Interim Constitutions after Civil War: Balancing short- and long-term goals in transitions from war to peace?

Sammanfattning: In light of a rise in the number and recurrences of armed conflicts, the purpose of this thesis is to investigate the role of interim constitutions in balancing short-term peacemaking and long-term peacebuilding goals in war-to-peace transitions where a new constitution is to be written. Drawing on peacebuilding and constitution making literature, the study examines the effect of the duration of interim constitutions with regard to the amount and quality of deliberation and participation in the constitution making process as well as the strength of national identity – the latter linking to power-sharing. Applying a mixed-methods research design, a descriptive statistical analysis is conducted on a sample of 11 post-conflict countries with interim constitutions, followed by an in-depth comparative case study analysis of two of them: Iraq and Rwanda. The results indicate that by interposing time between the conflict and the final constitution, interim constitutions can contribute to a constitution making environment more conducive to inclusiveness and consensus-seeking. Accordingly, more time can enhance the potential for interim constitutions to positively affect the impact of post-conflict constitution making on the prospects of sustainable peace.