School Update

Last Semester (IN LIFE) as a Student

I spend a lot of time studying & drinking tea at Coffee Shops

As a reminder for everyone – in South Africa, I am attending the University of Cape Town and studying towards an MPhil in Justice and Transformation with a Concentration in Peace and Conflict Resolution.

For the final semester of coursework, I am taking my program’s required Post-Conflict Justice in Africa course taught by Hugo van der Merwe, the Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR). The course focuses on “the role of empirical research in building knowledge of post-conflict reconciliation and transitional justice” by studying existing transitional justice mechanisms such as truth commissions, prosecutions, reparations, amnesty, etc. In class we address questions of delivering truth and justice as well as promoting reconciliation after a conflict.

In addition to my course in the Politics faculty, I received permission to take courses in the Economics Department. I am enrolled in Developmental Challenges in Africa and I audit Economics of Conflict, War, and Peace. I was keen to pursue further studies in the Economics faculty to (1) assist with my thesis research and (2) because  socio-economic development in post-conflict transitioning societies is essential to sustainable peace; accordingly, an interdisciplinary approach is necessary. Upon graduation, I will have completed courses in the Politics, Economics, and Social Development faculties; this is my attempt to make up for the missed opportunity to utilize Davidson’s Center for Interdisciplinary Studies program as an undergrad.

Lastly, a brief update on my thesis – I presented to the Department last Friday and have started the draft of my Master’s thesis. My working title is: “Post- Conflict Private Sector Development: Does it Promote Sustainable Growth & Peace? A Case Study of Mozambique.” Private sector development addresses “the twin goals of economic growth and peace, in other words, to strengthen conditions for the growth of a stable, accessible, and competitive private sector and to contribute to a lasting and durable peace” (FIAS- GTZ 2009: 11).

To simplify à post-conflict countries face numerous challenges in not only preventing a relapse into conflict but also in pursing political, social, and economic change. With all the competing priorities of a post-conflict environment, my paper will focus on economic reconstruction and specifically local, private sector development. I am using the case study of Mozambique to address (1) the shifts in the global approach to post-conflict economic reconstruction; (2) the vital role of the state in post-conflict socio-economic development; (3) the importance of conflict- sensitive private sector engagement; (4) the need for a hybrid method that includes both the investment climate and interventionist approaches; and (5) the limitations of the current private sector development framework that holds Mozambique as a ‘success story.’ [For those former classmates and colleagues who study this subject matter, this is a general explanation of the topic for my family and Rotarians. If you are interested in my actual methodology, research question, and framework then email me ... especially if you want to give me advice or suggest resources J ]