Cooperation and Coordination in an International Intervention: The Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Kosovo

In international interventions that encompass peacekeeping, democratic transition, and institution building, oneorganization cannot do it all. In Kosovo several organizations—the United Nations (UN), nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the militaries (KFOR), andan international police force—formed a temporary network organization, the United Nations Mission in Kosovo(UNMIK), in which they worked together cooperatively at every level to pursue the goals of the mission. Thisresearch, based on aeldwork in Kosovo with all the organizations in UNMIK, investigates how well the use ofinformation and communications technologies (ICTs) reoected the organizational structure and design of themission. What does this experience tell us about the use of ICTs in an interorganizational setting? What does it tellus about information transfer and knowledge sharing in a temporary network organization that comprisesorganizations of diverse structure and culture? The information and communication infrastructure of UNMIK isexamined to discover how well it met the organizational requirements of both the participating hierarchies in themission and the emerging network organization. The question in Kosovo was whether the introduction and use ofnew technologies helped the organizations move from a hierarchical structure and culture to a more collaborativeone.