Academics often write books about topics which they study only at a distance. Sandra Buchanan's Transforming Conflict through Social and Economic Development benefits from the author's own work in grassroots peace efforts in Northern Ireland and the border counties in the Republic of Ireland. It addresses questions of practical concern. Scholars and politicians have frequently promised a peace dividend in Northern Ireland. Clearly, much has been invested in building peace, as aid expenditures now total more than €3.25 billion. Has this money been effective in transforming communities and weakening sectarian divisions? Buchanan contends that, despite problems and difficulties, these programs have assisted local communities in overcoming a long history of economic underdevelopment based on sectarian differences and therefore contributed to conflict transformation.
One of the great strengths of Buchanan's work is her careful writing and analysis. She uses terms precisely and builds her argument methodically. Her clarity allows readers, even those not familiar with all of the details of economic aid to Northern Ireland and the border counties, to grasp the purpose and effect of the aid programs. Buchanan builds on Johan Galtung's but especially John Paul Lederach's conception of peace and stresses the importance of citizen empowerment with effective conflict transformation. Her review of the literature is first rate, and she develops clear and workable definitions, especially for conflict transformation, which is the key concept utilized in the book. Conflict transformation addresses “the root causes of conflict over the long-term” and promotes “conditions that create cooperative horizontal and vertical relationships, principally . . . between conflicting actors of relatively unequal status” (25). Buchanan believes development aid has a role to play in transforming conflict in three critical ways. First, this aid assists long-term conflict prevention by promoting economic development that transforms existing inequalities and economic problems. Second, aid supports the peace process by creating a space for dialogue in the early stages and later by providing post-conflict reconstruction. Finally, aid assists in undermining local violence in near term by providing economic resources to areas currently plagued by strife.
Buchanan highlights the positive role business can play in building peace. By expanding economic opportunities, creating jobs, increasing incomes, and ultimately supporting greater consumption, private sector economic actors play a critical role. Historically, conflict zones suffered from either the flight of capital or at least the lack of investment. Reversing these realities is an important part of the peace process. Instead of seeing this private sector economic behavior as aloof from government policy, Buchanan recognizes the important nexus between state policy, international aid, and the promotion of investment. She carefully constructs her own measures for the effectiveness of aid programs based on their ability to address the root causes of conflict, display horizontal and vertical capacity to involve all levels of society and empower citizens, have a long-term impact, be tailored to the local situation, and do no harm.
Buchanan provides a good overview of the socioeconomic context of the conflict in Northern Ireland. By focusing on these issues and not the political or constitutional issues, she allows the reader to see that any elite-level political agreement could not in and of itself solve what was at bottom a social and economic conflict. Buchanan stresses the economic costs of the Troubles in terms of lost investment, destruction, and lost tourism. The data she presents indicate that the economic challenges of Northern Ireland were shared by the border counties in the Republic of Ireland going back to partition and have not been significantly ameliorated in the wake of the Good Friday Agreement. Buchanan makes a very effective argument that if the living conditions in Northern Ireland do not improve, the hope of successfully consolidating peace and taking advantage of the agreement as an opportunity to redress historical structural problems will be lost, and the expected sustenance of peace will come into question.
One of the chief benefits of Buchanan's book is her excellent summary and analysis of the various peace funds that have been allocated to Northern Ireland and the border counties. She reviews the history of the International Fund for Ireland, Peace I, II, and III operated by the European Union and INTERREG I, II and III programs operated by the European Union, Community Initiative. More importantly, she assesses the impact of these programs based on the assessment standards she devised earlier in the book. While it is true that some of these funds were perhaps too driven by a top-down approach to peacebuilding, it is difficult to estimate what might have happened if this funding had not been in place. Critics are quick to question whether these programs yield the effects that donors hope for and expect, yet they have provided critical funding to many disadvantaged areas in Northern Ireland and the border counties. Buchanan critiques early International Fund for Ireland efforts and INTERREG I and II for their lack of effectuating the kind of results proponents of this program had promised. Buchanan's summary and analysis of Peace I and II programs suggests that Peace I had a more social inclusion focus and Peace II focused more on economic issues. One of the strengths of both of these programs was the consultative nature of these programs with local grassroots community and voluntary organizations. Buchanan found that Peace I programs had an impact on 38 percent of the population of Northern Ireland and the border counties. While most commendatory of the innovative and accessible Peace I funding, Buchanan critiques excessive regulation and expense associated with Peace II funding. While acknowledging problems for both of these programs, Buchanan finds that they were helpful in addressing the core of the conflict and the other measures she devises to evaluate the success of these programs. The INTERREG programs were intended to facilitate economic development in Europe's border regions, and Buchanan believes that even though these programs were not designed to be conflict resolution programs, they were effective in that they addressed the root source of the conflict in Northern Ireland and became more effective over time.
Buchanan stresses that there is no quick fix in terms of economic aid programs transforming zones of conflict into zones of peace. Programs have impact in that they change the trajectory of violence toward peace in a long-term, complex, and multifaceted process. Overall, she presents all three programs she reviews as important in contributing to conflict transformation. This book provides the best analysis to date of the economic efforts to build peace in Northern Ireland. As Buchanan notes, the process will continue to require effective government policy making that makes conflict transformation a fundamental goal. The most beneficial approach will effectively link grassroots efforts in peace building with the initiatives of elites who too often remain disconnected from building peace in conflict zones like Northern Ireland.
