Paper short abstract:

This paper will present an analysis of the socio-economic impact of mine clearance as an integral element of peacebuilding.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will present an analysis of the socio-economic impact of mine clearance as an integral element of peacebuilding. The socio-economic impact of demining cannot be measured as a standalone factor. Dominant approaches to examination of the costs of landmine clearance focus on cost-benefit analyses that emphasise operational costs, according to the type of land and the demining techniques used. These are limited to narrow quantitative justifications for landmine clearance. As such these abstract from the reality that the impact of clearance results from a 'series of actions.' Such approaches are also limited by a focus on short-term analyses at the expense of the observable impact of mine clearance over longer periods of time.

Drawing on a mixed-methods approach this paper analyses primary and secondary data across key economic and social contexts in Somaliland alongside other African contexts to understand the extent to which mine clearance may have influenced social and development processes and outcomes. The paper also explores the dynamism and contextual flux of the logic of mine clearance that can attend shifts along the conflict cycle. The paper engages critically with the peacebuilding palette as it utilises this as a starting point while interrogating its relevance based on contextual priorities culled from a range of primary and secondary sources. Although the paper is concerned principally with observing the impact of mine clearance it reflects also on the complex ways in which this intersperses with the range of dynamic activities and interventions that attend peacebuilding processes and contexts.