Development assistance is usually associated with post-conflict recovery and not necessarily
with peace negotiations. However, with its increasing involvement in fragile and conflictaffected
countries after the Cold War, the management of war-to-peace transitions has
become one of the tasks of development agencies. This recent trend has been illustrated
by ongoing development engagement during armed conflict or instability, the delivery of
humanitarian assistance, or the drafting of post-conflict needs assessments. While the
involvement of development agencies in peace processes is highly context-specific, so far,
there is no unified view in the mediation community as to what their role should be.
This issue brief suggests that development agencies and assistance can provide important
benefits for peace mediation. Even though mediators often attempt to limit the number of
intermediaries to keep a peace process manageable, reaching out to the development
community can be important for the following reasons:
W Development agencies can play a supportive role in peace processes. They can have a
useful context-sensitive understanding of the situation and knowledge of the main local
stakeholders due to their long-term presence on the ground. Foreign mediation teams
should draw from this knowledge base in the preparation and implementation of their
assignments.
W Development assistance and the early engagement of development agencies are crucial
for future-oriented peace negotiations. Development assistance can provide important
incentives for a better life after the conflict, especially if parties craft a new vision for
future political, economic, or security arrangements.
W In order to be an effective incentive, development assistance must be tangible, offer
higher rewards than conflict economies, and be embedded in broader political processes
and security guarantees. The tangibility of aid increases if the selected aid instrument
– for example project support, trust funds or technical assistance – faces few bureaucratic
delays, is delivered in a coordinated fashion, and benefits targeted stakeholders and
populations in the short-term.
W Mediators and development agencies could benefit from a joint understanding of
the process supporting the exit out of conflict. In recent years, mediation practice has
shifted towards the provision of a professionalised, permanent service that supports
mediation efforts throughout the transition from war to peace. Peace mediation is,
therefore, not just an ad hoc response to a crisis, but a long-term engagement in which
many development and peacebuilding objectives converge. For example, development
agencies’ good governance programmes have a lot in common with mediators’ efforts
to create lasting dispute management mechanisms that assist local stakeholders to
implement peace accords through negotiations and compromise.
This Issue Brief is one of a series of guidelines for mediators. Part of a multi-year research
project, it aims to introduce development assistance as an economic instrument in peace
processes, identify opportunities and risks for mediation practice, and propose questions
for mediators.