Responsibility to Protect (R2P): Catch All

[M-A Lagrange]

Bonne annee Mike and Mike,

The distinction between "citizens" (with avenues of non-violent recourse for "bad governance") and "subjects" (who have no such avenues) is well-known enough.

Hopefully we do not have to reinvent the wheel every day and at each generation.

The problem is that most revolutions are violent, and when you force change quickly, i.e. free the subjects, what do you do then?

The experience of the US in Cold War and post-Cold War "peace enforcement" and associated "nation building" has not been positive. Perhaps, it's time to withdraw from that role ?

May be there are lessons to learn before throwing the baby with the water of the bath.
The real problematic with state building and the R2P as source of legitimacy is may be in te assumption that people can just jump from subjects to citizen in a snap. West tries to build institutions that are fully functional when people are citizen. And when it does not function, there is the big temptation to go back to enlightened dictatorship on the basic that people are not ready.
What we probably do not fully embrase is why ruling class is such context is always trying to deconstruct gorvernance tools and state apparatus we build for them and refuse to apply R2P.
My personnal opinion would rather go in a flawed evaluation of the ruling class (government, rebels, insurgents...) to actually implement this change from subject to citizen than in a rejectof the R2P principles.

If we look at the great global picture, in fact, result is not that bad. Yes there is, now, back fire from States/institutions against the people (Syria and Russia are good exemples) but this does not mean that the arab spring did not happen and that its offshoots will not blow one day.
The fact that on the fringes of this world, some are finghting against the establishment of democratic institutions and the principle of R2P can be seen as a good sign: we heading in the right direction. This does not mean the road will be easy and the journey without traps.

We have to understand why deconstructing the State and bad governance are so appealing for the new rulers once they are in power.

[MikeF]

We have to understand why deconstructing the State and bad governance are so appealing for the new rulers once they are in power.

Merci Marc. Meet Nancy Roberts, one of the smartest people that I know, and one of my personal mentors. She was brought in by the UN (1998?) to try and facilitate the International Community to work with the Taliban at the end of the civil war. She wrote this paper in 2000.

WICKED PROBLEMS AND NETWORK APPROACHES TO RESOLUTION
by Nancy Roberts

Collaboration for Relief and Recovery in Afghanistan

http://www.idt.unisg.ch/org/idt/ipmr.nsf/0/1f3bcad88f16e7c6c1256c76004be2c4/$FILE/IPMR_1_1_WICKED.pdf

International Public Management Review · electronic Journal at http://www.ipmr.net
Volume 1 · Issue 1 · 2000 · © International Public Management Network