Peace as governance? Critical challenges to power-sharing peace deals: Lessons for policymakers

摘要

This policy paper seeks to offer insights for policymakersudregarding the strengths and weaknesses of the use ofudpower-sharing in peace processes. It is based uponudclose studies in three countries with protracted armedudconflicts and peace processes—Sri Lanka, Sudan, andudColombia—as well as comparative analysis of nearlyudthirty peace processes involving power-sharing elementsudsince the end of the Cold War. Power-sharing shouldudbe understood as a broad strategy, comprising not onlyudpower-sharing as traditionally understood, involvingudpolitical power-sharing, but also other governanceudincentives commonly offered to induce armed groupsudto negotiate peace agreements, and to implementudpeace agreements, such as resource-sharing, inclusionudin security structures, and territorial autonomy. Closeudexamination demonstrates that while these incentivesudoften have appeal for armed groups, this appeal is oftenudoverrated, and may frequently generate institutionaludarrangements and political dynamics that are unstable inudthe medium to long term. A re-evaluation of this strategyudis sorely needed, as it is commonly deployed relativelyuduncritically, and power-sharing and similar incentivesudcan often reify existing cleavages in societies, increasingudrather than decreasing the risk of conflict. Specifically,udpower-sharing may import or embed social divisions thatudhave the potential to become conflictual in new, weak,udor dysfunctional institutions of governance that are notudprepared to manage them.