Transitional Administrations Research Articles

Международно-правовые основания и правовая природа нормотворческой деятельности временных администраций ООН

Международно-правовые основания и правовая природа нормотворческой деятельности временных администраций ООН

Regulatory governance: rules, resistance and responsibility

ABSTRACTRegulatory governance frameworks have become essential building blocks of world society. From supply chains to the regimes surrounding international organizations, extensive governance frameworks have emerged which structure and channel a variety of social exchanges, including economic, political, legal and cultural, on a global scale. Against this background, this special issue sets out to explore the multifaceted meaning, potential and impact as well as the social praxis of regulatory governance. Under the notions rules, resistance and responsibility the special issue pins out three overall dimensions of regulation and governance thereby providing a theoretical and conceptual framework for grasping the phenomenon of regulatory governance. This is combined with extensive case studies on a number of regulatory governance settings ranging from the World Bank to agricultural reforms carried by the International Transitional Administrations (ITAs) in Kosovo and Iraq as well as global supply chains and their impact on the garment industry in Bangladesh.

International Transitional Administrations and the Politics of Authority Building

ABSTRACT This article critically examines authority-building practices of international transitional administrations (ITAs) engaged in statebuilding, and evaluates authority building as a framework for understanding the practices of statebuilding operations. It argues that war-torn states rarely lack actors claiming authority, but that these claims are often competing and mutually exclusive, and frequently not widely recognized. Building authority, therefore, requires ITAs to choose between different actors, recognizing the authority claims of some and withholding recognition from others, seeking ways to strengthen their ability to justify their authority claims vis-à-vis domestic and international audiences. Through authority-building practices, external actors directly become part of the political competition and dynamics of war-affected societies. The discussion of authority building by ITAs proceeds in three steps. The first section outlines the concept of political authority, in particular in the context of fragile states and of ITAs, and discusses relevant methodological issues. The second section then examines three distinct aspects of authority building by ITAs: claiming and justifying their own authority, recognizing and validating the authority claims of local actors, and strengthening the capacity of local actors to justify their authority claims. The final section concludes the paper with some reflections on political authority and authority building.

Not Learning Lessons

Aaron Rapport. (2015). Waging War, Planning Peace: US Noncombat Operations and Major Wars . Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY, and London, 266 pp., $29.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0-8014-5358-8). This book is a cross-case study of how the United States plans for and executes noncombat operations (such as activities related to state-building, humanitarian assistance, and pacification) in the midst of war or in postwar contexts. The study is a very good example of how history may offer important insights into current crises. Rapport’s archive-based chapters on post-WWII Germany, the Korean and Vietnam wars, and the 2003 invasion of Iraq compel us to think about contemporary conflicts and how the United States positions and plans for war, occupation, and transitional administrations. It is difficult to read this work and not to think of present-day Iraq and Afghanistan, and even Libya, Ukraine, Syria, and Iran—countries on the US security radar and thus the targets of contingency planning. The notion of noncombat operations in the midst of war (or very soon after it) seems worth unpacking, especially given the securitization of such environments. Can a military that has just used, or is still using, massive force ever engage in noncombat operations in the same territory? Certainly military organizations can be massive … roger.macginty{at}manchester.ac.uk

Violations of Sovereignty and Regime Engineering: A Critique of the State Theory of Stephen Krasner

With the publication of his 1999 book Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy, and a welter of other publications on sovereignty, Krasner has represented a dominating voice in the recent resurgence of sovereignty discourse. Krasner's intricate discussions of international relations (IR) and US foreign policy have overshadowed the theoretical weaknesses of his account of sovereignty itself, leading to accusations by critics such as Amitav Acharya of ‘disorganised hypocrisy’. This paper investigates both the content of his policy prescriptions for the State Department, of which he was a part from 2005 to 2007, and the thin account of sovereignty in his works, and demonstrates a possible relationship between the two. It also seeks to situate his position, as a neorealist with some liberal institutionalist tendencies,1 within the larger debate on sovereignty in IR. It is argued that Krasner does not satisfactorily resolve the contradictions between sovereignty and extended transitional administrations or similar arrangements, especially the regime established by the US in Iraq. 1Krasner is described by Donnelly (1995, 193) as ‘the leading young neorealist’ of the 1970s in a passage that stresses the closeness of neorealism and neoliberal institutionalism. Neorealists are supportive of the leading liberal institutions, such as the WTO and IMF. Liberal institutionalists can be very close to neorealism, and for example Joseph Nye's idea of ‘soft power’ (Nye 2004) questions the neo-conservative policy of unilateralism but does not dispute ideas of power asymmetries that make US dominance conceivable. The warm acceptance of selected global institutions (WTO, World Bank) by leading neoliberal political economists has further confused this distinction.

The Norms and Politics of Exit: Ending Postconflict Transitional Administrations

While the impact of norms on post-conflict statebuilding operations has been well-explored in the literature, the ways in which the same normative frameworks affect the exit practices of such operations has so far remained unaddressed. To fill this gap, this paper examines the impact of the liberal-democratic norms governing statebuilding operations on the timing and process of exit of post-conflict international transitional administrations. To that end, it first examines the concept of exit, arguing that exit is best considered as a process rather than an event. The second section outlines the normative framework that has shaped postconflict statebuilding activities since the end of the cold war, and proposes three ways in which norms can affect exit: first, that norms act as blueprints for statebuilding and can thereby shape benchmarks for exit; second, that norms create “zones of permissibility” that explicitly commit statebuilders to a transitional presence and make exit central to the legitimacy of statebuilding operations; and third, that local actors strategically use norms, in particular those of self-determination and the taboo of permanent control of a territory, to push for an early exit of statebuilding operations. The third section explores both the scope and limitations of the three functions of norms with regard to exit in the context of a brief case study of UNMIK's exit from Kosovo. The article concludes with some observations about the impact of the findings for exit strategies of international actors from statebuilding operations.

Pitfalls and Prospects in the Peacekeeping Literature

Following closely the practice of peacekeeping, the literature on the subject has come in one small wave and then two larger ones. The first wave, during the Cold War, includes classic works focusing mainly on peacekeeping in wars between states. The second wave, at first inspired by the boom in peacekeeping shortly after the end of the Cold War, soon reflected disillusionment and focuses largely on failure and dysfunction, despite significant cases of success. The third and most recent wave also reflects a resurgence in peacekeeping but is newly concerned with systematic and methodologically rigorous analysis (both quantitative and qualitative) of basic empirical questions about the effects of peacekeeping and the sources of peacekeeping outcomes. Recent empirical studies have demonstrated peacekeeping's effectiveness in maintaining peace, but related questions persist concerning the use of force, transitional administrations, which organizations most effectively keep peace, perspectives of the “peacekept,” and effects on democratization.

The UN Human Rights Obligations and Immunity: An Oxymoron Casting a Shadow on the Transitional Administrations in Kosovo and East Timor

AbstractOn the basis of the transitional administrations in Kosovo and East Timor, this article analyzes the compatibility of the UN human rights obligations with the wide scope of immunity enjoyed by the organization and its officials. By focusing on the right to a fair trial (and especially the right of access to a court), the author submits that the almost absolute lack of judicial mechanisms to review acts of UN transitional administrations violates the local population's human rights. Although institutions such as an Ombudsperson or a Human Rights Advisory Panel (in Kosovo) have been established, they do not constitute means of protection that are reasonable alternatives to independent and impartial courts. As a corollary, the international responsibility of the United Nations is entailed.

TOWARDS A TRUE INCARNATION OF THE RULE OF LAW IN WAR-TORN TERRITORIES: CENTRING PEACEBUILDING IN THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE

While there have been increasing demands for strengthening UN capacity for peacebuilding, recent peacebuilding operations under UN transitional territorial administration have obscured and downgraded the importance of normative and legal questions and have failed to address the right to self-determination in substance. It is argued that the legal issues surrounding such operations, including the legal basis for establishing transitional administrations, the legal status of the territories under administration and the legal regulations governing the powers given to UN administrators, must be contemplated in such a way as to focus fully on the internal and substantive aspects of the peoples' right to self-determination.

International Transitional Administration: The United Nations in East Timor, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eastern Slavonia, and Kosovo – A Bibliography

Between 1995 and 1999, the United Nations established transitional administrations over four war-torn territories – East Timor, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Eastern Slavonia, and Kosovo. These transitional civil administrations began as part of a peace agreement and have or will end with either independence of the territory, as with East Timor, or the reuniting of a war-torn state, as with Eastern Slavonia's return to Croatia. As of this writing, the United Nations’ mission in Kosovo has not ended.

Roundtable: Humanitarian Intervention After 9/11

Tom Farer opens the roundtable by outlining a five-part test for legitimate humanitarian intervention and questioning the utility of the term ‘cosmopolitan’ in this context. Five responses are offered. Daniele Archibugi highlights the problem of legitimate authority for intervention and offers a separate four-stage process which he believes contributes to institutionalizing cosmopolitanism. Chris Brown questions the value of creating a set of criteria to help policymakers balance the competing moral intuitions surrounding humanitarian intervention. Neta Crawford problematizes the threshold for interventions and argues for a reappraisal of transitional administrations and the idea of global interconnectedness generally. Thomas Weiss defends cosmopolitan force and cautions that the real problem is not to be found in the lack of guidelines but instead in the lack of political will to motivate humanitarian interventions, though he warns against the increasing use of cosmopolitan arguments as a cover for pre-emptive warfare. After examining the role of motives and the ‘spike test’ in Farer’s criteria, Nicholas Wheeler emphasizes the central legitimating role of the UN Security Council in humanitarian intervention. The roundtable concludes with a set of responses by Farer to these arguments. His theme is that the chronic violation of human rights requires a reconception of the national interest and international systems of cooperation; this goal is something that 9/11 might have inadvertently encouraged by bringing together humanitarianism and national security more explicitly than hitherto.

Performance Management in Transitional Administration: Introduction of Pay-for-Performance in the Estonian Civil Service

The article analyzes the problems of incorporating performance management techniques into a transitional administration. Critical factors for the success of pay-for-performance are identified, which form the basis for the Estonian case study. It has been demonstrated that although the common problems of pay-for-performance in Western countries are also present in the Estonian context, they are supplemented by specific issues related to transitional administrations of Central European Countries (CEE) such as poor policy analysis, deficient accountability and co-ordination mechanisms, insufficient management experience and underestimation of democratic values, which altogether make the development of ambitious performance management tools in CEE even more questionable than in the West.

'It is Better to Leave, We Can't Protect You': Flight in the First Months of United Nations Transitional Administrations in Kosovo and East Timor

In both East Timor and Kosovo international intervention allowed for the rapid return of displaced populations but also led to new flight, mainly of those sympathetic to the previous regime. A principal cause was a breakdown in law and order and subsequent revenge attacks or the fear of such attacks. Delays in re-establishing law and order were caused by inadequacies in the mandates of the two UN administrations, an initial lack of resources, poor planning and misplaced perceptions and priorities. An analysis of these shortcomings allows a number of lessons to be drawn for future transitional administrations.

UNTAET with Hindsight: The Peculiarities of Politics in an Incomplete State

In the rather chaotic history of UN peacekeeping operations, where results have not always matched the efforts of the international community, East Timor stands as an success. In two and a half years, from November 1999 to May 2002, this totally devastated country was entirely reconstructed--rather I should say: constructed--and brought to independence .... In the space of twenty-eight months, this country ... saw its external and internal security assured, and the establishment of central and district administrations, a police force, a judicial system, legal and regulatory codes, a central bank, a fiscal system, an educational system, agricultural development, the renegotiation of oil agreements with Australia, and a constitution. --Jean-Christian Cady,deputy special representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in East Timor, February 2000-July 2001 (1) All of these factors contribute to the next round of in East Timor. The greatest reliance is now on the discipline of party leaders, village chiefs and ordinary people not to express their differences through violence. There will need to be good governance through good intentions in the absence of much of a functioning state--including a rule of law and pacific means of dispute settlement--and it is difficult for good intentions to survive the pursuit of power at any level of whatever form. --Jarat Chopra, head of district Administration, UNTAET, October 2000-March 2001 (2) In the months after independence on 20 May 2002, an outside observer could have been forgiven for concluding that East Timor's new institutions were failing. Disarray in the judicial system, which was barely functioning, was having a serious impact on the performance of the police and the prison service. The Timorese Lorosae Defense Forces (FDTL) and the East Timorese National Police (PNTL), which the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) had created, were suffering crises of legitimacy that had made them political targets. A combination of inexperience and the large majority held by the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin), which won fifty-five of the eighty-eight seats at stake in the Constituent Assembly elections of August 2001, placed the new National Parliament in clear subordination to a government intent on using its majority to push through its ambitious legislative program. How to assess these instances of institutional failure? Do they lead to the conclusion that state failure rather than undeniable success is the more appropriate judgment on the UN's two-and-a-half-year tenure in East Timor? If so, considering the uniquely favorable conditions that this particular transitional administration faced in carrying out its mandate, what are the implications for transitional administrations in general? In the now extensive literature on UNTAET, (3) there is almost total agreement on two points: that the powers granted to the transitional administration were unparalleled and that the conditions in which it operated were conducive to a successful outcome. UNTAET's mandate was unprecedented in its breadth, giving an extraordinary range of powers, including enormous discretionary ones, to the transitional administrator. Security Council Resolution 1272 of 25 October 1999 entrusted UNTAET with a range of governance functions that was unprecedented for a UN mission. In the absence of institutions of any kind or much of the capacity that would be needed to run them, the transitional administration was mandated to establish an effective administration. Reflecting its transitional nature, it was also to support capacity building for self-government. …

Between Exit and Engagement: On the Division of Authority in Transitional Administrations

Abstract This article examines recent assessments of the transitional administrations in the Balkans and East Timor with particular regard to the division of labor (international-domestic). Much of the writing on East Timor decries the failure to give more authority to domestic officials, while that on the Balkans disparages international officials for insufficient vigor in forcing domestic nationalists to implement “cosmopolitan” mandates. With the exception of the UN Secretary General’s first substantial report about UNMIK, these analyses eschew systematic treatment of how authority is divided between international and domestic officials and how it is transferred from international to domestic officials. The article argues that an effective division of labor is essential to the success of postconflict administration and that it deserves more analytic and operational attention.

L'applicabilité du droit international de l'occupation mititaire aux activités des organisations internationales

The similarity between military occupation and certain operations by international organizations has been stressed by legal scholars. These operations involve the deployment of military forces on a given territory in an often politically and militarily highly unstable context. In the case of transitional international civilian administrations, the authorities thus installed are vested with extensive powers.However, the formal applicability of the law of occupation to international operations is limited. Insofar as this set of rules is governed by the principle of maintaining the territorial and legislative status quo, it is ill-adapted to the needs of most such operations, which often are deployed to accompany or even bring about institutional change.In providing for institutions destined to modify the law and institutional structure of certain regions to be put in place, the Security Council's intention was to create situations diverging from the law of occupation's material field of application and consequently requiring identification of a special set of rules. This legal regime should be based on the law of occupation at the start of such operations, and could then be progressively adjusted to meet the specific needs of populations under international administration.

War and intervention: issues for contemporary peace operations

The past decade has witnessed key developments in the nature of both war and intervention. Armed movements direct their focus on civilians, through terror, administration and propaganda. Paramilitary groups are widespread, and have diverse sources of funding and arms. At the same time, peace operations have expanded in both breadth and depth. Not only has the United Nations assumed the transitional governance of territory, and the accompanying direct executive powers, but other actors, from national military contingents to the World Bank and NGOs, have also adapted to meet this cascade of tasks. War and Intervention explains how armed forces, aid agencies and transitional administrations in war-affected countries have adapted to the changing circumstances of modern war and conflict, using a broad range of cases to introduce the reader to the dynamics on the ground. Michael Bhatia's analysis becomes all the more important at a time when the debate continues about the United States' global position, the United Nations' role, and current and proposed interventions, in Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq. The book is written to allow readers from a range of different disciplines - military, academic, humanitarian, political and diplomatic - to understand the priorities and methods of different actors in today's peace operations.

The Concept of Suspended Sovereignty in International Law and Its Implications in International Politics

The concept of suspension of sovereignty is not new in the legal and political discourses in international relations. It has been employed mainly to describe dramatic and extreme situations in which a clear rupture is observed between the legal proposition of internal sovereignty and the social and political realities on the ground. A prominent example has been the case of foreign occupation. The recent UN Security Council Resolutions on Kosovo and East Timor rekindled interest in the concept of suspended sovereignty and raised new perspectives about its function and role in international politics because it is the product of legitimate international processes representing a further evolution of models of international political authority. Thus, the possible future crystallization of such a concept in international law should be seen and explored more as an opportunity to increase the transparency and accountability of international transitional administrations and less as a chance to reintroduce hierarchical relations in international politics. Terms such as 'suspended animation', 1 'sovereignty in abeyance', 2 'suspended statehood' 3 and 'suspended sovereignty' 4 have been employed in the legal and political discourses on sovereignty in several cases in the modern history of international relations. These terms have been used to describe different situations in which the internal aspect of sovereignty was perceived to be an empty legal

Security-sector reform and transitional administrations

Security-sector reform and transitional administrations

The United Nations Transitional Administrations in Kosovo and East Timor: A First Analysis

The United Nations Transitional Administrations in Kosovo and East Timor: A First Analysis