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Are there limits to cultural diversity? Does an animal have rights? Do we overlook the implications of stem cell technology? Do the public media have their own accountability? Does sport go together with gene therapy? Is ' global governance ' an answer on the instability of the world after 9/11? At the beginning of the 21st century, we are faced daily with these and other ethical questions. In our pluralist society, in which divergent views coexist with each other, no one ethical approach can offer us a unique vision. In Ethics - from DNA to 9/11, the authors scrutinize a number of ethical issues and help the readers arrive at their own conclusion. This is a unique title for everyone who wishes to be informed thoroughly and reliably on the way in which ethical questions are handled nowadays. With contributions from Govert den Hartogh, Guido Pennings, Michiel Korthals, Ronald Commers, Paul Cliteur, Amade M'Charek, Frans Jacobs, Hugo van den Enden, Hub Zwart, Peter Derkx, Sigrid Sterx, Rob van Es and Rik Coolsaet

ABSTRACTAssociations have been labelled the main 'building blocks' for creating social capital. It has been argued that community associations need to transform 'bonding' into 'bridging' ties to 'reach out' while also creating 'linking' ties to 'scale up'. External development actions follow a reverse logic in promoting these associations: they assume that linking ties with the external intervener will reinforce prior social capital endowments. This article highlights the inherent difficulties of such a 'social engineering' approach in the context of post-conflict reconstruction, describing three development interventions in the north of Burundi. It defines the process of 'institutional syncretism' – merging local with global institutional settings – as a key element to social capital building. The findings illustrate how the three interventions failed to reach this objective, and question 'bridging' associations as 'universal blueprints' for restoring social cohesion within the liberal peace model for post-conflict reconstruction.

ABSTRACTUsing an examination of three NGO interventions in post‐conflict Burundi, this article questions community‐based reconstruction as a mechanism to rebuild social capital after conflicts, particularly when direct livelihood support is provided. The authors demonstrate a general shortcoming of the methodology employed in community‐based development (CBD), namely its focus on 'technical procedural design', which results in what may be termed 'supply‐driven demand‐driven' reconstruction. The findings suggest the need for a political economy perspective on social capital, which acknowledges that the effects on social capital are determined by the type of economic resource CBD gives access to. Through the use of a resource typology, the case studies show that the CBD methodology and the potential effects on social capital differ when applied to public and non‐strategic versus private and strategic resources. This has particular consequences for post‐conflict situations. A generalized application of CBD methodology to post‐conflict reconstruction programmes fails to take adequate account of the nature of the interventions and the challenges posed by the particular post‐conflict setting. The article therefore questions the current popular 'social engineering' approach to post‐conflict reconstruction.