The Way Forward

This is a book about people. ‘Fragile States’ in an Unequal World introduces the members of the g7+, a group formed by 20 conflict-affected states: why they came to believe in politics and policy; how they feel about their work, their family and their communities; and what they want to leave behind for the next generations. It is the story of their personal and collective values, their mistakes, and the challenges they faced, and it will resonate with anyone who has tried to organize and work with a group of very different people.


The Way Forward
We are still facing a series of crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and this book could not avoid reflecting on this difficult scenario. The health concerns are compounded by the huge economic challenges many countries are already facing or will soon face. The effects of such problems upon fragile and conflict-affected states are bound to bring to the fore many urgent matters simultaneously, while the international resources available may dwindle. In March 2020, the g7+ Secretariat issued a statement of solidarity: 'Countries affected by conflict and fragility are more prone to its adverse impact. It is not only the pandemic that has endangered the lives of people of these countries but the economic and social consequences of measures taken will impact the wellbeing these nations more than others. With the already constrained institutional capacity, these countries need immediate assistance to enable them to curb the pandemic and its impact.' 1 The Secretariat also says they are 'exploring possible ways to facilitate the sharing of knowledge, expertise and support in public health to help our members curb the spread of the coronavirus'. The statement of solidarity supported the call circulated by the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for a global ceasefire 2 and made a strong claim: 'While the… response of countries around the world has been shutting borders, the exponential propagation of COVID-19 shows that global cooperation is needed to curb the pandemic. No country alone can tackle this crisis and hence we need human solidarity more than ever '. 3 In 2020, the g7+'s annual report read: 'Border closures badly affected flow of trade and businesses and this further resulted in rising There is no way forward without cooperation; it was true before the pandemic and it is true now. The g7+ countries were hit hard: 'South Sudan experienced economic downfall due to reduction in oil prices while Timor-Leste lost USD$1.8 billion (60%) in its petroleum fund due to fall in the oil prices globally. Furthermore, Central African Republic and Togo face economic difficulty. Other member countries such as Haiti experienced increase in risk of food insecurity and high inflation.' 5 Habib co-authored an article on the opportunities that there might be for fragile and conflict-affected states to make progress despite the health crisis, especially as health responses are by nature institutional responses; after all, no sizeable health crisis such as the pandemic can be tackled without the rapid, organised, and coherent response of the appropriate institutions. In that sense, Habib and his co-author, Céline Monnier, wrote about the potential to create room in this crisis for 'building trust in institutions, decreasing inequalities, and fostering social cohesion'. 6 The idea is that people will respond positively to the perceptions of being cared for and having an effective government: 'Governments and donors in conflict-affected countries should identify opportunities to strengthen and build trust in institutions-for instance, by improving the effectiveness and inclusivity of the health system. Beyond the immediate benefits for public health, these measures will also improve public perceptions of the state as a care provider, thereby strengthening the social contract and contributing to the prevention of conflict.' There is a lot at stake. At this point, inadequate responses might cost lives now and in the future. As many have pointed out, in different countries there has been a beacon of hope to be found in the 4 g7+ annual report (2020), p. 3. 5 Ibid 183 7. The Way Forward communitarian initiatives, with local leaders helping to identify those most in need and making sure aid reaches them; neighbours sharing the little they have; medical staff going far beyond any job description to support their communities; and so on. There is power in all that if countries can identify, work with, and preserve those social bonds while at the same time offering much-needed institutional support. As a well-known African scholar said, '[a]n integral part of the process of achieving positive peace is the need to promote social solidarity'. 7 And Helder himself also once said he sees in the g7+ the same bonds: 'Ours is a bond of solidarity'. 8 Well, as I have tried to do justice to the stories of our characters in this book, I have found that much can be done with these bonds, but I have also found out about just how difficult this work can be.

'Fragile States' in an Unequal World
The challenges the people in the g7+ have faced so far are, first and foremost, the challenges of dealing with people and politics. Before being in this group, our characters were already civil servants and professionals who believed in planning and implementing public policy, in the possibility of mobilizing political will for peace and development, and, in many cases, in the viability of engaging international partners in more equal dialogues. Being part of the g7+, these beliefs are challenged by the difficulties of working for a diverse collective and with people who are far apart and have their own incredibly tough obstacles to overcome. Moreover, the already broad individual agendas of these people become perhaps bigger and the stakes become higher as they become part of a group.
The stories in the book have explored how these professionals engage in the difficult search for a voice. As part of that search, we have seen there is a strong need to listen and to develop relations of trust so that conversations can be franker and more effective. Decades of painting rosy pictures at international tables have done fragile and conflictaffected countries little good. On the other hand, we also learned of the ways dialogue can seem to be open but actually be severely constrained by political methods disguised as efficient techniques: annotated agendas and pre-set solutions to negotiations that were never truly held are common traps. Nevertheless, acting in such contexts can be likened to a sprint, whereas winning over important international positions are more like marathons-we saw how dangerous it is to lose stamina too soon.
It must be extremely difficult, when one has seen family and friends go through war, crises, and other difficulties, to have patience, to set one's eyes on the far away horizon while also keeping things afloat right here. Those who survive, we saw, can develop important skills, such as the ability to keep the focus on what is needed. But in order to face some of the obstacles that politics imposes, one also needs to be strategic and to be fair; that is, to look for ways of multiplying opportunities as well. Surviving is good; helping others to survive and strive is even better, or so I have been told.
The thread is passion; that is what permeates all these accounts. That is what makes them valuable. It is also what makes it so difficult to cultivate similar attitudes. Passion has a convoluted genealogy. Who 185 7. The Way Forward teaches one to keep going? So many factors are important. And, at the same time, passion can lead to naiveté without adequate strategic preparation.
But how does anyone prepare without having the appropriate resources? Some of our characters can be called 'accidental diplomats': They have developed diplomatic skills without attending preparatory courses for diplomats; they negotiate, often well, without the background on mediation. It is also common, however, to negotiate with one's pride in these settings. One does not go into dozens of international political disputes with 'career diplomats' or 'experts' without having one's pride at least slightly singed in the process a few times. Our characters have had to face this experience perhaps more often than others, both because they were willing to, for the sake of the horizon ahead, and because that is the nature of the game, something that one learns (or does not, it seems).
For all that, there is constant learning going on that can be painful, exasperating but also rewarding. All our characters claimed it is their duty to believe in politics, to invest in the education of the next generation, to create the conditions for young people to want to stay in the country or help the country and its people in some way and to create more permanent solutions to the thorny issues of poverty and violence.
Meetings cannot be outcomes; assessments cannot be results; travels cannot become the modus operandi for any truthful collective changes; there cannot be no templates to solve the complex issues we have heard about; and with all those lessons, responsibilities travel up to major organisations and down to the local professionals on the ground: one needs to impact narratives, frameworks, and agendas, but also make sure there are changes on the ground. There can be no path forward without the buy-in of young people. Let us say the job starts with one's children, for instance: how does one pass the torch?
The Next Generations 'My father used to write letters, each telling me about how things were going on at home, about how things had changed; there was a lot of advice in there, but no prescriptions. He encouraged me to think of how I could change things; it was always very forward-looking'. Naheed's father's way of teaching his child to seek and prepare for change is quite remarkable. I do not intend to even try to offer prescriptions; I am not meant to be one of the voices in this book and these are not my stories.
For the way forward, we can pick up from where the g7+ left off, with much advice, concern, and hope.
'What I want for my children is good education, that they be independent people and very confident. These things can lead you anywhere', says Helder. The two older ones live in New Zealand with their mother; the baby daughter is with him and her future schedule already includes French classes: 'My biggest regret is not learning French. That's when I feel less confident'. At the risk of reading too much into this pleasant bit of conversation, it says a lot that this is the biggest regret belonging to someone who is surrounded daily by the knowledge of overwhelming challenges. Or perhaps he just does not want to be pessimistic or negative at the end of our conversation, which is nonetheless interesting.
The hopes and the dreams people have for their children say much about what they have in common, what they would like to change in their reality, and what they would do to achieve that. At the same time, when asked about this, most people will respond with the simplest answers, because basic things are so important. 'All I want for my children is for them to be good human beings', Habib says. He really does stop there; he is not tempted to complete the sentence with more details.
Helche says she wants her little son to speak English, keep the family bonds strong, and 'just be human'-and, at age two, her baby boy's name was already down on the waiting list of a good school.
When I asked Antonio what he was proudest of after so many years as a public servant, as the reader may recall, he mentioned the fact that he had studied and worked with Planning all his life and now lives in a planned neighbourhood; on a par with that he talked about seeing his children through school. Antonio thinks of the next generations in general too, as we come to the end of our conversation: 'My biggest wish for the g7+ is that it tries to create mechanisms to deal with political instability'. I then ask what he would say to the young Antonio decades ago if he could: 'I would tell him to work more to help the country. We need a new strategy'. 9 He tells us, by the way, that even though he is 7. The Way Forward retired, he was still visiting the office to finish handing over some work and to train the new officers. Antonio also mentions with pride the fact that he was among the first people to teach at the first university in the country, Universidade Amílcar Cabral, starting in 2004.
The passion for education and the sense of responsibility to pass the torch is clear in the extent to which some of our storytellers engage in some kind of mentorship. Siafa volunteered as a mentor in the President's Young Professionals Program (PYPP) of Liberia. He had two mentees, who he says have been very successful: 'I learned a lot from themas much as I was able to teach. It is difficult to mentor. At the time I was working in Liberia, I could do but not really teach. Mentorship is important but so difficult. They have both come to occupy important positions. This was six or seven years ago and we still keep in touch', he says, clearly very happy about the experience. 10 There is so much potential in that idea of passing on key skills, motivating people with passion, infusing pride in working for one's people, and taking responsibility for a collective. These are at the heart of any important societal change.
There are a few paths forward that have been pointed out by our characters. Some suggest the group should invest in mentorship, exchange, and even internship programs, so that the younger generations can have the important experience of developing the skills we have been talking about here, while exposed to the kinds of environment they would realistically face in their professional lives. These would be ways of developing the next cohort of leaders as well, and would perhaps increase the chances of guaranteeing changes on the ground by trickling down the opportunities (and I use this expression with irony). The social bonds of solidarity and the passion they help nurture have proved such vital assets to the group and their member countries, and yet they are difficult to recreate artificially. Consequently, they need to be truly understood in their complexity and nurtured as powerful political practices.
What becomes clear after so many pages is that these crucial political practices are also, therefore, profoundly cultural. The enigmatic way to nurture social bonds capable of propelling positive changes will 188 'Fragile States' in an Unequal World vary from context to context, as the group emphasizes, but it is clear it includes a strong component of valuing one's culture-and that also means cultural diversity-and making sure this message is passed on to the next generations. How else can one be proud? How else can young people have hope and seek to work for their people's well-being when there are so many challenges ahead, including the challenge of standing tall when others expect you not to? Many g7+ member countries know well the reality of having huge diasporas with firm roots in their country. People can travel and yet never leave; people can stay and yet their minds roam everywhere. Unfortunately, in a field full of templates and frameworks, people and their culture can be forgotten. This book was a very humble attempt to show their importance in a very specific context where these things are so often undervalued.