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Book Review: Gestion de Crise, Maintien et Consolidation de la Paix. Acteurs, Activités, Défi s (Crisis Management, Peacekeeping and Consolidation of Peace. Actors, Actions, Challenges) , by Thierry Tardy. (Brussels: De Boeck, 2009)

Book Review: Gestion de Crise, Maintien et Consolidation de la Paix. Acteurs, Activités, Défi s... BOOK REVIEWS Thierry Tardy, Gestion de Crise, Maintien et Consolidation de la Paix. Acteurs, Activités, Défis [Crisis Management, Peacekeeping and Consolidation of Peace. Actors, Actions, Challenges] (Brussels: De Boeck, 2009), ISBN 979-2-8041-1639-2, 280 pp. Conflict prevention, crisis management, crisis response, post-conflict stabilization, peace keeping, peacemaking, peace building ... . Both in vocabulary and in practice, these terms have become increasingly important since the end of the Cold War. It is hard to find any post-1990 documents dealing with security policy where these words are not mentioned. Nor are there many military and/or civilian operations that are not situated in their realm. Somehow magic words but enigmatic too. Terms like these that are so commonly used are sometimes the most confusing and are also easily misused or even abused, because they lack a clear definition. A sound analysis is thus virtually impossible if notions and concepts are not clarified first. Thierry Tardy, who is a Faculty Member of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and an Associate at the Paris Centre for International Studies and Research, has well understood this. He correctly starts by explaining the difference between conflict and crisis: `"conflict" implies an opposition between different types of actors whereas "crisis" characterizes a situation of disorder, which can but doesn't have to lead to a conflict' (p. 17). He then goes on explaining what conflict and crisis means in international relations, what is meant by crisis management, what types of crisis management there are, how it relates to war, peace, and conflict resolution. Besides the concepts, he also deals with the actors and their interests. States may play a central role in international relations; international organizations have the privilege to be at the forefront of crisis management, especially because they provide for `a source of legitimacy' states do not easily accept from each other (p. 51). To sum up, he draws a clear analytical framework in which he sheds light on puzzling concepts and the actors implicated. He presents crisis management as `a consensual and impartial activity, which takes place with respect to the sovereignty of the state at stake and which, if it takes the form of a military operation, doesn't have the coercive objective to defeat an enemy', thus justifying why he excludes the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the US operation against the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2001, and the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003 from his study (p. 11). In his second part, he analyses the principal international organizations involved in crisis management, in particular how they have developed their crisis management policy and how it has evolved in terms of narratives, dilemmas, capacities, limits with regard to their realizations, and failures. Obviously, the author starts with a chapter on UN that is given the interesting title `eternal recommencement?' (p. 57), sparked by the publication of its peacekeeping doctrine in 2008 (p. 80). However, the question remains whether the UN will overcome its `overstretch' (p. 87): it simply lacks the strategy and the resources to sustain multiple and complex operations, not to mention the credibility to exert coercion. Then comes the EU, which Tardy tags with the keyword `ambition' (p. 93). Indeed, in the past ten years, the EU has made lots of progress concerning its capabilities, but it has not lived up to the high expectations so far. Because of its strategic and operational deficiencies, the EU's crisis management operations have been rather `modest', compared to the more risky operations of the UN, NATO, or even the African Union (p. 112). These shortcomings are all largely due to the divergences between its Member States on policy goals and approaches. Not to mention the pertinence of NATO that has found in its post-Cold War `search for direction' (p. 117) a `new raison d'être' in crisis management (p. 118), the Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission in Kosovo from mid-1999 onwards, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan since mid2003 being its first regional and global missions. The author not only questions if the ISAF mission is `a crisis management operation or a war' (p. 129), but also whether NATO is well equipped for crisis management (what about the civilian side of the crisis management coin?) and what its reach should be (regional or global?). Even more questions arise in the case of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Though conflict prevention is the very `essence of the OSCE' BOOK REVIEWS (p. 141), it is struggling to survive in the interplay between the EU, NATO, and Russia. Last but not least, Tardy dedicates a chapter to the African Union, which has deployed an operation in Burundi (2003­2004), two in Darfur (2004­2007, since 2008), and one in Somalia (since 2007). The authors' title `immensity of needs' (p. 155) is not an understatement, nor are its `weaknesses on all levels of crisis management' (p. 163) to address these needs. However, the huge capacity deficit, for which it depends heavily on the support of the UN and the EU, may not even be the biggest problem the African Union is facing: `the question of unity among Africans' (p. 167). Finally, he examines the challenges ahead for crisis management. First, he debates the politically sensitive issue of legitimacy and credibility as well as the emergence of `a two-speed crisis management system' (p. 187): the UN especially of the `poor' nations on the one hand, and regional organizations such as the EU and NATO or coalitions of the willing `rich' countries on the other hand. This leads us to the next chapter on cooperation between the UN and regional actors, which is theoretically governed by Chapter VIII of the UN Charter but in practice experiences competition too, as well as between regional actors, particularly the EU and NATO. Next, he studies the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), like the International Committee of the Red Cross, that have become pivotal in crisis management. Despite a `relatively large consensus' that security and development are interconnected ­ think of the human security concept ­ NGOs still have difficulties to accept the `securitarization' of their domain and thus the military counterpart of a peace operation (pp. 218­219). He then continues with the increasing privatization of crisis management (Private Military Companies or Private Security Contractors), which occurs within a legal void. However, according to Tardy, `a progressive evolution towards a privatization of the most complex aspects of crisis management can't be excluded' (p. 233). Last but not least, he addresses the budget of the UN, the EU, NATO, and the African Union to finance their operations ­ the OSCE is not treated separately. To sum up, this book is a masterpiece in its kind, being an accessible, straightforward, synoptic compendium, accompanied by some interesting tables, a thematically organized bibliography, and a selective webography. It is ideal for those who want to get a bird's eye perspective of the subject. Of course, the book has its shortcomings, but the author himself points them out. `[It] doesn't offer a comparative analysis of the studied organizations nor does it approach crisis management thematically, for example, distinguishing between civilian and military activities' (pp. 10­11). Though he mentions them throughout his book, he also acknowledges that he does not evaluate important internal (like local population or factions) and external actors (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and relevant UN agencies). Nevertheless, with his publication Thierry Tardy made an appealing and useful contribution. I would even recommend the publisher to translate it into the academic lingua franca English. Or advise readers who do not speak French to start learning it now with this book. Björn Koopmans Institute for International and European Policy Key Member of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence ­ Network on `the EU, Foreign Policy and Global Governance' University of Leuven, Belgium http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png European Foreign Affairs Review Kluwer Law International

Book Review: Gestion de Crise, Maintien et Consolidation de la Paix. Acteurs, Activités, Défi s (Crisis Management, Peacekeeping and Consolidation of Peace. Actors, Actions, Challenges) , by Thierry Tardy. (Brussels: De Boeck, 2009)

European Foreign Affairs Review , Volume 15 (2) – Apr 1, 2010

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Kluwer Law International
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Copyright © Kluwer Law International
ISSN
1384-6299
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Abstract

BOOK REVIEWS Thierry Tardy, Gestion de Crise, Maintien et Consolidation de la Paix. Acteurs, Activités, Défis [Crisis Management, Peacekeeping and Consolidation of Peace. Actors, Actions, Challenges] (Brussels: De Boeck, 2009), ISBN 979-2-8041-1639-2, 280 pp. Conflict prevention, crisis management, crisis response, post-conflict stabilization, peace keeping, peacemaking, peace building ... . Both in vocabulary and in practice, these terms have become increasingly important since the end of the Cold War. It is hard to find any post-1990 documents dealing with security policy where these words are not mentioned. Nor are there many military and/or civilian operations that are not situated in their realm. Somehow magic words but enigmatic too. Terms like these that are so commonly used are sometimes the most confusing and are also easily misused or even abused, because they lack a clear definition. A sound analysis is thus virtually impossible if notions and concepts are not clarified first. Thierry Tardy, who is a Faculty Member of the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and an Associate at the Paris Centre for International Studies and Research, has well understood this. He correctly starts by explaining the difference between conflict and crisis: `"conflict" implies an opposition between different types of actors whereas "crisis" characterizes a situation of disorder, which can but doesn't have to lead to a conflict' (p. 17). He then goes on explaining what conflict and crisis means in international relations, what is meant by crisis management, what types of crisis management there are, how it relates to war, peace, and conflict resolution. Besides the concepts, he also deals with the actors and their interests. States may play a central role in international relations; international organizations have the privilege to be at the forefront of crisis management, especially because they provide for `a source of legitimacy' states do not easily accept from each other (p. 51). To sum up, he draws a clear analytical framework in which he sheds light on puzzling concepts and the actors implicated. He presents crisis management as `a consensual and impartial activity, which takes place with respect to the sovereignty of the state at stake and which, if it takes the form of a military operation, doesn't have the coercive objective to defeat an enemy', thus justifying why he excludes the 1999 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the US operation against the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2001, and the US-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003 from his study (p. 11). In his second part, he analyses the principal international organizations involved in crisis management, in particular how they have developed their crisis management policy and how it has evolved in terms of narratives, dilemmas, capacities, limits with regard to their realizations, and failures. Obviously, the author starts with a chapter on UN that is given the interesting title `eternal recommencement?' (p. 57), sparked by the publication of its peacekeeping doctrine in 2008 (p. 80). However, the question remains whether the UN will overcome its `overstretch' (p. 87): it simply lacks the strategy and the resources to sustain multiple and complex operations, not to mention the credibility to exert coercion. Then comes the EU, which Tardy tags with the keyword `ambition' (p. 93). Indeed, in the past ten years, the EU has made lots of progress concerning its capabilities, but it has not lived up to the high expectations so far. Because of its strategic and operational deficiencies, the EU's crisis management operations have been rather `modest', compared to the more risky operations of the UN, NATO, or even the African Union (p. 112). These shortcomings are all largely due to the divergences between its Member States on policy goals and approaches. Not to mention the pertinence of NATO that has found in its post-Cold War `search for direction' (p. 117) a `new raison d'être' in crisis management (p. 118), the Kosovo Force (KFOR) mission in Kosovo from mid-1999 onwards, and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan since mid2003 being its first regional and global missions. The author not only questions if the ISAF mission is `a crisis management operation or a war' (p. 129), but also whether NATO is well equipped for crisis management (what about the civilian side of the crisis management coin?) and what its reach should be (regional or global?). Even more questions arise in the case of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Though conflict prevention is the very `essence of the OSCE' BOOK REVIEWS (p. 141), it is struggling to survive in the interplay between the EU, NATO, and Russia. Last but not least, Tardy dedicates a chapter to the African Union, which has deployed an operation in Burundi (2003­2004), two in Darfur (2004­2007, since 2008), and one in Somalia (since 2007). The authors' title `immensity of needs' (p. 155) is not an understatement, nor are its `weaknesses on all levels of crisis management' (p. 163) to address these needs. However, the huge capacity deficit, for which it depends heavily on the support of the UN and the EU, may not even be the biggest problem the African Union is facing: `the question of unity among Africans' (p. 167). Finally, he examines the challenges ahead for crisis management. First, he debates the politically sensitive issue of legitimacy and credibility as well as the emergence of `a two-speed crisis management system' (p. 187): the UN especially of the `poor' nations on the one hand, and regional organizations such as the EU and NATO or coalitions of the willing `rich' countries on the other hand. This leads us to the next chapter on cooperation between the UN and regional actors, which is theoretically governed by Chapter VIII of the UN Charter but in practice experiences competition too, as well as between regional actors, particularly the EU and NATO. Next, he studies the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), like the International Committee of the Red Cross, that have become pivotal in crisis management. Despite a `relatively large consensus' that security and development are interconnected ­ think of the human security concept ­ NGOs still have difficulties to accept the `securitarization' of their domain and thus the military counterpart of a peace operation (pp. 218­219). He then continues with the increasing privatization of crisis management (Private Military Companies or Private Security Contractors), which occurs within a legal void. However, according to Tardy, `a progressive evolution towards a privatization of the most complex aspects of crisis management can't be excluded' (p. 233). Last but not least, he addresses the budget of the UN, the EU, NATO, and the African Union to finance their operations ­ the OSCE is not treated separately. To sum up, this book is a masterpiece in its kind, being an accessible, straightforward, synoptic compendium, accompanied by some interesting tables, a thematically organized bibliography, and a selective webography. It is ideal for those who want to get a bird's eye perspective of the subject. Of course, the book has its shortcomings, but the author himself points them out. `[It] doesn't offer a comparative analysis of the studied organizations nor does it approach crisis management thematically, for example, distinguishing between civilian and military activities' (pp. 10­11). Though he mentions them throughout his book, he also acknowledges that he does not evaluate important internal (like local population or factions) and external actors (such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and relevant UN agencies). Nevertheless, with his publication Thierry Tardy made an appealing and useful contribution. I would even recommend the publisher to translate it into the academic lingua franca English. Or advise readers who do not speak French to start learning it now with this book. Björn Koopmans Institute for International and European Policy Key Member of the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence ­ Network on `the EU, Foreign Policy and Global Governance' University of Leuven, Belgium

Journal

European Foreign Affairs ReviewKluwer Law International

Published: Apr 1, 2010

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