Suchergebnisse

"While there is an increasing number of articles and studies identifying lessons from the record of UN peacebuilding operations, it is striking how little we know about the UN's very capacity for organizational learning on peacebuilding, and about learning in international organizations in general. This pilot study seeks to lay the foundations for an in-depth investigation of the UN's record on organizational learning. Our study is motivated by both, a research and a policy imperative. On the research front, studying organizational learning within the UN peacebuilding bureaucracy contributes to opening up the 'black box' of international organizations. So far, mainstream work in the discipline of International Relations (IR) has produced surprisingly few studies on the everyday workings of international organizations, let alone their ability to learn. Studying organizational learning calls for an interdisciplinary approach bringing together IR (including peace and conflict studies), public management and the sociology of organizations. This has the potential of advancing conceptual debates within the discipline of IR. The study proceeds in three steps. The first step surveys the relevant literature from different disciplines and concludes that peace research, IR and organization theory do not offer ready-made frameworks for the analysis of organizational learning in international organizations. Building on existing research, we identify key elements of a new framework starting with a definition of the key term, organizational learning: We define organizational learning "as a process of cognitive change through the questioning of the means and/or ends of addressing problems. The process manifests itself in the development and implementation of new rules and routines guiding the organization's actions." In a second step, we survey the evolution of the "infrastructure of learning" in the UN peacebuilding bureaucracy over the past 15 years. We hold that a number of factors (lack of will both within member states and the UN Secretariat as well as the lack of resources and appropriate incentive structures) contributed to the very slow recognition of the UN's learning needs. Major crises (such as the soul-searching after Rwanda and Srebrenica) plus the Brahimi Report in 2000 provided a certain momentum that brought the need to build up the UN's learning capacity higher on the agenda. Still, a lot of work remains to be done. In a third step, we present a list of variables that influence learning that need to be considered in a future in-depth study. This list of factors includes power, organizational culture, leadership, human capital, staff mobility, knowledge management systems, as well as access to external knowledge. Outlining an agenda for future research, we present a draft model of the learning process that includes 1) knowledge acquisition, 2) advocacy/ decision- making, and 3) institutionalization." (excerpt)

This volume documents the speeches given on July 7, 2006 in Hamburg on the occasion of the ceremonial opening of the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Center for Science and Peace Research (Zentrum für Naturwissenschaft und Friedensforschung, ZNF). The keynote speakers were Alyson J. K. Bailes, Head of the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), former Minister of State, Prof. Egon Bahr, former Head of the Hamburg Peace Research Institute (scientific peace research has gained a unique institutional foothold in Germany. Together with the Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitpolitik, IFSH), Prof. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, a son of the namesake of the ZNF, and Prof. Wolfgang Panofsky from Stanford, USA.With the founding of the Centre at the University of Hamburg, headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Kalinowski, scientific peace research has gained a unique institutional foothold in Germany. Together with the IFSH in Hamburg an inter- and multidisciplinary research network is being established which will open up new opportunities to explore the interaction of natural sciences, conflicts and international security against the background of the guiding principles of peace and sustainability and to integrate them into the training of natural scientists

Coordination between different United Nations (UN) departments, funds, agencies, and programmes has become an issue of increasing concern for scholars and practitioners alike. With the United Nations taking on ever more ambitious roles in countries emerging from conflict ; no single unit or agency can master the task of post-conflict reconstruction ; also known as peacebuilding ; alone; instead ; a concerted effort is called for. Recent efforts at reorganizing the way the United Nations works in peacebuilding missions have not yielded the desired results of achieving a more coherent ; and in that way more efficient and more effective UN presence. In order to offer fresh inputs for the debate ; this paper looks at the issue of coordination from a theoretical perspective. Informed by organization theory ; a framework for interorganizational coordination is developed and then applied to the United Nations and peacebuilding. The main finding is that in order to improve interorganizational coordination and in lieu of trying to become one streamlined hierarchical organization ; the United Nations should acknowledge its network character and cultivate those social and structural control mechanisms which facilitate coordination in networks. ; Die Koordination zwischen verschiedenen Einheiten des Systems der Vereinten Nationen (VN) hat in den letzten Jahren sowohl für Praktiker als auch für Akademiker zunehmend an Bedeutung gewonnen. Da die Vereinten Nationen immer ambitioniertere Aufgaben der Konfliktnachsorge ; der Demokratisierung und des Wiederaufbaus in Krisenregionen übernehmen ; wird der Ruf nach einem koordinierten Vorgehen immer lauter – denn keine einzelne VN Unterorganisation kann die Fülle der Aufgaben allein bewältigen. Trotzdem haben die Bemühungen der letzten Jahre hin zu mehr Koordination und Integration bisher nicht die erhofften Ergebnisse gezeigt. Dieses Papier möchte zur aktuellen Debatte beisteuern ; indem es zuerst das Thema "Koordination" von einem theoretischen Blickwinkel aus beleuchtet. Basierend auf den Erkenntnissen der Organisationslehre wird ein theoretisches Modell der Koordination entwickelt – dieses wird dann auf die Vereinten Nationen als Unternehmer von Friedensmissionen angewandt. Haupterkenntnis ist hierbei ; dass ; um interorganisationelle Koordination innerhalb der Vereinten Nationen zu verbessern ; die sozialen und strukturellen Koordinationsmechanismen gestärkt werden sollten ; die dem netzwerkartigen Charakter des Systems entsprechen – anstatt weiterhin zu versuchen ; über das ganze System hinweg eine straffe Hierarchie durchzusetzen.

The question of overseas deployment of the Self Defence Force (SDF) continues to be one of the most controversial issues in Japan's foreign policy. This becomes particularly obvious with respect to participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Japan is caught between, on the one hand, the aspiration to contribute to international peace and security and, on the other, the need to adhere to the constitution, which renounces the use of force as an instrument of foreign policy. This has led to strict legal limitations concerning Japan's participation in peacekeeping missions, resulting in significant practical problems in the field. Despite revisions of the legal framework, Japan's contribution to peacekeeping activities remains severely limited, particularly with respect to so-called robust peacekeeping. Instead of gradually broadening the SDF's activities, however, Tokyo would be better advised to strengthen its civilian contribution to peace operations. (Japan Aktuell/GIGA)

This volume documents the speeches given on July 7, 2006 in Hamburg on the occasion of the ceremonial opening of the Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Center for Science and Peace Research (Zentrum für Naturwissenschaft und Friedensforschung, ZNF). The keynote speakers were Alyson J. K. Bailes, Head of the Stockholm Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), former Minister of State, Prof. Egon Bahr, former Head of the Hamburg Peace Research Institute (scientific peace research has gained a unique institutional foothold in Germany. Together with the Institut für Friedensforschung und Sicherheitpolitik, IFSH), Prof. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker, a son of the namesake of the ZNF, and Prof. Wolfgang Panofsky from Stanford, USA.With the founding of the Centre at the University of Hamburg, headed by Prof. Dr. Martin Kalinowski, scientific peace research has gained a unique institutional foothold in Germany. Together with the IFSH in Hamburg an inter- and multidisciplinary research network is being established which will open up new opportunities to explore the interaction of natural sciences, conflicts and international security against the background of the guiding principles of peace and sustainability and to integrate them into the training of natural scientists.

The question of overseas deployment of the Self Defence Force (SDF) continues to be one of the most controversial issues in Japan's foreign policy. This becomes particularly obvious with respect to participation in UN peacekeeping operations. Japan is caught between, on the one hand, the aspiration to contribute to international peace and security and, on the other, the need to adhere to the constitution, which renounces the use of force as an instrument of foreign policy. This has led to strict legal limitations concerning Japan's participation in peacekeeping missions, resulting in significant practical problems in the field. Despite revisions of the legal framework, Japan's contribution to peacekeeping activities remains severely limited, particularly with respect to so-called robust peacekeeping. Instead of gradually broadening the SDF's activities, however, Tokyo would be better advised to strengthen its civilian contribution to peace operations.

"More than a decade after the Dayton Peace Accords, the question remains whether peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will sustain. Assuming that the economic prosperity plays a crucial role for a successful peacebuilding process, this working paper addresses the potential and the risks of economic development, focusing on three particular aspects: corruption, informal labor and the brain drain phenomenon. Rob Scheid shows that corruption is an endemic problem concerning governance, civil society, and the economy in BiH. He outlines examples of the various forms corruption takes and discusses steps taken to combat this issue, arguing that corruption's detraction from economic development prolongs the peacebuilding process. Julika Bake deals with the phenomenon of illicit labor, which is seen as one of the major obstacles to economic prosperity in BiH. She argues that besides macroeconomic recovery and labor policy, the links between local political elites and informal employers have to be taken into account to successfully create formal employment. Simon Runkel addresses the difficult labor situation of young people and the resulting emigration, particularly of the well educated. In his opinion, reforms in the fields of education as well as private investment are necessary to facilitate the return of emigrants and to benefit from the positive long-term effect of the so-called brain drain phenomenon. All three sections of this working paper hold that the peacebuilding process would benefit to a great extent from the strengthening of formal economic relations, the weakening of links between the economic and political spheres, especially on a local level, as well as from the creation of job opportunities. Although economic prosperity and sustainable development often seem beneficial they do not appear to be a primary concern in peacebuilding. This paper shows that economic aspects are crucial to the question of whether peace will stay and last in Bosnia and Herzegovina." (author's abstract)

"Coordination between different United Nations (UN) departments, funds, agencies, and programmes has become an issue of increasing concern for scholars and practitioners alike. With the United Nations taking on ever more ambitious roles in countries emerging from conflict, no single unit or agency can master the task of post-conflict reconstruction, also known as peacebuilding, alone, instead, a concerted effort is called for. Recent efforts at reorganizing the way the United Nations works in peacebuilding missions have not yielded the desired results of achieving a more coherent, and in that way more efficient and more effective UN presence. In order to offer fresh inputs for the debate, this paper looks at the issue of coordination from a theoretical perspective. Informed by organization theory, a framework for interorganizational coordination is developed and then applied to the United Nations and peacebuilding. The main finding is that in order to improve interorganizational coordination and in lieu of trying to become one streamlined hierarchical organization, the United Nations should acknowledge its network character and cultivate those social and structural control mechanisms which facilitate coordination in networks." (author's abstract)