ABSTRACT
Clearly, the range of experiences with rule of law promotion in countries emerging from conflict in Africa is vast, and there is no single set of prescriptions that could possibly emerge from a comparative study of this sort. However, it is nonetheless possible to identify a number of cross-cutting themes, patterns, and recurrent challenges that appear in many of the countries examined in this volume and elsewhere on the continent. This chapter seeks to elaborate upon those key themes, and then turn to insights that may be gleaned to develop guidance for policy-makers. While there is no one-sizefits-all prescription to be made, recent experience provides some insights into risks, alternatives, and emergent policy practice, and we elaborate upon these. Finally, we conclude with a reflection upon the lessons learned for peacebuilding theory, considering what the experiences with rule of law promotion tell us about the strengths and weaknesses of the strategy of institutionalization before liberalization, both promoted by Roland Paris in At War’s End and undertaken by the United Nations (UN) and other international actors.
Rule of law in peacebuilding: integral but not always integrated
