Building a Peace Economy in Northern Uganda

The attention and interest of the various stakeholders in rebuilding Northern Uganda’s economy as part of peace and recovery present critically important opportunities for positive change and a move to sustainable peace in the region, following years of economic decline and underdevelopment during the decades of conflict. But how strategic are these plans, given the challenges that persist, and when seen from a peacebuilding perspective? Are the opportunities to address root causes, immediate consequences, and ongoing threats of war being seized? What are the unforeseen risks of a re-emergence of conflict posed by some approaches? And how can these best be mitigated?
This first issue of International Alert’s Investing in Peace briefing paper series seeks to answer these questions, in order to serve as a stimulus to more conflict-sensitive policy and practice. Its intended audience are policy-makers and implementers in central and local government, as well as development partners (including NGOs), and private sector local to, or doing business in, the region. In order to contextualise its analysis, the report presents an overview of the political economy of war in Northern Uganda, before proceeding to review the different interventions being made or proposed for the region’s economic recovery