Arbeitspapier

Revisiting community-driven reconstruction in fragile states

Community-driven reconstruction (CDR) is an approach to post-war reconstruction that gives discretion to local community councils in establishing priorities and overseeing the implementation of reconstruction and development activities. A series of methodologically exceptional studies has raised questions about whether CDR generates any meaningful impact beyond the short run, given that desired effects on social cohesion and collective action capacity have not been realized. This paper argues that such analyses either underplay or miss entirely three extraordinary successes of CDR. CDR has stood out relative to alternative strategies in terms of its efficiency and relative invulnerability to corruption. Institutions created through CDR initiatives have endured in contexts in which other governance institutions have collapsed. CDR institutions have shown themselves to be adaptable to new service delivery needs that go beyond the original purpose of infrastructure delivery. Based on this evidence, CDR is an example of institutional engineering done right, and remains a highly appealing strategy for reconstruction and longer-term development in war-affected contexts.

ISBN
978-92-9267-334-5
Language
Englisch

Bibliographic citation
Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2023/26

Classification
Wirtschaft
Planning Models; Planning Policy
Subject
community-driven reconstruction
collective action
corruption
governance
infrastructure

Event
Geistige Schöpfung
(who)
Samii, Cyrus
Event
Veröffentlichung
(who)
The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
(where)
Helsinki
(when)
2023

DOI
doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2023/334-5
Handle
Last update
10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET

Data provider

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Object type

  • Arbeitspapier

Associated

  • Samii, Cyrus
  • The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)

Time of origin

  • 2023

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