Abstract

This book argues that state-building, as it is currently conceived, does not work.

In the 1990s, interventionist policies challenged the rights of individual states to self-governance. Today, non-western states are more likely to be feted by international institutions offering programmes of poverty-reduction, democratisation and good governance.

States without the right of self-government will always lack legitimate authority. The international policy agenda focuses on bureaucratic mechanisms, which can only institutionalise divisions between the West and the non-West and are unable to overcome the social and political divisions of post-conflict states. Highlighting the dangers of current policy - including the redefinition of sovereignty, and the subsequent erosion of ties linking power and accountability.
'A provocative and insightful study which raises many important questions about how the international community employs its power and resources'
Lenard Cohen, Professor of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia
'A strong, original critique of the Western ideologies of rule that threaten to destroy democracy in order to save it'
Robert M. Hayden, University of Pittsburgh
'A most valuable contribution to the debate on state-and peace-building interventions. It moreover hints at the inadequacy of literature that lumps Western states, intervening agencies and post-conflict societies into one analytical field'
Alex Veit, Development and Change
'David Chandler's book is a very important one, with a powerful and convincing thesis'
Didier Bigo, Professor of International Relations, Sciences-Po (Institut d'Etudes Politiques), Paris