Synopses & Reviews
'This study evaluates Europe\'s success in using armed force in nation-building efforts in such countries as Albania and Sierra Leone and compares them to similar efforts by the United States and the UN. The authors emphasise the importance of a multilateral approach involving actors such the European Union and NATO.
Survival, June-July 2009
The third in a series of studies looking at nation building (the first two of which focused on U.S.- and UN-led efforts), this volume examines Europe\'s expanding role in trying to bring peace and stability to trouble spots. Under the direction of Dobbins -- a former top diplomat with crisis-management experience in the Balkans, Somalia, Haiti, and Afghanistan -- a team of RAND scholars has compiled large amounts of data about such missions in an effort to bring some rigor to the debate about different sorts of nation-building efforts... The number of variables involved in such different cases makes scientific comparison difficult, but the study does show that European Union missions have been not only fairly successful but also smaller, safer, shorter, and less challenging than those run by the United States or the United Nations. The EU is developing a nation-building capability, but it remains embryonic.
Foreign Affairs, November/December 2008This volume is reader friendly, and provides extremely useful points of comparison for evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of current country or institutionally led nation-building efforts. The authors\' methodical approach, coupled with their rigorous analyses and compelling conclusions, demonstrate that there are valuable lessons to draw upon to improve nation-building operations. This unique body of work, in combination with the preceding volumes, is a must-read for nation-building practitioners, government and international institution officials, academics, and anyone else interested in gaining an insightful perspective on the subject.
Military Review, March-April 2009
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Synopsis
Peace is the most essential product of nation-building. Without peace, neither economic growth nor democratization is possible. The authors of Europe's Role in Nation-Building investigate the use of armed force as part of broader nation-building efforts led by European powers and its success at achieving the objective of transforming a society emer
Synopsis
The European Union and its member nations have proven adept at mounting small-scale nation-building operations and should be ready to handle more substantial missions. Building on prior RAND work, this volume presents six case studies of recent European-led nation-building missions, in Albania, Sierra Leone, Macedonia, Cte d'Ivoire, the Congo, and Bosnia, as well as a review of the Australian mission to the Solomon Islands.
About the Author
James Dobbins (Georgetown School of Foreign Service) is director of the International Security and Defense Policy Center at RAND. A veteran diplomat who has held senior White House and State Department positions under four presidents, he most recently served as the Bush administration's special envoy for Afghanistan. He served as U.S. special envoy for Kosovo, Bosnia, Haiti, and Somalia. Ambassador Dobbins has held a variety of State Department and White House posts, including Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Special Assistant to the President for the Western Hemisphere, Special Adviser to the President and Secretary of State for the Balkans, and Ambassador to the European Community.Seth G. Jones (PhD, Political Science, University of Chicago) is a senior researcher at RAND. Areas of expertise include the Middle East, Arab-Israeli peace process, and European security.Keith Crane (PhD, Economics, Indiana University) is a senior economist at RAND. Areas of expertise include Economics of Transition and Economic Forecasting, Transportation Economics, and Defense Economics.