Suchergebnisse

The article discusses the efforts to undertake economic reconstruction in Bosnia following the end of the war. It argues that, despite certain successes such as the rehabilitation of infrastructure and the privatization of the banking sector, overal progress has been below expectations. The study, accordingly, attempts to analyse the reasons behind the reconstruction failure by grouping Bosnia's problems into four different challenges for analytical purposes: the Post-Dayton institutional deficiency; overcoming political fragmentation; creating appropriate conditions for economic revival; and graduating from dependency on foreign economic aid. In this respect, it is concluded that the intersection between the economic and political dimensions of post-conflict reconstruction has generated a paradox: while huge amounts of economic assistance have intended to facilitate political reconciliation, the nature of the administrative (political) structure that was established in the post-war period has in turn hindered economic recovery and the creation of a unified economic space. Moreover, political fragmentation and slow progress in economic reconstruction have been in a mutually constitutive relationship in which the existence of the one has contributed to the sustenance of the other. (Ethnopolitics)

The United Nations Security Council is meant to be the central international organ for maintaining international peace and security, and it has a profound impact on the rights and duties of states under international law. However, it has been severely criticized throughout its existence. This book examines the role of international law in its decisions and decision-making process since the end of the Cold War, with the principle of legality as theoretical framework. It explores the limits that international law places on the Security Council, i.e. what it is allowed to demand of and impose on

In der Wahrnehmung der Weltöffentlichkeit ist Südostasien nach den vormals exorbitanten Wirtschaftserfolgen zunehmend durch ökonomische und ökologische Risiken sowie erhebliche innerstaatliche Gewaltkonflikte gekennzeichnet. Dabei spielen historisch situierte ethnische Gruppenbildungen eine wichtige Rolle, auch wenn kulturelle Differenzen nicht als ursächlich für Gewaltkonflikte angesehen werden können. In Gewaltkonflikten, die durch politische Ursachen oder die Konkurrenz um knappe Ressourcen ausgelöst werden, wird allerdings die Instrumentalisierung von Ethnizität zu einem wichtigen Machtfaktor. Insofern müssen Erklärungen für innerstaatliche Gewaltkonflikte immer multikausal und kontextspezifisch argumentieren. Konkrete Gewaltkonflikte sollten daraufhin untersucht werden, ob sie als "Neue Kriege" beschrieben werden können. Dazu gehören die Verflechtung von legaler Ökonomie und krimineller Schattenwirtschaft, die Rolle weltwirtschaftlich bedeutsamer Ressourcen und die Verselbständigung von Gewaltmärkten, die den Krieg zunehmend zum Selbstzweck werden lassen. Erfahrungsgemäß wirken gewaltsame Interventionen von außen in diesen Fällen eher konfliktverschärfend. (GB)

"Post-conflict reconstruction is understood as a complex system that provides for simultaneous short-, medium- and long-term programmes to prevent disputes from escalating, avoid a relapse into violent conflict and to build and consolidate sustainable peace. Post-conflict reconstruction is ultimately aimed at addressing the root causes of a conflict and to lay the foundations for social justice and sustainable peace. Post-conflict reconstruction systems proceed through three broad phases, namely the emergency phase, the transition phase and the development phase; however, they should not be understood as absolute, fixed, time-bound or having clear boundaries. Post-conflict reconstruction systems have five dimensions: (1) security; (2) political transition, governance and participation; (3) socio-economic development; (4) human rights, justice and reconciliation; and (5) coordination, management and resource mobilisation. These five dimensions need to be programmed simultaneously, collectively and cumulatively to develop momentum to sustainable peace. While there are processes, phases and issues that can be said to be common to most countries emerging from conflict, one should recognise the uniqueness of each conflict system, in terms of its own particular socioeconomic and political history, the root causes and immediate consequences of the conflict an the specific configuration of the actors that populate the system. Further, as most intra-state conflicts in Africa are interlinked within regional conflict systems, country specific post-conflict reconstruction systems need to seek synergy with neighbouring systems to ensure coherence across regional conflict systems. The nexus between development, peace and security have become a central focus of post-conflict reconstruction thinking and practice over the last decade. The key policy tension in the post-conflict setting appears to be between economic efficiency and political stability. While the need and benefits of improved coherence is widely accepted, there seems to be no consensus on who should coordinate, what should be coordinated and how coordination should be undertaken." (author's abstract)