International Monitoring of Plebiscites, Referenda and National Elections: Self-Determination and Transition to Democracy

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Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 1. jaan 1994 - 329 pages
International monitoring of plebiscites, referenda and national elections has given a guarantee to the populations and the countries directly involved, and to the international community, that the people themselves have been able to exercise freely their right to self-determination through these processes. By focusing international attention on an internal electoral process, international monitoring may deter fraud by government, armed forces or electoral authorities. It shows international support for democracy and elections, as well as for human rights. While the international monitoring of elections does not guarantee that a dictatorship will evolve peacefully into a pluralist democracy, free and periodic elections are an essential prerequisite to the creation and maintenance of democracy, which is itself a prerequisite for the protection and promotion of human rights. The United Nations and other international organizations and groups are openly supporting the world's evolution towards democracy. This book will be of great use for those who are actively involved in international monitoring as well as for researchers in the field of democracy and human rights.

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Contents

The Will of the People
12
Fascism and Nazism
51
Islam and Democracy
61
Authoritarian Regimes
69
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS DEMOCRACY
75
Plebiscites Entrusted to the League of Nations
83
DEMOCRACY SELFDETERMINATION
91
United Nations Support for Internal Democracy
99
ONGOING U N MONITORING OPERATIONS
190
The Challenge of Cambodia
197
Another Angola?
213
ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND MONITORING
222
The Commonwealth
237
European Organizations
248
Comments
263
ELECTION ASSISTANCE AND MONITORING
270

Management of U N Peacekeeping Operations
114
Korea and Germany
120
The U N Role in Monitoring Selfdetermination Processes
126
An Assessment
143
The Witnessing Mission to Panama
149
The Nicaragua Elections
164
From Ballots to Bullets
180
Other NonGovernmental Organizations
288
Comments
293
ANNEXES
301
OTHER BOOKS BY YVES BEIGBEDER
314
INDEX
323
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