Countries emerging from conflict situations are almost always plagued by social upheaval, damaged infrastructure, reduced productive capacity, severe revenue shortfalls, seriously weakened human resources and greatly diminished security. The challenges are daunting as post-conflict governments strive to ensure peace and security, foster social reconciliation and promote development. Yet recovery is possible if the public administration can earn the trust of the people, effectively provide services to all and operate in an efficient, effective, transparent and accountable way. In fact, whereas the root causes of intrastate conflict are usually assumed to be poverty and economic inequality or clashes among different ethnic or religious groups, the central cause of violent conflict is ineffective leadership, weak governance institutions, inappropriate human resources, lack of mechanisms to engage citizens in public policy-making decisions and lack of or ineffective delivery of public services.
The World Public Sector Report 2010 emphasizes that there are no "one size fits all" solutions to governance challenges as post-conflict situations are heterogeneous. In each country, public administration reforms need to be tailored to local needs. The report also highlights that contrary to commonly held belief, post-conflict situations not only present challenges, but also offer numerous opportunities to leapfrog stages of development by adopting innovative practices in public administration, particularly the application of information and communications technology in government and service delivery. |
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