State-Building and the United Nations

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2008:

Objectives:

A candidate who has successfully completed the subject should:

• Have a thorough knowledge of the range of processes and actors involved in international administration and post-conflict reconstruction
• Be aware of the history and range of trusteeship and administration projects conducted under international auspices
• Have a comprehensive understanding of the role of international organisations, foreign states and private actors in the processes of administration and reconstruction
• Be able to determine whether the conduct of administration and reconstruction complies with other norms of international law
• Be familiar with the range of theoretical approaches used to understand and critique these initiatives
• Have the capacity to articulate their knowledge and understanding in oral and written presentations.

Syllabus:

Principal topics will include:

• The history of international administration, including the mandate system of the League of Nations after WWI and the conduct of trusteeships under Chapter XII of the UN Charter
• The evolving role of the United Nations in providing peace and security in non-traditional conflicts that involve the collapse of state institutions
• The roles played by international and regional organisations in proposing and implementing law reform and institutional design projects as part of administration and reconstruction processes
• The exercise of legislative and executive authority by international administrators
• The reception of institutional designs and rule of law initiatives in postconflict situations
• The extent to which administrators are limited or constrained in the implementation of legal change in such situations by norms of international law, including human rights, self-determination and laws relating to occupying powers
• Judicial reform and the establishment of war crimes tribunals or truth commissions
• Electoral and constitutional mechanisms that are intended to prevent the recurrence of conflict and provide an exit strategy for international actors.

• Take-home examination (100%) (30 January-2 February 2009)
  or
• Research paper 10,000 words (100%) (12 March 2009) (topic approved by the subject coordinator)

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Objectives:

A candidate who has successfully completed the subject should:

• Have a thorough knowledge of the range of processes and actors involved in international administration and post-conflict reconstruction
• Be aware of the history and range of trusteeship and administration projects conducted under international auspices
• Have a comprehensive understanding of the role of international organisations, foreign states and private actors in the processes of administration and reconstruction
• Be able to determine whether the conduct of administration and reconstruction complies with other norms of international law
• Be familiar with the range of theoretical approaches used to understand and critique these initiatives
• Have the capacity to articulate their knowledge and understanding in oral and written presentations.

Syllabus:

Principal topics will include:

• The history of international administration, including the mandate system of the League of Nations after WWI and the conduct of trusteeships under Chapter XII of the UN Charter
• The evolving role of the United Nations in providing peace and security in non-traditional conflicts that involve the collapse of state institutions
• The roles played by international and regional organisations in proposing and implementing law reform and institutional design projects as part of administration and reconstruction processes
• The exercise of legislative and executive authority by international administrators
• The reception of institutional designs and rule of law initiatives in postconflict situations
• The extent to which administrators are limited or constrained in the implementation of legal change in such situations by norms of international law, including human rights, self-determination and laws relating to occupying powers
• Judicial reform and the establishment of war crimes tribunals or truth commissions
• Electoral and constitutional mechanisms that are intended to prevent the recurrence of conflict and provide an exit strategy for international actors.

• Take-home examination (100%) (30 January-2 February 2009)
  or
• Research paper 10,000 words (100%) (12 March 2009) (topic approved by the subject coordinator)