Engaged societies, responsive states: The Social Contract in situations of conflict and fragility
This concept note presents an analysis of the use of a “social contract” as a way of framing UNDP’s governance and peacebuilding practices in fragile and conflict-affected contexts. It forms part of the follow-up to the UNDP report “Governance for Peace: Securing the Social Contract” (UNDP, 2012) both to contribute further to UN policy discussions and to help chart ways forward.
The social contract is the process by which everyone in a political community, either explicitly or tacitly, consents to state authority, thereby limiting some of her or his freedoms, in exchange for the state’s protection of their universal human rights and security and for the adequate provision of public goods and services. Divided into five sections, this note provides both a conceptual understanding of the social contract, as well as policy implications for UNDP projects moving forward. The note also examines case studies of post-conflict regions where the social contract has been rebuilt and proposes areas for further study in order to help fully capitalize on the potential that the social contract offers. Finally, the two annexes provide a framework for a tool to help practitioners analyze the structure and dynamics of the social contract in a fragile setting.
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David Sogge works as an independent researcher based in Amsterdam, where he is affiliated with the Transnational Institute. Formally educated at Harvard, Princeton and the Institute of Social Studies, he has worked since 1970 in the foreign aid industry. He has published books and articles about that industry, as well as about politically fragile places in Africa. He is currently carrying out research on behalf of NOREF on inequality and fair distribution.
Marco Mezzera is a former senior advisor at NOREF with responsibility for the Asia and Mediation programmes. He has 15 years of policy research experience in conflict and development, globalisation, and governance and democratisation issues, focusing on Asia. In the past, he spent five years in South-east Asia working as a research associate for a Bangkok-based policy research organisation. He holds an MSc in development studies and has co-authored four books and written several articles and policy reports.
Sarah Lister is the Director of the UNDP’s Oslo Governance Centre, a position she assumed in May, 2015. Prior to this she was heading the Advisory and Policy Team of the BBC Media Action. Sarah has a long and distinguished career as a policy researcher working on governance and civic engagement, with a focus on transitional societies. She holds a PhD in Social Policy from the London School of Economics.
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