Networks of Democracy

Most work on peacekeeping and peacebuilding focuses almost entirely on policy. Networks of Democracy provides a distinct and important perspective that links daily activities to mission outcomes. This book is an ethnography of the interaction between the diverse people and diverse organizations on the ground in a peacebuilding and reconstruction mission, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. Anne Holohan asks and answers: how do people from many nationalities and who are part of organizations with diverse structures and cultures—militaries, police, civilian organizations—cooperate? What everyday behaviors and organizational practices facilitate communication and cooperation, and what behaviors and practices impede it?

Drawing on extensive research of interactions on the ground, Holohan offers vivid accounts of a flexible, inclusive inter-organizational culture in two municipalities—one where all mission actors are present and participating, the other a rigid, hierarchical, exclusive inter-organizational culture. As she demonstrates, these differences produce a striking contrast in outcomes between the two municipalities, and for the mission overall.