« Previous |
41 - 47 of 47
|
Next »
Number of results to display per page
Search Results
42. Making States Work: From State Failure to State-Building
- Author:
- Michael Ignatieff, Ramesh Thakur, and Simon Chesterman
- Publication Date:
- 07-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- It is frequently assumed that the collapse of state structures, whether through defeat by an external power or as a result of internal chaos, leads to a vacuum of political power. This is rarely the case. The mechanisms through which political power are exercised may be less formalized or consistent, but basic questions of how best to ensure the physical and economic security of oneself and one's dependants do not simply disappear when the institutions of the state break down. Non-state actors in such situations may exercise varying degrees of political power over local populations, at times providing basic social services from education to medical care. Even where non-state actors exist as parasites on local populations, political life goes on.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Economics, and Peace Studies
43. EU-UN Partnership in Crisis Management: Developments and Prospects
- Author:
- Alexandra Novosseloff
- Publication Date:
- 06-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- The EU and the UN have taken many practical steps recent years to formalize their relationship. As part this process, the EU has also achieved increasing political influence within the UN, although progress on this front has been limited in the Security Council.
- Topic:
- Development, Peace Studies, and United Nations
44. The Future of UN State-Building: Strategic and Operational Challenges and the Legacy of Iraq
- Author:
- Kirsti Samuels and Sebastian von Einsiedel
- Publication Date:
- 05-2004
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Whether by accident or design, the United Nations increasingly finds itself in operations that seek to build or re-build the institutions of a state. This report discusses the challenges facing the UN in such state-building activities in the post-Iraq environment. Three sorts of challenges are reviewed: those arising from a lack of conceptual clarity on the aim of state-building, those resulting from the transformed strategic environment, and those operational and strategic challenges inherent to the complex task of state-building.
- Topic:
- Development, Government, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Iraq and Middle East
45. You, The People: The United Nations, Transitional Administration, and State-Building
- Author:
- Simon Chesterman
- Publication Date:
- 11-2003
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Transitional administrations represent the most complex operations attempted by the United Nations. The missions in Kosovo (1999—) and East Timor (1999–2002) are commonly seen as unique in the history of the United Nations. But they may also be seen as the latest in a series of operations that have involved the United Nations in 'state-building' activities, in which it has attempted to develop the institutions of government by assuming some or all of those sovereign powers on a temporary basis. Viewed in light of earlier UN operations, such as those in Namibia (1989–1990), Cambodia (1992–1993), and Eastern Slavonia (1996–1998), the idea that these exceptional circumstances may not recur is somewhat disingenuous. The need for policy research in this area was brought into sharp focus by the weighty but vague responsibilities assigned to the United Nations in Afghanistan (2002—) and its contested role in Iraq (2003—).
- Topic:
- International Relations, Development, Government, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Kosovo, Cambodia, Namibia, and Eastern Slavonia
46. The Infrastructure of Peace in Africa: Assessing the Peacebuilding Capacity of African Institutions
- Author:
- Monica Juma and Aida Mengistu
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- In October 2000, the Ford Foundation requested the International Peace Academy's (IPA) Africa Program to generate a database of institutions managing conflicts and crises in Africa. After consultations, the scope of this project was expanded to comprise an assessment of capacity, and determination of the potential of institutions to respond to crises and conflicts in Africa. This report is the outcome of that exercise and hopes to guide and facilitate the design of the Ford Foundation's funding strategy for peacebuilding in sub-Saharan Africa. However, it is hoped that this report will also serve to stimulate further discussion by the Ford Foundation and IPA staff, with the involvement of other relevant donors, about the challenges and opportunities for supporting peace and development in Africa. To that end, this report landscapes the condition of capacity in Africa, provides a diagnostic overview of institutional layout at the regional, national and local levels and proposes areas of intervention that can bolster and improve performance. It must be noted from the start that this report claims to be neither exhaustive nor comprehensive. Many important organizations engaged in useful peacebuilding work in Africa have not been included in this report due to logistical and time constraints. The organizations included in the report are merely illustrative of some of the peacebuilding work being conducted in Africa, and are mainly concentrated in conflict areas.
- Topic:
- Civil Society, Development, and Peace Studies
- Political Geography:
- Africa
47. Tiptoeing Through Afghanistan: The Future of UN State-Building
- Author:
- Simon Chesterman
- Publication Date:
- 09-2002
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- International Peace Institute
- Abstract:
- Afghanistan represents a radically different model in the panoply of UN peace operations. On paper it resembles earlier assistance missions that provided governance and development support to post-conflict societies. In practice, however, the UN mission remains intimately involved with the Afghan Transitional Administration and therefore with the peace process that put it in place. This disjunction between formal authority and practical influence poses a challenge not only for the specific operation in Afghanistan but also to accepted models of UN peace operations more generally. Most analyses of UN peace operations suggest that the more complex the political environment, the larger the amount of resources required to complete the mandate. On any such measure, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) faces an uphill battle. UNAMA is instead pursuing a high-risk strategy that requires two conceptual leaps from the normal mould of peace operations. The first is that it is possible to blur the normal distinction between negotiating a peace agreement and implementing it. The second is that the UN can make up for its small mandate and limited resources through exercising greater than normal political influence. There is widespread agreement among UNAMA and most of its Afghan partners that expansion of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) beyond Kabul would be an important stabilizing factor in this process. If it is to be done, it should be done urgently, while all parties are still buying into the Loya Jirga process. Given the reaction of the United States and potential troop-contributing nations, however, expansion now appears highly unlikely. Every UN mission and development programme now stresses the importance of local 'ownership'. This may be the first mission where some of the local population themselves are truly taking charge. Development, however, is notoriously supply- rather than demand-driven; donor countries are infamous for pledging one thing and delivering another. Agencies must therefore take this into account when constructing fictional budgetary targets that they know will not be met, making responsible financial planning still more difficult. Compounding these problems is confusion in Afghanistan as to what projects are actually going to be funded and when. This is partly caused by the refusal of some of the largest donors to have their money pooled into a trust fund for the whole of Afghanistan. The Emergency Loya Jirga was intended to encourage Afghans from all parts of the country to 'buy into the peace process'. This phrase was used metaphorically, but should also be understood literally. Encouraging Afghans to see the solutions to their problems as lying in the embryonic institutions of the state is good politics internationally. It is also Afghanistan's best chance for stability and relative prosperity.
- Topic:
- Conflict Resolution, Development, Peace Studies, and United Nations
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan and South Asia