Successfully reintegrating former rebels into civil society is a crucial task in postconflict countries. In the aftermath of a decade-long conflict (1996-2006) in Nepal, management of arms and armies became a major issue in the domain of post-conflict peacebuilding. “From Combatants to Peacemakers” was an initiative to promote peace and harmony among the former ex-combatants and host communities. In this context, this article highlights the role of social dialogue, which proved effective in promoting social harmony, peace, and reconciliation among ex-combatants and community members in Nepal. Also, the article explicates the worth of social dialogue that may be used in other parts of the world to successfully reconcile former antagonist groups into the same communities.

The Greentree Agreement of 2006 between Cameroon and Nigeria ended the conflict over the ownership of the oil and fish rich Bakassi Peninsula in favor of Cameroon and created problems for the relocated and resettled Nigerians. This article argues that contrary to the generally accepted theory by many scholars that heritage values are often the concern of displaced persons, we found that practical economic needs and the desire for functional participation in governance of those relocated in New Bakassi have been the main problems of the displacees leading to an indigenousincomer divide that could generate a crisis that may degenerate into intractable conflict. The study reveals that due to government insensitivity and corruption, proper resettlement for Bakassi returnees is yet to be addressed.

This article analyzes the role of schools in helping to build peace in post-conflict countries in Africa. It argues that schools cannot be built back the same after a violent conflict because they have often been complicit in the violence in the first place. Thus the need to “build back better.” There is much belief in the potential of schools to contribute to peace in post-conflict societies. However, evidence on the role of schools in terms of the introduction of courses in peace education and attempts to change the structures, relationships, and practices of schools in a more peaceful direction is not particularly encouraging. Many significant obstacles remain to schools successfully contributing to peace.

Liberal missteps have paved the way for the local turn in post-conflict peacebuilding. However, localized peacebuilding does not always produce peaceful outcomes. Several scholars have previously demonstrated that unresolved tensions from international-local encounters result in a negative hybrid peace in which political and social hierarchies are preserved and conflict and violence persist. To add to existing analyses on the local turn in peacebuilding, this article analyzes some of the causes and consequences of negative hybrid peace using the case of Timor-Leste. Exclusive and superficial local involvement, political cleavages within the local leadership, and unresolved tensions from international-local encounters were roadblocks in Timor-Leste’s post-conflict peacebuilding. These characteristics prelude a return to a status quo dominated by the local elite and plagued with governance and socio-economic issues.

Nepal is in a long political transition. This article focuses on the complex practices and concepts of political consensus in Nepal, and an effort is made to capture the political dynamics of different stakeholders of consensus politics with insights into the complex political reality. This article argues that the practice of consensus has contributed to easy resource distribution, containing overt violence, and accommodating diverse political parties, and made more progress in consolidating peace than in promoting democracy. Established democratic norms were monopolized by a few leaders in the name of consensus, sometimes even leading to political tensions. Thus, the consociation model falters in Nepal and the proper adoption of a democratic contestation model may be a solution for ongoing socio-political tensions.

The case of East Timor is distinct in that it offers both its own specifics and a common perspective widely shared among peacebuilders. Its unique trajectory of developments could be more succinctly understood through a four-dimensional taxonomy: “givens,” the past, the present, and the future. Three “givens” represent the unique historical, political, and geographical dimensions of the country. Its distinct position in the historical context of UN peace operations is marked not only by reaffirmed relevance as a “success” model despite its increasingly complicated form, but also by unprecedented challenges for consent of the host country and adoption of local wisdom. However, East Timor is subject to pitfalls in the progress of peacebuilding. Also, as time passes it may face changing agendas and disquieting woes.

Nepal adopted a unique post-conflict development framework for mobilizing international support and government resources to facilitate its peace process. The main focus of this paper is the role played by the Nepal Peace Trust Fund (NPTF) in Nepal’s transition. The paper concludes that the main strengths of this model were its success in keeping ex-combatants in cantonments by creating a conducive environment, its harmonization of funds from donors and the government, and its contribution to national elections. However, the NPTF’s defects were many, including weak monitoring mechanisms, an inability to prepare for successful rehabilitation and to initiate projects to support transitional justice, and failure to stop the misuse of funds and corruption. Having taken stock of these failures, the paper explores a core reason for them: the NPTF’s isolation from the political process.