‘Dreaming of Things that Never Were’: Irish Soft Power and Peacekeeping in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract

Óglaigh na hÉireann/The Irish Defence Forces are a key pillar of Ireland's Defence and Security policy, a policy that emphasises Ireland's leadership role in supporting international peace, security and human rights protection. But how are the Defence Forces utilised as an instrument of soft power? How are they perceived at home and abroad and what explanations can be provided for Ireland consistently sending their men and women abroad in such large numbers to engage in peacekeeping duties? The purpose of this paper is to capture how Ireland projects power as a security actor in Europe and the wider world through its support for multilateralism and peaceful resolution of disputes and conflict by peacekeeping. It will seek to highlight the important role that Óglaigh na hÉireann's deployments as a military hard power instrument play in achieving peace and security, aims more associated with ‘soft power’. Having gone some way to establish what they do and how they do it, the aims and motivations (the why) will be analysed to study Ireland's leadership role in international peacekeeping operations. The critical requirement for a Defence Forces peacekeeping doctrine, to further enhance Ireland's role as an ethical leader in peacekeeping, will also be discussed.