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

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.

Foreword by R. Dreyer. Introduction. 1. Self-Determination and Democracy. 2. The Rejection of Democracy. 3. The League of Nations, Democracy and Plebiscites. 4. Democracy, Self-Determination and the United Nations. 5. The First Generation of United Nations Monitoring Operations of Electoral Processes. 6. The Second Generation: Completed `Pro-Democracy' U.N. Operations. 7. On-Going U.N. Monitoring Operations. 8. Election Assistance and Monitoring by Other Intergovernmental Organizations. 9. Election Assistance and Monitoring by Non-Governmental Organizations. Conclusion. Annexes. Bibliography. List of Tables. List of Abbreviations. Other Books by Yves Beigbeder. Index.