Democratic Accountability and the Use of Force in International Law

The spread of democracy to a majority of the world's states and the legitimization of the use of force by multilateral institutions such as NATO and the UN have been two key developments since World War II. In the last decade these developments have become intertwined, as multilateral forces moved from traditional peacekeeping to peace enforcement among warring parties. This book explores the experiences of nine countries (Canada, France, Germany, India, Japan, Norway, Russia, UK and US) in the deployment of armed forces under the UN and NATO, asking who has been and should be accountable to the citizens of these nations, and to the citizens of states who are the object of deployments, for the decisions made in such military actions. The authors conclude that national-level mechanisms have been most important in assuring democratic accountability of national and international decision-makers.

Table of Contents:
List of figures; List of tables; Notes on contributors; Preface; List of abbreviations; Part I. Introduction: 1. Broaching the issues Charlotte Ku and Harold K. Jacobson; Part II. The Domestic and International Context: 2. The interface of national constitutional systems with international law and institutions on using military forces: changing trends in executive and legislative powers Lori F. Damrosch; 3. Domestic political factors and decisions to use military forces Karen A. Mingst; 4. Collective security, peacekeeping, and ad hoc multilateralism Edwin M. Smith; 5. The legal responsibility of military personnel Robert C. R. Siekmann; Part III. Traditional Contributors to International Military Operations: 6. Canada: committed contributor of ideas and forces, but with growing doubts and problems Fen Osler Hampson; 7. Norway: political consensus and the problem of accountability Knut G. Nustad and Henrik Thune; 8. India: democratic, poor, internationalist Ramesh Thakur and Dipankar Banerjee; Part IV. Newcomers to International Military Operations: 9. Japan: moderate commitment within legal strictures Akiho Shibata; 10. Germany: ensuring political legitimacy for the use of military forces by requiring constitutional accountability Georg Nolte; Part V. Permanent Members of the UN Security Council: 11. Russian Federation: the pendulum of powers and accountability Bakhtiyar Tuzmukhamedov; 12. France: Security Council legitimacy and executive primacy Yves Boyer, Serge Sur and Olivier Fleurence; 13. The United Kingdom: increasing commitment requires greater parliamentary involvement Nigel D. White; 14. The United States: democracy, hegemony, and accountability Michael J. Glennon; Part VI. Conclusion: 15. Towards a mixed system of democratic accountability Charlotte Ku and Harold K. Jacobson; Appendix A: uses of military forces under the auspices of the UN and NATO; Appendix B: country participation in international operations, 1945–2000; References; Index.

Review :
'This book shows the author's astute understanding of contemporary issues of law, democracy and international order, and is essential for any complete library on this topic.' John Allison, ACUNS 'So it is rare that in a field as vast as international relations, a book is published and immediately thereafter its key theses are tested on the world stage. Yet that is the fate of Ku and Jacobsen's well crafted Democratic Accountability and the Use of Force in International Law, for no sooner were the galleys checked than the Bush Administration set its sights on the use of force against the Saddam regime in Iraq.' Australian Journal of International Affairs '... offers a valuable analysis of a difficult multidimensional subject.' Common Law World Review