Praise for new book on post-conflict state building
The book contributes to the literature on international organisations and conflict management with its comprehensive examination of recent experiences in the international administration of war-torn territories. In it, Richard analyses the territorial administrations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Eastern Slavonia, Kosovo, and East Timor, where the United Nations and other organisations have assumed responsibility for governance to an unprecedented level. The book explores the nature of international territorial administrations and, in thematic fashion, assesses the operational and political challenges that arise within them. It also reflects on the policy implications of these experiences, recommending reforms or new ways to confront the challenge posed by localised chaos in a global context. ?With its detailed and shrewd analysis,? Foreign Affairs observed, ? it is hard to see how Caplan`s measured account will be bettered.?
Richards research is based on extensive field research, including interviews with over 100 local and international officials, independent analysts, and journalists; official and unofficial publications; and the vast secondary literature on post-conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. The book will be of particular interest to those who study international law, international organisations, and strategic studies.
Richard Caplan is a University Lecturer in International Relations and an Official Fellow of Linacre College.
His other recent publications include:
- Histoire et contradictions du State Building, Critique Internationale, No. 29, October 2005 (with Batrice Pouligny)
- Who Guards the Guardians? International Accountability and Bosnia-Herzegovina, International Peacekeeping 12:3 (Autumn 2005)
- Europe and the Recognition of New States in Yugoslavia, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005
