Building peace through the nexus between security, democracy and development: a critical assessment of the United Nations mission in Liberia

Abstract

The United Nations (UN) peacebuilding strategy often establish a nexus between security, democracy and development. Therefore, it argues that sustainable peace could be achieved whenever institutional reforms towards democratization and economic development takes place. Thus, we intend to identify whether the strengthening of state institutions in the aforementioned sectors contributes to tackling the root causes of intrastate warfare. Methodologically, this paper consists of a case study of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (2003-2018). To evaluate the effectiveness of the peacebuilding policies deployed in Liberia, we have gathered empirical data to identify advantages and flaws in the UN approach. Our findings evidence that although policies regarding the nexus between security, democracy and development have addressed some crucial post-conflict issues, reforms in these areas were inadequate to fragment local elites, to avoid uneven economic development and to ensure horizontal welfare for Liberians.