Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The ‘state-building enterprise’: Legal doctrine, progress narratives and managerial governance
- 2 Democratisation, state-building and politics as technology
- 3 International law, human rights and the transformative occupation of Iraq
- 4 Defining democracy in international institutions
- 5 Democracy and legitimation: Challenges in the reconstitution of political processes in Afghanistan
- 6 Impossible expectations? The UN Security Council's promotion of the rule of law after conflict
- 7 Legal pluralism and the challenge of building the rule of law in post-conflict states: A case study of Timor-Leste
- 8 From paper to practice: The role of treaty ratification post-conflict
- 9 Selective universality? Human-rights accountability of the UN in post-conflict operations
- 10 ‘Security starts with the law’: The role of international law in the protection of women's security post-conflict
- 11 Grappling in the Great Lakes: The challenges of international justice in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda
- Conclusion: Hope and humility for weavers with international law
- Select Bibliography
- Index
8 - From paper to practice: The role of treaty ratification post-conflict
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 August 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Contributors
- Preface
- Abbreviations
- Introduction
- 1 The ‘state-building enterprise’: Legal doctrine, progress narratives and managerial governance
- 2 Democratisation, state-building and politics as technology
- 3 International law, human rights and the transformative occupation of Iraq
- 4 Defining democracy in international institutions
- 5 Democracy and legitimation: Challenges in the reconstitution of political processes in Afghanistan
- 6 Impossible expectations? The UN Security Council's promotion of the rule of law after conflict
- 7 Legal pluralism and the challenge of building the rule of law in post-conflict states: A case study of Timor-Leste
- 8 From paper to practice: The role of treaty ratification post-conflict
- 9 Selective universality? Human-rights accountability of the UN in post-conflict operations
- 10 ‘Security starts with the law’: The role of international law in the protection of women's security post-conflict
- 11 Grappling in the Great Lakes: The challenges of international justice in Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda
- Conclusion: Hope and humility for weavers with international law
- Select Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Introduction
States ratify treaties for many reasons, ranging from a genuine commitment to the principles found within the treaty to making a purely symbolic gesture. In the complex situation where a society is recovering from the turbulence of violence and instability, decisions are often made with long- and short-term goals in mind. ‘Fragile’ or ‘post-conflict’ states must balance priorities, such as security and survival, with the broader aims of positioning the nation within the international community. In this chapter, the terms ‘fragile’ or ‘post-conflict’ state refer to those states struggling with internal tensions and disruption to important infrastructure, which causes significant instability but which does not reach the threshold of an armed conflict. In this context, treaty ratification has significant potential to assist a state practically in reassembling domestic legal infrastructure, as well as demonstrating public support for important international principles. However, treaty ratification is a resource-intensive process, not a one-off event. To move a treaty beyond a paper commitment into the sphere of implementation, the ratifying state must both understand its treaty obligations and foster community ownership of them. These processes are seldom well executed, especially in the post-conflict context. Limited time frames and funding, the need for quick results, and the donor community's desire to find events to celebrate within situations that are often clouded in gloom can result in symbolic ratifications that have little impact at the grass-roots level.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Role of International Law in Rebuilding Societies after ConflictGreat Expectations, pp. 177 - 197Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2009
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