Post-conflict Operations Research Articles

International legal support of post-conflict settlement (on the example of the UN practice)

The article considers the legitimate possibilities of involving the UN in a post-conflict settlement. The history of formation of the institute of peacebuilding in the system of bodies of this organization is analyzed. Institutional and regulatory mechanisms for the application of peacekeeping operations have been identified. The peculiarities of the creation of the UN police force with the functions of monitoring the observance of the ceasefire regime in conflict zones are revealed. The definition of peacekeeping operations is described and the mechanism of their establishment by the adoption of UN Security Council resolutions is described. The article states that it was the UN that helped end the war in the Congo (1964), Iran and Iraq (1988), El Salvador (1992) and Guatemala (1996). The United Nations has made significant contributions to peace in Mozambique (1994), Sierra Leone (2005), and the declaration of independence of East Timor (2002). If the parties to the conflict do not comply, "all necessary measures" may be taken, including military action as carried out to restore Kuwait's sovereignty (1991), to deliver humanitarian aid to Somalia (1992), to restore the democratically elected Government of Haiti (1994) or to restore peace and security in East Timor in 1999.
 It is determined that in the practice of the UN such means of peacekeeping as preventive diplomacy, peace-making, peace-keeping, peace-keeping, peace-enforcement and peacebuilding in the post-conflict period have been formed. -building). The article focuses on the Peacebuilding Commission, which serves as an intermediate link between peacekeeping and post-conflict operations. The main tasks of the Commission are to establish links between all parties to coordinate actions and ensure genuine post-conflict activities. Currently, several countries are on the agenda of the Peacebuilding Commission: Burundi, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and the Central African Republic.

Re-thinking governance and accountability of police and policing: David Bayley’s contributions to the debates

ABSTRACT As a political scientist, David Bayley brought a very particular perspective to debates about police governance and accountability that have recently flared up again in the United States of America following the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter and “Defund the Police” campaigns that it energised. Throughout his 65-year career as the world’s leading international comparative policing scholar, Bayley wrote and spoke publicly about police governance and accountability in his native U.S.A. and many other countries around the world, as well as how it pertained to international post-conflict peace-keeping operations. In this article, I consider the proposals for reform of police governance and accountability that have been advanced following George Floyd’s death, in light of Bayley’s lifelong thoughts and proposals on this topic, culminating with his last book (which I was privileged to have co-authored with him), Governing the Police: Experience in Six Democracies.

Intelligence and Corruption

The Journal of Intelligence, Conflict, and Warfare is pleased to publish the following thought piece from one of our esteemed Speakers from the 2020 West Coast Security Conference. The author, Mr. Dalip, is a lawyer working in the financial crime and corruption sphere. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Dalip was a chairman at the Steering Group Planning Committee for the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF); and from 2014 to 2018, he was a special legal advisor to the Ministry of Attorney General Trinidad and Tobago. The intersection between corruption and intelligence is gaining increased focus. Foreign intelligence services have an anti-corruption role at the strategic level through Intelligence Risk Assessments and at the operational level during post-conflict operations. Intelligence assessments of the effectiveness of non-kinetic tools on target countries also guide implementation and policy changes. The roles of security intelligence and foreign intelligence services are, however, no longer always discrete, particularly in the context of non-state actors. Foreign intelligence services would benefit from the skill sets of security intelligence agencies in detecting corruption related predicate offences, both in performing their core roles and supporting law enforcement operations. This includes the use of financial intelligence as well as other key open source intelligence resulting from anti-money laundering frameworks, the development of which has been driven globally by the Financial Action Task Force. In performing these roles, intelligence agencies must also be mindful of their own vulnerability to corruption.

Streamlining Multinational Logistical Support from a Normative Point of View

Abstract Conceptual changes in the last period of time in terms of normative regulation of logistical support in post-conflict operations, highlights the fact that most often the conceptual plan takes place before The normative plan and the distances existing between the time of occurrence and implementation of concepts, definitions, summaries, deadlines and regulatory regulation, are becoming larger in particular because of the fluid way in which The aforementioned military actions and due to the involvement or non-involvement of NATO (EU) member States in the efforts of the two organisations.

Post-Conflict Operations – A Cooperative Effort

Abstract Post-conflict operations may be conducted prior to the complete end of a conflict. The past experience shows that it is most effective for these operations to be conducted when there is an acceptable security situation. The security aspect of post-conflict operations is based on the coordinating issue for beginning and maintaining such operations in which the military and civilian personnel are involved.

The perils of outsourcing post-conflict reconstruction: donor countries, international NGOs and private military and security companies

During the last few years, some donor countries (especially the US and the UK) have been increasingly outsourcing services in post-conflict operations to international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and private military and security companies (PMSCs). These states have also adopted ‘integrated approaches’ to their policy interventions, contributing to the emergence of an ‘aid and security market’. The article uses ideas from both development and defence studies and re-problematises the contracting states' relationship with PMSCs and INGOs. It argues that although INGOs and PMSCs are very different types of non-state actors, there are striking similarities in outsourcing practices. Moreover, it demonstrates that the leading contracting states have poorly managed their contracts with both INGOs and PMSCs, and have not seriously reflected on the unintended consequences of their contracting practices on the recovery of war-affected countries.

Komisja Budowania Pokoju Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych – sukces czy porażka?

Rozwiązywanie konfliktów i dążenie do ustanowienia trwałego pokoju jest jednym z nadrzędnych celów Organizacji Narodów Zjednoczonych. Przez lata angażowała się ona w działalność na rzecz budowania pokoju. Do chwili powstania Komisji Budowania Pokoju w 2006 r. żadna część systemu ONZ nie była bezpośrednio odpowiedzialna za pomoc krajom w okresie pokonfliktowym i w dążeniach do budowania trwałego pokoju. Komisja Budowania Pokoju pozwoliła wypełnić tę lukę przez zapewnienie instytucjonalnego i systematycznego połączenia między utrzymywaniem pokoju, operacjami pokonfliktowymi oraz międzynarodową siecią pomocy i działaniami darczyńców, w tym Banku Światowego. Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie funkcjonowania Komisji Budowania Pokoju: zasady jej działania, skład oraz zadania jej postawione. Po przedstawieniu strony normatywnej pokrótce opisano konkretne przypadki zaangażowania Komisji. Podjęto też próbę odpowiedzi na tytułowe pytanie – czy działalność Komisji to sukces czy porażka oraz jakie czynniki mają wpływ na sprawne i skuteczne działanie Komisji Budowania Pokoju.

(Re)Building the Rule of Law after Identity-Based Conflict: What Responsibility to Protect Practitioners Will Confront

Identity-based conflicts wreak havoc on core institutions crucial to protecting human rights and preventing further conflict. As part of the Responsibility to Protect, international actors must work smarter when it comes to rebuilding the judiciaries, police, penitentiary systems and security forces. Organised crime, rampant gender-based violence, demobilised combatants, internally displaced people and thousands of international peacekeepers characterise the post-conflict environment. This article tries to identify the key challenges facing both national authorities and the international officials who must rebuild after such horrific crimes. Some good practices identified over the course of many post-conflict peace operations are offered along with concrete examples from countries as diverse as Haiti, Kosovo, Timor Leste and Liberia. Caution is the watchword, however, as the aftermath of genocide and mass atrocity crimes should humble even the most seasoned practitioners.

OSCE's police-related activities: Lessons-learned during the last decade

AbstractWithin the last ten years, police-related activities have become a key component of the OSCE's post-conflict rehabilitation operations and have gained increasing relevance in the organization's democratization and rule of law activities in states of transition as well as in the promotion of international co-operation in the fight against terrorism and organized crime. The article provides an overview of the wide scope of police-related activities the OSCE executive structures have undertaken, the achievements they have made, the challenges they have faced while developing and implementing their police assistance and reform programmes, and the strategies they have developed to address the challenges.

Weighted Scoring Model for Resource Allocation in Postconflict Reconstruction

This paper presents a weighted scoring model as a systematic approach to resource allocation in postconflict reconstruction operations in two distinct environments: adversarial and nonadversarial. The model is intended to aid decision makers in prioritizing, planning, and allocating resources for postconflict reconstruction efforts. Weighted scoring is used to conduct value analysis to determine an appropriate mix of reconstruction projects in a fixed budget portfolio to either maximize overall value or to steer support toward a desired combination of core outcomes. The utility of the model lies in its ability to use the proposed methodology effectively in any postconflict environment to provide quantitative results and a structured decision making approach. While the evaluation measures or metrics may change in each environment, the core outcomes and the central tasks which support those outcomes hold regardless of the type of postconflict environment. These core outcomes of security, governance, rule of law, economics, and social wellbeing, if achieved, constitute success in postconflict reconstruction operations.

Early Days in Iraq: Decisions of the CPA

Iraq provides an object lesson in the costs and consequences of unprepared reconstruction. The record of the Coalition Provisional Authority during its 14 months in Iraq, in particular several of its most controversial decisions, including the disbandment of the Iraqi army, the exclusion of senior Ba'ath Party members from government office, the timing and organisation of national elections, the development of an Iraqi constitution and the beginnings of economic reconstruction, is examined and critiqued in the light of best practices developed in other post-conflict operations over the last 60 years. While not all of these decisions proved optimal in the light of hindsight, they did represent reasonable choices in view of possibilities then available to the CPA leadership and, in composite, they resulted in durable political and economic reforms that offer the Iraqi people an opportunity to build a stable, prosperous and peaceful Iraq.

‘War in the Home’: An Exposition of Protection Issues Pertaining to the Use of House Raids in Counterinsurgency Operations

House raids represent the genre of military acts which fall within the grey zone of war and peace – counterinsurgency, post-conflict operations, or phase IV operations (a.k.a. Operations Other Than War) – in which the Geneva Conventions and their Protocols may reveal protection gaps. This article reviews accounts of the execution of house raids contained in the military literature and compares them to the testimony of soldiers and observers recorded in the media. It assesses the relevant provisions of humanitarian law as pertaining to the necessity, distinction, and proportionality of actions. Further, it highlights the specific human rights and humanitarian standards addressing terror, arbitrary intrusion into the home, violations of honor, and humiliation. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of taking into account gender and cultural considerations to properly address the interests of family members – i.e., women, children, and the elderly who are most affected by house raids.

Ownership in Theory and in Practice: Transfer of Authority in UN Statebuilding Operations

The language of ‘ownership’ is commonly used in statebuilding operations, but it is not clear that the term has either consistency or substance. It certainly does not have its literal meaning, in the sense of rights of possession either of property or a formal stake in an organization, such as shares in a corporation. Instead ownership tends to be used figuratively – much as ‘buy-in’ in this context usually does not suggest an actual financial transaction – to refer in a more vague way to the relationship between stakeholders, with meanings ranging from a sense of attachment to a programme or operation, to (rarely) actual controlling authority. This essay explores how ownership emerged as a shibboleth of the development community and how it has influenced UN statebuilding operations. The emphasis will be on rule of law institutions, but the critique of ownership applies to post-conflict operations more generally.

Building a Republican Peace: Stabilizing States after War

Although peacebuilders do not operate from a common template, liberal values so define their activities that their efforts can be called “liberal peacebuilding.” Many postconflict operations aspire to create a state that contains the rule of law, markets, and democracy. Growing evidence suggests, however, that liberal peacebuilding is re-creating the conditions of conflict; states emerging from war do not have the necessary institutions or civic culture to absorb the pressures associated with political and market competition. In recognition of these problems and dangers, there is an emerging call for greater attention to the state and institutionalization before liberalization. These critiques, and lessons learned from recent operations, point to an alternative—republican peacebuilding. Drawing from republican political theory, this article argues that the republican principles of deliberation, constitutionalism, and representation can help states after war address the threats to stability that derive from arbitrary power and factional conflict and, in the process, develop some legitimacy. Republican peacebuilding is not only good for postconflict states; it also is appropriate for international peacebuilders, who also can exercise arbitrary power.

Peace, Security and Development in Post-Conflict Environments

This article presents a critical overview of the contemporary practice of post-conflict peacebuilding (PCPB), arguing that contemporary post-conflict operations rest upon the assumption that a sophisticated social engineering approach could replace, or accelerate, a process of state formation that occurs rather more organically. Yet, PCPB is subject to the same tensions and dilemmas as the process of state formation. Many recent post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes have been conducted with little critical self-reflection on the underlying assumptions or structural biases of PCPB efforts. One major reason for this is the missing connection, in the minds of policymakers and practitioners, between security and development concerns. The concept of human security can help bridge this gap and is also compatible with a form of Popperian ‘piecemeal’ social engineering that is more consistent with a critical approach to PCPB.

Planning the Peace: Operation Eclipse and the Occupation of Germany

Abstract : This monograph uses the perspective provided by OPERATION ECLIPSE, the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF) plan for the occupation of Germany, to examine current doctrine on war termination and postconflict operations. It argues that ECLIPSE demonstrates the value of investing staff resources early in a conflict to plan the transition from war to peace. Among the benefits derived from such an investment are synchronization of the terminal military operations with initial peace operations; anticipation of resource requirements; and clarification of the political end state. This monograph argues, based on the perspective of ECLIPSE. that political leaders are unlikely to issue a clear statement of end state because of internal political divisions, requirements for coalition unity, and the changing nature of the war itself. During World War II, the National Command Authority arrived at a vision of end state through an evolutionary process and transmitted it incrementally to planners. The planners, through the questions they asked of their superiors and the discussions engendered by drafts of their plan, assisted in the process of defining the desired end state by the end of the war. The monograph also seeks to demonstrate that it may be erroneous to treat postconflict operations as sequential to the terminal military campaign. War termination and postconflict operations will likely be executed concurrently with military operations and should form an integral part of the campaign plan.