Abstract
This article explores whether legal empowerment can address horizontal inequalities in post-conflict settings, and, if so, how. It argues that legal empowerment has modest potential to reduce these inequalities. Nevertheless, there are risks that legal empowerment might contribute to a strengthening of group identities, reduction of social cohesion, and, in the worst case, triggering of conflict. It looks at how two legal empowerment programmes in Liberia navigated the tensions between equity and peace.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 437-455 |
Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Journal of Development Studies |
Volume | 55 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 3 Apr 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 4 Mar 2019 |
Keywords
- horizontal inequalities
- legal empowerment
- Liberia
- peacebuilding
- post-conflict
- social cohesion
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Development