The UN's Role in Nation-Building: From the Congo to Iraq
This is the second book in a series that looks to provide an understanding of the international community's attempts to save failed and failing states... Taking an objective look at the UN's ability to supervise the rebuilding of a nation, the RAND Corporation employs a case study approach looking at eight countries -- the Congo, Namibia, El Salvador, Cambodia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, East Timor, and Iraq -- as well as the situation in Eastern Slavonia with the breakup of the former Yugoslavia... Given the amount of information required for such an analysis, the study does a commendable job of presenting its findings in a clear and easy-to-follow manner. The authors' examples are well chosen, and we see the successes and failures -- to varying degrees -- of the assimilation of democracy in these nations. This subject will be of interest to anyone looking to study what is required for successful nation building and to those looking for a more balanced picture of the UN's role in today's world.Strategic Studies Quarterly, Summer 2008There is much to learn from these books (companion volumes The UN's Role in Nation-Building and America's Role in Nation-Building). Their methodical structure, rigorous analysis, presentation of data and rational conclusions are compelling and highly readable.The UN Chronicle, January 2006On balance this is a straightforward summary of complex developments and situations ... with many concise summaries of trends and comparisons. Highly recommended. All levels.Choice, January 2006Since the end of the Cold War, the UN has increasingly been called on to dispatch multinational forces to enforce the peace and rebuild political order. Building on an earlier RAND study of U.S.-led peacekeeping efforts, this book is one of the first to systematically examine these operations... The authors show that UN forces are chronically undermanned and underfunded (U.S. nation-building missions, in contract, tend to be launched with more ambitious mandates in more difficult circumstances) but encouragingly conclude that the UN's low-profile, small-footprint approach to nation building has succeeded more often than it has failed and is remarkably cost-effective--offering a promising framework for peacekeeping in the future.Foreign Affairs, May/June 2005