Promoting Access to Justice and Anti-Corruption in Fragile Contexts: A Mixed Approach by Legal Empowerment Justice sector reforms often take a backseat in immediate post-conflict settings. They are however needed to address corruption and to achieve societal inclusion. Pragmatic programs based on a human rights approach, geared towards legal empowerment, should be a priority in fragile contexts. Jens Deppe • 23. April 2019
Artikel The Foundations of the Rule of Law – Time to Think and Act Politically The ultimate test of the rule of law is whether or not it protects against tyranny. The legal and judicial profession is not always best placed to serve this purpose. In order to strengthen the rule of law in fragile and conflict-affected states, donors and technical assistance providers need to pay more attention to the foundational political environment, particularly constitutional design and political inclusion. Sumit Bisarya • 16. April 2019
Artikel The different roles of rule of law in conflict and fragility In each of the three phases of conflict identified in the German government’s guidelines, rule of law plays a different role. A ‘user-centered design’ approach helps to identify appropriate rule of law measures, while early information sharing and aligned project designs help to harmonize efforts. Yannic Körtgen • 15. April 2019
Artikel Fostering the Rule of Law – a Milestone Approach Rule of law assistance is marked by paradoxes like neglecting the blatant political dimension. To overcome these paradoxes, the German actors have to continuously measure the impact of their programs via a set of predetermined indicators such as official statistics in line with Human Rights-Based Approach to Data or a public register of complaints of ill-treatment and high profile corruption. Bojan Gavrilovic • 11. April 2019
Artikel It’s Time to Discuss Timing The discussion on rule of law support brims over with buzzwords such as holistic thinking or context analysis. However, substantive change happens in sudden and brief moments of transition, which cannot be planned out in detail. To be able to act fast in such situations, Germany should maintain networks of current and potential future players in a partner country, at times intervene forcefully, and avoid fragmenting its capabilities. Michael Meyer-Resende • 27. März 2019
Artikel How to Strengthen Rule of Law Through Legal Education: Lessons from Pakistan A proper training of lawyers is key for rule of law promotion. The earlier it starts, the more receptive the students. Academic and cultural interaction between law students, academics and practitioners in developing and western countries should be part of this training. It helps both sides to improve understanding, analytical skills and context sensitivity. Syed Imad-ud-Din Asad,Niels Petersen • 25. März 2019
Artikel Beyond Best Practices: How to Use Design Thinking in Rule of Law Promotion Law in action can be messy. Therefore, formalistic approaches to rule of law promotion that ignore the context on the ground are often destined to fail. Design thinking is a creative method that facilitates an understanding of and empathizing with specific needs of those affected. It prevents mere transplantation and instead promotes solutions developed in collaboration between experts and locals. Siddharth Peter de Souza • 13. März 2019
Artikel A New French Crisis Prevention Strategy Against Fragilization Through its newly adopted strategy “Prevention, Resilience and Sustainable Peace”, France renewed its efforts to address root causes of fragilization around the world. Sharing many similarities with the German guidelines, this new approach provides opportunities for deeper synergies and more comprehensive and cross-cutting actions at all levels. French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs • 21. Februar 2019
Artikel Rule of Law and Digital Justice: Scaling Alibaba and eBay Top-down capacity building measures in rule of law are inefficient and may lead to illegitimate results. Germany should rather open pathways promoting user-friendly access to justice. One way would be through technology, as Alibaba and eBay are already offering it to millions of unhappy costumers. Experts commissioned by the Foreign Office in Berlin recently developed fresh ideas; now it’s time to realise them. Adeel Hussain • 14. Februar 2019
Artikel Activating the Five Powers of Law Some methods of rule of law promotion, such as support for the development of new legislation, frequently lead to disappointing results. The reason for this is that partner states such as Germany only focus on one of the many different powers of the law and do not pay attention to activating the full range of its powers. German ministries should take a careful look at the methodologies of their implementing agencies and “activate” all the powers of the law. Miranda Forsyth • 13. Februar 2019
Veranstaltungsbericht Learning to Prevent Conflict: Workshop on Early Warning and Early Action On January 30, 2019, the African Union Peace and Security Commission in Addis Ababa hosted a one-day PeaceLab workshop on African and European lessons on early warning and early action. The German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier joined the workshop for a “fishbowl discussion.” PeaceLab editorial team • 08. Februar 2019
Artikel Rule of Law Promotion in Islamic Environments: A Call for True Dialogue Western countries have an unspoken suspicion that violent extremism is rooted in Islam as a religion. However, the necessary precondition of rule of law assistance is a profound, unprejudiced understanding of these societies’ legal and moral traditions. Thus, the German government should openly enter in a respectful dialogue, particularly with unfamiliar and possibly even uncomfortable partners, to learn and to address their concerns. Siraj Khan,Patrick Schneider • 07. Februar 2019
