Combating Serious Crimes In Postconflict Societies

Presents broad guidelines and specific prescriptions for combating serious crime in societies emerging from conflict.

Accompanying CD-ROMs contains the text of vol. 1. and vol. 2.

The trend for international engagement in post-conflict reconstruction has produced a host of best-practice postulates on topics such as local involvement in decision-making, accountability for past atrocities, sensitivity to context, and the construction of democratic institutions of governance. International law has potential relevance for many of these themes, yet the question of how the implementation of best-practice policy recommendations might be affected by international law remains under-examined. This book offers a fuller understanding of the role of international law in the practice of post-conflict reconstruction. It explores how international legal issues that arise in the post-conflict period relate to a number of strands of the policy debate, including government creation, constitution-making, gender policy, provision of security, justice for past atrocities, rule of law development, economic recovery, returning displaced persons, and responsibilities of international actors. The chapters of the book work to reveal the extent to which international law figures in the policy of internationally enabled post-conflict reconstruction across a range of sectors. They also highlight the scope for international law to be harnessed in a more effective manner from the perspective of the transition to peace and stability. The book lays out a basis for future policy making on post-conflict reconstruction; one that is informed about the international legal parameters, and more aware of how international law can be utilized to promote key objectives.

This volume investigates the role of the transnational terrorist and criminal organizations in the peace-building processes, with a particular focus on the Western Balkan region. Conducted within the framework of human security analysis, the research focuses on the security of the human being.

Peace operations are increasingly on the front line in the international community’s fight against organized crime; this book explores how, in some cases, peace operations and organized crime are clear enemies, while in others, they may become tacit allies. The threat posed by organized crime to international and human security has become a matter of considerable strategic concern for national and international decision-makers, so it is somewhat surprising how little thought has been devoted to addressing the complex relationship between organized crime and peace operations. This volume addresses this gap, questioning the emerging orthodoxy that portrays organized crime as an external threat to the liberal peace championed by western and allied states and delivered through peace operations. Based upon a series of case studies it concludes that organized crime is both a potential enemy and a potential ally of peace operations, and it argues for the need to distinguish between strategies to contain organized crime and strategies to transform the political economies in which it flourishes. The editors argue for the development of intelligent, transnational, and transitional law enforcement that can make the most of organized crime as a potential ally for transforming political economies, while at the same time containing the threat it presents as an enemy to building effective and responsible states. The book will be of great interest to students of peacebuilding, peace and conflict studies, organised crime, Security Studies and IR in general.

Since the end of the Cold War and the emergence of a oeasymmetrica threats like terrorism, the military has been increasingly entrusted with tasks traditionally belonging to the police. This development is visible through the new challenges posed to modern Peace Support Operations (PSO), intended as an umbrella definition covering different types of post-conflict peace operations, be these mandated under Chapter VI or Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter, with either peace-keeping, peace-enforcing or even peace-building goals. The aim of this volume is primarily to provide guidance, in the format of a handbook, to those deployed in the field and who are confronted with legal issues. In order to achieve this goal, the handbook is structured as follows: after this introduction, Part II addresses the general question whether law enforcement shall be a PSO task. Law enforcement is perceived by some states as a matter of self-defense.Part III then addresses the limits and possibilities of law enforcement by PSO.The discussion continues with Part IV, which provides some practical tools for those deployed to the field. Part V focuses instead on law enforcement within PSO, illustrating problems related to the prosecution of members of PSO forces suspected of illegal activities, and Part VI then draws the conclusions.