Peacekeeping, Statebuilding and Strategic Planning.

This paper is based on field research in the DRC and in Afghanistan and addresses three key questions: (i) what does a peacebuilding strategy need to look like in the early phases of a mission; (ii) what capacities are needed that are currently lacking in he UN's Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) to deliver on the outputs of such a strategy, and where could they come from; and, (iii) what do electoral transitions mandate in terms of a peacebuilding strategy. The paper will be anchored in literature on state formation processes. The hypothesis is that even though state-formation is the end goal of international intervention, the specific set of skills necessary to support state-formation are absent in most international organizations. These skills are necessary in both the pre-transition phase, and particularly when a UN mission loses its political teeth. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]