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Enthält Rezensionen u. a. von: Carothers, Thomas: Aiding democracy abroad: the learning curve. - Washington/D.C. : Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1999. - 411 S

Promoting democracy and strengthening good governance have become core components of post-conflict peace-building initiatives of the United Nations (UN). An often overlooked dimension of the analysis of UN peace support operations has been the crucial role played by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at the critical juncture linking peacekeeping to sustainable development. UN peace operations in Central America over the last decade have pioneered the organisation's involvement in the uncharted territory of post-conflict peace building. UNDP's Central American experience was the first step in the organisation's evolution away from providing traditional development assistance, towards playing an active and openly political role in post-conflict democracy building and governance reform. This new role of the UNDP has had dramatic repercussions on its mandate, administrative structures, corporate policies and operational strategies. The current institutional renewal of UNDP has its roots in its endorsement of democratic governance as essential dimensions of its mandate to promote sustainable human development. This article assesses the significance, promises and dilemmas of the governance agenda for UNDP and analyses the scope, nature and institutionalisation of democracy and governance programmes within UNDP, using Central America as a case study. It argues that the future of UNDP democracy assistance will largely depend on how successful it is at resolving the inherent tensions between democracy promotion and national sovereignty, while retaining its multilateral approach to peace and democracy.

Against the background of the tumultuous evolution of peacekeeping since the end of WWII, the essay discusses the key challenges of post-Cold War peace operations, & some of their greatest failures as well as accomplishments. It considers Kofi Annan's effort to turn around the doomed fate of UN peacekeeping through self-reflection, soul searching, & practical & feasible recommendations. The result was the Brahimi Report, which, if implemented, will allow the UN to equip itself not only to avert failures, but to ensure success in the future. This concerns not only traditional, but also complex & postconflict peace missions. While UN peace operations cannot be risk free, the risks & gambles associated with involvement in ongoing conflicts or exceedingly fragile security environments can be better managed if missions match the needs on the ground, if resources match those mandates, & if peace operations are deployed in a more judicious & deliberate manner. Adapted from the source document.

Discusses the peace process; techniques applied at the national level, political contexts, international aspects, and policy implications; theoretical framework.

A "second liberation" swept the African continent beginning in 1989. In many places, multiparty elections and a measured optimism gained ground. Yet during the 1990s, the spirit of moderation and tolerance typical of the early independence movements began to fray. The recent armed conflicts of Central and West Africa and the columns of refugees crossing borders have served as a blunt reminder of the fragility of many of the continent's democratic experiments.In this new era, law plays a central, visible, yet delicate role in many peace settlements and democratic transitions, from South Africa to Ghana. Africa's courts have been challenged to provide the kinds of basic dispute resolution that lie at the core of what it means to be a "government." At the same time, Africanjudges are mindful of Learned Hand's caution in The Spirit of Liberty, taped above a secretary's desk in Uganda. "Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women," Hand wrote. "[W]hen it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it; no constitution, no law, no court can even do much to help it." The success of a postconflict transition will depend, in part, on the role of courts in sustaining a spirit of liberty and tolerance in their societies.