Abstract

Building a capable public service is a key component of post-conflict state building. An effective public service is fundamental to the regulation of society, to managing public funds, and to service delivery. Yet in post-conflict environments, there is typically a tradeoff between the long-term objective of state building and securing the peace in the short term. To buy peace, political elites hand out public jobs and resources to constituents regardless of merit. Donors frequently rely on “parallel” project delivery structures rather than public servants to address citizens’ pressing service delivery needs. Both of these practices may achieve short-term objectives but undermine state building. In the face of these trade-offs, how can capable public services be built in post-conflict societies? This paper aims to summarize the evidence base regarding this question. It does so by reviewing the evidence from post-conflict settings, and by discussing the validity of findings on public service reform from non-conflict settings. Given the distinctive tradeoffs invoked by securing the peace, and limited prior research on post-conflict settings, this topic presents a wide-open research agenda.

中文翻译：

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冲突后社会的公共服务改革

摘要

建设有能力的公共服务是冲突后国家建设的关键组成部分。有效的公共服务是社会监管、管理公共资金和提供服务的基础。然而，在冲突后环境中，通常需要在国家建设的长期目标和确保短期和平之间进行权衡。为了购买和平，政治精英们不顾功绩，将公共工作和资源分发给选民。捐助者经常依靠“平行”项目交付结构而不是公务员来解决公民紧迫的服务交付需求。这两种做法都可能实现短期目标，但会破坏国家建设。面对这些取舍，如何在冲突后社会建立有能力的公共服务？本文旨在总结有关此问题的证据基础。它通过审查来自冲突后环境的证据，并通过讨论来自非冲突环境的公共服务改革结果的有效性来做到这一点。鉴于确保和平所引起的独特权衡，以及对冲突后环境的先前研究有限，该主题提出了一个广泛开放的研究议程。