Acknowledgements
This book was originally submitted as a doctoral thesis (s.c.l.) at the Faculty of Law of Technische Universität Dresden. It was awarded the Georg-Helm-Preis 2019 (dissertation award) of the Technische Universität Dresden. Sources and literature have been incorporated until summer 2018 and updated and included where needed until fall 2019.
Writing a book like this one sometimes is a lonely endeavor, but it can never be achieved all alone. First of all, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my doctoral supervisor, Professor Dr Ulrich Fastenrath. I became his doctoral student rather unexpectedly, but from the very start, he supported my work with continuous support, motivation and patience, while leaving enough freedom to develop my own ideas and arguments. His comments have been critical and demanding, but always kind and encouraging. Besides my advisor, I would like to thank Professor Dr Dominik Steiger for serving as the second reviewer of my thesis and for engaging in a critical but stimulating discussing during the defence of my thesis. The insightful comments of both reviewers were of tremendous help in preparing the final manuscript. My sincere thanks also go to Professor Dr Dr Sabine von Schorlemer, who paved the way of my academic journey and who has supported me throughout with guidance and mentorship. Many of the essential subtleties of legal academic work I learned from her as a teacher and from working with her at the Faculty of Law at TU Dresden.
I had the privilege to learn from, discuss and work with many people whose contributions to this book deserve special mention. My thanks go to Professor Dr Dres hc Rüdiger Wolfrum at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law (mpi) in Heidelberg, who agreed to accept me as the institute’s first research intern and to the colleagues at the mpi, especially Dr Christiane Philipp, for welcoming and including me in their various projects. It was the short but vibrant time in Heidelberg that sparked off my fire for international law which has only grown since then. My teachers at the University of Nottingham immensely helped sharpen my legal skills, while Professor Michael O’Flaherty planted the seed of academic interest in peace operations and human rights which would stay with me for so long. I would also like to thank Dr Ekkehard Strauss for sharing his immense UN experience and helping me sort my thoughts at the beginning of this journey. Besides, I would like to thank my interview partners at the UN Secretariat in New York and in the mission in Dili, Timor-Leste, for their willingness to answer my numerous questions and discuss my thoughts.
At TU Dresden, I was immensely fortunate to work with superb colleagues, many of whom have become true friends. Thank you for a great time, Denise Fiedler, Heidrun Groß, Jana Hertwig, Nina Christiane Lück, Kathleen Michalk, Daniela Milkuhn, Kristin Nettelnbrecher, Birgit Rudolph and Antje Urban. For invaluable encouragement, support and valuable input in the various stages of the process, I am indebted to Martin Gerner, Thomas Groh, Ulrike Will, and Constanze Zahm. My special thanks go to Franziska Knur; I could not have imagined a better teammate to go through the highs and lows of the home stretch of the dissertation. I also want to thank Anke Moerland, Amrei Müller, Ruth Eljalill Tauschinski and Caroline Przybylla for their endless patience in listening to my concerns, their motivation and for providing distraction when needed.
I am thankful to Megan Runow and Daniela Milkuhn for their careful assistance with the English language editing, which made this book a lot more pleasant to read. On the way from dissertation to book, I owe gratitude to the anonymous reviewer from Brill who, with his or her most insightful comments and recommendations, forced me to critically question my thoughts and arguments. Most notably, I would like to thank Ingeborg van der Laan from Brill for her huge patience, kindness and valuable assistance throughout the publishing process.
I am grateful for the tremendous love and support I have received from my family. In calling the finishing of the dissertation a competition between siblings, Andreas provided me with that little extra bit of motivation that was needed towards the end. Johanna, Felix, Jonathan gave me plenty of reasons to leave my desk and sometimes also to stay there a little longer. Without exactly grasping what this all was about, they wisely showed the greatest patience and encouragement for my project. All of this would not have been possible without the support of Marlies and my parents Elfriede and Walter, who helped out more than I could ever have asked for. I am incredibly thankful to my parents for letting me know from early on that they believed in me and my decisions, and for supporting me wholeheartedly. I am who I am because of them.
Finally, I am full of love and gratitude for Jens, who never showed a glimmer of doubt about his endless support and confidence in me. Without complaint, he took his share of work and often much more than that. His love, friendship and backing are what makes everything possible.
Dresden, November 2019