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Economic Power-sharing
Economic power-sharing emerging from peace negotiations and agreements has five main forms.
1
Political approaches to economic power-sharing, which share power over economic resources and decisions. These can involve specified places for non-state actors or ethnic groups in key ministries, public corporations or economic institutions (e.g. central banks).
2
Territorial approaches to economic power-sharing, which involve forms of ‘fiscal federalism’ that go along with territorial power-sharing.
3
Specific ‘wealth-sharing’ arrangements for natural resources connected to the conflict (diamonds, oil, or minerals).
4
Other forms of economic power-sharing can take the form of land reform, payment of salaries to demobilised combatants, joint distribution of reconstruction funds, and reparations.
5
Economic power-sharing arising because parties agree to share power over resources which cross the new borders created by the peace agreement, such as forests, or fisheries.
Recommendations
Recommendation 1
Peace process design should specifically address the relationship between economic resources and conflict.
Issues that must be considered include:
- How have questions of distribution of wealth and inequality been connected to the conflict?
- Whether there are significant natural resources at stake, which the parties are divided over addressing.
- Whether either party has put economic power-sharing on the peace process agenda.
- Whether the political or territorial power-sharing negotiations have direct implications for post-conflict management of natural resources.
- Whether civil society is advocating for natural resources to be addressed as part of any resolution of the conflict." (Dawes, 2016).
Recommendation 2
Political disputes over natural resources ideally should be approached as technical problems which can be resolved outside of talks.
Mediation support can help re-frame economic power-sharing debates in ways which help manage the tension between the political drivers of economic power-sharing design, and the need for functional and accountable economic institutions.
Recommendation 3
International supporters of peace processes should offer combined economic-conflict expertise.
Organisations involved in development assistance and peace promotion efforts, should have organisational capacity and modes of workings which:
- Enable the creation of joint analysis teams of economic development and conflict advisors.
- Ensure that those involved in diplomatic and mediation efforts have access to technical economic expertise for matters such as fiscal devolution.
- Ensure that experts in economics and fiscal governance understand the ways in which other political imperatives relating to the causes of conflict will drive negotiations.
- Understand that sometimes the 'best' economic governance arrangements have to give way to what measures the parties can agree to.
References
See publications at: www.politicalsettlements.org/publications-database
In particular: Bell, C. (2018). Economic Power-sharing, Conflict Resolution and Development in Peace Negotiations and Agreements (No. PA-X Report, Power-Sharing Series). Edinburgh: Global Justice Academy, University of Edinburgh.
www.politicalsettlements.org/publications-database/economic-power-sharing-conflict-resolution-and-development-in-peace-negotiations-and-agreements/
Dawes, M., 2016. Considerations for Determining when to Include Natural Resources in Peace Agreements Ending Internal Armed Conflicts. In Bruch, Muffett and Nichols (eds.). Post Conflict Peacebuilding and Natural Resource Management: Governance, Natural Resources and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. London: Earthscan, Routledge [online].
