Suchergebnisse

Intet resumé

The purpose of the study is to provide an overview of the core questions and dilemmas facing Denmark - and the wider international community - in applying a 'bottom-up' approach to democratisation in areas characterised by contested or limited statehood. In order to keep that discussion grounded, the study focuses on four individual cases that are highly different, yet equally complex: Libya, Pakistan, Yemen and Palestine. Each in their own way, they are all 'fragile'. Their national governments are experiencing severe difficulties in projecting their authority evenly across their territory. The particular circumstances and dynamics, however, differ tremendously: from the militarised fragility of Pakistan to the transitional state of Libya, the collapsing state of Yemen and the stateless state of Palestine. It clearly makes little sense to search for a common approach to reform in these four settings. At the same time, however, the individual cases suggest that the distinct operational challenges are in fact reflections of deeper tensions and dilemmas that stem from the paradox of using outside intervention to foster self-government (Paris and Sisk 2009). Against this shared backdrop, the present chapter summarises the findings of the four case studies and relates them to the generic policy discussion and experiences elsewhere. The chapter thus serves as both the introduction to and the conclusion of the entire study.

Intet resumé

Multidimensional peace operations have emerged as one of the key instruments for addressing and managing the complex challenges related to violent conflict and state fragility in the Global South. Based on a reading of existing literature, this study provides an overview of what we know about the UN's ability to assist wartorn societies in laying the foundations for lasting peace. The basic message is that peacekeeping works, but statebuilding fails. In general, multidimensional UN-led peace operations have been successful at preventing the resumption of war, yet they have not succeeded in establishing effective and legitimate institutions of governance. The report also concludes that, while the system is far from perfect, the UN peacekeeping apparatus has been reformed and strengthen considerably in recent decades. Outstanding challenges relate to contextualising interventions and ensuring local ownership, as well as to maintaining the normative consensus on the role of UN peace operations.

At a time when liberal internationalism and institutions of multilateral cooperation are being dealt almost daily blows, this special issue revisits the notion and practice of middle power liberal internationalism. The introduction suggests that while liberal internationalism is far from dead, the challenges are serious and multiple. Reflecting on the seven essays contained in the volume, it argues that the biggest challenge for a future liberal internationalism is not to double-down on its normative virtues, but critically to reflect on how it can be retooled to respond to new challenges.

The Danish defence opt-out will hamper the protection of Danish interests if, in the future, there is dynamic integration, working towards increased European strategic autonomy. Conversely, the defence opt-out will be less important if the EU's defence cooperation stagnates or is rolled back, for example due to internal disagreement among the member states. These were the main findings in the external DIIS report from 2019 that has now been translated to English. The report was commissioned by the Danish government in November 2018 and focuses on the development in the EU in the field of security and defence policy cooperation and its significance for Denmark. Picking up from the last DIIS report (2008), the new report focuses in particular on the period following the launch of the EU's global strategy in the summer of 2016. The analysis is based on interviews with experts, officials and representatives from the EU, NATO, Denmark and other Member States, as well as case files in the archive of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, official documents, and existing research.