Work‐Life Policies, Edited by Ann C. Crouter and Allen Booth. Washington, DC: The Urban Institute Press, 2009, 372 pp., $32.50 paperback. Working after Welfare: How Women Balance Jobs and Family in the Wake of Welfare Reform, by Kristen S. Seefeldt. Kalamazoo, MI: W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, 2008, 171 pp., $40.00 cloth, $18.00 paperback

Abstract

on the ground. Therefore, drawing lessons from a diversity of examples can be crucial in any nation-building exercise. Still, this monograph provides an important structural guide that scholars, students, policymakers, and future nation-building operations can use to navigate the nascent growth industry of assisting nations as they transition from conflict to peace and stability. The overall success of this monograph lies in its clear thematic presentation. While Dobbins et al. are careful to anchor each lesson in the unique environments of seven specific cases, taken together, the cases indicate that a distinctly European approach to nation-building has been tested and that many broad lessons can be learned from the experience. Thus, the smaller and shorter interventions guided by abstemious objectives are the calling cards of Europe’s strategic approach, and the results, at least thus far, suggest that alternative strategies do exist. In this regard, RAND’s compendium serves most effectively as a starting point for future debate about nation-building best practice where only history can be the judge.