Specific Regional Policy Solutions: Conflict

The first important category of conflict-reducing reforms in the region has been economics-oriented reforms. This has included reforms to the domestic economy, such as stabilization reforms aimed to stabilize domestic economic policy and reduce political risks associated with investment, much of which came in the 1990’s when there was a high level of international capital available to be borrowed (Moguillansky, 2001). This has also included changes to trade policies, including reducing tariffs, removing domestic price controls, and eliminating quotas and licenses (Thomas, 2006). This has led to both large increases in GDP per capita for these countries and also increases in life expectancy and decreases in income inequality as regional averages (Fundacioncarolina 2019).

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Institutional reforms have also been critical to reducing conflict, not only civil conflict but also inter-state conflict. Walter notes how the majority of civil wars don't end in negotiated settlements unless there is third-party intervention to assist negotiations, and this suggests that the policies these countries are taking to further integrate into the international community can aid in conflict reduction as well as increasing foreign trade (Walter, 2002). Many governments in the region have also chosen to reject both authoritarian, top-down views of the state and minimalist, non-interventionist views, choosing a reformist social-sector policy where they intervene into areas such as education and healthcare to set up stable institutions before giving markets and bureaucracies a chance to use the institutions for the benefit of the citizenry, choosing to cooperate with both local leaders and international institutions such as the the IBRD to better allocate funding and identify state apparatus weaknesses (Latin American Research Review 2002).

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The final critical component has been political and legal reform. This has included the strengthening of political parties and laws governing them, which is a positive as opposed to the previous, individual-centric models of Central and South American government, which were more prone to authoritarianism. The largest method for such reform has been a focus on Parliamentarianism, with strengthening of legislative assemblies, as opposed to presidentialism and the previous traditions of strong executives. This has also included reforming the judiciary in ways such as having stricter education and training standards for selected judges and giving the executive less power over the selected judges. This has resulted in the trust citizens' palace in both their government and their judiciary increasing across the region. This has also included a more broad shift of the perception of conflict in politics, away from trying to eradicate it and towards accepting it as a part of democracy but aiming to manage it through discourse and prevent escalation into violence (PAPEP-UNDP, 2013).

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Specific Regional Policy Solutions: Gender Inequality

The first category of gender equality reforms in the region explains the historical decline in the inequality within the categories of health and education. For example, the Pan American Health Organization's Program for Women, Health, and Development, started in 2001, was already showing early success a year into being piloted into Peru and Argentina (Gómez, 2002).

 

This also included working with UNICEF in following their sustainable development goals, which began to take gender into account during this period (UNICEF. 2021). Education reforms have included ensuring access to public education for rural communities, standardizing education curricula across economically and geographically diverse communities, and increasing both enrolment rates and graduation rates with mandatory K-12 education policies.

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Economic inequality on gendered lines has recently gained significance as a problem, since the growth in incomes and GDP per capita resulting from economic and financial reforms have not been equal. For example, Bando found that while the average woman works 25 hours more per month than the average man in the region, only half of them are formally paid for their work, which leads to not only economic inequality but also reduced civic participation. Bando recommends policies that ensure equality of opportunity (ex. Equal access to higher education), policies that use technology to reduce the gender gap (ex. Work from home schemes), and policies that protect individual rights (ex. Pension legislation) (Bando, 2019).This has also included strengthening economic and financial protections for women such as insured bank deposits, particularly for marginalized groups of women (CEPAL, 2007).

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Political and legal empowerment reform has been significant not only for ensuring equal access to the mechanisms of power and increasing female civic engagement but also in strengthening democratic norms and the legitimacy of governments in fragile states. For example, while women remained only about 10-15% of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the various governments in the region in 2004, a prime factor behind the low rating on the GGGR in this category, there were improvements of about 50% in all of these categories across the region from 1980-2004 (ex. 9-14% of executives). Buvinic identified causes behind this including not only education, health, and economic reforms, but also changes in culture, the adoption of international human rights treaties and conventions, and affirmative action such as gender quotas, which have also had an impact on the other categories of women empowerment, creating an even larger net effect over the long run (Buvinic and Roza, 2004).

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Overarching Policy Recommendations To Regional Developing Nations

In creating long-lasting peace, I would recommend governments use conflict models such as the GPI to identify areas where improvement is needed, note policies successful in mitigating those problems in other countries, and then adopt modified versions to suit local needs. For example, Guatemala has more problems with a weak central government and local militias, so may want to focus on civil service and bureaucratic reform along with promoting demilitarization while a government like Peru, which is more centralized but prone to authoritarianism by executives, should focus more on government transparency and government accountability through separation of legal, executive, and judicial powers. Countries in the region are acknowledged to have problems with accessing capital to make such reforms, so it is recommended that they cooperate with international institutions to secure funding for such programs, and it is also recommended that such institutions change their policies to account for the role social policies can have in conflict reduction and economic growth by allowing for greater use of funds in developmental social programs.

 

On gender equality reform, I would suggest that governments look not only at areas of weakness but also how such factors affect one another. As noted previously, often health and education empowerment must occur for economic empowerment to occur, which is needed for political empowerment. Therefore, health and education equality must be prioritized through measures like increasing access for rural and indigenous women to access education and quality healthcare. If such measures exist, focus should be on economic empowerment through promoting equal access to the labour force through measures such as gender quotas for jobs.

 

If inequality is present in political spheres but not others then the focus should be to both work with female activists to promote female engagement in politics and increase the access women have to institutions like the judiciary, the civil service, and the foreign ministry.

 

Such changes should not only be government-imposed and should also involve the private sector, advocacy groups, and important institutions, and high-quality policy advice can likely be found by consulting local and regional female advocacy groups.

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The final area of reform is the intersection of these two, or the involvement of women in peace building. This is critical as this leads to both female empowerment as well as longer-lasting peace. Female perspectives should be present in peace processes, such as negotiations with rebel groups, as well as in the creation of significant legislation. Women should also be integrated into important peacekeeping forces such as the police and the military, and if United Nations peacekeepers are used, governments should aim to have at least some women peacekeepers. Such measures both normalize the presence of women in the peacekeeping process, ensuring marginalized voices are heard and present in state policy, and challenge problematic norms, which contribute to both gender inequality and conflict as well as problematic actions within conflict such as sexual war crimes. This should also involve both looking towards the future with such policies and also acknowledging the past, which can include involving women in the process to find justice for previously committed injustices such as war crimes. This also involves ensuring women both have a chance to tell their stories and to be able to face those who committed crimes such as sexual assault in previous wars and insurgencies to be tried in a fair and transparent judicial process. Overall, the focus for this region must be on building stable institutions and ensuring equal access to them for all genders, though exact policies to do so will vary depending on local needs.