Coming from a country (Cote d’Ivoire) that is going through a stabilisation process since 2011 (post conflict), i have a few ideas to share with you on this issue.
1/ From my point of view and based on the ivorian (cote d’ivoire) case, political reconciliation and political control are two different things. Political control is a result of political reconciliation. indeed unless parties in a post conflict context, sit together and agree on a realistic roadmap for true reconciliation, then political control is possible. So reconciliation is a prerequisite to stabilisation which itself is a condition for political control.
2/ Reconstruction and stabilisation are simultaneoulsy conducted in a post conflict context in order to foster social peace, reconciliation and economic growth.
3/ Stabilisation in order to be effective must be multidimensional and inclusive. indeed stabilisation in the case of cote d’Ivoire is mainly based on a DDR program and a economic reconstruction plan. My view is that this is a limited vision of the matter.
“Justice for all” or “fair justice” is a pilar of stabilisation. More than that, democratic governance is another major condition to stabilisation.
4/ Stability relies upon justice, reconciliation, good governance, social and economic reconstruction, political will from the “winner” and SSR national policy implementation.
5/ The case of Côte d’Ivoire is a good example since we are achieving economic recovery, social reconstruction and security reforms. therefore we are failing to provide sustainable signs of a fair legal system and a true national reconciliation between people. Besides, security issues are taken into consideration but not sufficiently. For instance there is a lack of unity and confidence among the forces in charge of security and defence. Parts of the country are still facing security threats because the causes are not tackled seriously by the governement.
6/ The last point which seems important to me in a stabilisation context is mediation from exterior partners. For instance the role of France in contributing to achieve stability in Côte d’ivoire is noteworthy. More than that, the role of international actors like Human Rights Watch, the United Nations and others to monitor the evolution of major issues in post conflict countries is also noticeable.