Abstracts
Panel: Peace through development?
Internal displacement and sustainable development
Peace through development in the post conflict and post flooding situation: The case of Malakand region
Searching for solutions: State building and governance reform in Pakistan’s Northwest
Post-conflict Voices from the Swat Valley: On Reconstruction and Development from the “Bottom-up”
Youths in praxis: Engaging the youth of tribal societies in peace and development
Internal displacement and sustainable development
Anita Ghimire*
The phenomenon of internal displacement is common for South Asian nations. Most South Asian countries have its people displaced due to violence, conflicts and natural disasters. Conflict in particular has been a regular cause of displacement across these countries. Even though the number of such conflict-induced internally displaced persons is often under-estimated (IDPs hereafter), it remains clear that it is a significant proportion of the total population of those particular countries. For example, they make 0.2 per cent of its total population in Nepal, 0.7 per cent in Pakistan, 2 per cent in Sri Lanka, 0.9 per cent in Myanmar, 0.3 per cent in Bangladesh and 1.1 per cent in Afghanistan (IDMC 2010). Alarmingly, the number is increasing. The year 2009 saw an increase of such IDPs in South Asia by 23 per cent over the year 2008- the largest increase compared to the other regions of the world (ibid).
The issue of such IDPs thus has a crucial link with sustainable development in these countries. A lack of sustainable development lies at the heart of many conflicts. However, in most cases, internal displacement and development efforts are looked at separately and often in contradiction to one another. The issues are often neglected in post-conflict development agendas. This is largely due to the fact that IDPs are predominantly seen from a politico-humanitarian perspective. This perspective has created certain myths around the notion of IDPs, which obstructs their possible inclusion in development. This oversight proves to be an “Achilles heel” to programmes and policies targetting sustainable development. The first objective of this paper is thus to scrutinise such myths with empirical evidences from livelihood studies of IDPs in Nepal. The second objective is to show how sustainable development and responses to internal displacement issues can be jointly achieved. In sum the paper aims to create a broader understanding of sustainable development in post conflict situations.
The paper is based on a doctoral study conducted in five districts of Nepal from 2006 to 2009. Theoretically it follows the concept of Structuration Theory (Giddens 1984) and Theory of Practice (Bourdieu 1977). Methodologically it follows macro-micro integration approach (Ritzer 2000) and uses qualitative methods for data collection and analysis.
References:
Bourdeiu, P. 1977, Outline of a theory of practice. Translated by Nice R, Polity Press, Cambridge
Giddens, A. 1984, The constitution of society: Outline of the Theory of Structuration, Polity press, Cambridge
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), 2010, Global overview of trends and developments in 2009, Report, May 2010, Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), Geneva, viewed 03 September, 2010, < www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/resources.nsf. >
Ritzer, G. 2000, Modern sociological theory, Mc Graw Hill, New York
 *Dr. Anita Ghimire is a post-doc fellow, working on migration issues at the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research- North-South.
Peace through development in the post conflict and post flooding situation: The case of Malakand region
Shaukat Sharar*
Man made catastrophes in the shape of militancy as an outcome of military operations, followed by an unexpected natural disaster such as the recent floods has changed the dynamics in the region and will have far reaching consequences. Due to militancy, the socio-economic situation of the people was severely affected and the governance structure of the region led to mass migration. The people were hoping for measures that would lead to long-term peace and to that end a recovery phase began with organisations gearing up for reconstruction and rehabilitation. This phase was just coming to a close when unexpected floods washed away the remaining infrastructure, houses, orchards, agricultural fields and even changed the topography in many places. The effects of this disaster were exacerbated by a poor infrastructure and a flawed data base that lacked the correct information, outdated governance patterns and lack of appropriate benchmarks and has put pressure on institutions, their resource base and operational capabilities. Despite this, different international and national organisations actively participated in relief activities.
Having links with institutions and professional engagements in the region for the last 20 years as well as inhabitant of the Swat valley provided the author with an opportunity to closely observe and interact with concerned citizens and, professionally engage with institutions, participate in dialogues in various forums and reflect on the ongoing development process.
This paper will focus on how the gaps in perceptions of international actors, national governments and communities can be narrowed down and how a neutral apparatus can enable the systems to wisely tap into the resources with a sense of equity thereby improving governance patterns. All these arguments will be reinforced by examples from the Malakand region of Pakistan.
Keeping in view the situation, there is a need to learn from these man-made and natural catastrophes and re-prioritise development goals to have a viable policy framework to step up the reconstruction process. A strong link must be made with climate change, the economic divide must be looked at as well as the current governance structure of the country and only then will we be able to transform the society and attain long-term peace.
 * Shaukat Sharar is a development professional leading a consultancy firm based in Swat, Pakistan since 1991. He has closely observed the conflict in northern Pakistan and how it has affected the lives of the people. He has worked on consultancy assignments for different organisations in the region and has had associations with different civil society groups. He has also made presentations in SDPI-SDC on similar themes.
Searching for solutions: State building and governance reform in Pakistan’s Northwest
Raza Ahmad*
The continuing political violence in FATA and parts of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have necessitated a major rethinking and a rare public debate on the status of colonial and post-colonial governance arrangements that exist in these conflict-laden regions. The rise of faith-based militancy and marginalisation of FATA are inter-linked. Similarly, the centralised rule in parts of KP mediated through dysfunctional arrangements such as Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA) have illustrated how lack of citizen-centric governance has created widespread alienation and embedded violence among the citizens of this region, especially Malakand. In recent times, the traditional modes of governance have come under a severe attack by Islamicist ideologies and networks; and pockets of popular support among the poor, dispossessed and vulnerable sections of the local populace. Policy reform options for Pakistan remain limited, given the geo-political agendas and the multiplicity of national and international actors.
This paper attempts to unpack the governance failures in FATA and Malakand agency, using the international development framework i.e. post-conflict needs assessment (PCNA). Part I of this paper would present a brief overview of the complexity and diversity of the governance arrangements devised for ‘special regions’ and how these have been failing attempts by the Pakistani state to keep colonial arrangements in place to serve the purposes of a national security state. Part II will map out the key drivers of the conflict and crises which have emerged over the last decade and using the PCNA lens, identify key challenges to be addressed in securing peace, development and de-radicalization in these areas. The third part of the paper will argue for the necessity of a wide-ranging political reform that creates a responsive and functional state apparatus available for the citizens through a major state-building programme. The final part of this paper will present a set of policy options for the federal and provincial governments, international community, donors and the local elites focusing on redefining governance and security in a post-conflict context.
 * Raza Ahmad is a development practitioner and researcher based in Lahore. He has worked with the Asian Development Bank, United Nations and the Government of Pakistan. He writes in the national media under the nome de plume Raza Rumi and is a consulting editor for The Friday Times.
Post-conflict Voices from the Swat Valley: On Reconstruction and Development from the “Bottom-up”
Lubna Nazir Chaudhry*
Based on fieldwork undertaken with children, women, and men, in the Swat Valley in 2009-2010, the presentation seeks to grapple with the implications of using an approach to development and reconstruction that is grounded in the voices, thoughts, and analyses of the people who have been directly impacted in a conflict zone. The objective is to emphasize the imperative of forging discourses, and practices based on the discourses, which foreground the concerns of survivors rather than the other so-called stakeholders, including international donors and the national state apparatus. The presentation will draw from interview and observation data to highlight the disjuncture between state and military initiatives on the one hand, and affectee perspectives, on the other, both during the conflict and afterwards. The analysis will especially incorporate an attention to how differences in gender, age, kinship, socioeconomic status, and geographical location within Swat shaped research participants’ constructions of their realities.
* Dr. Lubna Nazir Chaudhry is Associate Professor at SUNY, Binghamton, USA. She teaches Human Development, Women’s Studies, and Asian/Asian Diaspora Studies. Her work focuses on structural and direct violence in relation to disenfranchised communities in Pakistan and Muslim immigrants in the US.
Youths in praxis: Engaging the youth of tribal societies in peace and development
Fahim Razaq*
Young people constitute the largest [67 per cent under the age of 35 years] segment of the Pakistani population. Those from low and middle-income groups have few opportunities to develop to their full potential. Poverty is widespread, education levels are low, youth unemployment is high and traditional culture does not encourage young people to take decisions on issues concerning them. There is limited scope for young people’s positive local engagement in grassroots politics and community development. The situation becomes more complex when one considers the youth of traditional societies such as Balochistan and Khyber Pukhtunkhwa.
The education system is incapable of comprehending these challenges. It does not encourage a sense of leadership and self-actualisation that guide and prepare the younger generation for a meaningful contribution to bring about sustainable peace. This situation leaves young people feeling disillusioned and vulnerable and they therefore sometimes escape to join extremist factions.
This paper aims to construct a new context for the possibility of engaging with isolated tribal youth. It presents the lessons and perspectives on the challenges young people are facing in traditional Pakistani communities. It suggests a new vision of learning and community development within the larger context of thinking about youth activism and development as an ongoing process of learning and practice for building self-sustainable peace. Section one provides a broader overview concerning tribal and traditional youth, and the context within which these experiences have been carried out. In section two, the paper shares the framework of praxis, and provides specific details concerning the approach and methodologies adopted and the way it ensured major breakthroughs both at the levels of young people and their communities. In section three, certain key findings are shared with reference to youth in peace and development. It is suggested that these methods be used for aiding the development process by the people from the community using their own resources.
*Raziq Fahim is the Director of College of Youth Activism and Development (CYAAD), an organization focused on bolstering youth leadership to prevent youths from militancy, violence and exclusion. He has also been elected an Ashoka fellow for 2009.
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