Context: Unpacking KPSRL Thematic Headline Towards KPAC22

In the run-up to our KPSRL Annual Conference (‘KPAC22’) in October, KPSRL wants to start unpacking this year’s thematic headline of ‘Reimagining Social Contracts’. The idea for such an ‘unpacking trajectory’ is firstly exploring the concept itself in this kick-off webinar, after which we further apply it to more specific subthemes in subsequent events or deliverables.

The Kick-Off Webinar

On Tuesday 12 July (14:30 – 16:00 CEST), we will host our kick-off webinar in order to:

(1) unpack the uses of the concept of a ‘social contract’ for the Security & Rule of Law sector.

(2) gather input from our community on possible contributions to the other ‘unpacking activities’.

In the webinar, we suggest to explore the usefulness (and redundancy) of the lens of social contracts for SRoL: how is such a concept useful in contexts with limited state capacity and/or intra-elite competition? What can or should Western SRoL actors learn from ‘non-Western’ ideas of social contracts? And how can this lens help us to reimagine security and rule of law arrangements, or SRoL interventions? Do we see recent (regional) trends of how (re)negotiations of social contracts take form?

We do that by looking at the Middle East and North Africa region, with the help of these two discussants:

• Amal Bourhrous works for SIPRI, where she worked on several reports on social contracts in the MENA region (namely Libya, Iraq and Lebanon) from several angles. A.o., this entails a paper on protests across the region, the (ethno)sectarian political systems in Iraq and Lebanon, and an exploration of how Iraqis envision a reimagined social contract.
• Laila Al-Zwaini will bring in her experience as an Arabist and legal expert, researching ‘non-Western’ concepts of citizenship, civil, civility and civilization (madaniya) and non-western forms of key services for a social contract (shari’a law) – concepts that can provoke the SRoL community to think beyond its western-oriented state principles.

Agenda

It will be a 90 minutes session where two discussants kick off the conversation in a moderated, 35 minute conversation during which there will already be moments where the KPSRL community can join in. However, the remaining time is specifically dedicated for discussion amongst the audience.

Although the situation in Afghanistan is not dominating the headlines as it did by the end of last year, the effects on both security and especially the humanitarian situation are still ongoing. KPSRL previously held a closed roundtable whereby SRoL experts gave input to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs on how to keep supporting the SRoL situation in Afghanistan. Now, it’s important to involve the whole KPSRL community to broaden that discussion in an open webinar, by linking it to SRoL (development cooperation) challenges in other contexts - with the Sahel as an urgent focus.

Dutch researcher Dr. Willemijn Verkoren will first share her perspective, given her research experiences on conflict, security and preventing violent extremism - culminating into her recent book ‘Out Of The Spiral Of Violence’ and her recent position paper to Dutch Parliament on the situation in Afghanistan. Afterward, Dr. Niagalé Bagayoko will complement those reflections from an African Security Sector perspective, given her role as chair of the African Security Sector Network. As always with KPSRL, there will be plenty of time for the audience to step into the discussion, share their experiences and ask questions to our two guests.

Background

From 2016-2020, the Department for Stabilization and Humanitarian Aid (DSH) of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs managed five Dialogue and Dissent Strategic Partnerships, for lobbying and advocacy purposes, together with CARE Nederland, CORDAID, GPPAC, NIMD and PAX. All programs have been evaluated, which led to interesting insights on what the programs delivered, how the partnership worked, and what the challenges have been. A meta-analysis exercise focusing on some relevant findings and conclusions of the evaluations is currently being conducted to find out whether some common lessons can be learned across the programs. The exercise also aims to determine how such lessons can also be used for the new partnerships of DSH under Power of Voices, possible new (SRoL) policies, the Theory of Change and finally for portfolio management. The meta-analysis aims to be a joint exercise of Dialogue and Dissent partner organizations and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the technical facilitation of the Knowledge Platform Security and Rule of Law.

Building from the results of the meta-analysis exercise, a sense-making workshop to discuss key findings will be held on September 15th, 2021. Participants will dive deep into the meta-analysis findings and discuss recommendations and the uptake process for future programming and policy-making.

Please click here to download the full concept note.

Guiding Questions

1. How was learning embedded in the programs (TOC development, learning agenda development, learning agenda implementation)? How and to what extent did this lead to (good practices of) adaptive programming in fragile contexts? What were the challenges and what contribution did adaptive programming have on better results?

2. How did the (strategic nature of the) partnership concept work, with specific attention to the role that MFA HQs and the embassies played?; including on how an enabling environment was created for learning and adaptation.

Registration

In case of questions, please send an email to Giorgio Ferrari at [email protected] or Messina Laurette MANIRAKIZA at [email protected].

On Monday, June 21^st, the results of desk study on inclusive governance will be presented internally to Dutch policy makers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this meeting. a first draft of the desk study - performed by the European Centre for Development Policy Management – will be presented and its initial recommendations will be discussed. These discussions will feed into a finalized version with recommendations on how The Netherlands can more effectively position itself into the international debate on Inclusive Governance. Once finished, a public version will be available on the KPSRL website.

Sessions & Timetable

Please click here for the Conference timetable and check out all of our sessions!

About the Conference

The Knowledge Platform Annual Conference #KPAC21 is the Platform's signature event that brings together our vibrant community for thought-provoking discussions. This year will be our 9th Annual Conference, and as in previous years, we invite representatives from national and international governments and policy organs, think-thanks, journalists, INGO practitioners, activists, diplomats, and field researchers from around the globe to join us. These diverse actors assemble each year with a singular aim: to present their latest projects and freshest ideas, and engage their peers to learn and improve security and justice policy and programs.

This year's theme is Asymmetric Power. The KPSRL community has become increasingly vocal about seizing this moment of upheaval to redress asymmetric power structures. While the sector has long been preoccupied with inequality and injustice in societies, pressure has been mounting to address unequal power distribution within the peace and development sector itself. Rallying cries have risen around ‘decolonizing aid’, radical flexibility in financing and accountability, and donor commitments to affirm transformative resilience and strengthen the localization of support.

These encouraging aspirations, however, must attend to legacies of exclusion, inequality and asymmetry; not only within societies, but also within SRoL and development partnerships.  

Click here to download the full concept note.

News

To gain access to the KPSRL Annual Conference you will have to show your EU Digital COVID Certificate (DCC) to demonstrate your vaccination status upon arrival at the venue.
Please make sure that you have the following ready when arriving onsite:
• Your photo ID
• Digital COVID Certificate proof of vaccination, recovery or 24hr negative test result

Please click here for a more detailed description of our COVID-19 safety regulations for KPAC21.

Keynote Speaker

This year, we are honored to welcome Séverine Autesserre to the KPSRL Annual Conference 2021 as our Keynote Speaker. Dr. Autesserre is an award-winning author, peacebuilder, and researcher, as well as a Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of The Frontlines of Peace, Peaceland, and The Trouble with the Congo, in addition to articles for publications such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, and Foreign Policy. 

Please click here to read her full bio.

Background

What do you do when the foxes are guarding the henhouse? In the field of Security & Rule of Law much is known, assumed and discussed about interventions and programs that have been shown to improve justice or reduce violence and increase security. But, what can be done when violence has become part-and-parcel of a state’s political system? And how does a democratic state become increasingly complicit in violence? What can be done to bring societies back from the brink of entrenched violence?  These are some of the questions that Rachel Kleinfeld, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, set out to explore when writing her book “Savage Order: How the world’s deadliest countries can forge a path to security”. 

In this book, Dr Kleinfeld reminds us that, while the language of “failed” or “fragile” states can provoke despair, there are important examples of societies that have emerged from entrenched violence, becoming stable democracies once again – and sometimes at a surprisingly rapid pace. What lessons can be learned from looking at settings where politically-enabled violence (referred to as “privilege violence” in the book) was eventually de-escalated and societies were able to build back social trust?   
 
The Knowledge Platform is honored to have a discussion with Dr Kleinfeld about her work, and to dig into what her findings might mean for how SRoL policy and practice can be improved, better attuned to realities on the ground. We look forward to discussing how ‘privilege violence’ comes about, how it can be recognized, and how it can be unraveled. The event also provides our community with an opportunity to critically discuss the assumptions underlying inclusive governance policies, civil society strengthening programs, and recent focus on ‘local resilience’ as pathways to stability. 

Speaker

Dr Rachel Kleinfeld, is a Senior Fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CIEP). At CEIP she focuses on issues of rule of law, security, and governance in post-conflict, fragile states, and states in transition. She was the founding CEO of the Truman National Security Project, where she spent close to a decade leading a movement of national security, political, and military leaders working to promote people and policies that strengthen security, stability, rights and human dignity in the world.  

Objectives

• Gain a deeper understanding of how violence may be condoned and enabled by political actors and entrenched in democratic societies 

• Reflect on what can be learned from countries that have emerged from these  patterns of entrenched, state-complicit violence 

• Discuss how current trends in SRoL thinking could be critiqued in light of these findings, and what such critique could offer for improving SRoL policy and programming. 

Registration

Registration for this event is now closed. Please e-mail [email protected] if you have any questions. You can view the recording of the webinar below.