1) Summary and brief analysis from a conflict prevention perspective
This handbook is important from a conflict prevention perspective. The European Commission often deals with conflict prevention issues under the heading of good governance, which is one of the six priority areas of EC development cooperation.

The handbook gives guidance how good governance can be mainstreamed in all EC –funded programmes and projects (which is called horizontal approach) and how good governance can be addressed specifically (vertical approach).

Six clusters of good governance are identified
&Mac183; Democracy/elections
&Mac183; Human rights
&Mac183; Rule of law
&Mac183; Civil society
&Mac183; Public administration
&Mac183; Decentralisation

Horizontal approach
Starting from the fact that a full governance’ analysis for each programme or project would involve an excessive burden the handbook establishes for each of the clusters a good governance base line, which represents a minimum threshold of core good governance issues: If a programme or project (P/P) cannot meet this threshold, the activities cannot contribute to good governance and are considered to probably reinforcing bad governance.

Conflict prevention is one of the six guiding principles. The others are participation and ownership, equity, organisational adequacy, transparency and accountability, and anti-corruption. They refer to management principles that are not specific to good governance but are relevant to ensure that the P/P are designed and implemented respecting and promoting good governance. At every stage of the programming cycle, it needs to be checked whether P/P comply with each principle.

For conflict prevention and anti-corruption a more detailed list of questions is included.

Three essential questions in the area of conflict prevention are lined out:
&Mac183; Is the P/P designed in such a way that it takes into account conflict potential?
&Mac183; Are the P/P’s benefits to be delivered in such a way as to not be appropriated by any existing parties in conflict?
&Mac183; Can the P/P help increase rival group confidence through more openness and communication and through the encouragement of balanced, local ownership of the P/P?

On p. 20 the handbook gives determinants and refers to tools to help with the questions. The determinants include questions such as has a ‘Country Conflict Assessment’ been carried out and whether due concern has been given to the need for local ownership. The handbook provides the questions that be asked for every cluster.

Vertical approach
For those projects and programmes that address specifically the themes of one or more of the good governance clusters a more detailed analysis will be required.

Under the heading of most clusters the handbook refers to conflict prevention.
Under the democracy heading questions to be asked include:
‘do agencies of government, including the military an security accept the authority of the legislative, executive and judicial power?’
‘ Are the police, military and secret service directly accountable to government and civilian control?’
‘ Do militias or other bodies, which could resort to armed conflict to further their aims, exist?’

Under the media the book proposes to ask whether the media is pluralistic and representative of different opinions and groups in society and whether it is free from harassment and intimidation.

Under the public administration the problem of discrimination in recruitment is addressed.

Unfortunately under the civil society heading the question which role the different civil society organisations play in the conflict is not being proposed.

2) Conclusion and comments to made at the meeting with the Commission
The handbook addresses many important conflict prevention issues. The handbook however deals with good governance in the broadest sense and conflict prevention is just one of many aspects. In so far as the handbook deals with so many aspects and also as this handbook is just one of many other handbooks desk officers are supposed to use, I must say that I have doubts with regard to the impact the book will have.

The handbook takes account of the conflict prevention dimension of good governance. However it addresses those issues sometimes with too general questions. For example, instead of asking the ‘Are the P/P’s benefits to be delivered in such a way as to not be appropriated by any existing parties in conflict?’ asking the question who are the dividers and the connectors and whether they benefit from the P/P would be more relevant from a conflict prevention perspective.

In my view the book also does not take sufficiently account of the relationship between poverty and conflict prevention. It simply asks whether the P/P provides means to help narrow inter-group wealth disparities?’ and does not take account of the grievances and greed debate and the need for the governments to be in a capacity to control the economy and its resources.

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