Weak State, Strong Community? Promoting Community Participation in Post-Conflict Countries

Introduction Promoting "community participation" in managing social services is a new orthodoxy among governments and international organizations. It has circumnavigated the globe, appearing in countries as varied as the United States and Malawi, Nicaragua and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is a buzzword in international development work, edging out the "poverty alleviation" and "human capital" themes that came before it (Botchway, 2000; Cornwall, 2003; Ackerman; 2003). And it has emerged recently in programs that promote international humanitarian assistance for countries or regions at war or in conflict, thus establishing itself in the new relief paradigm. In relief work, the increased role of participation is evident from the mushrooming of parent-teacher associations, parent-school councils, and other varieties of community-based school management organizations. The belief that small civic associations are key ingredients for strengthening civil society and enhancing democracy provides persuasive theoretical support for these interventions. Thus, community participation in educational governance has become part of the formula to achieve both traditional development goals and social reconstruction after a conflict.