Statebuilding – Widerspruch zu politischer Selbstbestimmung?

Abstract

As a strategy of post conflict treatment, statebuilding is under pressure: The conceptional contradictions criticized are the foundations of liberal statebuilding on one hand and its autocratic implementation by international actors on the other; this was, for instance, how the political process strived for in Bosnia was undermined. State institutions are created against the creative political will of the respective societies that are supposed to be their source; which, for instance, is one strong reason for the violent resistance in Afghanistan. So how to balance the opposing positions of international actors emphasizing the autonomy of the individual on the one hand and the demand for political self-formation of pre-democratic societies on the other? The author argues that the intervening actors should orientate themselves to the principle of subsidiarity and ownership and let time play a more decisive role.