Including the Excluded: Post-conflict Microfinance and Peacebuilding
Ph.D., International Relations, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies
M.A., History, Michigan State University
Ph.D., Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University
Ph.D., Political Science, University of Michigan
B.A., magna cum laude in Government, Harvard University
May 30, 2012 2:00PM through 4:00PM
The relationship between post-conflict microfinance and peacebuilding has been understudied. Microfinance and economic development scholars have tended to underestimate the importance of microfinance in peacebuilding, choosing to focus almost entirely on the performance indicators of the post-conflict microfinance organizations with barely any attempt at developing a conceptual framework that may reveal patterns which could improve current understanding about the rate of return of microfinance to post-conflict households and their participation in peacebuilding. At the same time, Conflict Analysis and Resolution scholars have tended to segment the study of peacebuilding by divorcing the macro level questions of rebuilding the post-conflict national political institutions, the national economy, and the military from the micro level questions of poverty, inequality and social exclusion, which apart from influencing the nature and sources of the post-conflict household interactions, are informed by and may inform actions at the macro level. This study is a step towards filling in this gap by investigating whether a post-conflict household’s enrollment in a microfinance program explains its dimension of social exclusion as well as impact post-conflict peacebuilding. Using a theoretical-based multi-dimensional approach, this study will test for evidence about the relationship between the dimensions of social exclusion and microfinance base on the responses from a sample of microfinance clients in Liberia to questions related to indicators of social exclusion (or social inclusion): overall economic wellbeing , performance of civic responsibilities through participation in community activities and national governance decision-making, and vulnerability to crimes.