It does not take very much to stoke the embers of a conflict, especially if peace has come about not on its own, through exhaustion, but thanks to foreign soldiers, acting under the African Union or the un's blue flag. Hence the importance of the first couple of years after the soldiers' work is mostly done. Reconciliation, justice, reform and investment-such things play a big part in determining whether peace will last and what sort of place will rise out of the ashes.rnNo wonder that "post-conflict peace-building", as the jargon has it-in places such as Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau-has come to be seen as the vital second act to peace-keeping. But foreigners find peace-building hard. Often, war has destroyed the state: there is no one to collect taxes, administer justice or carry out government policy. Time is short; the list of agencies that have to work together fractiously long. Last year Guinea-Bissau, for instance, slid back into political violence and assassination.
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