Showing papers in "International Peacekeeping in 2018"
TL;DR: The UN Security Council has a tendency to push the boundaries of UN peacekeeping beyond traditional doctrine by equipping peace operations with ever more sophisticated equipment as discussed by the authors, and this trend has been observed for decades.
Abstract: Recent scholarship has discerned an increasing tendency of the UN Security Council to push the boundaries of UN peacekeeping beyond traditional doctrine by equipping peace operations with ever more...
46 citations
TL;DR: While the literature has always incorporated different research methodologies, large-N quantitative methods and state-level findings have dominated the literature and had most influence on policy an... as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: While Peace Studies has always incorporated different research methodologies, large-N quantitative methods and state-level findings have dominated the literature and had most influence on policy an...
37 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors argue that the Nordic states gradually have begun to perceive militarized coalition participation as an important tool to gain reputation and improve their status position, and that a good relationship with the United States is considered as a means to either consolidate or improve their relative status position and also secure protection or "shelter" against regional competitors by improving their reputation.
Abstract: Why do the small Nordic states engage themselves in militarized interventions alongside the United States? The article argues that the Nordic states gradually have begun to perceive militarized coalition participation as an important tool to gain reputation and improve their status position. A good relationship with the United States is considered as a means to either consolidate or improve their relative status position and also secure protection or ‘shelter’ against regional competitors by improving their reputation. Empirically, the article contributes to our understanding of the status-seeking strategies of the Nordic countries and how they might have utilized a more militarized activism to seek status that departs from the traditional Nordic internationalism. Theoretically, the article contributes to our understanding of the concept of ‘status’ in international relations by offering a new explanation of the puzzling willingness of small states to use military means in international conflicts ...
31 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw attention to the phenomena of multiple missions within peace operations, and discuss some of the hurdles to understanding how such missions influence one another, and elucidate seven considerations or challenges in understanding how missions interact with one another and influence each other's success.
Abstract: Peace operations now conduct a wide range of different missions, but much of the scholarship has focused only on one mission at a time, and most often this is the task of monitoring cease-fires. This article draws attention to the phenomena of multiple missions within peace operations, and discusses some of the hurdles to understanding how such missions influence one another. We begin by providing a descriptive analysis of 11 different peace missions carried out by UN operations over the 1948–2015 period. Following a review of multiple-mission studies to date, we call attention to several problems with approaches taken for understanding peacekeeping outcomes. We then elucidate seven considerations or challenges in understanding how missions interact with one another and influence each other’s success, providing guidelines for how to analyse them.
27 citations
TL;DR: The UN Secretariat can be both enthusiastic and cautious about new tasks depending on the circumstances and the issue area as mentioned in this paper, and the UN officials have been the driving force behind the development of public information campaigns by peacekeeping missions aimed at the local population.
Abstract: The UN Secretariat’s role in the expansion of peacekeeping after the cold war is debated. Different theoretical accounts offer competing interpretations: principal–agent models and sociological institutionalism tend to emphasize the Secretariat’s risk-averse behaviour; organizational learning scholarship and international political sociology find evidence of the Secretariat’s activism; constructivism analyses instances of both. I argue that the UN Secretariat can be both enthusiastic and cautious about new tasks depending on the circumstances and the issue area. For example, UN officials have been the driving force behind the development of public information campaigns by peacekeeping missions aimed at the local population. During the cold war, it was not regarded as necessary for UN missions to communicate with the public in the area of operation: their interlocutors were parties to the conflict and the diplomatic community. With the deployment of the first multidimensional missions in the late 1...
26 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that the anthropological imagination apparent in recent debates in peace and conflict studies is informed by an empiricist positivism that conceives of ethnography as a data-gathering tool.
Abstract: This article seeks to show how the ethnographic peace research agenda can benefit from long-standing discussions in the anthropological literature. It sets out by arguing that the ‘anthropological imagination’ apparent in recent debates in peace and conflict studies is informed by an empiricist positivism that conceives of ethnography as a data-gathering tool. By drawing insights from the ‘writing culture’ and ‘Third World feminism’ debates, I will show how such empiricism was challenged and partly done away with in favour of new dialogical and collaborative approaches to knowledge production. In the second part, focussed on the context of the Kyrgyz Republic in Central Asia, I will illustrate the limits and blind spots of the prevalent empiricist approach to studying peace and conflict by showing how discourses and imaginaries of a ‘culture of peace’, tolerance and multiculturalism conceal forms of exclusion, marginalization and hidden conflict. I will show how my own collaborative research sheds...
24 citations
TL;DR: A conceptual framework is put forward that explains what each of these information challenges entails and how uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and equivocality hamper peacekeeping efforts.
Abstract: Information analysts are often hindered by uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity, and equivocality when trying to support peacekeeping operations. This article puts forward a conceptual framework that...
21 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the United Nations and regional bodies play an increasingly diverse role in the economic development of post-conflict countries, and a key way that missions play an important role in this process.
Abstract: Peacekeeping operations, mandated through the United Nations and regional bodies, play an increasingly diverse role in the economic development of post-conflict countries A key way that missions c
20 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that interventionists' practices and depend on the interventionist interventionist practices to transform conflict-ridden countries into liberal states, and that interventionist interventions regularly fail to transform war-ravaged countries into democracies.
Abstract: Why do international peace- and state-building interventions regularly fail to transform conflict-ridden countries into liberal states? This paper argues that interventionists’ practices and depend...
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the notion of suspicion was used as a lens to understand the distinct challenges that local researchers from the Global South encounter in ethnographic fieldwork when conducting fieldwork.
Abstract: In this article, I focus upon the notion of suspicion as a lens to better understand the distinct challenges that local researchers from the Global South encounter in ethnographic fieldwork when st...
16 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the failures of the liberal peace model of post-conflict intervention have given rise to a local turn in peace research, and this in turn has refoc...
Abstract: As has been thoroughly rehearsed in the literature, the failures of the liberal peace model of post-conflict intervention have given rise to a ‘local turn’ in peace research. This in turn has refoc...
TL;DR: In this article, the experiences of Gender Advisors in NATO and partner militaries are discussed. And the question of whether militaries can contribute to a feminist vision of peace and security is discussed.
Abstract: This paper is about the experiences of Gender Advisors in NATO and partner militaries, and the question of whether militaries can contribute to a feminist vision of peace and security. Gender Advis...
TL;DR: The authors argue that the concept of resistance remains limited in the context of the liberal peace debates and present a more sophisticated critique of the notion of resistance in the liberal world, arguing that resistance is not limited to everyday forms of resistance.
Abstract: Attention to everyday forms of resistance in the liberal peace debates has provided a more sophisticated critique of peacebuilding but the concept of resistance remains limited. The paper argues th...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest how to identify and deal with ex-combatants in (un)peaceful post-war environments from a methodological perspective, while it is obvious that large-N studies or standardi...
Abstract: This contribution suggests how to identify and deal with ex-combatants in (un)peaceful post-war environments from a methodological perspective. While it is obvious that large-N studies or standardi...
TL;DR: In this article, a methodological, conceptual and ethical reflection on challenges and opportunities afforded to ethnographic researchers in the field when working with perpetrators of mass violence and their motivations is presented.
Abstract: This article is a methodological, conceptual and ethical reflection on challenges and opportunities afforded to ethnographic researchers in the field when working with perpetrators of mass violence and their motivations. Departing from a research project on the motivations of former cadres of the Khmer Rouge and fieldwork conducted on this topic in Cambodia, various possible approaches to conducting such ethnographic research are discussed, focusing on long-term stays in the community, frequent visits and building networks in the community, and repeat individual visits to select people without embedding oneself as a researcher in the community. For each of these approaches their distinct strengths and limitations are considered in light of various methodological, conceptual and ethical challenges encountered by the author in the field. As such, this article does not suggest specific methodological developments but offers a critical reflection of how various approaches to an ethnography of perpetra...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors draw on two sets of field research data from Liberia to highlight the role of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration in remaking post-war relationships.
Abstract: Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) is fundamental in remaking post-war relationships. This article draws on two sets of field research data from Liberia to highlight the role of s...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on focusing on the positives and neglect potentially negative effects of cohesion in everyday life, while neglecting potentially negative impacts on the positive aspects of everyday life.
Abstract: Cohesion has a positive influence on many aspects of everyday life, including improved military performance. However, due to focus on the positives, many studies tend to omit potentially ne...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a new book, Security Sector Reform in Conflict-Affected Countries, by Mark Sedra, focusing on the failings of donors to reform the security sectors of conflict-affected countries.
Abstract: Much has already been written about the failings of donors to reform the security sectors of conflict-affected countries. Yet the new book by Mark Sedra, Security Sector Reform in Conflict-Affected...
TL;DR: Since 2012, the European Union has stepped up its commitment to Mali and the Sahel using various external intervention instruments gathered under the Common Security and Defending Powers (CSDP) framework.
Abstract: Since the political crisis in 2012, the European Union has stepped up its commitment to Mali and the Sahel using various external intervention instruments gathered under the Common Security and Def...
TL;DR: Following the failure of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions to prevent genocide in Rwanda and to protect civilians in Srebrenica in the mid-1990s, the international community commissioned th...
Abstract: Following the failure of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions to prevent genocide in Rwanda and to protect civilians in Srebrenica in the mid-1990s, the international community commissioned th...
TL;DR: The role of Italy in international policing is analyzed in this article, focusing on the reasons, specific features, multifaceted character and value of Italy's contribution to the international policing.
Abstract: This article analyses the role of Italy in international policing, focusing on the reasons, specific features, multifaceted character and value of its contribution. The argument is made that partic...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored how risk assessment tools used by psychologists in criminal justice settings may be adapted to screen for violent extremist offenders in DDR programs, and suggested that the method of structured professional judgment (SPJ) can be used to assess the risk that individual ex-combatants will re-offend upon return to civilian life.
Abstract: Programmes of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) are increasingly implemented in contexts of violent extremist conflict. In such settings, DDR practitioners may need to distinguish between ex-combatants who can be safely reintegrated into civilian life, and ex-combatants who are likely to present a danger to the community in terms of violent and/or extremist re-offending. To help practitioners make this assessment, this paper explores how risk assessment tools used by psychologists in criminal justice settings may be adapted to screen for violent extremist offenders in DDR programmes. The findings suggest that the method of structured professional judgment (SPJ) can be used to assess the risk that individual ex-combatants will re-offend upon return to civilian life. By extension, SPJ can also: (1) help practitioners to understand what type of deradicalization and disengagement programming former members of extremist groups may require and (2) contribute to decisions concerning th...
TL;DR: There is a widespread assumption that, given the imminent threat of mass atrocities against the Libyan civilians, and in the absence of non-military alternatives, military forces should be used.
Abstract: There is a widespread assumption that, given the imminent threat of mass atrocities against the Libyan civilians – especially in Benghazi – and in the absence of non-military alternatives, military...
TL;DR: In this article, an evidence-based analysis of the situation in East Timor in 1999 was presented, and it was shown that the wave of militia-perpetrated violence in September 1999 was extinguished prior to the arrival of international military forces.
Abstract: The paper challenges the theoretical and empirical orthodoxy surrounding the debate on international military intervention and mass atrocity endings, via an evidence-based analysis of the situation in East Timor in 1999. By combining existing but under-explored data on mass atrocities with eye-witness accounts, new key informant interviews, and a detailed review of secondary sources, we demonstrate that the wave of militia-perpetrated violence in September 1999 was extinguished prior to the arrival of international military forces. We demonstrate the unique effect of national political factors, when combined with the pressures of international diplomacy, which combined to end mass atrocities in this particular case. We find that the Indonesian regime was not a uniformly recalcitrant regime opposed to ending the atrocities, and demonstrate how factors operating across the national and sub-national levels combined to force the Indonesian leadership to bring the militia perpetrators of this brutal ep...
TL;DR: The literature on the effectiveness of peacekeeping has been focused almost exclusively on conflict mitigation as discussed by the authors, and this article expands the scope of this literature by developing a theory that explain how to improve the performance of UN peacekeeping.
Abstract: The literature on the effectiveness of peacekeeping has been focused almost exclusively on conflict mitigation. This article expands the scope of this literature by developing a theory that explain...
TL;DR: The TUBAKOV dataset as mentioned in this paper provides extensive data on 57 peacekeeping operations (PKOs) that Turkey has contributed to between the years 1988-2015, and provides interesting insights to the changing characteristics of Turkey's PKO involvements relating to the content, geography and timing of these contributions over the time period covered by this dataset.
Abstract: This study introduces the TUBAKOV dataset, which offers extensive data on 57 peacekeeping operations (PKOs) that Turkey has contributed to between the years 1988–2015. TUBAKOV improves existing data in several ways. First, it draws data from governmental resources that have not been previously used. Second, Turkey's contributions for each PKO are presented both at the levels of PKO and PKO-contribution year format. The website of the dataset also allows access to qualitative data such as primary text sources, hence facilitating qualitative and multi-method research on peacekeeping. Preliminary analyses indicate that the frequency, nature and the geographic focus of Turkey's contributions to peacekeeping operations demonstrate a significant shift with the new millennium. Preliminary findings offer interesting insights to the changing characteristics of Turkey's PKO involvements relating to the content, geography and timing of these contributions over the time period covered by this dataset.
TL;DR: Despite the certification of Cote d'Ivoire's 2010 presidential elections by the United Nations Operations in Cote D'Ivore (UNOCI), they resulted in the most violent of Sub-Saharan Africa, in the t...
Abstract: Despite the certification of Cote d’Ivoire’s 2010 presidential elections by the United Nations Operations in Cote d’Ivoire (UNOCI), they resulted in the most violent of Sub-Saharan Africa, in the t...
TL;DR: In this paper, the credibility of the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP/CSDP) has been analyzed in the context of CSDP operations and its deterrence postures.
Abstract: Since 2003, the European Union (EU) has launched eight military operations with an executive mandate in the framework of its European (now Common) Security and Defence Policy (ESDP/CSDP), all of which have utilized deterrence to fulfil their missions. Some have done so implicitly by having a mission that requires them to keep certain actors from doing something unwanted, whilst others have done so explicitly by having deterrence clearly mentioned as one of their core tasks in their mandates. Despite this, deterrence in the context of CSDP has been an almost totally neglected subject in the academic literature. Furthermore, the EU itself has tended to take the deterrence effect of CSDP operations for granted, which is dangerous because it may blind it to potential problems that may in fact be undermining their credibility. This article seeks to launch a more focused discussion on deterrence in the context of EU security policy by analysing the credibility of CSDP operations’ deterrence postures. Ba...
TL;DR: Local ownership has been a central tool to legitimise and anchor UN peacekeeping operations as mentioned in this paper. But what does it mean and how is it translated into practice? Although a central term in international...
Abstract: ‘Local ownership’ has been a central tool to legitimise and anchor UN peacekeeping operations. So what does it mean and how is it translated into practice? Although a central term in international ...
TL;DR: The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is capable and willing to hold accountable the forces which it authorizes as mentioned in this paper, although it is an often-voiced recommendation that the UNSC should step up its...
Abstract: Is the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) capable and willing to hold accountable the forces which it authorizes? Although it is an often-voiced recommendation that the UNSC should step up its ...