International assistance to police reform: managing peacebuilding

This book comparespolice reform operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan, addressing the internalmachinery that makes peace operations work-or not. Recognizing that the chancesfor effective peacebuilding vary widely across contexts, this book investigatesthe impact of one of the few variables that peacebuilders do control: themanagement and design of peace operations.

Building on fieldresearch and over one hundred expert interviews, Internationalassistance to police reform: Managing Peacebuilding systematically compares such operations in twodifferent contexts-Kosovo and Afghanistan-by focusing specifically oninternational assistance for local police reform since 1999.

Four comprehensivecase studies examine operations in Kosovo and Afghanistan before and after theEuropean Union took over police reform responsibilities: in Kosovo from  the Organization for Security and Co-operationin Europe (OSCE) and in Afghanistan from the German government. Speaking toscholars and practitioners in domestic and international organizations, the bookdrills in the complex relation between headquarter diplomats and field levelconflict experts. Its findings combine to a set of recommendations forpolicy-makers to better align their operations to the contentious politics ofconflict management and peacebuilding.