The World Bank and Conflicts. From Narrow Rules to Broader Principles

Abstract

This paper focuses on the World Bank and its relevance to conflicts, peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. It relates to the international trend of increasingly more efforts put into inter-agency cooperation, multi-functional operations and policy harmonization – all of which come as a response to a new understanding of international conflicts and crises, and how best to respond to and solve them. This implies operations spanning the traditionally separate development, security and humanitarian segments. Due to its institutionalised apolitical mandate, organisational culture and focus on specific core competencies the World Bank has for a long time sidelined itself from integrating efforts as seen among other international actors. The World Bank is, however, increasingly being called upon to partake in international operations with other organisations. This and an altered comprehension of the complexities of conflict-affected countries have made the Bank more open to engage in crises and emergencies and to coordinate with other actors. This paper elaborates these changes against the backdrop of the conventional interpretation of the Bank’s apolitical mandate and its focus on core competencies. It outlines recent policy changes internal to the Bank that open for a stronger engagement in situations of crises and emergencies. These changes seek to dismantle rigid and narrow rules and rather provide a broader framework and principles that are case and context sensitive.