Previously published as a special issue of Ethnopolitics, this volume analyzes various dimensions of the internationalized state-building process in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1995. In December 1995, the Dayton Agreements ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and established a fragile peace between the former conflict parties. The settlement seemed morally wrong and politically impracticable, but still necessary in order to end violence of a scale and intensity not seen in Europe since the end of the Second World War. The leading contributors conclude that internationalized state-building can only serve well in the stabilization of states emerging from conflict if it draws on a well-balanced approach of consociational techniques, moderated by integrative policies, tempered by a wider regional outlook and sustained by resourceful and skilled international involvement. The experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina may not have scored full marks in all of these categories, but important lessons can be gleaned for other similar contemporary and future challenges that the international community no doubt will have to face. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international organizations, civil wars and ethnic conflicts, international law and peace studies.

Conflicts over the rights of self-defined population groups to determine their own destiny within the boundaries of existing states are among the most violent forms of inter-communal conflict.
Many experts agree that autonomy regimes are a useful framework within which competing claims to self-determination can be accommodated. This volume explores and analyses the different options available. The contributors assess the current state of the theory and practice of institutional design for the settlement of self-determination conflicts, and also compare and contrast detailed case studies on autonomous regimes in the former Yugoslavia, the Crimea, Aland, Northern Ireland, Latin America, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Conflicts over the rights of self-defined population groups to determine their own destiny within the boundaries of existing states are among the most violent forms of inter-communal conflict.
Many experts agree that autonomy regimes are a useful framework within which competing claims to self-determination can be accommodated. This volume explores and analyses the different options available. The contributors assess the current state of the theory and practice of institutional design for the settlement of self-determination conflicts, and also compare and contrast detailed case studies on autonomous regimes in the former Yugoslavia, the Crimea, A...land, Northern Ireland, Latin America, Indonesia and Vietnam.

Previously published as a special issue of Ethnopolitics, this volume analyzes various dimensions of the internationalized state-building process in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 1995. In December 1995, the Dayton Agreements ended the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina and established a fragile peace between the former conflict parties. The settlement seemed morally wrong and politically impracticable, but still necessary in order to end violence of a scale and intensity not seen in Europe since the end of the Second World War. The leading contributors conclude that internationalized state-building can only serve well in the stabilization of states emerging from conflict if it draws on a well-balanced approach of consociational techniques, moderated by integrative policies, tempered by a wider regional outlook and sustained by resourceful and skilled international involvement. The experience of Bosnia and Herzegovina may not have scored full marks in all of these categories, but important lessons can be gleaned for other similar contemporary and future challenges that the international community no doubt will have to face. This book will be of interest to students and scholars of international organizations, civil wars and ethnic conflicts, international law and peace studies.

Throughout the world many sovereign states grant one or more of their territories greater autonomy than other areas. This arrangement, known as asymmetric autonomy, has been adopted with greater regularity as a solution to ethnic strife and secessionist struggles in recent decades. As asymmetric autonomy becomes one of the most frequently used conflict resolution methods, examination of the positive and negative consequences of its implementation, as well as its efficacy, is vital."Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts" assesses the ability of such power distribution arrangements to resolve violent struggles between central governments and separatist groups. This collection of new case studies from around the world covers a host of important developments, from recentralization in Russia, to "one country, two systems" in China, to constitutional innovation in Iraq. As a whole, these essays examine how well asymmetric autonomy agreements can bring protracted and bloody conflicts to an end, satisfy the demands of both sides, guarantee the physical integrity of a state, and ensure peace and stability. Contributors to this book also analyze the many problems and dilemmas that can arise when autonomous regions are formed. For example, powers may be loosely defined or unrealistically assigned to the state within a state. Redrawn boundaries can create new minorities and make other groups vulnerable to human rights violations. Given the number of limited self-determination systems in place, the essays in this volume present varied evaluations of these political structures.Asymmetric state agreements have the potential to remedy some of humanity's most intractable disputes. In "Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts," leading political scientists and diplomatic experts shed new light on the practical consequences of these settlements and offer sophisticated frameworks for understanding this path toward lasting peace.

International Law and Peace Settlements provides a systematic and comprehensive assessment of the relationship between international law and peace settlement practice across core settlement issues, e.g. transitional justice, human rights, refugees, self-determination, power-sharing, and wealth-sharing. The contributions address key cross-cutting questions on the legal status of peace agreements, the potential for developing international law, and the role of key actors - such as non-state armed groups, third-state witnesses and guarantors, and the UN Security Council - in the legalisation and internationalisation of settlement commitments. In recent years, significant scholarly work has examined facets of the relationship between international law and peace settlements, through concepts such as jus post bellum and lex pacificatoria. International Law and Peace Settlements drives forward the debate on the legalisation and internationalisation of peace agreements with diverse contributions from leading academics and practitioners in international law and conflict resolution.

The Universal Declaration for Human Rights was approved in 1948 and yet more than fifty years later some human rights-especially the rights of groups such as women, minorities, and indigenous peoples-continue to be at risk. This book examines recent humanitarian catastrophes involving such groups and suggests how the society of states may develop a collective capacity for human rights enforcement. Above all, it emphasizes the long term efforts to stabilize weak or failing societies and to develop democratic governments on which the protection of human rights ultimately depends.

The prohibition of the use of force is one of the most crucial elements of the international legal order. Our understanding of that rule was both advanced and challenged during the period commencing with the termination of the Iran-Iraq war and the invasion of Kuwait, and concluding with the invasion and occupation of Iraq. The initial phase was characterized by hopes for a functioning collective security system administered by the United Nations as part of a New World Order. The liberation of Kuwait, in particular, was seen by some as a powerful vindication of the prohibition of the use of force and of the UN Security Council. However, the operation was not really conducted in accordance with the requirements for collective security established in the UN Charter. In a second phase, an international coalition launched a humanitarian intervention operation, first in the north of Iraq, and subsequently in the south. That episode is often seen as the fountainhead of the post-Cold War claim to a new legal justification for the use of force in circumstances of grave humanitarian emergency-a claim subsequent challenged during the armed action concerning Kosovo. There then followed repeated uses of force against Iraq in the context of the international campaign to remove its present or future weapons of mass destruction potential. Finally, the episode reached its controversial zenith with the full scale invasion of Iraq led by the US and the UK in 2003. This book analyzes these developments, and their impact on the rule prohibiting force in international relations, in a comprehensive and accessible way. It is the first to draw upon classified materials released by the UK Chilcot inquiry shedding light on the decision to go to war in 2003 and the role played by international law in that context.

The development of international standards for the protection of minorities has been slow and fragmented. In the absence of a comprehensive and universal binding set of rules, the development of minority protection has been left to regional agreements and judicial interpretation of wider human rights treaties. Universal Minority Rights brings together, for the first time, the full set of all regional and international jurisprudence from courts and treaty bodies concerned with issues of minority rights.
The commentary is arranged around ten thematic areas of investigation, including religious rights, education, cultural rights, political participation and socio-economic opportunities. Each substantive chapter offers an introduction to the issue at hand and its special relevance to minority communities, a general survey of legal standards addressing the issue, and an examination of specific problems that are being tackled through legal standards and judicial review. Each chapter concludes with an evaluation of the contribution of the case-law reviewed to the development of universal standards of protection.
Throughout, the commentary takes full account of international treaties and their associated bodies, including the ICCPR, the ICESCR, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. In addition, the commentary analyzes the regional standards that have developed through the Council of Europe and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, and the African Commission on Human andPeople's Rights.
Through an exhaustive, comparative analysis of principles and substantive rules, the commentary provides an invaluable reference point for the development of minority protection.

The rights of minorities are becoming increasingly important, especially in the context of enlargement of the European Union, yet there are remarkably few treaties dealing with minority rights under international law. One of these is the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. This volume provides the first expert commentary on the Convention, which is the principal international document establishing minority rights in a legally binding way. Many minority rights such as those to political participation, non-assimilation, and the use of native languages are not incorporated in other major Human Rights agreements. The Convention is therefore often taken to be the leading standard in the international law of minority rights. This commentary offers a detailed article-by-article analysis of the Convention, by a group of international legal experts in minority rights. Their commentary draws upon the Convention's negotiating history and implementation practice, in addition to examining the pronouncements of the Advisory Committee, which is the implementation body attached to the treaty. It offers a clear sense of the concrete meaning of the provisions of the Convention to scholars, students, and members of minority rights groups.

The rights of minorities are becoming increasingly important, especially in the context of enlargement of the European Union, yet there are remarkably few treaties dealing with minority rights under international law. One of these is the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. This volume provides the first expert commentary on the Convention, which is the principal international document establishing minority rights in a legally binding way. Many minority rights such as those to political participation, non-assimilation, and the use of native languages are not incorporated in other major Human Rights agreements. The Convention is therefore often taken to be the leading standard in the international law of minority rights. This commentary offers a detailed article-by-article analysis of the Convention, by a group of international legal experts in minority rights. Their commentary draws upon the Convention's negotiating history and implementation practice, in addition to examining the pronouncements of the Advisory Committee, which is the implementation body attached to the treaty. It offers a clear sense of the concrete meaning of the provisions of the Convention to scholars, students, and members of minority rights groups.