Imagined communities of conflict and development: shifting ideas and practice, 1989–2023

Abstract

Thinking and practice related to the connections between ‘development’ and violent conflict have evolved since the 1990s. While giving some quantitative indication of trends, this paper draws on interviews with individuals with sustained senior experience in government departments and international organisations, combined with reflections from research and teaching. The paper honours the work of Astri Suhrke who more than most has probed these themes. A narrative arc, with different strands of scholarship, debate, and practice, reflects a growing sophistication of analysis and integration of ideas and disciplines; rising confidence in outsiders’ (especially Western agencies’) ability to ‘solve’ apparently internal conflicts in low- and middle-income countries; a series of failures and a crisis of faith, above all in the ‘liberal peace’ and possibly also in ‘development’; a big change in the geo-political context; and key areas where ideas, and ways of thinking, are shifting, though policy-oriented organisations may not be catching up. Sub-plots include identifying gaps, highlighting areas where analysis and practice may intensify in coming years, and the eternal quest for effective systems of classification.