- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd (11 Jan 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 184885160X
- ISBN-13: 978-1848851603
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.6 x 3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,538,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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'This important book shows how foreign aid can help build human security in the aftermath of war - or, unfortunately, make the situation worse. It also demonstrates how partnerships between 'middle powers', like Norway, and global civil society can play a key role in building collective security through developing international law. This is an ideal text for policymakers involved in post-conflict reconstruction, as well as students of international relations.' --Mary Kaldor CBE, Professor of Global Governance, London School of Economics
'Matthew Bolton sheds crucial light on how foreign aid in general and demining programs in particular make compromises with power structures. He shows that links between demining agencies and the defense industry or military factions can skew attention away from vulnerable civilians most affected by mines. It should be required reading for professionals in the mine action sector.' --Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)
'This is a high-quality piece of work, well written, with interesting analysis rooted in on-the-ground fieldwork. The reservations about the involvement of private security companies in demining are extremely important, as is the discussion of the dangers of short-term contracts and 'cut-throat' competition in reconstruction tendering.' --David Keen, Professor of Complex Emergencies, London School of Economics
'Matthew Bolton sheds crucial light on how foreign aid in general and demining programs in particular make compromises with power structures. He shows that links between demining agencies and the defense industry or military factions can skew attention away from vulnerable civilians most affected by mines. It should be required reading for professionals in the mine action sector.' --Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director, International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO)
'This is a high-quality piece of work, well written, with interesting analysis rooted in on-the-ground fieldwork. The reservations about the involvement of private security companies in demining are extremely important, as is the discussion of the dangers of short-term contracts and 'cut-throat' competition in reconstruction tendering.' --David Keen, Professor of Complex Emergencies, London School of Economics
Product Description
In the decade since the signing of the Ottawa Treaty, which banned the production and use of anti-personnel mines, governments have spent over $3 billion on clearing up and mitigating the security threat of mines, cluster munitions and other unexploded ordnance in the world's current and former war zones. However, this flow of cash into regions dominated by violent social structures raises numerous political issues. Through detailed archival and field research, this book explores the politics behind the allocation and implementation of foreign aid by the US and Norway for demining in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan. It is an essential resource for practitioners and policymakers working in the field of landmine clearance and for students and researchers of Development Studies and post-war reconstruction.
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Well-Researched but Clearly Biased
17 Nov 2011
Format:Hardcover
Clearing landmines and explosive remnants of war is often characterized in the popular press as a quintessentially humanitarian activity: making post-war communities safe for agriculture, commerce and children. Unfortunately, there is a darker side to demining, as Matthew Bolton explains in this book, which characterizes two radically different political approaches as opposite poles on a continuum. The first is the "Great Power" approach in which demining is handled by "Strategic-Commercial Complexes", in which governments contract private security companies to clear UXO as a means of achieving military or strategic objectives. These companies often sacrifice quality and safety to speed and profit and may become entangled in the shadier elements of the local economy. Bolton contrasts this with the "Middle Power" approach, in which demining is accomplished through "Human Security-Civil Society Complexes", which aim to protect people's interests through aid, advocacy, persuasion and legal processes. In an in-depth study of mine action programs in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Sudan, Bolton compares US-funded demining projects with those funded by Norway, and concludes that "US funding of clearance and mitigation of explosive remnants of war was shaped largely by its strategic interests and favored a commercially-driven process," while Norway's mine action programs, implemented through "NGOs, churches and other small states...were shaped by a more global conception of interest and normative commitments to humanitarianism, multilateralism and international law." Bolton ends the book with recommendations for mine action to "rediscover its human face" by prioritizing quality, safety and protection, viewing demining in its proper socio-political context, and building peace by opposing the politics of violence.
The book is full of interesting data and detailed research, but the author seems to have an agenda which made me wonder as I was reading if his bias led him to select certain information and exclude the rest. US-based corporations and the US government end up looking very bad, almost evil, while the Norwegians are portrayed as saints, doing everything in the best possible way. One has to be a bit suspicious of this.
The book is full of interesting data and detailed research, but the author seems to have an agenda which made me wonder as I was reading if his bias led him to select certain information and exclude the rest. US-based corporations and the US government end up looking very bad, almost evil, while the Norwegians are portrayed as saints, doing everything in the best possible way. One has to be a bit suspicious of this.
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