Making Peace or Preventing It? UN Peacekeeping, Terrorism, and Civil War Negotiations

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaisa Hinkkainen Elliott ◽  
Sara M T Polo ◽  
Liana Eustacia Reyes
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Direct Test ◽  
Monthly Data ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Un Peacekeeping

Abstract Previous studies have highlighted that United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations are effective at reducing violence during civil wars. But can these operations also change the incentives of the warring parties and lead them to pursue non-violent alternatives? This article provides the first direct test of UN peacekeeping troops’ effectiveness at inducing non-violent engagements, specifically negotiations during civil wars. Our analysis of disaggregated monthly data on peace operations, negotiations, and violence in African conflicts (1989–2009) reveals that sizable deployments of UN military troops, by themselves, are insufficient to foster negotiations, even when they reduce battlefield violence. Instead, the probability of negotiation instances is conditional on rebel tactics. We posit, when rebels engage in terrorism, peacekeeping troops can inadvertently alter the “power to hurt” of the belligerents in favor of rebel groups and create conditions conducive to negotiations. Our results have important implications for research on the effectiveness of both peacekeeping and terrorism and for policy-making.

Intervention Brigades in United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and Challenges Posed to International Humanitarian Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Verda Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
The United States ◽  
International Humanitarian Law ◽  
Humanitarian Law ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Rebel Groups ◽  
Peace And Conflict Studies ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Alternative Approach

In recent decades, the United Nations (UN) has directed its peacekeeping operations to be practice-driven. This has led to an alternative approach to state-military contacts, such as those provided by the United States and other nations; the UN is more inclined to consolidate and strengthen its liaisons through Intervention Brigades. The efficacy of these brigades lies in providing military assistance to UN operations and catering to logistics, training, and advice. Advocates of peace, the UN peacekeeping operations (UNPKOs) are based on consent, impartiality, and non-utilization of force (excluding times of civilian protection and self-defense). However, as Intervention Brigades gain momentum, 'robust' peacekeeping is becoming more regulated; thus, promoting 'force' against rebel groups and/or militias. When aligned with robust Intervention Brigades, which utilizes more force than lawfully permitted, UN peacekeeping (UNPK) missions question these operations' credibility, thus blurring the conceptual difference between peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Conspicuously, this exploits the traditional principle of impartiality using hard power and violates the International Humanitarian Law (IHL). Exemplifying through the case study of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this paper aims to discuss the abovementioned discrepancy resulting in complications for the discipline of Peace and Conflict Studies (PCS). As the discipline promotes achieving peace through „soft‟ means, the paper reviews the subject under Chapter VI & VII of the UN charter and highlights the grey areas of IHL applicability in UN peacekeeping and Intervention Brigades.

scholarly journals International Peacebuilding: A Theoretical and Quantitative Analysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 779-801 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael W. Doyle ◽  
Nicholas Sambanis
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Effective Capacity ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
World War ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
International Peacebuilding

International peacebuilding can improve the prospects that a civil war will be resolved. Although peacebuilding strategies must be designed to address particular conflicts, broad parameters that fit most conflicts can be identified. Strategies should address the local roots of hostility, the local capacities for change, and the (net) specific degree of international commitment available to assist sustainable peace. One can conceive of these as the three dimensions of a triangle whose area is the “political space”—or effective capacity—for building peace. We test these propositions with an extensive data set of 124 post–World War II civil wars and find that multilateral, United Nations peace operations make a positive difference. UN peacekeeping is positively correlated with democratization processes after civil war, and multilateral enforcement operations are usually successful in ending the violence. Our study provides broad guidelines for designing the appropriate peacebuilding strategy, given the mix of hostility, local capacities, and international capacities.

Part 3 The United Nations: What it Does, 27 Peacekeeping and other Peace Operations

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Higgins Dame Rosalyn, DBE, QC ◽  
Webb Philippa ◽  
Akande Dapo ◽  
Sivakumaran Sandesh ◽  
Sloan James
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Military Personnel ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Legal Requirement ◽  
Host State ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The Future

This chapter examines the UN’s peacekeeping operations. A peacekeeping operation may be defined as a UN-authorized, UN-led force made up of civilian and/or military personnel donated by states or seconded by the Secretariat, physically present in a country or countries with a view to facilitating the maintenance of peace, generally after a conflict has ceased. Many consider that for an operation to be peacekeeping, it must take place with the consent of the host state. However, this may or may not be a legal requirement, depending on the constitutional basis of the operation. The chapter discusses the fundamental characteristics of peacekeeping; categories of peacekeeping; legal basis for peacekeeping; peacekeeping and consent; peacekeeping and the use of force; peacekeeping and impartiality; functions of peacekeeping operations; UN Transitional Administrations; and the future of UN peacekeeping.

Informal Justice and United Nations Peace Operations

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 166-192
Author(s):  
Bruce Oswald
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Informal Justice ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Serious Crime ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Military Members ◽  
Justice Systems

This paper seeks to address how UN military members undertaking UN peacekeeping operations should engage with customary or informal justice systems that they encounter. The relevant guidance that exists suggests that, as a policy matter, informal justice systems should not be allowed to deal with matters of serious crime because of the danger they may violate basic rights, and because dealing with serious crime is a key prerogative of the state. However, there is a growing movement away from adopting a unitary, state-centric rule of law orthodoxy approach, towards viewing the rule of law from the perspective of legal pluralism. Using that perspective, and in acknowledging that military members of UN peace operations are highly likely to be confronted by informal justice systems during peace operations, this paper maps three principles that UN military members should apply when dealing with informal justice systems in the context of UN peace operations: giving due regard to applicable informal justice systems, maintaining oversight of the application of informal justice norms and practices, and avoiding corrupting informal justice systems.

FROM TRADITIONAL TO MODERN PEACE OPERATIONS OF UNITED NATIONS

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 1801-1813
Author(s):  
Milenko Dzeletovic ◽  
Hatidza Berisha ◽  
Nikola Vidovic
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Conceptual Definition ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Legal Foundation ◽  
Basic Characteristics ◽  
Definition Of

In paper, the authors point out a description of the basic characteristics of the UN Organization, the process of establishing peacekeeping operations and their legal foundation in the UN Charter on the complexity of the UN system in the decision-making process and in process of the establishment of peacekeeping operations. Considering the interpretation of the legitimacy of the establishment of peacekeeping operations through the goals set by the United Nations Charter.Through the paper the conceptual-theoretical determination of peacekeeping operations was carried out and the classification of United Nations peacekeeping operations was given. Relying on the conceptual definition of peacekeeping operations with regard to our strategic - doctrinal documents that do not recognize this term, but they see it as the contents of multinational operations.Authors see the focus of work in the philosophy of emerging and perceiving basic conceptual differences between traditional and modern peace operations.The importance of the work is reflected in the understanding of conceptual differences and changes in the nature of the conflict, which led to the revolution and evolution of UN peacekeeping operations, from traditional to contemporary peacekeeping operations.

Power in Peacekeeping by Lise Morjé Howard

2020 ◽  
pp. 99-100
Author(s):  
Natasha Khan
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
International Relations ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Central African Republic ◽  
Verbal Persuasion ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Howard is an experienced scholar in the fields of international relations, civil wars, peacekeeping and conflict resolution. She has authored several works on peacekeeping such as Learning to Keep the Peace? United Nations Multidimensional Peacekeeping in Civil Wars (2001), and UN Peacekeeping in Civil Wars (2007). Her recent work, Power in Peacekeeping, takes a novel approach to explore UN Peacekeeping Operations. This book makes a case for looking at the dynamics of power in peacekeeping missions and exploring how peacekeepers wield their authority in peacekeeping missions. The author suggests that while most studies on peacekeeping document empirical accounts of the successes and failures of PKO’s, it can prove beneficial to understand what kind of powers peacekeepers wield on the ground. These powers are grouped into three major categories: financial and institutional inducement, verbal persuasion, and coercion. The author further categorizes these into, persuasion in Namibia, financial inducement in southern Lebanon and coercion in the Central African Republic. Acting as part of a journalist team, the author has first-hand experience in the areas explored in the book and offers detailed accounts backed by existing research in the field of peacekeeping.

scholarly journals United Nations Peacekeeping, Human Rights, and the Protection of Civilians

2020 ◽  
pp. 81-99
Author(s):  
Ibrahim J. Wani
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Internal Displacement ◽  
Human Rights Violations ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Independent Panel ◽  
Regional Engagement ◽  
High Level

Abstract Drawing on lessons from United Nations (UN) led peacekeeping operations in Africa, this chapter discusses the background and evolution of peacekeeping engagement on issues related to human rights, refugees, and internal displacement; the array of norms and institutions that have developed to formalize the mandate in the UN peacekeeping framework; and the experiences, lessons, and challenges in its implementation. Due to escalating challenges around protecting civilians and human rights violations, the chapter argues that UN peacekeeping must move beyond rhetoric. A genuine commitment to implement the recommendations of the United Nations High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations (HIPPO) is a necessary first step. Enhanced mechanisms to compel host states to protect human rights within their borders and more regional engagement on thwarting “spoilers” are among several key follow-on measures.

scholarly journals A Blurring of Roles: Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria do Ceu Pinto Arena
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
The Other ◽  
Peace Operations ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Hybrid Nature ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Self Defence ◽  
Emerging Pattern

There is a sober paradox involved in the use of oxymoron ‘peace operations’, as these operations, traditionallyanchored on the bedrock principles of UN peacekeeping - consent of the parties, impartiality, and non-use of force exceptin self-defence -, are being increasingly transformed into enforcement operations. Twenty-seven years after the end of theCold War and the rebirth of the United Nations’ (UN) security role, peacekeeping operations are increasingly losing groundto an emerging pattern of more aggressive, offensive operations. They have an essentially hybrid nature, involving elementsof both peacekeeping and enforcement. Although many see them as alternative, non-reconcilable techniques, politicians andpractitioners do not see a sharp dividing line separating non-coercive and enforcement tasks, permitting an easy transitionfrom one to the other.

Peacekeeping and the Problem of Civil War

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Lisa Hultman ◽  
Jacob D. Kathman ◽  
Megan Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Political Violence ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Research Strategy ◽  
Human Suffering ◽  
Civil Conflicts ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The World ◽  
United Nations Peacekeeping

Does United Nations peacekeeping reduce violence in civil wars? This chapter discusses the scope of problem posed by civil conflicts around the world, and illustrates the human suffering caused by internal political violence. It then introduces United Nations peacekeeping as one of the primary tools used by the international community to reduce civil war brutality. Though UN peacekeeping is frequently used in the world’s most intractable conflicts, little is known about how effectively it mitigates hostilities. This chapter presents the research strategy used in the book, which is designed to give a better understanding of peacekeeping’s effect on violence. It then discusses the intellectual and humanitarian benefits of broadly and systemically analyzing the effect of United Nations peacekeeping on violence in civil war.

4. Peacekeeping to peacebuilding

2015 ◽  
pp. 71-90
Author(s):  
Jussi M. Hanhimäki
Keyword(s):  
Cold War ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Peacekeeping Operations ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Peacekeeping is among the most visible roles of the United Nations. But how much do people trust in UN peacekeeping operations? ‘Peacekeeping to peacebuilding’ shows how the UN has struggled to live up to the expectations of its founders in this area. Between 1948 and 1988 the UNSC authorized only thirteen peacekeeping missions. In those years, a number of interstate and an increasing number of intrastate (or civil) wars took place. Cold War pressures explain, to some extent, this imperfect record. Today's more numerous peacekeeping activities are far more complex in nature than they used to be: keeping peace is more than just making and building peace.

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