A New Approach to Postwar Reconstruction

Issue Date October 2009
Volume 20
Issue 4
Page Numbers 93-107
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In countries emerging from war, the immediate post-war period rarely lives up to the hopes and expectations of the country’s citizens or the international community. An upsurge in corruption and a lack of accountability, which frequently become entrenched during this time, can erode trust in democracy and its institutions, thereby eating away at the legitimacy of the postwar state. The authors argue that an anticorruption approach that builds on local resources and competencies in distinctive ways and that emphasizes local accountability such as citizen-based monitoring is more likely to succeed in stemming corruption as well as increase participation and trust in the reconstruction process.

About the Authors

Fredrik Galtung

Fredrik Galtung is CEO of Tiri, a London-based independent nongovernmental organization that works with governments, business, and civil society to find practical solutions to making integrity work.

View all work by Fredrik Galtung

Martin Tisné

Martin Tisné is director of the Network for Integrity in Reconstruction, a Tiri program.

View all work by Martin Tisné