ABSTRACT
International intervention in weak and failing states has been at the top
of the international agenda since the end of the Cold War. International
operations have been deployed in almost all corners of the globe, from
Afghanistan to Bosnia, Cambodia, Kosovo, East Timor, Iraq and
Somalia – just to cite a few of the most prominent cases. These opera-
tions have taken place in different circumstances. Some of them have been justified in the name of the war on terror, while others were con-
ducted in view of implementing a recently achieved peace agreement. All
of these operations face similar constraints and dilemmas. The context
where international intervention takes place is one of extreme political,
economic and social instability. Years of war destroy the physical and
economic infrastructure, provoke mass human displacement, and leave
the population traumatised. Moreover, rarely does war end with a clear
victory of one of the parties involved. Instead, conflicts frequently terminate with the signing of a peace agreement reflecting a difficult and
unstable compromise.
