Unfinished Revolutions by Ibrahim Fraihat

Author:Ibrahim Fraihat [Fraihat, Ibrahim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 2016-04-19T04:00:00+00:00

NINE

Institutional Reform

Government institutions represent the skeletons of regimes, and therefore only deep institutional reform can ensure that structures and abuses of past dictatorships are not recreated under new systems. Institutional reform therefore includes changes in the security sector, political apparatus, and other arms of the state. To be successful, it must be overarching, affecting all government sectors. As explained in broad terms by Derick W. Brinkerhoff, “The design and implementation of governance reforms in post-conflict states target three areas: (1) reconstituting legitimacy, (2) re-establishing security and (3) rebuilding effectiveness.” Regaining legitimacy is critical for a government to function, as respect for the administration dwindles if it is not considered to be just or appropriate. This process of legitimizing the new government involves the delivery of services, constitutional reform, and strengthening the rule of law, as well as “expanding participation and inclusiveness, reducing inequities, creating accountability, combating corruption and introducing contestability (elections).” To restore security, the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) of past combatants is critical to strengthening official security forces while simultaneously undermining ex-combatants and militias. Renewing government efficacy requires the restoration of full political, bureaucratic, and administrative function under the new regime. “Rebuilding effectiveness has to do, first and foremost, with the functions and capacity of the public sector. Good governance in this area means, for example, adequate and functioning municipal infrastructure, widely available health care and schooling, provision of roads and transportation networks and attention to social safety nets.” Institutional reform is critical to the restoration of stability and government functioning in states transitioning from dictatorship to democracy.1

Certainly, as Stefan Wolff puts it, “institutions remain the core component of post-conflict state building. The reason behind much of this focus on institutions as the main tool for post-conflict state building is that formal institutions can be codified and adapted to suit specific needs and circumstances more readily than other factors that influence the risk of resurgent conflict, such as the level of economic development or the cultural and ethnic make-up of societies.” States must move quickly though. El Salvador demonstrated just how fast the opportunity for serious reforms can evaporate, as all of its significant security reforms were undertaken within three years of the peace negotiations and agreements that mandated them. Furthermore, civil society organizations cannot grow in the absence of effective government institutions or until elites take a vested interest in a government that is considered to be both legitimate and effective.2

This chapter argues that Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen will have to engage in comprehensive institutional reform following the removal of their regimes in order to ensure a successful transition and prevent a return of repressive policies. The process of institutional reform will work to ensure that old systems which produced injustices and wrongdoings are no longer in service and will not be able to reconstitute themselves. Effective institutional reform in these countries will contribute considerably to the success of the overall transition process from dictatorship to a state of civil peace and, most importantly, ensure the sustainability of national reconciliation.

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