Conclusion

It should come as no surprise that the authors of the chapters in this volume all describe a process of ending violence and peacebuilding that is difficult, expensive and fraught with hazards. Done right, it can set a nation on the path toward reconciliation, reconstruction, peace and prosperity. Done wrong, it may well lead to renewed fighting and more human suffering. When the aggregate response falls somewhere in between, as it most often does, the results are mixed and the post-conflict society will find its injuries in varying states of recuperation and continually at risk of subsequent outbreaks of violence and other problems. Nations navigating through this uncertain zone of neither war nor peace, neither recovery nor relapse will find it a constant struggle to right their society and the ship of state. Yet, as is apparent from the findings of this volume, it is this gray zone in which many, if not most, nations emerging from conflict tend to languish. Our aim in this chapter is not so much to prescribe a specific course of treatment, but to describe the general lessons we have learned about the manner in which the post-conflict society and the international community can best approach the reconciliation and reconstruction process and escape this gray zone. We are most concerned with highlighting those general themes brought out by the authors regarding what the international community and the post conflict society should consider as they evaluate the appropriate response.