Peacekeeping, Policing, and the Rule of Law after Civil War

The rule of law is indispensable for sustained peace, good governance, and economic growth, especially in countries recovering from civil war. Yet despite its importance, we know surprisingly little about how to restore the rule of law in the wake of conflict. In this book, Robert A. Blair proposes a new theory to explain how the international community can help establish the rule of law in the world's weakest and most war-torn states, focusing on the crucial but often underappreciated role of the United Nations. Blair tests the theory by drawing on original household surveys in Liberia, highly disaggregated data on UN personnel and activities across Africa, and hundreds of interviews with UN officials, local leaders, citizens, and government and civil society representatives. The book demonstrates that UN intervention can have a deeper, more lasting, and more positive effect on the rule of law than skeptics typically believe.

1. Introduction; 2. History of UN intervention and the rule of law after civil war; 3. Conceptual framework: civil war through a legal lens; 4. Theoretical framework: restoring the rule of law after civil war; 5. Cross-national evidence: UN intervention and the rule of law across Africa; 6. Sub-national evidence I: the rule of law and its discontents in Liberia; 7. Sub-national evidence II: evaluating the UN from the bottom up; 8. Sub-national evidence III: UN intervention and the rule of law in Liberia; 9. Implications for Africa and beyond.

Robert A. Blair is Assistant Professor of Political Science and International and Public Affairs at Brown University, Rhode Island. His research focuses on post-conflict reconstruction and reform. He has published widely on these topics and has worked in various capacities for the UN Office of Rule of Law and Security Institutions, the Political Instability Task Force, and the US Agency for International Development.