Constitution Making Processes and the Durability of Peace

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2009 in the subject Sociology - War and Peace, Military, grade: 1,0, Uppsala University (Department for Peace and Conflict Research), course: Peace, War and Democratisation, language: English, abstract: The multidimensional peacekeeping missions of today are often enfolded in opaque mechanisms of microphysical power operating in everyday social practices that remain invisible to the naked eye. Many seek to reorder war-shattered countries strategically according to best Western practices. One such strategy is to redraft the constitution which will then form the legal basis of a country for decades to come. The present study investigates the link between the type of constitution building process and the durability of peace. Particularly, it asks the following research question: Why do some constitution building processes lead to durable peace while others do not? The research was carried out using a structured focused comparison of Nicaragua and Peru.