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Capacity building in fragile and post‐conflict situations is specially challenging for policy makers in that it represents a situation that needs to be carefully managed. Understanding the dynamic link between capacity building and conflict requires understanding the nature and determinants of conflicts, their duration, intensity and the modalities for their cessation and post‐conflict reconstruction. This study attempted to do that from systemic or theoretical perspective. A major common theme that runs across the literature is that post‐conflict recovery and sustainable development and the associated capacity building exercise in Africa need to have the following four feature: (1) first a broad development planning framework with a fairly long‐time horizon and an overarching objective of poverty reduction; (2) second, social policy‐making in such countries is expected to be distinct from non‐conflict countries. This signals the need to articulate country specific policies and (3) third, intervention in such states requires a high volume of aid flows and (4) forth it need to be preceded by deeper understanding of African societies by donors. This study by outlining such basic issues from theoretical perspective resorted to an outline of three core areas of capacity building that are needed in post‐conflict and fragile states: capacity building to address immediate needs of post‐conflict states, capacity building to address the core economic and political causes of conflict, as well as, capacity building to address issues of finance and financial sector reconstruction. Each of these aspects is discussed in detail in the study. The study underscores the need to view and understand capacity building exercise as part and parcel of a broad developmental problem which requires broader developmental solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the development of the private security sector in several former Yugoslav countries that have gone through difficult post‐conflict reconstruction including the field of security.

The paper takes a qualitative approach to data collection that includes interviews with experts in the field of private security from several ex‐Yugoslav countries.

While much effort is invested in the rebuilding of new, democratic public police forces in post‐conflict societies, little attention is usually paid to non‐state providers of security, for example, private security industry. Private security could, potentially, be both a crucial additional stabilising factor in assuring security in post‐conflict environments and a cause of instability if it lacks legislative control, professionalism and ethical guidance. Hence, both the state and the police should support the private security industry in helping it to achieve legitimacy and, where appropriate, partner state bodies. A well‐regulated private security sector could also become a substantial employer of large numbers of demobilised combatants in post‐conflict societies. Analyses of private security sectors in several former Yugoslav countries that experienced conflict identify a number of potential advantages and challenges. On one hand, in those countries with appropriate legislation in this regard, private security is becoming a valuable additional provider of security, while on the other hand, even strict regulation has failed to prevent some private security companies maintaining links with paramilitary, political and organised crime groups. Legal regulation is a precondition for the stable development of private security in those countries focussed upon in this paper, and this is not possible without appropriate action regarding the training, integrity and ethical behaviour of private security officers.

The results are limited to developments in ex‐Yugoslavia, and may not be easily generalized to other situations and venues.

This paper provides a useful source of information for security policy makers and security experts in post‐conflict societies.

This paper extends understanding of the development of private security in post‐conflict societies.

Rehabilitation and reconstruction of social and economic infrastructure in a post-conflict environment are complex, long-debated issues in development cooperation. In addition to war creating large-scale human suffering, generating refugees, displacing populations, engendering psychological distress, obliterating infrastructure and transforming the economy, in post-conflict situations, deepening chaos and disorder can be found at the highest social, economic and political levels; serious developmental challenges remain insufficiently addressed. Repairing war-damaged infrastructure in order to reactivate the local economy is a challenge for all post-conflict countries. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

The study was designed to examine planning and execution of post-conflict reconstruction (PCR). The use of a mixed-method research approach combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection was used to explore planning and implementation of PCR infrastructure projects in Kosovo. The data collection in the field was undertaken for a period of eight weeks, from July to September 2008. A total of 420 respondents were involved in the study process, as follows: key informants (four), pilot test (12), semi-structured interviews (36), project manager/engineers survey (231), chief of mission/country director survey (117), and focus group (20). To meet the needs of the society and recognise the required functional components of project management, the overall contexts of managing projects in a post-conflict environment have been discussed in the study.

Planning and implementing reconstruction projects in areas affected by conflict have proven to be far more challenging than expected and responses by practitioners, aid agencies, and government regarded as inadequate. The changing political, economic, and social factors in Kosovo after the war in 1999 have had a significant influence on the limited adoption of a project management methodology in development and reconstruction projects. The findings from the exploratory study were aimed at improving understanding of the planning, pre-designing, and implementation of infrastructure projects. The findings indicated a need to promote a better understanding of how projects are undertaken at all levels of the organisation, and to describe processes, procedures, and tools used for the actual application of projects. The findings of the study identified a poor quality of planning and implementation of reconstruction projects in an environment of complexity, change, and uncertainty. The study also raised some very significant findings for a broader approach to community involvement in project identification, planning, and implementation. Infrastructure projects implemented in Kosovo were used to develop a conceptual framework for designing projects and programmes more likely to yield positive outcomes for post-conflict society.

The study was done by the researcher in Kosovo.

The purpose of this study was to explore the role social entrepreneurship has played in post conflict recovery in Gulu district in northern Uganda.

An exploratory and qualitative research design was used to examine the role of social entrepreneurship in post conflict recovery in the Gulu community located in Uganda. A sample of five social entrepreneurs and 15 beneficiaries were interviewed.

The findings revealed that there is an association between active social entrepreneurship and post conflict recovery. Social entrepreneurship was found to create opportunity recognition, networking and innovation at both an individual and societal level.

The generalization of the findings was limited by sample and method. A cross-sectional design that was used does not allow for a long-term impact study and limited empirical published research done.

This in-depth richness provides a clearer appreciation of the role social entrepreneurs’ play in post conflict recovery.

When a major landslide and floods devastated Freetown, Sierra Leone had just overcome the Ebola crisis, which had left its mark on socio-political relations between different disaster response actors. With international disaster response frameworks increasingly shifting to local ownership, the national government was expected to assume a coordinating role. However, in “post-conflict” settings such as Sierra Leone, intra-state and state–society relations are continuously being renegotiated. This study aimed to uncover the complexities of state-led disaster response in hybrid governance setting at national and community levels in the response to the 2017 landslide and floods.

During the four months of fieldwork in Freetown in 2017, semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions with various state, aid and societal actors were conducted.

The findings show that a response to policy building on the idea of a uniform state response did not take into account intra-state power politics or the complexity of Sierra Leone's hybrid governance.

This paper argues for a more nuanced debate in humanitarian governance and practice on the localisation of aid in post-conflict and fragile settings.

The study's findings contribute to the literature on the disaster–conflict nexus, identifying paradoxes of localised disaster response in an environment with strong national–local tensions. The study highlights intra-local state dynamics that are usually overlooked but have a great impact on the legitimacy of different state authorities in disaster response.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of prison experience in ex-political prisoners in Northern Ireland in the context of changing and conflicting master narratives.

A series of nine interviews were conducted with Loyalist and Republican political ex-prisoners in Northern Ireland. Eight were male and one was female. All had been in prison for substantial sentences relating to the Troubles.

This study highlighted the challenges faced by political ex-prisoners regarding the changing conflicting master narratives in Northern Ireland and identified how they deal with these challenges. The participants adapted to post-conflict society by attempting to understand and make sense of their experiences, including justifying their actions as appropriate for the era and identifying positive changes in society resulting from the conflict.

A narrative approach can be beneficial for understanding the experiences of political ex-prisoners. It enables a theoretical perspective to look not only at the personal but also at social elements of why people behave as they do. The findings demonstrate that political ex-prisoners do have different experiences to non-political ex-prisoners. The sample size was small and was drawn from a specific group of political ex-prisoners who were actively seeking reconciliation. The findings may be different for other groups.

A narrative approach can help the practitioner understand the context in which a person lives; ex-political prisoners may be very different from ordinary ex-prisoners because of the context in which they were imprisoned and the reasons for which they were imprisoned. They are likely to continue with the narrative of the conflict they fought in and may still have the same aims (e.g. Northern Ireland to become part of Ireland), though they may or may not believe in the same means. These are issues that should be discussed and elaborated when working with ex-political prisoners.

The master narratives active in the society into which the political ex-prisoner is released may impact the success or otherwise of their re-integration into society.

Understanding the role of conflicting master narratives in dealing with the implications of being an ex-political prisoner.

There have recently been concerted efforts by many post‐conflict African countries to formulate and implement policies and measures that will reconstruct and develop their societies. Much of the discussions of realizing post‐conflict reconstruction and development have generally focused on disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR) of ex‐combatants. What is however, missing is a discussion on capacity development and capacity building initiatives to help in reconstruction in the period after DDR. This paper therefore examines the importance of capacity development in post‐conflict African environment. It notes that while demobilising and disarming warring factions is important, the success of reconstruction efforts in a post‐conflict environment depends largely on the ability to build and develop capacity and skills that are pertinent to helping reconstruct and promote the development goals of the countries. It is argued that post‐conflict societies should have a coherent and co‐ordinate approach to rebuilding, reconstructing and developing the capacity of the state in order to achieve the state’s legitimacy and effectiveness. Such capacity development measures should involve the development of physical infrastructure; the building of the state’s institutional structures; the promotion of good political and economic governance; skills and education training for individuals; and measures to improve and deliver security and social services.

Planning and implementing reconstruction projects in areas that are affected by conflict has proven to be far more challenging than expected and has often been considered to be inappropriate response from practitioners, aid agencies and government. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore reconstruction and development projects in Kosovo given its history of non-sovereign state under United Nations administration and analyse how they were planned and executed that would more likely yield progressive outcomes for the society.

The study was designed to explore how projects are planned and implemented, as well as help in understanding the phenomena in the historical, social, cultural and governance context within the project implementation practices of multilateral agencies in Kosovo. Applying action research principles and using a detailed case study approach to the interviews, the study identified programme strengths, weaknesses and implications of project management practice and theory and differences of opinion within the project team in project planning and implementation in their wider sense.

There is evidence that both aid organisations’ constructed project management processes and international aid agencies practices do not work effectively in a community service delivery setting. The study showed that there continue to be challenges in project processes, implementation, stakeholder coordination, communication, cost, quality, procurement and risk management.

Forward looking and grounded in traditions, the study indicated a need to promote a better understanding of how reconstruction and development projects are undertaken at all levels of the organisation and to describe processes, procedures and tools used for the actual application of projects in war-torn societies.

The study is among the first academic research worldwide to examine traditional practices of project management which are wildly applied and to explore if the same processes can be applied in post-conflict settings. This study is timely and beneficial in fulfilling its responsibility to post-conflict communities.

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the principal preparation programming available to school leaders in Kenya and Tanzania.

The authors analyzed information about the educational leadership programmes offered by a range of public and private institutions in East Africa. Data were gathered primarily through document analyses based on publicly available information describing certificate, diploma, and degree programs related to principal preparation in Kenya and Tanzania.

A description is offered of the intended client group for leadership preparation programmes along with an overview of programme content, structure, delivery modes, and credentialing. Gaps were noted in the areas of instructional leadership, educational technology, and visioning. Further, the authors noted the insufficient capacity of educational institutions in East Africa to prepare new principals or to offer ongoing professional development.

The study was limited to publicly available documents. There is a marked need for more detailed empirical reports of principal preparation in sub‐Saharan Africa.

The suitability of the content of existing principal preparation programs warrants closer examination.

This report contributes to the understanding of principal preparation in sub‐Saharan Africa in terms of its capacity, content, and delivery modes.

Post conflict housing reconstruction is crucial to development and peacekeeping. However, the success of it, is hindered by a number of problems related to a lack of addressing housing needs. The purpose of this paper is to explore how such housing needs can be effectively managed in post conflict housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka.

Using the grounded theory method as the research strategy, unstructured interviews were conducted with policy makers, practitioners, beneficiaries and academics in Sri Lanka. Data were analysed using open, axial and selective coding to develop the theoretical framework.

The study reveals the challenges, contributing factors and strategies in addressing housing needs of accessibility, habitability, affordability, location, facilities, cultural considerations and security of land tenure. It also identifies the gaps and recommendations. The paper establishes the links between these and presents a theoretical framework for managing housing needs effectively in post conflict housing reconstruction in Sri Lanka.

This research enhances the success of post conflict housing reconstruction through addressing housing needs effectively, which contributes to sustainable housing development after conflicts.

The study combines the literature from five main areas: conflicts, post conflict, post conflict reconstruction, post conflict housing reconstruction and housing needs and provides a better understanding on how the housing needs can be managed during post conflict housing reconstruction in developing countries based on empirical evidence.