UN Peacekeeping Research Articles

Anjali Kaushlesh Dayal. 2021. Incredible commitments: How UN peacekeeping failures shape peace processes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

Anjali Kaushlesh Dayal. 2021. Incredible commitments: How UN peacekeeping failures shape peace processes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)

KAPABILITAS PASUKAN PERDAMAIAN INDONESIA DI REPUBLIK DEMOKRATIK KONGO

The purpose of this research is to analyze the capabilities of the Indonesian peacekeepers and the TNI's strategies in carrying out the development of the capabilities of the Indonesian peacekeepers to face multidimensional threats in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This research uses a qualitative method with a case study research design on several events in the implementation of the UN peacekeeping capability development carried out by the TNI in the period of 2018 to 2020. The case studies describes the positive things of the capability development process shown by some achivements gained by Indonesian Peacekeeping Forces as well as some incidents that need to draw attention by TNI in one of the Indonesian peacekeeping missions in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Data collection was carried out openly through interviews with research subjects which were directly involved in the capabilities building of the Indonesian peacekeeping forces that are supported by the researcher’s experiences, field observations and data analysis referring to literature studies. The research shows that the capabilities of the Indonesian peacekeepers have not been fully prepared to face multidimensional threats. Among some successes in the mission area, several incidents occurred and caused both personnel and material losses. The TNI needs to adopt the United Nations Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (UNPCRS) as the current UN system to provide UN units that allows the development of UN peacekeeping capabilities to be carried out systematically, comprehensively and involves all aspects of capability, including human resource and unit capability standards, leadership, networking, materials, facilities and infrastructure. In addition, regulatory and budgetary aspects are critical in overall capability development efforts.

In Memory of Peacekeepers: Belgian Blue Helmets and Belgian Politics

ABSTRACT This article explores the interactions between the memories of Belgian peacekeepers killed in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, the weight of the colonial past, and the Belgian foreign policy. Using interviews with Belgian politicians and diplomats, families of peacekeepers, former blue helmets, as well as a corpus of official speeches, this article finds that the memorialization of blue helmets has influenced Belgian political choices on three levels, namely: domestic politics, its bilateral relationship with Rwanda, and more broadly its position in international peacekeeping. In doing so, this article contributes to interdisciplinary debates on the role of collective memory in domestic and international politics.

Do UN peace operations lead to more terrorism? Repertoires of rebel violence and third-party interventions

Recent research suggests that UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) reduce conventional violence. However, rebel groups have been increasingly using a combination of conventional and non-conventional violence, for example, terrorism. Little is known about whether and under which conditions PKOs shape rebels’ incentives to resort to more terrorism. At the same time, existing research on the use of terrorism in civil wars primarily focuses on domestic factors, thus overlooking the impact of external shocks such as the deployment of PKOs. We argue that PKOs can have critical unintended consequences inducing tactical adaptation in rebel violence as they alter the government-rebels balance of power. Particularly, rebel groups that are militarily strong prior to the UN arrival are incentivized to escalate terrorist violence to overcome the physical barrier imposed by PKO forces and improve their bargaining position vis-à-vis the government. Weaker groups, which in the absence of PKOs are more likely to use terrorism, have not only limited capacity but also fewer incentives to escalate terrorism when PKOs deploy. Leveraging new disaggregated data on rebel terrorist attacks during civil wars, we provide the first global actor-level analysis of the relationship between PKO deployments and changes in rebels’ tactical preferences for terrorist violence. We find that, conditional on initial government-rebels power relations, PKOs can make terrorism the weapon of the strong. Our study sheds light on the unintended effects of peacekeeping, the causes of terrorism, and offers important policy implications for several current PKOs deployed in the midst of violence.

Increasing Role of China in UN Peacekeeping in 2013–2021

This research aims to assess the PRC’s causes of involvement and influence on the sphere of peacekeeping during the presidency of Xi Jinping in the PRC (2013–2021). China’s growing activity in UN peacekeeping yields controversial results: as such, peacekeeping undoubtedly helps reduce violence in unstable regions. Therefore, the role of the People’s Republic of China using its growing military power for the cause of peace is more than welcome, so China’s prestige also enhances. However, a more detailed analysis of peacekeeping operations demonstrates that the People’s Republic of China seeks to secure its economic interests around the world through peacekeeping. Besides, they assertively promote its agenda of ensuring peace over human rights protection, aiming to fix key posts in this sphere for China’s representatives. In addition, Chinese weapons and equipment can be tested during peacekeeping operations, and the Chinese military receives the necessary experience and practice. As the methodological basis of the research, the author used the structural-functional method, the historical-comparative method and content analysis of the relevant sources.

CIMIC and Peacekeeping 'Effectiveness': The Role of 'Communication' as a Critical Interface in Evolving UNPKO Dynamics

‘Communication,’ as an ongoing process underlying civil-military interaction, may be taken as a key component in conceptualizing Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC) in the context of peacekeeping. Consequently, it allows for a process-centric understanding of peacekeeping ‘effectiveness,’ particularly in the light of the growing disconnect between the functional dynamics of on-ground missions and broader overarching doctrine/principles. Transitional and Protection of Civilians (POC) mandates compel United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) to operate on the margins of existing doctrine, requiring personnel engaged in conflict management to cultivate and exercise a broader skillset than one initially associated with traditional peacekeeping. Given this background, this research utilizes ‘scenario-based interviews’ so as to engage with the self-reflexive praxis of veteran Pakistani peacekeepers having served in integrated/hybrid missions. In doing so, it attempts to conceptualize communication as a process premised on the ‘shared intentionality’ of both military and civil personnel, utilizing de Coning’s peacekeeping dimension. Inputs received from the interview process are analyzed using a model conceptualizing communication as a process essential to the realization of successful PKO outcomes. Two key subthemes emerging from the interview process, i.e., crisis management/risk perception and resource management are discussed in relation to decisional processes and ‘bounded rationality’ constraints attending inter-and intra-group communication under CIMIC in peacekeeping spaces.

CIMIC and Peacekeeping ‘Effectiveness’: The Role of ‘Communication’ as a Critical Interface in Evolving UNPKO Dynamics

‘Communication,’ as an ongoing process underlying civil-military interaction, may be taken as a key component in conceptualizing Civil-Military Coordination (CIMIC) in the context of peacekeeping. Consequently, it allows for a process-centric understanding of peacekeeping ‘effectiveness,’ particularly in the light of the growing disconnect between the functional dynamics of on-ground missions and broader overarching doctrine/principles. Transitional and Protection of Civilians (POC) mandates compel United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKOs) to operate on the margins of existing doctrine, requiring personnel engaged in conflict management to cultivate and exercise a broader skillset than one initially associated with traditional peacekeeping. Given this background, this research utilizes ‘scenario-based interviews’ so as to engage with the self-reflexive praxis of veteran Pakistani peacekeepers having served in integrated/hybrid missions. In doing so, it attempts to conceptualize communication as a process premised on the ‘shared intentionality’ of both military and civil personnel, utilizing de Coning’s peacekeeping dimension. Inputs received from the interview process are analyzed using a model conceptualizing communication as a process essential to the realization of successful PKO outcomes. Two key subthemes emerging from the interview process, i.e., crisis management/risk perception and resource management are discussed in relation to decisional processes and ‘bounded rationality constraints attending inter-and intra-group communication under CIMIC in peacekeeping spaces.

UNsupported: The Needs and Rights of Children Fathered by UN Peacekeepers in the Democratic Republic of Congo

Sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) by United Nations (UN) peacekeepers causes severe physical and psychological consequences. Where SEA leads to pregnancy and childbirth, peacekeepers typically absolve themselves of their paternal responsibilities and paternity suits are largely unsuccessful. The lack of support for peacekeeper-fathered children (PKFC) tarnishes the image of the UN who fails to implement a victim-centred approach to SEA. Analysing shortcomings in the provision of support, this article presents an evaluation of the UN’s accountability system from the perspective of PKFC families. In-depth interviews with thirty-five PKFC and sixty mothers demonstrate local barriers to child support and paternity claims in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. We discuss PKFC’s need for assistance and their mothers’ attempts to navigate an opaque international legal system. The findings cast light on their limited access to UN subsidies and offer recommendations to better implement existing UN goals of justice and victim-oriented policies.

Women as the Essential Protectors of Children?: Gender and Child Protection in UN Peacekeeping

ABSTRACT The United Nations and many member states have placed increased emphasis on improving child protection in UN peacekeeping missions, particularly with regard to child soldiers. These efforts often depict a critical role for female peacekeepers in child protection. In this paper I analyse UN child protection documents, drawing on feminist critiques of gendered discourses in peacekeeping and work on children in global politics to explore how the UN understands gender in child protection contexts. I do so through an analysis of how peacekeepers’ gendered subject positions and representations of children in need of protection are constructed. I find that the construction of children primarily as victims lacking agency and in need of being saved, and a focus on female peacekeepers primarily in community engagement, risk perpetuating the neglect of children’s agency during armed conflict and leave the protective masculine basis of peacekeeping largely unchallenged. These constructions have implications for the implementation of both the children and armed conflict and WPS agendas in peacekeeping.

Challenges in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations

Given the variety of actions concentrating on peacekeeping with significant successful operations, the United Nations (UN) continues to encounter concerns and challenges that have hampered its peacekeeping operations’ efficiency, effectiveness, and performance. This article aimed to investigate the primary challenges that adversely influence peacekeeping operations and challenge them based on the security theory proposed by Barry Buzan. According to the study’s findings, UN peacekeeping missions have been successful in addressing conflict situations and promoting peace in many regions of the world. Nevertheless, faults and challenges, notably in terms of the operations’ political, economic, and societal factors, have restricted the peacekeeping operations’ ability to achieve their objectives successfully. Therefore, a better policy that includes all involved actors, especially local government and the population, should be established in order to rebuild a conflict-torn country.

Malaysian Peacekeepers Perspectives on the Influence of Governance and Ethnic-Cross Relationship in Enhancing Ethnic Tolerance during Peacekeeping Operations

Ethnic tolerance among peacekeepers plays an important role in ensuring the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse the influence of governance and ethnic-cross relationship towards enhancing of ethnic tolerance based on the perspectives of Malaysian peacekeepers. This study applied quantitative data collection method through a set of questionnaires with 432 participants that previously being deployed to various United Nations Peacekeeping Operations (UNPKO). The result indicates that both governance and ethnic-cross relationships have a positive correlation towards enhancement of the level of ethnic tolerance among Malaysian peacekeepers. The findings could strengthen the code of ethics for cultural competence, which emphasises the importance of understanding ethnic tolerance during peacekeeping operations or deployments.
 
 Received: 4 October 2021 / Accepted: 21 November 2021 / Published: 3 January 2022

UN peacekeeping and Chinese Private Security Companies: assessing demand factors for China

ABSTRACT Using China’s UN peacekeeping as a foil, the article explores the demand factors that inform the usage of Chinese Private Security Companies (PSCs) to protect Chinese economic interests and nationals abroad. The article makes three assertions. First, compared to Chinese peacekeepers, PSCs can offer a more focused and responsive presence overseas, a presence that is increasingly demanded by the Chinese leadership and citizenry. Second, Chinese PSCs can provide a less prominent footprint for when Chinese agendas and approaches, despite the desire to maintain a policy of non-interference, inevitably clash with local political dynamics and actors. Third, when considering Chinese peacekeepers that increasingly face the pressure to apply lethal violence, Chinese policy regarding the PSC employment of firearms constrains more robust PSC responses to security challenges that might further inflame sensitive matters regarding non-interference.

The United Nations’ modernity problem: a stabilisation doctrine for the future?

ABSTRACT This paper examines the role of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations in modern conflict. It advocates for a new peacekeeping doctrine for stabilisation operations. The UN has authorised four such stabilisation missions, wading into challenging frontiers of asymmetrical warfare, endemic conflict, and multidimensional mandates. This article begins by surveying discourse on stabilisation at the UN, among its key members, and among the academic community. It highlights the penchant for strategic ambiguity that has prevented the UN from establishing clear stabilisation doctrine for its Blue Helmets. It then analyses the two case studies of Haiti and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN’s first two forays into official stabilisation operations. Evaluating them along the three axes of security, state consolidation, and political reconciliation, this article draws lessons learned and makes recommendations for a clear, modern UN stabilisation doctrine.

Международно-правовые рамки участия региональных организаций в операциях по поддержанию мира

The article analyzes the international legal framework for the participation of regional organizations in peacekeeping operations. Based on a review of scientific literature, the author examines the evolution of the legal approaches of the United Nations to international peacekeeping operations, considering the changes in their content in recent decades. The author explores the coupling between the peacekeeping mechanisms of the UN and regional organizations. The main object of the study is the peacekeeping activity of the Collective Security Treaty Organization based on the relevant international treaty. The article is an attempt to assess the political capabilities of a regional organization to expand its influence in the world using formal legal research methods. Three possible formats of a peacekeeping operation based on the Agreement on Peacekeeping Activities of the CSTO are revealed by the author. First, a peacekeeping operation by decision of the Organization within the borders of its member states. Its parameters correspond to the traditional (first generation) peacekeeping missions. Secondly, a peacekeeping operation by decision of the UN Security Council. Its deployment requires a mandate of the international community to endow the CSTO, which allows the implementation of multidimensional (second generation) peacekeeping operation by the forces of a regional organization. The third format of the CSTO peacekeeping operations is the participation of the CSTO in UN peacekeeping operations. The necessary legal framework is established by the recent Protocol on Amendments to the Agreement on the Peacekeeping Activities of the CSTO. The Organization is to endow one of the member states with the mandate to apply its multinational (consolidated) peacekeeping forces to the UN Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System. Thus applied CSTO peacekeeping forces can be involved in solving tasks during the UN peacekeeping operations under the CSTO flag. Based on the analysis of the legal framework for interaction between the United Nations and regional organizations in the field of peacekeeping, the author concludes that the potential for regional organizations to independently conduct multidimensional peacekeeping missions without direct violating state sovereignty or the UN Security Council mandate is significantly limited. The main opportunity for the collective use of the CSTO peacekeeping potential lies in its involvement in UN peacekeeping operations based on the approaches applied within the UN system to the organization of international peacekeeping activities.

The Urgency of Training for Peacekeepers and Family Resilience in Reducing Conflict during Peacekeeping Operations

Cultural awareness in peacekeeping operations is gaining traction, particularly among academics, to eradicate the resulting conflict through ideas, points of view, or policies. These policies can identify specific strategies to help each operation succeed. Culture awareness applies not only to peacekeepers but also to their families. This study employs a qualitative approach with data and literature sources on The Importance of Peacekeeper Training and Family Resilience in Conflict Resolution. Peacekeepers use a variety of strategies to reduce the likelihood of cultural clashes. The author approaches pre-deployment training with tolerance and objectivity in all decisions, inter-group coordination, inter-group communication, and inter-group planning. These materials can help people understand UN peacekeeping operations’ fundamental principles, values, and protocols. These principles can guide peacekeepers and their families as they assist countries in transitioning from war to peace. The impact of culture on the success or failure of conflict resolution processes utilized in peacekeeping deployments has been substantial. To preserve their effectiveness as a tool for resolving modern conflicts, peacekeeping operations must make extraordinary efforts to address cultural challenges at all levels of interpersonal interaction and throughout the implementation process

USSR and the UN Military Operation in the Congo 1960—1964

Drawing on UN documents, materials from Russian and British archives, the author examined the evolution of the Soviet line towards the UN military operation in the Congo in 1960—1964, exposed the intentions of the Soviet leadership to employ the UN military contingent in achieving its goals in the Congo, showed how the actions of the Western powers, their Congolese allies and the UN leadership frustrated the Soviet plans. The Soviet posture regarding the UN operation in the Congo varied depending on the escalation of the Congo crisis and its main actors’ behavior. At the initial stage (July — early August 1960), Khrushchev considered the conception of Africanization of resolving the crisis, submitted by Ghanaian President Kwame Nkrumah, suitable for turning UN forces into an instrument to protect the Lumumba government and increase Soviet influence in the Congo. The Soviet representative to the UN Security Council suggested that the Congolese operation be conducted by African states, and the USSR bypassed the UN by providing its civilian planes to transport the Ghanaian contingent of UN troops from Accra to Leopoldville. Since the Blue Helmets were used in the Congo, in the opinion of the Soviet government, “inappropriately”, i.e., not against Belgian forces and the Katanga separatists, it demanded that the UN command be replaced on August 6, 1960. Lumumba tried to regain control of Katanga by his own forces, but was ousted in two coups d’état in September 1960, directly supported by UN troops. Nikita Khrushchev did not intervene militarily in the Congo and privately called Nkrumah to allocate a Ghanaian contingent of UN troops at the disposal of Lumumba’s government. This was impossible without Soviet military support, but Khrushchev did not promise it. After Lumumba’s assassination, which became known on February 13, 1961, the USSR demanded the termination of the UN operation in the Congo within a month and the removal of the UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld as an “accomplice” to the Lumumba massacre. The overwhelming majority of UN members favored keeping UN troops in the Congo and Hammarskjöld as Secretary General. After the withdrawal of contingents of leftist African countries from the Congo in the winter and spring of 1961, the Soviet Union lost any ability to influence the UN operation in the Congo. It supported the military operations launched by the Blue Helmets against the Katanga separatists (December 1961 — January 1963) as being aimed at “the liquidation of the hotbed of interference of the colonial powers and their agents in Katanga”. After restoring territorial integrity of the Congo, the Soviet Union renewed its campaign for the withdrawal of UN troops and refused to participate in financing their upkeep. The Blue Helmets remained in the Congo until June 1964. The USSR failed to prevent the U.S. from turning the UN troops into a tool to combat “communist infiltration” in the Congo, and this contributed substantially to the Western victory in the battle for the “heart of Africa”.

Cooperation between the UN and ECOWAS in the field of peacekeeping

Recently, the UN has been increasingly cooperating with regional organizations in solving African security problems. Among the most reliable partners in this area is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The purpose of this work is to analyze the dynamics of cooperation between these organizations and to identify the factors that determine the effectiveness of their joint work. This study presents an analysis of the joint peacekeeping experience of ECOWAS and the UN in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire and Guinea-Bissau. In each case, special attention is paid to the format of interaction between the regional mission and the “Blue helmets” one. In particular, the author aims at identifying the most commonly used scheme of cooperation. The author states that over the past three decades, the UN has moved from small-scale operations implemented in parallel with ECOWAS efforts to full-fledged missions deployed after the ECOWAS forces have paved the way for peacekeeping. This scheme allows full use of the comparative advantages of the two organizations. ECOWAS forces are efficient at the initial stage of the conflict, when prompt intervention is needed to minimize humanitarian losses. “Blue helmets”, in turn, are most useful when the parties to the conflict manage to reach an agreement on a ceasefire. Particular attention in the study is paid to the role of the leader among the contributing countries. It seems that further studies of the driving forces of regional operations will be useful in terms of strategic planning of UN peacekeeping activities.

Efforts to Improve Cross-Cultural Competencies and Resiliency for Peacekeepers and Their Families in the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL)

The Government of the Republic of Indonesia carries out a free and active foreign policy, therefore the Government of Indonesia has always actively participated in efforts to maintain world peace under the banner of the United Nations. This study aims to analyze about: a) how Indonesia’s Participation in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) Mission; b) Approach Program Through Cross-Cultural Competence for Peacekeepers in UNIFIL’s Mission; and c) Resilience Improvement Program for Peacekeepers and Their Families in UNIFIL Mission. The research method used is qualitative with data collection techniques through interviews with informants and literature studies. The results of the study prove that (1) Indonesia has actively participated in maintaining world peace which is the embodiment of the 4th Paragraph of the Preamble to the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (UUD NRI 1945). (2) These obstacles and challenges are caused by differences in Cross-Cultural Competence and Cultural Intelligence, both of which are closely related. Cultural Intelligence (Cultural Intelligence) consists of Mental Ability and Behavioral Ability. Mental abilities include metacognitive intelligence, cognitive intelligence, and motivational intelligence. Meanwhile, Behavioral Ability is behavioral intelligence. Cross-Cultural Competence can be improved through experience (experience), training (training), education (education), self-development (self-development); and (3) To increase the peacekeeper’s resilience, there are 4 (four) efforts, namely practical handling of stressors, cognitive or internal strategies, stress reduction supported by the situation and environment, and personal approach. There must be additional Cross-Cultural Competence training by the United Nations for peacekeepers (civil and military) in every UN peacekeeping mission around the world. The importance of creating a Family Resilience program for peacekeeper families, such as FOCUS in the United States, which can reduce stress levels and other problems so that the performance of peacekeepers in carrying out their duties becomes more qualified and effective in order to maintain international peace and security.

Female leadership in UN peacekeeping missions

Female leadership in UN peacekeeping missions

Female leadership in UN peacekeeping missions

Female leadership in UN peacekeeping missions