Promoting democratic governance and the establishment of a capable state have become essential mechanisms for conflict management and state-building. Furthermore, strengthening governance capacities in post-conflict settings is essential in any stabilization and peace-building efforts. UNDP recognizes the need to work with and support formal, institutional actors in establishing a capable, peaceful state. This has been most recently manifested in the joint project between BCPR and BDP on Parliaments and Conflict Prevention. There is growing recognition within the international community that political parties also have an important role to play in conflict prevention and state-building, since they are meant to be a conduit between the citizen and the state. On the basis of UNDP Guidelines for the International Community on Parliaments, Crisis Prevention and Recovery, the UNDP Bureau for Development Policy (BDP) through the Global Programme for Parliamentary Strengthening – GPPS III and the UNDP Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR) have pulled together their expertise and resources for a more effective action towards empowering parliaments and political parties as actors in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction. Since significant work has already been undertaken regarding the role of parliament, this consultancy is being launched to research the role of political parties in conflict prevention and state-building and recommend the best way for UNDP to support such activities in West Africa. In West Africa, virtually all countries have a multiparty democracy since the early 1990s. Countries with multiparty competitive systems include Benin, Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Countries with a multiparty system, but with a dominant party in practice include Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali. The legal framework for the establishment of parties in virtually all the West African countries seeks to make the parties representative by prohibiting their formation on a racial, ethnic, regional, religious, gender, sector or language basis. Despite the multiparty systems in place, the low level of trust people have in political parties and poor inter-party relations make it difficult for parties to effectively represent the population. Representation is often still skewed either in ethnic or in gender terms. Many West African political parties have weak structures and are dominated by the president who is generally the founder and the main financier of the party, while members – who often do not contribute financially – are seldom consulted for party policies and nominations/appointments (Gentili, 2005). Given the weak level of institutionalization, the stance and decisions of leaders of political parties are very crucial to the overall role of the party itself. The challenges faced by political parties are magnified by autocratic regimes, civil strife, corruption, weak institutions, and unresponsive political systems which continue to undermine reform efforts in a handful of countries in the region. Current crises in West Africa, include civil wars and insurgencies, military coups and election-related violence. While political parties can play a role in curbing crises in all three instances, they are especially well placed to play a leading role in fomenting or preventing election-related violence, when equipped with the leadership, capacity and resources to effectively mediate and create space for dialogue. As electoral violence often stems from suspicion about the electoral process and accuracy of its outcome, crisis prevention opportunities for political parties lie in how to ensure a trustworthy electoral process and a more responsible comportment by political actors of which they are part. For example, advocating for the inclusiveness and transparency of the electoral process; making compromises on contentious issues to avoid stalemate; inter-party dialogue to ensure more responsible campaigning; and civic and voter education of their militants. During the development of constitutional frameworks in post-conflict environments, political parties have a critical role to play in terms of agreeing on the basic laws in order to avoid a relapse to conflict and to quickly demonstrate peace dividends to their voters. Inclusiveness of such processes (including the citizen’s expectations, issues and priorities) and comprehensive dialogue should be promoted between parties to allow political leaders to make informed decisions to set the ground for an efficient, capable and responsive state. Capacity development for political parties to become fully representational and functional is also crucial to a peaceful democratic transition to improve inter-party dialogue and mediation. As exclusion in government appointments or promotions, of specific (often ethnic or religious) communities in the country, creates resentments and struggle for power, political parties need to develop the structure and skills to initiate and maintain dialogue with all citizens. This includes the establishment of sub-national and local party units and the means by which local voices of citizens, especially excluded groups, are heard at all levels, as parties develop policies and platforms during all stages of the electoral cycle. For example, while looking at the challenges of women’s political participation, post-conflict transitions often offer an opportunity to introduce mechanisms to enhance women’s participation, including women’s participation in the negotiations and post-conflict political processes. Similar inclusive decision-making processes should be replicated within political parties. For more information on the topics explored to date on Political Parties and Crisis prevention in the region please go to: https://agora.trustedarea.net/groups/35/documents/537 June 2010 and December 2010 regional seminars June 2010 Regional Parliamentary Seminar UNDP hosted a regional seminar “Towards Strengthening the role of Parliaments in Crisis Prevention and Recovery in West Africa”, in Accra (Ghana) on June 27-29 2010 with 60 participants representing 13 parliaments from the region[1], the ECOWAS Parliament, key international and regional organizations [such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa (UNREC), The Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES)], civil society organizations [West African Action Network on Small Arms (WAANSA), West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP)], and practitioners (European Commission Delegation, Canadian CIDA, the Parliamentary Centre, and UNDP colleagues). On the basis of the recommendations of the regional seminar, UNDP shared the findings with its country offices in the region and piloted two conflict prevention assessment methodologies with the Parliaments in Togo and Guinea Bissau. December 2010 Regional parliamentary working group, Barcelona In the context of the consolidation of the regional parliamentary working group, UNDP hosted a regional meeting with 20 selected participants, on 30 November – 3 December, 2010, representing parliaments and transitional councils from the region, ECOWAS Secretariat representatives, the Parliamentary centre, and UNDP representatives. The regional parliamentary working group was organized in collaboration with the Barcelona International Peace Resource Center. The Center promotes the dissemination of the culture of peace by means of exhibitions and cultural activities; the provision of international specialized training for specialists around the world working in peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations; and the promotion of an applied research program to develop practical tools and methodologies for peacebuidling and early recovery of a society affected by a conflict. For more information on the topics explored to date on Political Parties and Crisis prevention in the region, during the Barcelona Seminar, go to: https://agora.trustedarea.net/groups/35/documents/537 The outcomes of the regional working group were as follows: - Network of parliamentarians on crisis prevention and recovery consolidated – terms of reference approved, including AGORA profiles completed - Report back from piloting exercises (national and regional) - Workplan approved for 2011 (regional and national) - Approval / validation of research papers, including discussion on a dedicated research paper on armed violence in West Africa - Discussion on regional benchmarks for crisis prevention and recovery in West Africa on the basis of the Accra meeting - Participants trained on mediation skills - Additionally, the regional working group discussed armed violence and parliaments in West Africa and Political parties and crisis prevention in West Africa on the basis of discussion papers prepared by UNDP. This exercise will be closely linked to the development of additional key thematic themes to be created on AGORA , as part of the knowledge building on parliamentary development and crisis prevention and recovery. During both the June and December seminars parliamentarians expressed the need to better understand the role of political parties in conflict prevention and state-building. It was also requested that UNDP identify activities that could improve political parties’ capacity to prevent conflict during times of crisis. [1] Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Republic of Congo, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Liberia, Niger, Sierra Leone and Togo.
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Duties and Responsibilities | |
III. Objectives of the study 1) Achieving an in depth understanding of the role of political parties in preventing and resolving conflicts and engaging in state building. Identifying entry points to strengthen them and build their capacities for improved performance, including looking at the regulatory framework, role in electoral processes, the weight of their manifestos and programs. In this regard, providing an in depth study of actions taken (positive and negative), motives behind them and entry points for shifting behavior. 2) Raising awareness among political party representatives of good practices, effective dispute resolution and compromise setting with other political parties, as well as, successful involvement with constituencies and citizens for calming tensions, promoting dialogue and cooperation for state building. 3) Creating a set of policy recommendations for the network of parliamenterians and for political parties based on the study 4) Outlining concrete activities of which can be adopted and implemented by political party representatives and at national and local level, to effectively prevent conflict and engage in consensus based statebuilding processes. IV. Duties and Responsibilities Under the supervision of the BCPR Senior Recovery Adviser and the DGG Programme Specialist, the consultant is expected to produce three outputs. Outputs and specific tasks for the research Output 1: Literary review The Researcher will put together a short (8 page) Literary Review of the most recent literature and research done on political parties and conflict prevention and state-building issues in the West African region. Titles included must date from 2008 to present. This compilation will be tagged according to key words, and uploaded to the AGORA library. Number of days: 5 Completion Date: Inception report, including detailed methodology, Table of content and questionnaires should be ready by early April, first draft by end of April, case studies by June, second draft by September. Output 2: Mapping of actors The Researcher will provide an overview of specific actors (institutions and selecteted regional and international organizations including NGOs) that work with political parties on conflict prevention and state building issues in the West African region and that have/will undertake work with political parties. - Key regional, sub-regional and international organizations, NGO networks involved in West African political party and conflict prevention and state building issues with an analysis of whether and how they engage political parties, as well as, the different institutions and associations addressing these issues; - The document may be constructed as a Table and must include essential references (name, address, phone number, and positions of focal points that were interviewed), as well as information on the organization being reviewed (history, mission, objectives, scope of action in the region, and specialization). - Analyses of their ongoing projects, and good practices and lessons learned from previous projects. - Include synthesized and pertinent case studies from their activities with political parties on conflict prevention and state building issues. Size: The map will be drafted in English and will be no more than 15 single-spaced pages (excluding bibliography or annexes). Number of days: 5 Completion Date: Inception report, including detailed methodology, Table of content and questionnaires should be ready by early April, first draft by end of April, case studies by June, second draft by September. Output 3: Research Paper The Researcher will carry out an in depth analytical study on the role and experience of political parties in preventing conflict and engaging in state-building in the West African region. More specifically, the Researcher will be guided by the following outline and focus on and analyze the following issues: - An introduction explaining the relevance and the importance of conflict prevention and state-building in the West African region highlighting the contexts and challenges for peace and stability and the key role political parties can play in terms of conflict prevention and the process of statebuilding. - Definitions and typologies of conflicts, crisis and state-building situations in the West Africa region to make it easier for political parties to see their potential role) - Three in-depth case studies analyzing political parties’ role in conflict prevention and state-building in West Africa. This analysis should explore the motives and incentives for behavior of the different actors, as well as, the systems that enable or thwart progress. Sources will be primary and secondary. The case studies should also explore the challenges, entry-points and enabling factors in successful interventions by political parties in conflict prevention and state-building (countries/cases and questionnaires to be selected and developed with BCPR/DGG advisers). - The cases should analyze the correlation between positive and negative roles political parties play in conflict prevention and statebuilding and areas such as party financing and financial regulations, statutory frameworks and issues of membership / links with ethnic /sectarian backgrounds where relevant. Also the place of political parties in broad normative frameworks - The cases need to include an analysis of the relation of political parties and civil society. This should include roles of oversight and accountability by civil society, analysis of what mechanisms exist and how these mechanisms can be developed in the countries. - The cases should also analyze the involvement and relation of political parties with constituancies and citizens broadly. They should also explore relation with youth, women groups, excluded and marginalized groups. - A strong emphasis in the study on electoral processes and political parties behaviours, from the conflict prevention and resolution lens, as well as consensus building for statebuilding. - An analysis of the minimum standards and regional benchmarks for political parties to effectively prevent conflicts and engage in state-building This should include a table outlining the kind of roles that political parties can play, stipulating the kind of institutions engaged, the type of stakeholders that can be involved and the potential positive impact that these actions may have. The study should also identify the most appropriate way to develop and agree upon standards and see how they could become national policy; - An assessment of the associations, networks and institutions which have engaged political parties to address conflict prevention and state-building, their scope of work in the West Africa region and their strengths and weaknesses; - A short section that assesses the strengths and weaknesses of the interventions of political party action that have taken place up to present; - Policy recommendations for political parties in the region and for the regional network of parliamentarians meeting scheduled for November 2011 and highlight the critical issues to address for political parties to engage in conflict prevention, dialogue and statebuilding. - Recommendations for concrete actions and activities which can be adopted/undertaken by political parties representatives and parliementarians to build their capacities and successfully engage in preventing and resolving conflict and statebuilding - Recommendations on how international actors can support these efforts with political parties. Size: The study will be drafted in English and will be 30 single-spaced pages (excluding bibliography or annexes). An executive summary will be presented at the regional parliamentary working group in November / December 2011. Process: The paper will be produced in draft form and presented for feedback to UNDP PD / CPR core team and to the members of the parliamentary working group for feedback (through AGORA and presentation of the outline during a parliamentary working group). Feedback from the discussion will be incorporated to the paper. Number of days: 80 Completion Date: Inception report, including detailed methodology, Table of content and questionnaires should be ready by early April, first draft by end of April, case studies by June, second draft by September. Key activities will include: Use of literature Review, interviews with a selected number of officials from key international institutions; interviews with 20 political parties, parliamentary groups representatives, civil society organizations from at least 3 countries (to be selected with BCPR/DGG advisers); review of policy documents; travel to up to three countries to do research and interviews. V. Suggested Methodology: (to be developed and suggested for comment by consultat) 1. Desk Review (10 days) a. Review all relevant materials[1] and prepare an annotated outline of the research paper. and prepare an annotated outline of the research paper. b. Draft the findings of the desk review on the basis of an agreed thematic outline. c. Use the findings for the production of the paper. 2. Mapping of organizations (15 days before and after the field visits) a. The consultant will produce a table presenting the main organizations accompanied by an analysis of the strengths and weakness of institutions and approaches in having an impact on violence prevention through parliamentary action. 3. Research Paper (55 days) a. Use of the findings from the secondary review b. Field visits (up to 3) and interviews to gather information to draft the paper. Interviews should include representatives of international organizations; political parties of selected countries; representatives of parliamentary groups; international organizations and NGOs and any other key actors working on conflict prevention and state-building issues and political parties in West Africa. For all this work the consultant can liaise with UNDP for support on key informats and potential contacts. Supervisors will provide contacts. c. Production of a draft annotated outline for feedback d. Production of the draft paper that will be presented at the regional Working Group in November 2011 by the consultant e. Review of the paper integrating feedback\and approaches in having an impact on violence prevention through parliamentary action.
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Competencies | |
- Ability to work in interdisciplinary and mixed teams is crucial; - Experience of working in a multi-cultural team is advantage; - Excellent writing skills as well as strong analytical aptitude, communication and presentation skills is required; - Good interpersonal skills, and understanding of West Africa culture and customs is and advantage; - Computer and internet expertise is mandatory.
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Required Skills and Experience | |
| - Master Degree, preferably in international relations, post-conflict studies, public policy, development policy or other relevant social science or development studies. - At least seven years experience working in international development on issues of Parliamentary Strengthening, political parties and post-conflict issues, including solid experience in West Africa. - An extensive network of contacts within Gov, Political Parties and Parliaments, Civil Society and Donors working on Political Processes in West Africa - Very good understanding of issues related to conflict prevention, political violence and state-building concerns in West Africa - Very good research and drafting skills - Field experience on parliamentary development and political party strengthening in a post-conflict country |
Researcher – The Role of Political Parties in Conflict Prevention and State-Building in West Africa
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