Tratar con los grupos armados no estatales y el desplazamiento: una perspectiva estatal

La política exterior integrada de compromiso de la experiencia noruega ejemplifica que los Estados deben perseguir una mejor prevención, protección y asistencia a través del derecho internacional y el diálogo con los grupos armados no estatales

Between rationalism and reflectivism : constructivist security theory and the collapse of Yugoslavia

Between Rationalism and Reflectivism: Constructivist Security heory and the Collapse of Yugoslavia The theme of this dissertation is the conceptualisation of security in international relations theory (IRT) and the way such theory can help us understand processes like those that led to the Yugoslav War of Dissolution. Keohane argued already in 1988 that the main theoretical division in IRT does not any longer go between (neo)realism and (neo)liberalism, but rather between the rationalists (neoliberalists and neorealists) on the one hand, and the reflectivists (poststructuralists and critical theory) on the other. The dissertation presents the way security is conceptualised in the main schools of thought, and discusses the extent to which they are useful in the analysis of the process that led to the Yugoslav War of Dissolution. It argues that while a solid theory of security may still be rooted in the realist tradition, it would benefit from opening up to parts of the critique posted by the reflectivist/poststructuralist side. An enhanced understanding of identity and identity realignment as political and discursive processes seems almost inevitable in an attempt to deal properly with the questions posed by the course of events in the Balkans. Reflectivism, however, is better at criticising and deconstructing established models of thought than of presenting a framework of analysis on its own, at least if a traditional understanding of what social research is supposed to do is applied. It is therefore argued that the theoretical foundations of the study of contemporary security questions requires a wider, more inclusive framework than what is provided by the established rationalist theories. What is needed is a theoretical approach that can successfully combine a focus on power and strategy, the traditional strongholds of rationalism, with the focus on identity politics, group realignment and structural change on the other that has become trademarks of the reflectivist positions. The dissertation suggests that theoretical middle ground between the two opponents is underway in the form of social constructivism, which has been imported to the field of IRT from sociology. So far, however, constructivism in IRT is at an early stage, and relatively few attempts have been made to link it to the study of security and war. The most comprehensive attempt to do so can be found in the Copenhagen School of Security Studies, which introduces concepts like securitisation and societal security into a constructivist theory of security, while still maintaining that they remain rooted in the rationalist tradition. Building further on this constructivist turn I will move on to suggests a few modest suggestions on my own, particularly with respect to a concept of conflict entrepreneurship. Conflict entrepreneurs exploit the high level of insecurities and uncertainties about the future that characterises periods of rapid change for purposes of power maximation through, among other factors, identity politics, discourses of threat and danger, and the redefinition of social and / or physical borders. In order to apply this to the case of Yugoslavia, to identify the causes of the deteriorating climate, the deliberate acts taken to exploit these developments, as well as the relationship between the two. In conclusion, it is argued that a constructivist perspective may be successfully applied to the case of Yugoslavia, and that the conceptualisation of security in international relations theory may successfully open up to the added insights provided by a constructivist approach plus by applying some of the basic contributions of classical Realism within this new wider framework

Krig mot Irak : Foreligger det et FN-mandat for bruk av militærmakt?

Foreligger det i dag et folkerettslig grunnlag for bruk av militærmakt mot Irak? Spørsmålet står sentralt i den pågående striden i, og rundt, FNs sikkerhetsråd. Dette notatet gjennomgår historikken omkring Sikkerhetsrådets håndtering av Irak-spørsmålet siden Iraks invasjon av Kuwait i august 1990 og er oppdatert fram til ultimo februar 2003. Notatet konkluderer med at verken resolusjonene fra 1990 og 1991 (særlig S/RES/678 og 687) eller S/RES/1441 fra 2002 gir slik eksplisitt autoritet. Under forutsetning av at Sikkerhetsrådet ikke vedtar en ny resolusjon som eksplisitt autoriserer bruk av militærmakt, vil en invasjon av Irak knyttet til spørsmålet om masseødeleggelsesvåpen ikke være i samsvar med FN-paktens krav til legitim bruk av militærmakt. Det britisk-amerikansk-spanske utkastet til resolusjon som ble framlagt 24. februar 2003 vil, dersom det skulle bli vedtatt, innebære at det konstateres at Irak ikke oppfyller de forpliktelsene landet er pålagt i så vel våpenhvile-resolusjonen (S/Res 687) som de som følger av resolusjon 1441 fra november 2002, der det trues med «serious consequences». Et slikt vedtak kan medføre at våpenhvilen etter resolusjon 687 bortfaller, og at Sikkerhetsrådet konstaterer at Irak ikke har benyttet den «siste mulighet» landet ble tilbudt i resolusjon 1441. Men dette gir ikke medlemsstatene rett til å bruke makt – til dette trengs det en særlig autorisasjon

International Policing and the Rule of Law in Transitions from War to Peace

«Challenges to Collective Security» Working Papers from NUPI’s UN Programme: In transitions from war to peace there are few challenges more in need of urgent attention and careful planning than the issues of policing and establishment of rule of law.1 Development efforts are futile in situations marred by violence and recurrent conflict. The nature of the institutions of law and order is central to the relationship between state and society. In order to achieve a sustainable political settlement after conflict, these institutions need to be trustworthy, effective and legitimate. Neither is sufficient on its own: a technically effective police force may be used in a way seen as illegitimate by much of the population. Likewise, a high human rights standard may not in itself ensure that the police, the judiciary and the penal system manage to reduce crime and violence to levels compatible with societal and economic progress. It is thus equally important to have institutions established that are both effective and legitimate. However, this can be a very difficult and challenging endeavour since the deliberate misuse of, or the absence of, institutions of law and order often may have contributed to the fostering of conflict in the first place. Both institutional and cultural transformation is needed to achieve lasting peace. The international community has over the last decade become increasingly aware of the need for a more integrated approach to security-sector reform. That being said, there is still a long way to go in terms of developing functional holistic approaches to such reform processes. Attempts at shortcutting the need for local ownership through «executive missions» have not proven particularly successful. Any system of law and order not rooted in society itself runs the risk of being superficial (allowing informal systems to function underneath) or temporary (as it is dependent on the continued presence of scarce foreign personnel). While situations may arise that require full-fledged international executive responsibility, the best approach lies in a careful integration of security-sector reform efforts aimed at achieving a sustainable, locally rooted rule of law. There is no alternative to a sector-wide approach in this field, and the inherently political nature of any undertaking of this sort should be recognised from the outset

Gender Empowerment and United Nations Peacebuilding

Previous studies have suggested that societies where women have higher social and economic status and greater political representation are less likely to become involved in conflict. In this article, the author argues that the prospects for successful post-conflict peacebuilding under the auspices of the United Nations (UN) are generally better in societies where women have greater levels of empowerment. Women's status in a society reflects the existence of multiple social networks and domestic capacity not captured by purely economic measures of development such as GDP per capita. In societies where women have relatively higher status, women have more opportunities to express a voice in the peacemaking process and to elicit broader domestic participation in externally led peacekeeping operations. This higher level of participation in turn implies that UN Peacekeeping operations can tap into great social capital and have better prospects for success. An empirical analysis of post-conflict cases with a high risk of conflict recurrence shows that UN peacekeeping operations have been significantly more effective in societies in which women have relatively higher status. By contrast, UN peacekeeping operations in countries where women have comparatively lower social status are much less likely to succeed. </jats:p