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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
There is a growing academic literature on the role of cultural sensitivity in
post-conflict peace-building. However, the role of local knowledge in a post-conflict
reconstruction setting is rarely discussed explicitly. Attempting to fill the gap, this
research paper aims at understanding why local knowledge is imperative to achieve
just and equitable post-conflict reconstruction policies and practices. Using qualitative field data, the paper is based on the experiences and lessons learned from
the post-conflict reconstruction efforts (2015–2019) in the tribal district of North
Waziristan (NW), Pakistan. The paper finds out that while establishing human
security as a benchmark, top-down reconstruction policies and projects ignore local
knowledge and, in fact, exacerbate pre-existing fragilities by creating new winners
and losers. The refashioning of the social order, along with notions of justice and
equity, in the post-conflict setting results in local disputes among families and
tribes. The paper argues that cultural-sensitive reconstruction planning is even more
pertinent and pragmatic in “close-knit community” settings, where people remain
dependent on continuous social and economic relationships with each other. Rather, a less sensitive approach to cultural factors most often fosters discord,
thereby reinforcing tensions and power inequalities.
Description
Keywords
Post-conflict reconstruction; local knowledge; top-down projects; human security; community development International Relations; Development Studies; Development Policy
Pedagogical Context
Citation
Asif Iqbal Dawar & Marcos Farias Ferreira | Richard Meissner (Reviewing editor) (2021) New winners and losers in North Waziristan: Understanding tensions between top-down projects and local knowledge in the post-conflict setting (2015–2019), Cogent Social Sciences, 7:1, DOI: 10.1080/23311886.2021.1909209
Publisher
Taylor & Francis