Sharing sovereignty : building democracy by external intervention

This analysis suggests the idea that
shared sovereignty and neotrusteeships
are the result of the
paradoxes entailed by the promotion
of democracy by external
intervention. The goal of
democratization and the democratic
attitude of recent international
interventions lead to some
contradictory principles, particularly
between the respect of selfdetermination
and external control
and between temporary engagement
and protracted international
interference.
These contradictions affect the
international administrators’
activities in the target-country. While
they tend to concede powers to
local political leaders in the light of
the self-determination principle, they
hold some essential power in order
to foster the transition to
democracy. While they are inclined
to give back full independence, their
prolonged presence is required to
guarantee the process of
democratization. The result is a
balance between international and
local power prerogatives which ends
up in a de facto shared-sovereignty