You, the People: The United Nations, Transitional Administration, and State-Building

by Simon Chesterman

Book Overview

The governance of post-conflict territories embodies a central contradiction: how does one help a population prepare for democratic governance and the rule of law by imposing a form of benevolent autocracy?

Transitional administrations represent the most complex operations attempted by the United Nations. The operations in East Timor and Kosovo are commonly seen as unique in the history of the UN--perhaps never to be repeated. But they may...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0199263485
• ISBN13: 9780199263486
• Release Date: May 2004
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 316 Pages
• Weight: 1.39 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.5" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Useful account of transitional administration

Chapters cover the topics of colonies and occupied territories: transitional administration through the 20th century, the evolution of UN peace operations, the use of force to maintain law and order, the question of whether a benevolent foreign autocracy can build democracy, the rule of law in post-conflict territories, the politics of humanitarian and development assistance, elections and exit strategies, and the future of state-building. Chesterman looks at the UN's role in countries' transitions from war to peace through periods of international supervision. Elections can be part of a state-building project or peace process: in Cambodia in 1992-93 the UN empowered a transitional administration which held elections and then withdrew. But UN administrations have held election after election in Bosnia since 1995, and in Kosovo since 1999, but show no signs of leaving. The `Ombudsperson Institution' in Kosovo reported in 2002 that the UN `Interim' Administration there "is not structured according to democratic principles, does not function in accordance with the rule of law, and does not respect important international human rights norms. The people of Kosovo are therefore deprived of protection of their basic rights and freedoms three years after the end of the conflict by the very entity set up to guarantee them." In Iraq, troops will stay after the January election, till the end of 2005, we are told. But this hostile military occupation after an illegal invasion is neither building an independent state, nor achieving peace. Likewise in Afghanistan: rebuilding there is negligible (completed reconstruction projects totalled less than $200 million by May 2003), and warlords still rule the country. The US state has interpreted civil wars, humanitarian crises, lack of democracy, and `failed and failing states' as `threats to international peace and security', and has taken control of such states. Its constants are military occupation for bases, pipelines and oil, in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq alike. Colonialism is now rightly condemned as an international crime, but the US state still does it, under UN cover. And the record indeed shows that a foreign autocracy cannot build democratic, sovereign states.

wit, candor, brevity, and analysis of a very high order

Chesterman, director of an international institute at New York University, has made an original study of how new institutions can be created in such war-damaged countries as Bosnia, Cambodia, and East Timor. In his book the weight of the subject and the depth of the research are supported by wit, candor, brevity, and analytical writing of a very high order. Although the occupation of Iraq is just one of many cases that Chesterman considers, his book provides, among other things, a guide to the problems of transitional occupation that is extraordinarily relevant to America's current difficulties. -- Brian Urquhart - New York Review of Books (Vol 51, No 14)

From the author

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 the 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-). This book seeks to fill that gap. Aimed at policy-makers, diplomats, and a wide academic audience (including international relations, political science, international law, war studies and development studies), the book provides a concise history of transitional administration and a treatment of the five key issues confronting such operations: peace and security, the role of the United Nations as government, establishing the rule of law, economic reconstruction, and exit strategies. Research for the book has been conducted through extensive field research and interviews with key UN staff and local representatives in almost all of the territories under consideration. The unifying theme is that, while the ends of transitional administration may be idealistic, the means cannot be.Essential for:Scholars and students of politics and international relations, especially those interested in UN state-building operations, international law, democracy studies, conflict resolution, and globalization.