From swords into ploughshares : transitions, international law and policy

Abstract

This thesis considers international assistance to transitions. In particular, it examines the relationship between the areas of transitional justice, peace-building, security sector reform and economic development in international law and in the policies of international organisations and donors. It argues that more coherent and effective international engagement is possible through the use of the principle of integrity by international actors. The thesis identifies that international actors pursue diverse goals across these areas, such as justice, truth, peace, reconciliation, an effective security sector, or economic growth. It contends that transitions generate distinct normative and factual circumstances: in pursuing their goals, each area seeks to achieve minimum conditions of civic trust and the rule of law to contribute to the re-constitution of a sovereign political community. These shared conditions render the areas inter-dependent. Nevertheless, the areas remain at risk of tension and conflicting practices, such as peace v. justice, without a conscious and explicit effort to reflect these shared conditions. The practice of these areas also pursues these diverse goals and shared conditions through law and formal legal institutions. This thesis contends that, when using law for these purposes, the explicit use of integrity among public officials and international organisations in transitions offers a new principle and process to consciously and publicly strive to avoid fragmentation, conflict and tension between these areas.