International Administration Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

International administration refers to the exercise of executive and administrative powers in a given territory by an external actor, endorsed by or part of an international organization or multilateral agreement. International administration is associated with conflict resolution and post conflict reconstruction but is a separate category of policy. Compared with peacekeeping operations and other such kinds of intervention, the external actors are dominant in the political and decision-making process and commit to rebuilding and running the administrative infrastructure of the territory. Even though this involves a lack of nominal and/or effective sovereignty, international administration is different from trusteeship and protectorate given the level of multilateral engagement and the significant extent of involvement it entails.

History Of International Administration

International administration was pioneered at the beginning of the twentieth century when the League of Nations allowed certain territories to be partially governed by its own appointed administration or by countries acting on its behalf. The League of Nations administered directly the Free City of Danzig (1919–1939) and the Saar Basin (1922–1935). These experiments were seen as overall successes and provided a specific inspiration for international administration practices in the past two decades. Under the mandate system, the league also granted to the victors of wars the responsibility to assist certain territories in achieving progressively their independence.

While it resembled a colonial arrangement, international administration also enshrined the idea of accountability for action in the mandated territories. Both policies continued in parallel with the creation of the United Nations. The mandate system transformed into the trusteeship system, a more elaborate and clear policy toward independence of territories, while a limited direct administration (supervision) was used in West New Guinea–West Irian (1962–1963) and Cambodia (1992–1993). While the trusteeship system ended with the independence of Palau (1994), the direct international administration in its different forms gained momentum after the end of the cold war and was used in Eastern Slavonia (1996–1998), Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995–), Kosovo (1999–), and East Timor (1999–2002).

Cases Of International Administration

International administration is a policy designed as a response to diverse challenges and used in different contexts, both of which ultimately determine its nature, the strategies behind it, and to some extent, its success. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the international administration had to create a viable state entity from three territorial formations (Bosnian, Croat, and Serb) whose inhabitants were engaged in a violent ethnic war. The main challenge was to organize and facilitate an integrated political process for the multilevel federal entity and to strengthen the central administration to support it and prevent the entities from separating. The Office of the High Representative for Bosnia, endorsed by a large multilateral body (Peace Implementation Council), had extensive executive and administrative powers, including the banning of political leaders obstructive to the peace process.

In Kosovo, the need for international administration was prompted by its abandonment by Serb military and authorities following North Atlantic Treaty Organization strikes in 1999. The territory was left virtually without any infrastructure, and the lack of authority and security that ensued could have easily degenerated into widespread ethnic and societal violence. The international administration in Kosovo achieved a reasonable level of stability, but its mandate and effectiveness are limited by the uncertain future of the province. Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008 opens the way for building a full-fledged national administrative system.

East Timor was in a similar situation when Indonesia withdrew its troops from the territory in 1999, following a referendum with a pro-independence outcome after three decades of authoritarian rule and sustained repression. The territory was left with no infrastructure, while the society was organized for resisting oppressive rule only and had no tradition of supporting an autonomous and open political process. The international administration was designed as an instrument to prevent civil war and humanitarian disaster.

The success of international administration is also influenced by other factors such as size of the state, level of infrastructural development, and local support. East Timor and Kosovo are relatively small entities and thus are examples of international involvement’s being extensive. A similar degree of involvement is almost impossible in Afghanistan, a large country that has historical antecedents in failing to integrate and function. The success of international administration depends on the support of local elites and citizens. If in East Timor the international assistance was seen as a positive factor to facilitate independence and stability in Bosnia and Herzegovina, all the major groups look with suspicion on the extensive powers of the high representative.

The Role Of International Administration

The range of activities constituting international administration differs from country to country. In the majority of cases the structure of the political process had to be reorganized, such as organizing elections and drafting key legislation regarding the activity of political parties and mass media. The institutional engineering could include the promotion in the political life of certain ethnic and disadvantaged groups, such as women. In other cases it has had to redesign the administrative structure, empowering regional governments or local authorities. In the case of Bosnia-Herzegovina, for example, the international administration had to implement the constitutional provisions from the Dayton Accord, signed in 1995, which ensured the representation of the three ethnic groups. The protection of human rights and freedoms was doubled by a specific institutional design, including collective presidency and bicameralism.

Yet still the most extensive and complicated activity of international administration is in the sphere of security and infrastructural reconstruction. The international administrations have had to reform or create effective police forces and assist the judicial institutions to perform their functions. They have had to create the basic environments for economic activity and to ensure systems of taxation that enable the sustainability of the government. A daunting activity is that of restoring the functioning of public utilities and the provision of key social services and public goods such as health, welfare, and education. These activities are very difficult to carry out as the resources to do so are usually scarce and officials are forced to act in foreign and uncertain environments. International administration is assisted by a multitude of state agencies and nongovernmental agencies, each promoting its own agenda. The range of the tasks and the number of distinct actors acting in these territories create the problem of effective coordination.

The impact of international administration on the stability and development of the countries where it has operated is highly debated and controversial. It is believed to have a fundamental role in ensuring that peace arrangements are observed and institutional prerequisites for a normal political process are in place. At the same time, it is criticized for the same reasons. International administration, which can be equally ineffective, removes the responsibility from local political actors in engaging in normalization and reconstruction.

International administrations are still in operation. Some have been concluded with greater or lesser degrees of success, such as that in East Timor, which is a sovereign country but still heavily dependent on foreign support. After almost two decades of intense trial, international administration emerges as an established policy, yet its practical effects and success continue to be inhibited by the enormous resources it demands as well as the operational complications it faces at the local level.

Bibliography:

Berdal, Mats, and Richard Caplan. “The Politics of International Administration.” Global Governance 10, no. 1 (2004): 1–5.
Berdal, Mats, and Spyros Economides. United Nations Interventionism 1991–2004. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.
Caplan, Richard. International Governance of War-torn Territories: Rule and Reconstruction. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Chesterman, Simon. You, the People: The United Nations, Transitional Administration and State Building. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Jackson, Robert. “International Engagement in War-torn Countries.” Global Governance 10, no. 1 (2004): 21–36.
Wilde, Ralph. The Administration of Territory by International Organizations. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2005.
International Territorial Administration: How Trusteeship and the Civilizing Mission Never Went Away. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2008.

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