Promoting democratic institutions in post-conflict societies: Giving diversity a chance

The idea of building or strengthening 'democratic institutions' to facilitate the reconstruction of a country after conflict, within a framework of stability and legitimacy, has attracted increasing attention. This article highlights the principal ambiguities attached to the modes in which democracy is most often promoted in such a perspective, particularly in their failure to articulate the various transformations that shape the societies concerned. It is at this very level that the identification of the 'institutions' to benefit from specific support becomes crucial. The article calls for a better awareness of the routines and complexities of the processes shaping institutions, in the fluid conjoining of the social and political spheres.