Using Force to Protect Civilians

Abstract

Abstract Using Force to Protect Civilians offers the first comprehensive analysis of United Nations (UN) military protection operations across time and UN missions, building on a new and unique dataset capturing 200 operations from 10 UN peacekeeping missions in Africa from 1999 to 2017. Employing a mixed-methods research design, the book finds that Blue Helmets succeed as often as they fail when they employ force to protect, indicating that they can wield force effectively—under the right conditions—to achieve this priority task. Using Force to Protect Civilians finds that effective UN military protection operations must rest on a deep understanding of perpetrators’ motivation and modus operandi for attacking civilians, facilitating tailored military responses to stop or reduce physical threats in a timely manner. Adding to existing knowledge about the conflict reducing effect of the presence of uniformed UN personnel, this book finds that it also matters what Blue Helmets do to protect, more than being present in large numbers. While protecting civilians is a priority task for military peacekeepers, we hold limited knowledge about how they fare across time and in different UN missions when they use force to protect. We also remain largely ignorant of the conditions leading to successful outcomes when they intervene militarily to protect civilians from violence. Using Force to Protect Civilians addresses both knowledge gaps and builds steppingstones toward a theory on the utility of force to protect civilians in UN peace operations.