Standards and Symbols

Trans-cultural Administration in Modern Protectorates

Prof. Dr. Hans Christian Röhl, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Seibel, Ursel Alice Reich, Martin Welz, Agne Vaicekauskaite

Abstract

Modern protectorates are established through the international community, and in most cases mandated by the UN Security Council, legitimized through the establishment of peace and democracy, and the protection of human rights. Combining elements of global and local governance, modern protectorates take over governmental functions that traditionally belong to the domaine réservé of a sovereign state. Eye in eye with the local population, their internal and external administrative structures have to be established and implemented once on the ground. In terms of accountability, they are equally accountable to the local populations and the constituencies of decisive member states of the United Nations, and, thus, are facing a double dilemma of legitimatization. The vaguely defined standards and norms of good governance and public administration play a decisive role, as they form the benchmark against which the actions of modern protectorates are measured by the administration itself, the international community as well as the local population. This inter-disciplinary research projects focuses on the following questions: Which standards and norms stand the test during their implementation? Do these locally applied and implemented standards have an impact and repercussions on international norms and standards? The political science subproject focuses on the strategies of how these norms are applied and implemented, with special reference to disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programmes and transitional justice mechanisms in Burundi and Sierra Leone. Standards of good governance and justice play a crucial role as symbols in these processes. The legal subproject, with a focus on the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo, deals with repercussions between abstract norms and applied administrative orders as well as with legal protection mechanisms.

Publications