SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Thinking and practice related to the connections between ‘development’ and violent conflict has evolved since the early 1990s. While giving some quantitative indication of trends, this paper primarily draws on a set of interviews with individuals with sustained senior experience in government departments and international organizations, combined with reflections drawn from research and teaching in this field. The paper is inspired by the work of Astri Suhrke who more than most has probed and written on the relevant themes and debates. I trace a narrative arc, with different strands of scholarship, debate, and practice, that reflects a growing sophistication of analysis and integration of ideas and disciplines; a rising confidence in outsiders’ (especially Western agencies’) ability to ‘solve’ apparently internal conflicts in low- and middle-income countries; a series of failures leading to 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 organizations may not be catching up. Sub-plots including the eternal quest for effective systems of classification. I conclude by highlighting gaps and possible areas where analysis and practice may focus more in coming years.