Durable peace : challenges for peacebuilding in Africa / edited by Taisier M. Ali and Robert O. Matthews.

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With Durable Peace , Taisier M. Ali and Robert O. Matthews have brought together leading scholars to discuss the experiences of ten African countries in recovering from violent civil war.

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CHOICE Review

Ali, a Sudanese activist, and Matthews (Univ. of Toronto) have brought together a group of scholars for case studies that follow up on their earlier Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolution (1999). With varying degrees of success the contributors answer five guiding questions concerning peacebuilding; 1) what kind of peace was established, 2) what peacebuilding measures/components were introduced, 3) what contributed to a peace outcome, 4) what role has the international community played, and 5) how effective has leadership been? Three categories of peacebuilding situations organize the case studies: those after military victory (Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda); those after negotiated settlements (Liberia, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe); and those under threat (Somalia, Sudan, and Angola). Two general articles anchored by James Busumtwi-Sam explore analytical themes more successfully than the concluding summary, though more direct connections with the case studies would provide more depth to the volume. The emphasis throughout is on the conflicting needs and strategies used in peacebuilding. Needs and strategies used for short-term peacebuilding are compared with long-term development and stability necessities. Even given the inevitable time problem, these are good case studies and thoughtful analytical pieces. Policy makers working on Iraq could benefit from this book. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Lower-division undergraduate collections and above; African collections and beyond. R. M. Fulton Northwest Missouri State University