Staff publications
The members of the Management Board and Management Unit of ECES have authored, co-authored or contributed to the list of publications below in their past or present assignments with different organisations as described in the titles of the same publications. Copyrights for some of these publications are held by the relevant organisation with which the ECES staff member worked at the time of publication. These documents can thefrefore can be accessed and downloaded on the relevant organisations’ website by clicking on the links provided.
Expert Seminar Report: Missing a Trick? Building Bridges between EU Mediation and EU Electoral Support in Conflict-affected Countries.
Authors: Antje Herrberg,Raphaël Pouyé and Fabio Bargiacchi
Publisher: mediatEUr and ECES
September 2012
This short report provides a summary of the discussions from the expert seminar held on the 25th of September 2012 by mediatEUr and ECES to explore how the EU might strengthen its capacity to respond to electoral conflicts and violence. The meeting aimed to; 1) support the creation of greater linkages between conflict prevention and electoral assistance and overall policy support to address these issues together; 2) outline the complexities and opportunities for electoral observation, assistance, mediation and conflict resolution in the context of conflict and violence; 3) generate recommendations to the EU to strengthen its capacity to better respond to electoral violence through mediation and conflict resolution measures; and 4) outline elements for a specialised training curriculum on electoral violence, electoral assistance, mediation and conflict resolution, as well as leadership development for EU audiences.
Discussion Paper: Missing a Trick? Building Bridges between EU Mediation and EU Electoral Support in Conflict-affected Countries.
Authors: Antje Herrberg,Raphaël Pouyé and Fabio Bargiacchi
Publisher: mediatEUr and ECES
September 2012
What can be done to promote credible, legitimate and peaceful elections as well as resilient societies that can manage electoral disputes without resorting to violence? What types of third party mediation mechanisms can be supported in order to complement and support electoral assistance, and vice-versa? How can a major external player, like the EU, act decisively in influencing the best “timing” for post-conflict elections – and promote a window of “political opportunity” for local stakeholders rather than one of “military opportunity”?
Burundi’s 2010 Elections: Democracy and Peace at Risk? (2012)
Author: Eva Palmans
This article focuses in particular on the 2010 elections to contribute to the debate on elections as a means of consolidating democracy and peace. The 2010 elections in Burundi were a milestone for the consolidation of democracy and peace in the country. When viewed against the literature on the self-reinforcing power and the self-improving democratic quality of successive elections, these so-called second post-conflict elections supposedly signalled a potential for a step towards consolidating democracy and peace. However, the electoral outcome showed that elections are not a guarantee in themselves that this goal would be achieved. Rather than being a step towards more democracy and peace, Burundi’s last elections gave an overwhelming majority to one party, the CNDD-FDD, and marginalised the opposition because of its decision to boycott the process as a way of contesting the results of municipal elections. With one party dominating all institutions and with an authoritarian response to opposition parties who, in the absence of dialogue, could still consider the option of using guns to voice their concerns, democracy and peace are at risk.
Effectiveness and Sustainability of Electoral Assistance: The Electoral Cycle Approach (2011)
Authors: Fabio Bargiacchi, Ricardo Godinho Gomes and Mette Bakken
Contributors: Paul Guerin and Raphaël Pouyé
Since the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989, major donor countries and organisations, chiefly the United States, the United Nations and the European Union (including its Member States), have contributed to the improvement of electoral processes by providing support to many countries in transition to democracy. By identifying lessons from those experiences and incorporating some of them into improved methods and practices, international electoral assistance has been evolving. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on recent developments among the main players of the international electoral assistance arena, donors and beneficiaries alike; to assess some of the lessons learnt, and to comment on new guiding principles currently under discussion. This paper provides examples of how these new principles can be translated into innovative, programmatic approaches and operational responses with a view to making electoral assistance more effective, sustainable and consistent with the national strategies and objectives of the countries being supported in a given regional context.
Introducing Electronic Voting: Essential Considerations (2011)
Lead author: Peter Wolf
Supporting authors: Rushdi Nackerdien, Domenico Tuccinardi
Feedback and peer reviews received from: Fabio Bargiacchi, Jordi Barrat i Esteve, Ingo Boltz, Susanne Caarls, Andrew Ellis, Manuel Kripp, Betilde Muñoz-Pogossian and technical experts of the Organization of American States as well as the Brazilian Superior Elections Tribunal, et al.
Electronic voting is often seen as a tool for making the electoral process more efficient and for increasing trust in its management. Properly implemented, e-voting solutions can increase the security of the ballot, speed up the processing of results and make voting easier. However, the challenges are considerable. If not carefully planned and designed, e-voting can undermine the confidence in the whole electoral process. This policy paper outlines contextual factors that can influence the success of e-voting solutions and highlights the importance of taking these fully into account before choosing to introduce new voting technologies.
Coordination of Electoral Assistance in Liberia (2011)
Author: Måns Hanssen
This paper studies the coordination of electoral assistance among international stakeholders in the electoral process currently taking place in Liberia. Even though elections were held in 2005 (after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement), those elections were not organized by Liberians themselves but by the UN. Thus, the referendum and elections in 2011 are the first national elections to be conducted by Liberians, with the continuous support from international stakeholders. The coordination of electoral assistance is dependent on two different theoretical developments: electoral assistance and interactional efforts. This paper investigates how these two interact in the nexus of coordinated electoral assistance.
Civil-Military Interaction in the European Union: Applying a Comprehensive Approach to CSDP Operations (2010)
Author: Måns Hanssen
The EU has for some time claimed that the organization possesses comparative strength vis-á-vis other organizations in regards to conducting comprehensive peace support operations with a focus on civil-military interaction. This study investigates how far the European Union has reached in implementing a Comprehensive Approach (CA) to its CSDP operations. It concludes that even though substantial institutional development has taken place, the EU has not fully managed to take advantage of all its potential to apply a CA. Mainly due to the continuous transformation that the organization has undergone, making long-term strategic approaches towards civil-military interaction difficult to establish. The reforms of the Lisbon Treaty do however provide the EU with new opportunities to establish and implement a CA. The EU needs to focus on developing conditions for long-term strategic civil-military interaction. In addition to institutional conditions, this also applies to the conceptual development that has not developed at the same pace as operational requirements.
Protection of Civilians: Delivering on the mandate through Civil-Military Coordination (2010)
Authors: Justin MacDermott, Måns Hanssen
Over the last decade the majority of victims in armed conflicts have been civilians. As a result, increasing attention has been given to the issue of protecting civilians and the United Nations now generally includes protection of civilians (PoC) in its peacekeeping mandates. Noting the lack of clear methods and guidelines on how to implement PoC in practice this report investigates how civil-military coordination at the operational and tactical levels can be used to strengthen PoC. The report is based on a series of case studies including MONUC, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNMIS and UNAMID. It explores PoC as it is has been manifested in the respective mandates and how UN peacekeeping missions have engaged in civil-military coordination to deliver on the PoC mandate. From the case studies, the report seeks to extract lessons, which can be of relevance for a wider audience of peacekeeping actors.
Nation Building, State Construction and Development in Africa - The Case of Eritrea (2010)
Authors: Andebrhan Welde Giorgis
Independent Eritrea’s experience to date evinces a marked deficit in democratic governance. Significant lapses have disconnected policy and practice in nation building, state construction and development. Nineteen years post liberation, the state in Eritrea, like the prototype postcolonial African state, is in deep crisis. It has failed to provide for the needs, promote the wellbeing, cater to the aspirations and safeguard the security of the people. It is characterised by a crisis of legitimacy, delivery and relevance. A dismal record has dashed hopes that Eritrea would avoid the continent’s malaise and shine as the inspiring beacon of an African success story. An internally driven, dynamic and developing process of democratic governance would underpin successful nation building, state reconstruction and development in Eritrea and Africa. Proactive German engagement designed to promote peace and security, democratic governance and economic development would contribute to the success of an autonomous African project.
The European Union and Peacebuilding (2010)
Edited by: Steven Blockmans, T.M.C. Asser Instituut; Jan Wouters, Leuven University, Belgium; Tom Ruys, Leuven University, Belgium.
Foreword: Catherine Ashton, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President of the European Commission
Contributors: Catherine Ashton, Steven Blockmans, Jan Wouters, Tom Ruys, Simon Duke, Aurélie Courtier, Nathalie Tocci, Catriona Gourlay, Stefano Tomat, Cesare Onestini, Koen Vervaeke, David Galbreath, David Spence, Marta Martinelli, Cees Wittebrood, Christophe Gadrey, Michael Merlingen, Rasa Ostrauskaite, Eva Gross, Patrick Dupont, Francesco Torcoli, Fabio Bargiacchi, Hadewych Hazelzet, Stephan Keukeleire, Robin Thiers, Justin Davies, Thomas Unger, Tonny Brems Knudsen, Christian Axboe Nielsen, Michael Humphreys, Jasna Jelisic, Philippe Darmuzey, Stéphane Chardon
Chapter XIII: EU Electoral Support - Patrick Dupont, Francesco Torcoli and Fabio Bargiacchi. Elections play a vital role in democratic and democratisation processes. Elections represent a crucial opportunity for political participation and representation and also for holding elected officials to account. Moreover, elections provide important entry points for the enjoyment of a wide range of human rights, such as freedom of expression, assembly and association. Elections aim to bring about legitimate governments, able to protect and respond to the needs of citizens, including sustainable peace and development. Confirming the EU's external policy objectives in the area of democracy and human rights, notably since the early 1990s, the EU has evolved into an active player in the promotion of sustainable, transparent and genuinely democratic elections. This article will illustrate the increased activity, both quantitatively and qualitatively, of the EU in election support in particular over the past ten years, often within a broader governance enhancement strategy and complementing other, civil society support and institution building actions.
EUFOR Chad-CAR and the protection of civilians. The lessons of an atypical military-humanitarian mission atypical - French Directory of International Relations (2010) - (IN FRENCH)
Author: Raphaël Pouyé
Ten years after the introduction of the protection of civilians on the agenda of the Security Council, a renewal of interest in this issue is ongoing in the United Nations. However, at the tactical scale, many humanitarian actors consider the technical integration of the activities of protection as a formalisation of military-humanitarian relations which threatens their political independence and thus the security that their impartial image is supposed to confer them. The EUFOR Chad-CAR military operation deployed by the European Union (EU) from March 2008 to March 2009 in eastern Chad and north-eastern Central African Republic, should contribute to the protection of civilians in its area of responsibility. This article examines how the EUFOR, first contested in the field by humanitarian actors, has become a respected partner for many organizations and was able to lay innovative basis for the implementation of its mandate to protect civilians.
ACE Focus On Effective Electoral Assistance (2008)
Authors: Domenico Tuccinardi, Paul Guerin, Fabio Bargiacchi, Linda Maguire
This ACE “Focus On …” addresses the issue of effective electoral assistance. It builds upon International IDEA’s publication of the conclusions of the "Effective Electoral Assistance Conference" held in Ottawa, Canada, in May 2006, under the auspices of International IDEA and the Canadian International Development Agency. This event coincided with the global launch of the new version of the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network, which unveiled new potential applications of ACE in electoral assistance programmes to the community of electoral practitioners, assistance providers and development agencies.
Electoral Systems and Party Systems:
Which is the Cause and Which is the Consequence? (2008)
Author: Mette Bakken
Electoral systems research can be divided into two main branches: the study of electoral system consequences and electoral systems as consequences. Whilst aiming to explain different causal processes with the former treating electoral systems as an independent and the latter as the dependent variable, the two areas are intimately linked by the way in which electoral system choices are political constructs maintained or changed by democratically elected politicians. This paper explores the relationship between electoral systems and party systems: does electoral system determine party system or is it the other way around? More specifically, it centers on the impact of change and persistence. Two hypotheses can be formulated: changes in the party system provoke electoral system reform (H1) and reforms subsequently trigger party system change (H2). Where party configurations are stable, electoral reforms are not expected and where no reforms are introduced, existing party systems are anticipated to endure. The paper is constructed in four parts. The first section reviews the “Duverger tradition” and the “new agenda” literature with particular focus on their views as regards the electoral system – party system relationship. Part two and three presents the theoretical framework of analysis and provides an overview over data and methodology used. Part four analyzes the impact of party system developments on electoral system reform – and vice versa. The consistency between theoretical expectation and empirical evidence is discussed and the relevance of the two theoretical perspectives is compared in the conclusion.
Presented at a workshop entitled "Perspectives on the issue of post-conflict elections and the issue of certification," organized by the Francophone Research Network on Peace Operations in collaboration with the OIF and the French Presidency of the panel experts, this paper reviews the experiences of the United Nations, OSCE and EU in electoral assistance and election observation since the end of the Cold War. It highlights in particular some of the main difficulties and contradictions inherent in their exercise. It presents a series of lessons and recommendations to further strengthen their essential support to post- conflit transitions.
The role of military missions in the reconstruction of post-conflict states - Chapter on the Democratic Republic of Congo (2007) – (IN FRENCH)
Authors: Yam Braem, Alecandra de Hoop Scheffer, Christian Olsson, Raphaël Pouyé
Armed forces are increasingly involved in ‘civilian’ missions and now take an active part in post-conflict state-building. Since the end of the Cold War, the UN has considerably developed its activities in the field of state-building. One of the two case-studies of this volume focusses on the politics of the transitional government of the Democratic Republic of Congo and its relationship with the United Nations operation there. This article, drawing on extensive field research, surveys the multiple facets of Security Sector Reform efforts in Congo since the Pretoria Peace Agreement, and the more coercive military tasks of peace implementation, with the evolution of ‘robust peacekeeping’ in the East of the country. Drawing from sobering observations on post-conflict state-building in the DRC, this article proposes concrete recommendations particularly in the rules of SSR funding and coordination procedures.
One Voice - Multiple Interpretations: Definitions, Characteristics and Voting Paradoxes of the Worlds (2006) - (IN FRENCH)
Authors: Abbé Apollinaire Muholongu Malumalu, Kamal el Faghali
For a democracy, the choice of an electoral system is one of the most important institutional decisions. However, it is rarely a conscious and deliberate one. It often turns out to be purely accidental, the result of a contest of uncommon circumstances, a passing fad or a quirk of history. If the electoral system chosen by a country is the basis of its political structure and affects its representation model and the type of democracy it is, this choice is often made in a context where politics is blurred and where partisan interests greatly influence the content of the electoral law. This is the case in transition countries, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, which long supported a constitutional vacuum and an unprecedented institutional imbalance. Download: Table of Electoral Systems
EC Methodological Guide on Electoral Assistance (2006)
Authors: Fabio Bargiacchi, Paul Guerin, Domenico Tuccinardi
Contributor: Mario-Rui Quiero
The Commission’s Methodological Guide on Electoral Assistance is part of the ongoing effort to place electoral assistance more firmly within the framework of democratic development and to become a pillar of the support to governance. The Guide develops the strategic operational framework in the field of electoral assistance, in order to rationalize and make Commission interventions more homogeneous, effective and in harmony with overall EU objectives. This Guide was prepared to offer all Commission staff and others whose work requires specific knowledge of particular EU electoral assistance issues a tool to assist them with the policy and strategic framework in this area, issues and entry points for activities, as well as resources for their formulation and implementation. English –French– Spanish
European Union Election Observation Mission - Bolivia 2006 - Final Report (2006)
Authors: Core Team Members of the EU Election Observation Mission under the direction of Monica Frassoni who acted as Chief Observer of the EUEOM
Invited by the Government of Bolivia, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU-EOM) observed the Constituent Assembly Election and the Referendum on Regional Autonomy that were held on July 2, 2006. The mandate of the EU-EOM, led by Monica Frassoni, was to observe and assess the whole election process in light of the Bolivian legal framework and international principles for election observation. The electoral process complied largely with national legislation and international standards, especially in the areas of freedom of expression and transparent election administration. The legal framework provided an adequate basis for conducting credible elections. Election Day proceeded smoothly and peacefully, with a turnout of 84.5%, equalling the highest level of participation in the last 25 years achieved in the December 2005 general elections and thereby confirming the commitment of the Bolivian authorities and voters to democratic and genuine elections.
European Union Election Observation Mission - Presidential Elections, Venezuela 2006 - Final Report (2006)
Authors: Core Team Members of the EU Election Observation Mission under the direction of Monica Frassoni who acted as Chief Observer of the EUEOM
Responding to an invitation of the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to observe the Presidential Elections of the 3rd of December 2006, the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) initiated its deployment in the country on the 15th of November 2006. The Mission led by Monica Frassoni, Member of the European Parliament (MEP), totalled 154 observers from European Union Member States, as well as from Norway and Switzerland. The observers were deployed in 17 States and in the Capital District, to follow and observe the elections. The observation work included the analysis of the pre-electoral political situation, the campaign, voting on Election Day (the 3rd of December), the counting, transmission, and aggregation of results. All of these observation activities were carried out according to: the European Union’s established methodology; the “Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation”, adopted under the aegis of the United Nations in October 2005; the Regulation for International Election Observation for the 2006 Presidential Elections, adopted by the CNE on the 5th of October 2006; and the Observation Agreement signed by the Consejo Nacional Electoral of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the European Union on the 15th of November 2006. A delegation of the European Parliament, headed Manuel Medina Ortega (MEP) and comprising six other MEP’s joined the EU EOM on the 30th of November.
Research paper on ‘State-building and national invention under external constraint in Kosovo and East Timor (1974-2002)’. Centre d’Etudes et de Recherches Internationales, Paris. (2005)
Authors: Raphaël Pouyé
Kosovo and East Timor are often been considered for their common experience of new ‘international protectorate’. These two territories were ‘liberated’ in 1999 by multilateral ‘interventions’ and thereafter ruled by United Nations transitional administrations. However, another less obvious set of resemblances calls for renewed attention: In both, the clandestine resistance networks have: directed their strategic choices on the resort to violence according to perceived international opinion, whilst remaining a hybrid association of anti-state kinship groups and ‘modern’ urban elites, and with the result of producing a dual discourse on nationhood: exclusive and militant on the one hand, inclusive and ‘liberal’ on the other. This article suggests that the parallel trajectories of Kosovo and East Timor during the past 25 years point to a new way of nation-state building in a context of external constraint, directed by the changing post-cold war norms on international intervention.
RAMSES, Major World Trends, 2004, French Institute for International Relations, "Is 'state building' an aid to international security?" – (IN FRENCH)
Authors: Béatrice Pouligny, Raphaël Pouyé
Following the 1999 intervention in Kosovo and Timor, the "international protectorate" has experienced a remarkable comeback. This undertaking does not, however, date from post-September 11, or even from the post-Cold War. Indeed, proactive motto from the US foreign policy, nation building has been regularly used since the reconstruction of Germany and Japan after 1945. It also refers to political engineering progressively developed by the UN, deepened in the 1990s, and culminating in 1999 with the creation of true "transitional government" in Kosovo and Timor. The project of political reconstruction of failed states is fraught with ideological assumptions, ambiguities and sources of misunderstanding both at the diplomatic level and field. This article proposes a genealogy of 'state-building' and describes its major issues, while drawing on the contemporary experience of the Balkans, East Timor and Iraq.