Conceptualising the web for post-conflict governance building

Interest in using the web in the broad field of peacebuilding is growing, notably among practitioners and policymakers. The premise for such an interest often rests on assumptions that have not yet received rigorous critical examination. By problematising the relationship between the social and the technological, this paper proposes a socio-technical approach to understanding the uses of the web in post-conflict settings. More specifically this paper examines how the web is conceptualised in contexts of post-conflict governance building, and what implications this has, by exploring the design and evaluation of a range of projects. Related academic research in the field mentions the web and other communication technologies only in relation to transnational web use by diasporas. Meanwhile, recent pilot projects conducted by international organisations and others in the related areas of conflict prevention and governance building in developing countries provide invaluable evidence of both the importance of the web in post-conflict settings and the urgent need for a deeper, more critical understanding of these uses. Specifically, multiple and sometimes contradictory conceptualisations of the web are in play, with very different implications for current understanding and future development of the web in post-conflict governance building efforts.