You, the People: The United Nations, Transitional Administration, and State-Building FROM THE PUBLISHER
Drawing on extensive new field research and interviews with key individuals, Simon Chesterman presents a concise history of UN state-building operations from colonial times to the problems faced in the early 21st century. Through a close examination of topics such as peace and security, the role of the UN as government, judicial reconstruction, economic reconstruction, and exit strategies, this book provides a unique perspective on whether and how to rebuild after war.
SYNOPSIS
Transitional administrations represent the most complex operations attempted by the United Nations. The missions in Kosovo (1999-) and East Timor (1999-2002) are commonly seen as unique in the history of the United Nations. But they may also be seen as the latest in a series of operations that have involved the United Nations in 'state-building' activities, in which it has attempted to develop the institutions of government by assuming some or all of those sovereign powers on a temporary basis. Viewed in the light of earlier UN operations, such as those in Namibia (1989-1990), Cambodia (1992-1993), and Eastern Slavonia (1996-1998), the idea that these exceptional circumstances may not recur is somewhat disingenuous. The need for policy research in this area was brought into sharp focus by the weighty but vague responsibilities assigned to the United Nations in Afghanistan (2002-) and its contested role in Iraq (2003-).
This book seeks to fill that gap. Aimed at policy-makers, diplomats, and a wide academic audience (including international relations, political science, international law, war studies and development studies), the book provides a concise history of transitional administration and a treatment of the five key issues confronting such operations: peace and security, the role of the United Nations as government, establishing the rule of law, economic reconstruction, and exit strategies. Research for the book has been conducted through extensive field research and interviews with key UN staff and local representatives in almost all of the territories under consideration. The unifying theme is that, while the ends of transitional administration may be idealistic, the means cannot be.
Essential for: Scholars and students of politics and international relations, especially those interested in UN state-building operations, international law, democracy studies, conflict resolution, and globalization.
FROM THE CRITICS
Brian Urquhart - New York Review of Books (Vol 51, No 14)
Chesterman, director of an international institute at New York University, has made an original study of how new institutions can be created in such war-damaged countries as Bosnia, Cambodia, and East Timor. In his book the weight of the subject and the depth of the research are supported by wit, candor, brevity, and analytical writing of a very high order. Although the occupation of Iraq is just one of many cases that Chesterman considers, his book provides, among other things, a guide to the problems of transitional occupation that is extraordinarily relevant to America's current difficulties.
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