Cedric de Coning - Profile on Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Academic publications by Cedric de Coning

AFRICAN CENTRE FOR THE CONSTRUCTIVE RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES (ACCORD), 2014

"Peacebuilding theory and practice has evolved over 20 years in response to highly complex and fl... more "Peacebuilding theory and practice has evolved over 20 years in response to highly complex and fluid factors and contexts. Over this period, peacebuilding has developed several salient features, including its reliance on implementation in the long term, the interdependence of various actors and the multidimensional nature of processes. Current post-conflict situations indicate that in practice, peacebuilding needs to become even more innovative, flexible and responsive to the requirements of local actors and contexts, while remaining sensitive to the potential for unintended consequences and doing harm.This Policy & Practice Brief (PPB) departs from the premise that the creation of an enabling peacebuilding environment cannot be achieved through application of standardised prescriptions. An enabling environment is achieved as a result of actors’ ability to stimulate the development of social institutions that are sufficiently resilient. This PPB thus aims to analyse how certain approaches can foster and strengthen the creation of enabling peacebuilding environments and provide recommendations as to how external actors can support these processes while avoiding pitfalls, focusing particularly on the concepts of fragility and resilience."

Papers by Cedric de Coning

Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, Jun 8, 2023

Looking back over the past seventy-five years of UN peacekeeping, the most enduring question has ... more Looking back over the past seventy-five years of UN peacekeeping, the most enduring question has been: Is peacekeeping effective? Historically, most peacekeeping operations have been. However, peacekeeping is currently suffering from a significant trust deficit. One important factor that differentiates contemporary peacekeeping operations with a stabilization mandate from the historic record is the absence of a viable political or peace process. When security is not directed to serve a peace process, it produces a stabilization dilemma: the more effectively a peace operation protects and achieves stability, the less incentive there is for ruling political elites to find longterm political solutions. This dilemma generates several perverse effects, including prolonging the conflict, trapping operations in place with no exit options, increasing the resilience of armed groups, and embedding peacekeeping in the local political economy. The article identifies five factors that help prevent the stabilization dilemma and influence the effectiveness of peace operations.

Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, Jun 12, 2013

Mali and Somalia have both suffered determined Islamist-inspired insurgencies, and in both Africa... more Mali and Somalia have both suffered determined Islamist-inspired insurgencies, and in both African Union-led peace operations have been a central pillar in political and security stabilization efforts. Despite challenges in transferring lessons between unique situations, the AMISOM experience can offer some useful lessons for Mali. We have identified several themes that helped to drive success for AMISOM, amongst others the determination of troop contributors and their funding partners, and actively pursuing the support of the host population. At the operational and tactical levels, we have highlighted a number of features that has contributed to more effective operations, including a high degree of adaptability, working with allied armed groups and a dogged determination to see the fight through. The next stage for both countries may be the most challenging yet as African Union and United Nations troops are called to keep a complex and fragile peace in Mali and Somalia.

African Journal on Conflict Resolution, Jan 20, 2009

This article analyses the coherence and coordination dilemma in peacebuilding and post-conflict r... more This article analyses the coherence and coordination dilemma in peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction systems, with special reference to the United Nations' integrated approach concept. It argues that all peacebuilding agents are interdependent in that they cannot individually achieve the goal of the overall peacebuilding system. Pursuing coherence helps to manage the interdependencies that bind the peacebuilding system together, and coordination is the means through which individual peacebuilding agents can ensure that they are coherent with the overall strategic framework. The article is focused on two areas where the lack of coherence provides the most promise for improving peacebuilding coherence. The first is the need to generate a clearly articulated overall * Cedric de Coning is a joint Research Fellow at NUPI (the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs) and ACCORD (the African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes). peacebuilding strategy. The second is the need to operationalise the principle of local ownership. The article argues that without meaningfully addressing these shortcomings peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction systems will continue to suffer from poor rates of sustainability.

Springer eBooks, Oct 12, 2018

Over the past decade and a half, Africa has developed a significant peace operations capacity. Th... more Over the past decade and a half, Africa has developed a significant peace operations capacity. This is reflected in the number of peacekeepers African countries contribute to African-led and United Nations (UN) peace operations. African countries contributed only 10,000 troops to UN peacekeeping operations in 2000, when the African Union (AU) was established (Lotze 2013). Today, African countries contribute about 50% of the UN's approximately 100,000 peacekeepers. 1 This means that Africa has now replaced South East Asia as the largest regional contributor to UN peace operations. Since the AU was launched, it has deployed

Springer eBooks, 2023

In the context of the poor performance of many existing approaches to peacebuilding, the aim of t... more In the context of the poor performance of many existing approaches to peacebuilding, the aim of this volume is to explore alternatives that may be potentially more effective. One alternative that has emerged prominently in the critical peacebuilding literature-as discussed in the Introduction to this book-is context-specific approaches to peacebuilding. This volume provides several contemporary cases of protracted, recurring, and complex armed conflicts to identify, compare, and analyze examples of Cedric de Coning, research professor, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), and senior advisor, African Center for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD).

Researching the Effectiveness of Peace Operations, Seminar Report, 31 May – 1 June, Oslo

The African Union (AU), European Union (EU), and United Nations (UN) are under increasing pressur... more The African Union (AU), European Union (EU), and United Nations (UN) are under increasing pressure to justify the effectiveness of the peace operations they deploy. Justifying this effectiveness requires precise assessments based on systematized and evidence-based data. Per now, however, this data is lacking, a gap the global research community could help address. On 31 May and 1 June 2017, the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) hosted a seminar that brought together thirty participants from the AU, UN, the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as research institutes and think tanks from across the globe. The aim of the seminar was to share insights on how best to research the effectiveness of peace operations and to explore the establishment of a network that could seek to address this gap. The seminar discussed how to research and measure the effectiveness of peace operations. It looked at current definitions and conceptualizations of effectiveness, and it discussed the varying perceptions stakeholders have of the effectiveness of peace operations. The group also explored the options for establishing a network dedicated to research on the effectiveness of peace operations. The seminar agreed on the value of establishing such a network, with an aim to produce knowledge that is both academically valuable and relevant for policymakers. Hence, it considered different organizational modalities for a potential research network, with regards to governing principles, funding, and how researchers could undertake joint research projects. This report summarizes the key conclusions and recommendations from the seminar, and lists what the next steps may be for the establishment of a research network on the effectiveness of peace operations

Beyond the ‘New Horizon’ - Proceedings from the UN Peacekeeping Future Challenges Seminar Geneva, 23–24 June 2010

Summary Report. Norwegian Standby Roster for Civilian Observers (NOROBS) - The Role and Position of NOROBS in the Context of Norway’s Contribution to Civilian Peacemaking, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

Mission-Wide Strategies for the Protection of Civilians: A Comparison of MONUC, UNAMID and UNMIS

Preparing and Mobilizing Civilian Capacity for the Future. Recommendations for Implementing the Guéhenno Report

The UN system has been challenged by high vacancy rates and slow rates of deployment of civilian ... more The UN system has been challenged by high vacancy rates and slow rates of deployment of civilian staff to the field. To address this gap, the Secretary-General appointed an independent Senior Advisory Group to undertake a review of the UN’s civilian capacity needs. The 2011 Guéhenno Report has formulated four key principles for civilian capacity in the aftermath of conflict: Ownership, Partnership, Expertise and Nimbleness. We support the central recommendation of the Report that international capacity should be the mechanism of last resort. International civilian staff should augment national capacity, not serve as a substitute for it. We also support the recommendation that the UN need not have all types of highly specialized expertise in its own employ. Although approximately 60% of the UN’s civilian staff in peace missions are from the South, most rostering and training capacity are in the North. We recommend that Member States take concrete steps to develop national and regional capacities, especially in the South. We recommend that the training community further intensifies its efforts to harmonize civilian training, and that it develops more rigorous methods of evaluation and certification. We support the recommendation to create a Civilian Partnership Cell that can facilitate and link external and internal UN system capacities. We also support the Report’s finding that there is an ongoing need to map existing civilian capacity, identify gaps, and track long-term commitments to fill those gaps. The Secretary-General’s Senior Advisory Group has made bold and innovative recommendations. The question is whether the Member States and the UN system will step up to that challenge.

Protecting Civilians

Protection of Civilians, 2016

Challenges, Key Issues and Future Directions

Lettere En WysbegeerteFilosofiePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of ... more Lettere En WysbegeerteFilosofiePlease help us populate SUNScholar with the post print version of this article. It can be e-mailed to: scholar@sun.ac.z

Political, Civilian and Military Dimensions of Post-Conflict Reconstruction and Development (PCRD)

Nassrine Azimi & Chang Li Lin (eds.), The Nexus between Peacekeeping and Peace-Building: Debriefing and Lessons, Report of the 1999 Singapore Conference. London: Kluwer Law International, 2000, 288 pp

Journal of International Peacekeeping, 2001

Implications of a comprehensive or integrated approach for training in United Nations and African Union peace operations

... that: 'Integration is the gui-ding principle for the design and implementation of comple... more ... that: 'Integration is the gui-ding principle for the design and implementation of complex ... sions of peacebuilding (political, development, humanitarian, human rights, rule of law, social and ... different interna-tional and local actors, and across the analysis, planning, implementa-tion ...