The state of post-conflict reconstruction: Land, urban development and state-building in Juba, Southern Sudan
本书分析南苏丹朱巴的冲突后重建，聚焦土地在城市发展中的核心作用，质疑西方民主先行的重建模式，并揭示冲突中社会关系与制度的演变。
Continuing disputes, mistrust, and discontent combine with political dynamics on the ground to pose a major challenge to post-conflict reconstruction. These undercurrents lead one to reject the superficial characterization of post-conflict settings as institutional vacuums ripe for universalized interventions aimed at bringing about positive change. In an attempt to unravel such complicated landscapes, Badiey's book analyses post-conflict reconstruction initiatives in Southern Sudan, with a focus on urban development in Juba. The author places land at the centre of the discourse, not only as an ordinary resource but also as a critical decision determinant during both the conflict and post-conflict reconstruction periods. Badiey also analyses state building from the perspective of local dynamics in Juba in the aftermath of the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Focusing on the city and land dynamics, the author questions the authenticity and applicability of the ideological framework of outsiders who regard democracy as a prerequisite for peacemaking and reconstruction. This perception has largely contributed to the designing of standardized Western models of reconstruction, which are also influenced by the objectives of Western donor countries. The author also discards the notion that conflict only results in chaos and institutional vacuums by observing that out of the civil war in Sudan, ‘social relations evolved, alliances were formed and institutional culture developed’ (p. 14). However, Badiey does not ignore the fact that vulnerable groups always emerge from both national and local conflicts further disadvantaged by the complexity and shifting nature of power and privileges.