Xavier Lhote

Faced with contemporary social conflicts, the answer given by international stakeholders is a combination of “security and development” through, in particular, the reconstruction of the State. However, statebuilding, through its technical and apolitical approach, fails to address the social driving forces behind the violence.

The new contemporary conflicts facing us are more difficult to resolve. The forms of action taken by international actors coming to the aid of the most fragile societies must be reviewed if we are to boost their impact.

According to Xavier Lhote, wars between States have given way to violence of social origin. Short-term humanitarian, political and military responses are no longer sufficient in resolving these crises: development stakeholders have an important long-term role to play.