The Role of the United Nations in Conflict Resolution: A Case Study of Sierra Leone
Chapter One
Research questions
Main question:
How and why does corruption arise in post-war peacebuilding projects funded by UNPBF in Sierra Leone?
Sub questions:
How is corruption manifested and spread within social and political institutions in UNPBF peacebuilding projects?
Which social mechanisms and attitudes influence corruption in post-war UNPBF peacebuilding projects?
How can the normalisation of corruption be challenged in UNPBF projects in future?
Chapter TWO
Conceptual Framework
Conceptualizing corruption in post-conflict nations
There are many definitions and categorisations of corruption. Corruption may be defined as supply-side corruption which describes the action where a person or group of people offer an illegal payment or unjustifiable advantage (Rose-Ackmern, 2008). On the other hand, demand-side corruption is the receipt or soliciting of this kind of advantage or payment. Corruption may also be defined in terms of being active or passive. These two terms are often applied synonymously with demand and supply corruption (Looney, 2008). Systematic corruption occurs when corruption is universal and entrenched in society. Corruption acts may be done by commission or omission. A public official may desist from or act to perform their duties in return for gaining something from a business or person (Harvey, 2012). These factors together with the level of coercion that the public official engages in and the kind of benefit received are necessary because they affect the making of decisions and rationalization by those who are corrupt.
Defining corruption
Another form of corruption is conventional corruption which is perpetrated by people in government when they unlawfully and selfishly get or accumulate an unwarranted advantage for an individual benefit at the expense of the public (Le Billon, 2003). In conventional corruption, there is a component of reciprocity because both asking for and accepting bribes are also categorized as types of conventional corruption. Unconventional corruption takes place when an official of the government ignores public interest and acts to attain personal gain (Le Billon, 2008). Nevertheless, an important element is that there is no reciprocation because there is no clear transaction between those involved. This form of corruption is inclusive of actions such as stealing, misappropriation, breaching trust and embezzling public resources (Dimant and Tosato, 2017). Petty and grand corruption are subsections of conventional corruption. Petty corruption is occasionally likened to “bureaucratic corruption,” which means that both non-elected and public administration officials are involved.
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Grand corruption implicates high profile elected and government officials taking advantage of opportunities available via government work (Goodhand, 2008). Mostly it results from the bribes given in connection to large scale projects run by governments such as infrastructural development and construction. Political corruption is categorized as grand corruption especially because of the level of seriousness it has and the high-ranking government officials involved (Le Billon, 2008). It happens when politicians and representatives of the government charged with law enforcement engage in corruption. This happens at the high offices in government. Grand corruption may also happen in the form of state capture which is a form or organization involved in shaping and influencing laws and policies of the government in the whole sector using payments (Looney, 2008). It is also possible to have the opposite effect when public officers are manipulating people within the private sector for their selfish gain and this can be described as reverse state capture. Another equivalent of state capture is influence corruption because in these two the goals and actors are similar (Rose-Ackmern, 2008). The difference is that there is no payment made, transaction done or advantage gained. In such a case, the influence wielded is based on the ability of the organization to affect policy due to its size, ownership, and connections and associations with government officials.
Chapter THREE
Research Methodology
Introduction
This chapter presents the research methodology which details the procedures and methods used to undertake the study. It will discuss the data collection and analysis, which includes sampling, followed by the limitations of the study.
Sampling, community entry and working with a gatekeeper
The sampling technique employed in this study is critical case sampling. The head of the project titled “Mitigating Localized Resource-Based Conflicts and increasing community resilience in Moyamba and Pujehun districts of Sierra Leone”, Ms Catherine Walialula acted as my gatekeeper and introduced me to some of the project officers and beneficiaries involved in this project.
Ms Catherine also introduced me to a UNDP programmes specialist involved in leading the “Empowering youth at risk as resources for sustaining peace and community resilience in Tonkolili and Kenema districts in Sierra Leone” project. Ms Catherine also acts as one of my key informants and my other key informants include;
Chapter Four
Identifying and Explaining Corruption
Introduction
The study examined post-conflict corruption and peace-building in Sierra Leone with a particular focus on the UN peacebuilding fund. The research questions were answered using data collected through interviews, which were performed via online platforms and phones. The analysis of data was based on the research sub-questions investigating how corruption is manifested in liberal peacebuilding efforts in post-war Sierra Leone, the institutionalization and spread of corruption in liberal reconstruction and peacebuilding initiatives in Sierra Leone, local mechanisms and practices influencing corruption in liberal external-aided post- war peacebuilding efforts and the structural factors and practices influence corruption in liberal external-aided post-war peacebuilding efforts.
Chapter five
Conclusion
This study sought to examine the topic of post-conflict corruption and peacebuilding with a specific focus on the UN Peacebuilding Fund in Sierra Leone. The key objective of the study was to investigate how the social and institutional factors and mechanisms interact to influence practices of corruption in liberal post-war peace-building efforts, taking the case study of the UN peace-building fund in Sierra-Leone. The study sought to answer the following main question: Which local mechanisms and practices influence corruption in liberal external-aided post-war peacebuilding efforts? To arrive at the answer to the main research question, it was broken down into sub-questions that aided in the collection of data. Specifically, the study sought to find out how corruption manifested and spread within social and political institutions in UNPBF peacebuilding projects, which social mechanisms and attitudes influence corruption in post-war UNPBF peacebuilding projects and how normalisation of corruption be challenged in UNPBF projects in the future.
The main findings from the study are that the UNPBF was meant to help in restoring peace in Sierra Leone but it was implemented in a country that was riddled with corruption And this trickled and influenced acts of corruption in the peacebuilding projects. The findings of the study revealed that there were several forms of corruption inherent in the activities of both the UNPB funded projects. These forms of corruption included the removal of the names of legitimate beneficiaries from the list of beneficiaries of the fund, bribery and irregularities in registration.
Corruption in the UNPBF projects was also attributed to social factors such as normalization of corruption in the community and poverty because people saw opportunities of getting money from the UN projects. The culture of nepotism and favouritism in Sierra Leonean society also influenced the corrupt dealings in the projects. Nepotism was evident because some officials brought in their relatives as beneficiaries to take the places of young poor youth.
Apart from the social factors, formal factors also promoted corruption in the UNPBF projects. Some of the formal factors discovered through the study included tribalism, law enforcement and corruption in judicial institutions.
The goal of restoring peace through the UNPBF was to ensure that Sierra Leone will never revert to war again by mitigating the conflict and increasing community resilience in Moyamba and Pujehun districts as well as helping youth at risk in Tonkolili and Kenema districts. The implication of the findings is that the foundation of the peace in Sierra Leone is not very strong and due to that fragility, it remains to be a threat for peace in the future. That means the conflicts can recur if the country continues to condone the vice. Corruption has been entrenched further by the existence of the UNPBF in Sierra Leone and therefore, the problems (corruption) that led to the war (grievances about the mismanagement of the proceeds obtained from the sale of diamonds) are still present in Sierra Leone.
In post war countries, the success of liberal peacebuilding strongly depends on how effectively the country is able to eliminate corruption from its institutions and population. Corruption undermines liberal peacebuilding in post conflict situations and its presence may mean unfruitfulness in peacebuilding. However, such corruption cannot be eradicated without acknowledgement of its existence and deeper explanations on how it occurs by those tasked with implementing the project and those involved in the project. As such there is a need to not only mitigate the corrupt acts in peacebuilding projects but also address the denial of corruption among leaders and other actors involved in these projects.
References
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