ABSTRACT
Within the context of the growing interdependence and cooperation between states, two points of departure may be used for drawing up conclusions: firstly, the considerable growth of the use of force under international auspices in the post Cold-War period and, secondly, the increasing concern about the lack of democratic accountability of the international use of force. This concern is expressed by various authors regarding the democratic accountability of international cooperation in general. In this volume the focus is on parliaments' involvement in the use of force under international auspices, a topic that has received only sporadic attention so far. The oversight of the international use of force poses a serious challenge for parliaments, particularly as parliaments already have a full workload in taking care of domestic priorities and maintaining contact with their electorate. The main conclusion of this book is that the democratic and especially parliamentary accountability of the use of force under international auspices is problematic at both the national and the international level. This leads to the 'double democratic deficit', within and outside the nation state (see Chapter One).
