Saint Kitts and Nevis

This title examines the roles and new opportunities arising from the increasing participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in peace-making, peacekeeping and peace-building processes, both formal and informal, state-sponsored and unofficial. Drawing on both academic experts and activists, this study brings together contributions from those who have observed how NGOs have sought to reflect civil society concerns, provide humanitarian relief, monitor compliance with international norms and treaty requirements, and disseminate information of concern to advocacy networks. A critical appraisal of the opportunities and constraints of NGOs is provided alongside the examination of the NGOs role in the "new agendas" for peace.

This book looks at how international treaties can be used to establish successful national programmes. It is concerned specifically with national mine action programmes, focusing on the capacity of the national governments (also referred to as "the state") to implement the "Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and on their destruction." The Convention, which is also referred to as the Mine Ban Treaty (MBT) or "Treaty," was finalised on September 18, 1997 in Oslo. Ten years after its creation, the Treaty has proven a successful tool to address the humanitarian disaster caused by landmines, yet most of the mine affected country signatories to the MBT have not been able to meet their clearance deadline. This book examines the underlying reasons for the discrepancy between the terms of the Treaty and the reality of its implementation, exploring its successes and shortcomings. In doing so, the book sets out to answer the research question: considering the disparate levels of success among countries committed to implementing the Mine Ban Treaty, what are the key functions of governments and governance structures in ensuring the successful implementation of the Treaty?

Can multilateral treaties succeed in transforming conduct when they are rejected by the most powerful states in the international system? In the past two decades, coalitions of middle-power states and transnational civil society groups have negotiated binding legal agreements in the face of concerted opposition from China, Russia, andmost especiallythe United States. These instances of a so-called 'new diplomacy' reflect a deliberate attempt to use the language of international law to bypass great power objections in establishing new global standards. Yet critics have frequently derided such treaties as utopian and counter productive because they fail to include those states allegedly most capable of effectively managing complex international cooperation. Thus far no study has offered a systematic, comparative study of the promise, and limits, of multilateralism without the great powers. Norms Without the Great Powers addresses this gap through the presentation of a novel theoretical account and detailed empirical evidence regarding the implementation of two archetypal cases, the antipersonnel Mine Ban Treaty and International Criminal Court. Both treaties have substantially reshaped expectations and behaviour in their respective domains, but with important variation in the extent and breadth of their impact. These findings provide the impetus for assessing the prospects for similar strategies on other topics of contemporary global concern. This book offers a timely addition to the dynamic and growing literature on the practice and consequences of international governance and should appeal to academics, civil society experts, and foreign policy practitioners working in fields such as security, human rights, and the environment.

While all armed conflicts are marked by violations of international humanitarian law, non-international armed conflicts appear to be characterised by even more serious violations of international humanitarian law on a colossal scale. This study is aimed at understanding the possible factors that may cause parties to non-international armed conflicts to engage in violations despite the fact that not only international humanitarian law but also other bodies of rules (e.g. legal and moral) impose restrictions and obligations similar to international humanitarian law. Somalia, which for over two decaces has been experiencing internal armed conflicts marked by widespread violations, is a typical case. This study addresses the root causes of the internal armed conflict in Somalia and identifies factors which contributed to the collapse of the Somali state and the reasons for its continuing conflict. It also examines the characteristics of the conflict. In order to examine the extent to which applicable rules have been respected or not, the study examines both international rules applicable in non-international armed conflicts and specific Somali rules of warfare. After demonstrating evidence of violations and analysing it, this study seeks to identify possible direct and indirect causes of these violations. In addition, it also seeks to identify whether such possible causes contribute to violations that are unique to the situation in Somalia, or, if not, whether there may be lessons to be learnt for other situations similar to that in Somalia.