In a global order based on juridical sovereignty of nation-states, the missions called 'peacebuilding' by the UN or 'stabilisation operations' by some governments necessarily require the building of states. The international organisations and governments involved in such efforts, however, have neither the doctrine nor organisation for such tasks. Problems encountered in recent efforts signal the need for a unified international counterpart for the recipient national government. Peacebuilding and statebuilding require transitional governance institutions that incorporate the concurrent need for internal and external legitimacy transparently, rather than in a fragmented, secretive and ad hoc way. The peacebuilding mechanisms proposed by the Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change have the potential to bring order into the anarchy often created by multiple agendas, doctrines and aid budgets. (Survival / SWP)
Unlike Iraq, in Afghanistan an international consensus supports common goals for the entire operation, providing a test of whether the 'international community' is capable of effective joint action to make societies secure, even when their insecurity threatens the whole world. So far the results indicate that governments and international institutions are not up to the job.