International Statebuilding - Time to Reconsider

In: Osterreichische Zeitschrift fur Politikwissenschaft, Band 34, Heft 2, S. 177-189

Abstract

The article proposes that in order to better understand current approaches to international state building, it is essential to revisit the central concepts on which they are grounded. It proposes that disaggregating state building & looking anew at its various components reveals not only its immense scope but also the need to question current practices. State building is in essence about the development of institutions that manage state society relationships. Institutions are more than formal rules: equally important are their informal norms & how both are being enforced in practice. This bears on the transferability of institutions. The article suggests that emphasis should be more on the processes of institutional development than on the imposition of prepackaged "solutions." However slow & inefficient domestic decision making processes may be, they are indispensable to create sustainable change. 55 References. Adapted from the source document.