Assessing Africa's Two-Phase Peace Implementation Process: Power-Sharing and Democratization

Abstract

The author asks why the design and establishment of political institutions can sometimes contribute to the collapse of peace agreements and power sharing regimes, and further the development of centralized institutional arrangements. Focusing on institutional design after civil war, the author suggests that peace implementation should be viewed as a two phase process. The short term phase centers around confidence building phase, while the long term phase is focuses on security building. The challenges facing rival parties in the both phases are addressed, followed by a discussion of the way these challenges create strain and affect the commitments made to support an agreement. Finally, the author takes the long view, examining how the two step processes affects long term institutional design.