User:Muhammad Jameel Ahmad
Crises Management
In 1989/90 the world changed dramatically. Since then, the number of cases demanding international attention in the form of crisis management has continued to increase. At the moment, Afghanistan, the Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, North Korea, Palestine, Sudan/Darfur are the most prominent problems that remain to be solved. Crises Management:
Crises management is the process by which an organization deals with a disruptive and unexpected event that threatens to harm the organization, its stakeholders, or the general public.
Elements of the Crises management:
There are 3 elements of the crises management.
i. A threat to the organization. ii. The elements of the surprise. iii. A short decision time. Features of Crisis Management
The aims of the crises management are following;
i. To defuse the crises or resolve a conflict. ii. It seeks to establish a secure environment to enable partied to deal with the causes of a crises or conflict. iii. It aims to initiate reforms of institutions or policies to prevent a follow-on crisis.
Crises response operations are part of crises management. They support the peace process in a conflict area.
Crises management is a very complex task and none of the participating states and international organizations has all means necessary at its disposal. Even the United States lacks sufficient specialized stabilization and reconstruction capabilities, at least to deal with the crises of a bigger order. If the diplomatic efforts failed to resolve the crises then other option is that to consider (military force option). Crises response to staged process the following model is consider as the most prominent model to resolve the conflict but keeping in mind that the following model is not fitted to the entire crises situation.
1. Phase: Diplomacy backed by threat:
An ideal type of crises management may start with an attempt to persuade the country breaking the rules to change its behavior by “diplomacy backed by threat”. This could be economic, financial sanctions, travel restrictions for members of the accompanied by shuttle diplomacy and intense consultations. The UN Security Council, as the representative of the International community, provides with its mandate an unequivocal legal basis for measures against a state at the onset of a crises or conflict. If the UN moved resolution and threaten country do not accept that then the UN can use force against that country for achieving its objectives.
The reaction of the International Community in particular crises is difficult to predict, even if the fact appear to justify an intervention. Respect for the national sovereignty is always a great concern. Unfortunately, however, sanctions and threats seldom result in their intended effect. Iraq under the rule of Saddam Hussein is a good example and another example of Bosnia.
Multilateral character of Crises Management:
Crises management has a greater effect if it is multilateral because it is an expression of solidarity with a wider range of options and capabilities and a broader basis for the legitimacy of the action. Moreover, the message sent to the political leaders of the opponent state is more powerful if the international community as a whole or at least an important part of it but multilateral cooperation has a downside as well. The more participants there are, the more difficult it is to agree on the concrete measures to be taken. Many rounds of consultations in different multilateral for a need to be coordinated as in the conflicts in the Balkans the UN, the OSCE, the contact group, NATO and the EU.
2. Phase: Diplomacy backed by Force:
The next step in the crises response is “diplomacy backed by force” to signal the resolve of the international community and avoid any misperceptions by the government concerned. It is the last opportunity for the state to assess what it could save by accepting the demands of the UN and what it would risk by not doing so. The consequences of non-compliance must be very serious.
Again we can take the example of the Balkans: In case of the conflict between Bosnia and Herzegovina the UN embargo on the Bosnia and after one year they also enforcement of the no-fly-zone.
3. Phase: Force backed by Diplomacy:
If the international community still does not reach its goal, phase number three. “Force backed by diplomacy”, aims to destroy the adversary’s power base. Yet, this is still far from a war situation because the aim is not occupy the territory permanently, simply to make the regime yield. In this phase, it is a particularly important that politicians responsible and the military executing their orders work closely together and in great confidence.
4. Diplomacy backed by reconstruction:
After crises or conflict resolution, “diplomacy backed by reconstruction”, works to create a situation where intervention and the application of force are no longer necessary. The goals of the ensuring peace-building include self-sustained stability, ensuring human rights and democratic principles and security sector reforms to make it subordinate to directives by an elected government. Structural changes of state institutions may also be necessary. In this phase, operations by international military forces guarantee security and stability, which need to be used as effectively as possible by non-military actors.
Sustainable reconstruction requires the commitment of sufficient funds and other resources above all time. This part of crises management needs a clear mandate: the objectives must be realistic furthermore the sequence of steps in the reconstruction process is essential. “Security and rule of law” come first, democracy is for later stages. It is important in the reconstruction and peace building process to involve the local authorities and population, to lead them to ownership and retaking responsibility for the affairs of their country.
Conclusion:
Every crisis is unique. As a result, unique strategies and solutions must be formulated and adopted to deal with new conflicts and crises. But we can also learn from past experiences. We have seen that crisis management operations are very complex enterprises. A multilateral framework provides each management phase with greater political impact and power of persuasion.