For much of the 20th century, ‘top-down’ peace-building dominated approaches to conflict resolution around the globe.* Characterised by peace conferences, the brokering of agreements between rival political and military leaders, physical reconstruction programmes, and the promotion of democratic elections, top-down peace-building is usually driven by external, international actors – powerful states and leading international organisations, with international financing.
Top-down peace-building often begins with securitisation (Peacekeeping Support Operations). Around the globe, United Nations peacekeepers are deployed in conflict and post-conflict areas to restore stability, promote justice, protect human rights and support rebuilding. The United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO) took over from an earlier UN peacekeeping mission in 2010, and today involves around 12,000 military personnel and 1500 police, drawn from multiple countries. This is one of the largest UN peacekeeping missions in the world.
Tasked with disarming and demobilising armed rebels, protecting civilians from violence and facilitating humanitarian access, UN peacekeepers in Congo have had some positive impacts. However, the UN’s top-down approach has been criticised for dismissing local initiatives, and for relying on the misleading assumption that local communities don’t have the tools and knowledge to participate in peace. They have also been involved in deadly crackdowns on protestors, and they have been implicated in the rape and exploitation of local women and girls. Rather than bringing an end to conflict, some UN peacekeepers have been perpetrators of violence, increasing the threats and insecurity faced by civilians.
‘Soldiers deployed in conflict zones act with almost complete impunity, frequently targeting women and girls with sexual violence. The UN reported that, in 2021, the military and police were responsible for about 29 percent of conflict-related sexual violence in Congo.’
Bahati, S., Maubert, C. & Kinsella Cunningham, H. (2022) ‘These women are bringing some peace to war-stricken Congo’, https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/these-women-are-bringing-some-peace-to-war-stricken-congo.
Typically re-active rather than proactive, influenced by international political agenda, modelled on a one-size-fits-all principle, and structured around asymmetrical power relations, top-down peace-building tends to have limited success in the long term. Peace processes that are designed or imposed by external actors are rarely as sustainable or inclusive as peace that is built from the bottom up, informed by members of the community impacted by the conflict.
References
- Baaz, M.E. & Stern, M. (2013) Sexual violence as a weapon of war?: Perceptions, prescriptions, problems in the Congo and beyond. Bloomsbury Publishing
- Collins, B. & Watson, A., eds. (2014) Moving Forward in the Eastern DRC, a special issue of Peacebuilding 2.2
- Firchow, P. & Mac Ginty, R. (2016) ‘Top-Down and Bottom-Up Narratives of Peace and Conflict’, Politics 36.3, 308-321
- Hilgate, P. & Henry, M. (2004) ‘Engendering (In)security in Peace Support Operations’, Security Dialogue 35.4, 481-98
- Mac Ginty, R. (2010) ‘Hybrid Peace: The Interaction Between Top-Down and Bottom-Up Peace’, Security Dialogue 41.4, 391-412