Regionala organisationers potential i konfliktlösning - En komparativ fallstudie av ECOWAS och FN:s hantering av inbördeskriget i Sierra Leone

Sammanfattning: With the end of the Cold War the number of conflicts where the United Nations have intervened has increased dramatically. This has entailed a need for a burden-sharing between the UN and regional organizations regarding management of conflicts. The aim of this study is to make a comparative analysis of the effectiveness and the efficiency in the efforts undertaken by ECOWAS and the UN during the civil war in Sierra Leone, through using theories on conflict resolution and the advantages of regional organizations in conflict resolution. My conclusion is that both ECOWAS and the UN were quite successful in managing the conflict and had an impact on the resolution of the war, although both peace operations suffered from internal problems. ECOWAS was effective in managing the conflict and in its mediating efforts as an insider from the region. The UN was more efficient in managing to attain their goals. My case constitutes a support for the theory that regional organizations have advantages in conflict resolution in their own region, both in the area of mediation and in peace enforcing operations. However, the UN is still important in its role as a neutral outsider to disarm the warring factors and with its long experience of peace operations.