ABSTRACT
Chapter 5 brings together the main themes from the cases of peacebuilding missions in Cambodia, Kosovo, and Timor-Leste from a comparative analysis of the peacebuilding components of security, justice and reconciliation, and development. It takes into consideration the timing and duration of the missions, the nature of the conflicts, the context of geopolitics and foreign relations, and the cultures and histories of the case studies. The United Nations (UN) Security Council resolutions that authorized their deployment and the regulations passed during their missions reflected the liberal approach of the UN and its commitment to peace and security, human rights, justice, democracy, the rule of law, and the free market. The local political leadership also adopted the same rhetoric and expressed their willingness to comply with liberal standards. However, international and local commitment to these liberal values did not always translate into practice. The case studies also demonstrate that not all types of local involvement produce holistic and sustainable peaceful outcomes. Exclusive, superficial, non-representative, and politicized local involvement exacerbated the ramifications of the flawed implementation of the liberal peacebuilding agenda. These types help explain why institutionalizing liberal peace sometimes falls short of creating a holistic and sustainable peace despite local involvement.
