A little more than 10 years after the people of what is now Timor-Leste voted for independence, this small, half-island country has compressed into a few short years what many other post-colonial states have taken decades to achieve. It has been largely destroyed, achieved independence, had a political crisis, transitioned to democracy, and now appears to be heading into a period of political calm and economic growth. After the near-catastrophic events of 2006, Timor-Leste’s prospects are looking relatively positive, even if a number of important caveats apply. After roughly 300 years of Portuguese colonial neglect came to an end in [...]
Recent reports note the stalled nature of progress towards international reform in Bosnia-Herzegovina, with many even making exaggerated claims of the threat of renewed conflict in the tiny state. Nevertheless, the European Union state-building project in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina has largely been seen as a success, particularly when compared to U.S.-led state-building efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Clearly the problems faced in Bosnia have been on a different scale, with a relatively calm security situation. However, on its own terms, international regulation since the end of the conflict has achieved much less than was expected when the international state-building project was [...]
“We must make sure that the deployment of our troops is not merely the appetizer and that the main course becomes . . . an outbreak of nation-building and infrastructure construction and resources which are . . . not within our capacity to provide for everyone around the world.” After eight years of operations in Afghanistan, and the recent announcement that additional troop deployments will continue to execute a strategy that stretches the military beyond its traditional combat role for at least another 18 months, the above quotation could easily convey the commitment-fatigue prevalent in Washington these days. But the [...]
