Democratic Governance and Post-Conflict Reconstruction

Leiden Journal of International Law, Vol. 20, pp. 669-693, 2007

26 Pages Posted: 5 Mar 2009 Last revised: 28 Jan 2012

See all articles by Marc Cogen

Marc Cogen

Ghent University

Eric De Brabandere

Leiden University - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies

Date Written: July 1, 2007

Abstract

The concept of democracy has long fuelled controversy among international legal scholars, especially concerning its definition. This article is an attempt to single out three constitutive elements of democracy that have been subject to extensive scrutiny in the practice of electoral assistance and the more comprehensive peace-building and state-building missions that the UN has taken up or supported since the end of the twentieth century: free and fair elections, freedom of association - with emphasis on the freedom to establish political parties - and freedom of expression. In doing so, this paper examines the role and the importance of each of these three constitutive elements in the practice pertaining to post-conflict reconstruction of Kosovo, East Timor, Afghanistan, and Iraq.

Keywords: democracy, free and fair elections, freedom of association, freedom of expression, human rights

Suggested Citation

Cogen, Marc and De Brabandere, Eric, Democratic Governance and Post-Conflict Reconstruction (July 1, 2007). Leiden Journal of International Law, Vol. 20, pp. 669-693, 2007, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1353862

Marc Cogen

Ghent University ( email )

Coupure Links 653
Ghent, 9000
Belgium

Eric De Brabandere (Contact Author)

Leiden University - Grotius Centre for International Legal Studies ( email )

Leiden University Law Faculty
P.O. Box 9520
Leiden, 2300 RA
Netherlands
+31 71 527 7399 (Phone)
+31 71 527 7509 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.leiden.edu/organisation/publiclaw/publicinternationallaw/staff/eric-de-brabandere-.ht

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
99
Abstract Views
925
Rank
482,743
PlumX Metrics