quinta-feira, agosto 28, 2003
RAND BOOK LOOKS AT NATION-BUILDING FROM GERMANY TO IRAQ
[Incluo aqui o livro que serviu de base ao artigo da Rand Review a que fiz referência anteriormente]
"A new RAND book titled America's Role in Nation-Building: From Germany to Iraq reviews more than 50 years of U.S. efforts to transform defeated and broken enemies into democratic and prosperous allies. The authors conclude that rebuilding Iraq will be difficult but possible, and use historical perspective to illuminate today's headlines.
...Dobbins and his co-authors—John G. McGinn, Keith Crane, Seth G. Jones, Rollie Lal, Andrew Rathmell, Rachel Swanger, and Anga Timilsina—argue forcefully that the United States cannot afford to contemplate an early exit from Iraq and leave the job of nation-building there half completed. The authors state: "The real question for the United States should not be how soon it can leave, but rather how fast and how much to share power with Iraqis and the international community while retaining enough power to oversee an enduring transition to democracy and stability."
The book says that the post-World War II occupations of Germany and Japan set standards for successful post-conflict nation-building that have never again been matched...
...What lessons can be learned from past endeavors that can be applied to Iraq, an effort comparable in scale to the earlier American occupations of Germany and Japan?
...According to the authors: "What principally distinguishes Germany, Japan, Bosnia, and Kosovo from Somalia, Haiti, and Afghanistan are not their levels of Western culture, economic development, or cultural homogeneity. Rather, it is the level of effort the United States and the international community have put into their democratic transformations. In Germany and Japan, for example, substantial American aid reduced social, political, and other obstacles to the reconstitution of parliamentary politics and facilitated a transition to democracy. Nation-building, as this study illustrates, is a time- and resource-consuming effort."
GENERAL CONCLUSIONS:
In addition to numerous lessons specific to each case, the authors offer several general conclusions about nation-building:
- While many factors influence the success of nation-building efforts, among controllable factors the most important is the level of effort—measured in time, people, and money.
- Although multilateral nation-building is complex and time consuming, it is considerably less expensive for participants and can produce a more thorough transformation and greater prospects for regional peace than unilateral efforts.
- Unity of command and broad participation are compatible when major participants share a common vision and can shape international institutions accordingly.
- There appears to be an inverse correlation between the size of the stabilization force and the level of risk. The higher the proportion of stabilizing troops, the lower the number of casualties both suffered and inflicted. In fact, most adequately manned post-conflict operations suffered no casualties.
- Neighboring states can exert significant influence, and it is nearly impossible to succeed without their support.
- Accountability for past injustices can be a powerful component of democratization but is also among the most challenging and controversial aspects of any nation-building endeavor.
- There is no quick route to nation-building. Five years seems to be the minimum required to enforce an enduring transformation to democracy.
posted by Joao 9:39 da manhã
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