Who Makes the State? National ownership and international statebuilding in authoritarian contexts

"Who Makes the State? National ownership and international statebuilding in authoritarian contexts" by Yolande Bouka (Queen's University), Susanna Campbell (American University), and Travis Curtice (Drexel University)

Abstract:

"How do liberal international institutions carry out statebuilding interventions in increasingly authoritarian post-conflict states? In spite of claims that the liberal international order is declining, the United Nations (UN) and other Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs) still engage in international statebuilding and peacebuilding efforts aimed at transforming war-torn countries into liberal democratic states. Scholarship on international peacebuilding and statebuilding largely argues that international peacebuilders impose their liberal norms on post-conflict countries, regardless of the recipient countries' characteristics. Using a unique multi-method research design, grounded in surveys and semi-structured interviews with peacebuilding staff, we argue that IGO peacebuilders change their peacebuilding approach in response to the post-conflict state's regime type. Specifically, in increasingly authoritarian post-conflict states, IGO peacebuilders prioritize the preferences of the post-conflict state over those of their leadership at headquarters. But even within this constrained context, IGO staff can work with their domestic interlocutors in the post-conflict state to find pathways to pursue liberal peacebuilding aims. These findings challenge commonly held assumptions in the peacebuilding, statebuilding, IGO, and democratization literature, and point to ways that individual bureaucrats help make the post-conflict state."

Discussants:

Naazneen Barma (University of Denver)

Vera Miranova (Harvard University)

Meg Shannon (University of Colorado)

OPSC Coordinator:

Chelsea Estancona (University of South Carolina)