Saving Humanity from Hell?

2019 ◽  
pp. 169-192
Author(s):  
Lisa Hultman ◽  
Jacob D. Kathman ◽  
Megan Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Violence Reduction ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Holistic Assessment ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

This chapter summarizes the book, highlighting the importance of a holistic assessment of UN peacekeeping’s effect on conflict dynamics. It discusses many of the potential detriments and weaknesses of peacekeeping. Though the book identifies a normatively positive relationship between increasingly large peacekeeping missions and the reduction of civil war violence, UN peacekeeping is not unconditionally valuable. Substantial missions also come with negative consequences discussed in this chapter. However, these same issues are exacerbated by enduring civil war violence. The positive influence of large peacekeeping deployments then becomes even more valuable, as reduced violence is likely to have positive downstream consequences in these same areas. Relying on additional existing research, the chapter presents informal analyses to provide a fuller picture of the violence reduction associated with UN peacekeeping. The chapter concludes by revisiting the complexity of civil conflict, the challenges of peacekeeping, and the potential for reduced violence.

Mechanisms of Peacekeeping Effectiveness

2019 ◽  
pp. 45-74
Author(s):  
Lisa Hultman ◽  
Jacob D. Kathman ◽  
Megan Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Incomplete Information ◽  
Theoretical Foundation ◽  
Violence Reduction ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Critical Components ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Commitment Problems

This chapter provides the book’s theoretical foundation, establishing that civil war violence results from incomplete information and commitment problems between government and rebel forces. UN peacekeeping reduces violence by making combatants’ use of violence more costly and helping factions commit to peaceful forms of conflict resolution. The two characteristics of peacekeeping missions that best enable them to mitigate violence are capacity and constitution. These characteristics can vary dramatically within and across missions. Capacity is conceptualized as the number of personnel deployed and constitution as the type of personnel deployed. Missions with larger amounts of appropriate personnel better perform violence reduction activities, as do missions constituted with substantial armed troops and police. The capacity and constitution of peacekeeping missions should be considered critical components of peacekeeping’s ability to reduce violence.

scholarly journals Lisa Hultman, Jacob D. Kathman and Megan Shannon: Peacekeeping in the Midst of War

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-115
Author(s):  
Barbora Valíková
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Violence Reduction ◽  
Civil Conflicts ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Large N ◽  
Police Personnel ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Are United Nations peacekeeping missions effective at reducing violence in civil wars? Although UN peacekeeping is a notable intervention tool, the international community lacks systematic knowledge of how well it mitigates civil war violence. Given that UN peacekeeping is increasingly used in the midst of war, this is a significant research gap with direct policy relevance. This book systematically explores if and how the capacity and constitution of UN peacekeeping missions affect the amount of violence in civil conflicts. It argues that peacekeeping effectiveness needs to be assessed in relative terms, theorizing that more robust missions are increasingly capable of addressing combatant incentives for employing violence. The authors conduct large-n analyses of the number of combatants and civilians killed during each month for all civil wars globally from 1992 to 2014, measuring the capacity and constitution of UN missions with unique data on the number and type of peacekeeping personnel deployed. The analyses reveal that increasing UN military troop and police personnel deployed to a conflict significantly reduces violence against civilians, and increasing UN military troop personnel significantly mitigates battle-related violence. By contrast, smaller missions and missions composed of observers are not associated with reduced violence. The book complements the large-n analyses with qualitative explorations of peacekeeping mechanisms on violence in Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The authors conclude that while peacekeeping is not without detriments, it is an effective tool of violence reduction.

Interventions and repression following civil conflict

2021 ◽  
pp. 002234332110108
Author(s):  
Naji Bsisu ◽  
Amanda Murdie
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Foreign Aid ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Theoretical Argument ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Security Sector Reform ◽  
State Repression ◽  
Human Rights Abuses ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
International Interventions

Civil conflicts inevitably have negative consequences with regards to respect for human rights within affected states. Unfortunately, the violation of human rights often does not end with the conflict. What factors explain variation in state repression in post-civil conflict societies? Can international interventions, both civilian and military, improve human rights in states with a history of conflict? Does the size of the intervention matter? We argue that international interventions, including peacekeeping missions and officially directed foreign aid, can reduce physical integrity abuses. This process occurs by simultaneously increasing protections for civilians while also raising the costs of repression to both government leaders and their agents. Human rights abuses will also decrease when there are legal remedies available to vulnerable populations which are bolstered by a strong judicial system. A robust civil society can also discourage human rights abuses by shedding light on these events and providing human rights education. In line with our theoretical argument, we focus on UN peacekeeping missions, especially those with human rights teams, and officially directed foreign aid for legal and security sector reform and NGOs. Using both a treatment effects approach and a continuous dose–response model, we find much support for the implications of our argument.

United Nations Peacekeeping and Civil Conflict

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy J. A. Passmore
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Peace Processes ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Conflict Intervention ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
The Cold War

UN peacekeeping serves as the foremost international tool for conflict intervention and peace management. Since the Cold War, these efforts have almost exclusively targeted conflicts within, rather than between, states. Where traditional peacekeeping missions sought to separate combatants and monitor peace processes across state borders, modern peacekeeping in civil wars involves a range of tasks from intervening directly in active conflicts to rebuilding political institutions and societies after the fighting ends. To accommodate this substantial change, peacekeeping operations have grown in number, size, and scope of mandate. The increasing presence and changing nature of peacekeeping has sparked great interest in understanding when and how peacekeeping is used and how effective it is in delivering and sustaining peace. Significant advances in peacekeeping data collection have allowed for a more rigorous investigation of the phenomenon, including differentiation in the objectives, tasks, and structure of a mission as well as disaggregation of the activities and impact of peacekeepers’ presence across time and space. Researchers are particularly interested in understanding the adaption of peacekeeping to the unique challenges of the civil war setting, such as intervention in active conflicts, the greater involvement and victimization of civilians, the reintegration of rebel fighters into society, and the establishment of durable political, economic, and social institutions after the fighting ends. Additional inquiries consider why the UN deploys peacekeeping to some wars and not others, how and why operations differ from one another, and how the presence of and variation across missions impacts conflict countries before and after the fighting has stopped.

Tangled up in Blue: The Effect of UN Peacekeeping on Nonviolent Protests in Post–Civil War Countries

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margherita Belgioioso ◽  
Jessica Di Salvatore ◽  
Jonathan Pinckney
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Direct Interaction ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Peace Building ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Public Protest ◽  
Political Contention ◽  
Secure Environment ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions ◽  
Civil Societies

Abstract Do peacekeeping missions facilitate nonviolent political contention in post–civil war countries? The nonviolent expression of political grievances is a crucial part of the post–civil war peace-building process but is understudied thus far. We claim that the presence of peacekeepers significantly contributes to establishing a secure environment for nonviolent political contention, particularly nonviolent public protest. In addition, we claim that peacekeeping missions with personnel from countries with robust civil societies are more likely to promote nonviolent political contention because of prior socialization to civic engagement and bottom-top political participation. This is particularly true for UN police personnel (UNPOL), who both train local police forces and have the most direct interaction with protesters. We test our hypotheses using a newly crafted dataset on nonviolent protests in post–civil war countries and peacekeeping missions’ presence, size, and home-country composition. We find that peacekeeping missions’ presence significantly increases nonviolent protests in post–civil war country-years. This effect is largely explained by the presence of UNPOL from countries with strong civil societies. Our findings have important implications for our understanding of post–civil war political revitalization and policy implications for the composition of peacekeeping missions.

Reducing Battlefield Violence

2019 ◽  
pp. 75-101
Author(s):  
Lisa Hultman ◽  
Jacob D. Kathman ◽  
Megan Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Large N ◽  
Quantitative Analyses ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Battle-related violence results from fighting between organized belligerent groups. This chapter proposes that peacekeepers can reduce such violence in civil wars by making violence more costly and helping belligerents commit to giving up the use of violence. Peacekeeping missions with greater capacity are better able to impede battle-related violence, as are missions constituting greater amounts of armed troops. Large-n quantitative analyses of peacekeeping deployments on battle-related violence in civil wars from 1992 to 2014 reveal that as the number of armed peacekeeping troops deployed to a civil war increases, fewer deaths occur from battle-related violence. The chapter concludes that UN peacekeeping missions with greater capacity in terms of armed troops are effective in reducing battle-related hostilities.

Reducing Violence against Civilians

2019 ◽  
pp. 102-131
Author(s):  
Lisa Hultman ◽  
Jacob D. Kathman ◽  
Megan Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Quantitative Analysis ◽  
Civil Wars ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Violence Against Civilians ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

This chapter studies the effect of UN peacekeeping on violence against civilians in civil wars, proposing that peacekeepers reduce civilian targeting by making violence more costly and helping belligerents commit to giving up the use of violence. Peacekeeping missions with greater capacity are better able to stop violence against civilians. Among types of UN peacekeeping personnel, armed troops and police are best positioned and able to mitigate violence against civilians. Thus, missions constituted of greater amounts of armed troops and police should be more likely to reduce civilian targeting by combatants. The chapter presents a global quantitative analysis of peacekeeping deployments on deaths resulting from anti-civilian violence in all civil wars from 1992 to 2014. The analyses reveal that as the number of armed peacekeeping troops and police deployed to a civil war increases, fewer deaths occur from civilian targeting. The chapter concludes that UN peacekeeping missions with greater capacity and constituted of armed troops and police are effective in reducing violence against civilians.

Peacekeeping in the Midst of War

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa Hultman ◽  
Jacob D. Kathman ◽  
Megan Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Civil Wars ◽  
Democratic Republic Of Congo ◽  
Violence Reduction ◽  
Civil Conflicts ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Large N ◽  
Police Personnel ◽  
Significant Research ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Are United Nations peacekeeping missions effective at reducing violence in civil wars? Although UN peacekeeping is a notable intervention tool, the international community lacks systematic knowledge of how well it mitigates civil war violence. Given that UN peacekeeping is increasingly used in the midst of war, this is a significant research gap with direct policy relevance. This book systematically explores if and how the capacity and constitution of UN peacekeeping missions affect the amount of violence in civil conflicts. It argues that peacekeeping effectiveness needs to be assessed in relative terms, theorizing that more robust missions are increasingly capable of addressing combatant incentives for employing violence. The authors conduct large-n analyses of the number of combatants and civilians killed during each month for all civil wars globally from 1992 to 2014, measuring the capacity and constitution of UN missions with unique data on the number and type of peacekeeping personnel deployed. The analyses reveal that increasing UN military troop and police personnel deployed to a conflict significantly reduces violence against civilians, and increasing UN military troop personnel significantly mitigates battle-related violence. By contrast, smaller missions and missions composed of observers are not associated with reduced violence. The book complements the large-n analyses with qualitative explorations of peacekeeping mechanisms on violence in Côte d’Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The authors conclude that while peacekeeping is not without detriments, it is an effective tool of violence reduction.

Suicide after Deployment in UN Peacekeeping Missions—A Danish Pilot Study

Crisis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Hansen-Schwartz ◽  
G. Jessen ◽  
K. Andersen ◽  
H.O. Jørgensen
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Prevention Strategies ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Un Peacekeeping ◽  
Peacekeeping Missions

Summary: This pilot study looks at the frequency of suicide among Danish soldiers who took part in the UN mandated forces (UNMF) during the 1990's. In a contingent of nearly 4000 Danish UN soldiers four suicides were documented, two of whom committed suicide less than one month before deployment and two who committed suicide within a year after discharge from mission. Contributing factors, prevention strategies, and implications for future research are discussed.

Metamorphoses of memory of the the Russian-Serbian Brotherhood of War in Modern Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 142-156
Author(s):  
A. Yu. Timofeev
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Party System ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Civil Conflict ◽  
Second World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Stability ◽  
Second World

The article considers the perception of World War II in modern Serbian society. Despite the stability of Serbian-Russian shared historical memory, the attitudes of both countries towards World wars differ. There is a huge contrast in the perception of the First and Second World War in Russian and Serbian societies. For the Serbs the events of World War II are obscured by the memories of the Civil War, which broke out in the country immediately after the occupation in 1941 and continued several years after 1945. Over 70% of Yugoslavs killed during the Second World War were slaughtered by the citizens of former Kingdom of Yugoslavia. The terror unleashed by Tito in the first postwar decade in 1944-1954 was proportionally bloodier than Stalin repressions in the postwar USSR. The number of emigrants from Yugoslavia after the establishment of the Tito's dictatorship was proportionally equal to the number of refugees from Russia after the Civil War (1,5-2% of prewar population). In the post-war years, open manipulations with the obvious facts of World War II took place in Tito's Yugoslavia. In the 1990s the memories repressed during the communist years were set free and publicly debated. After the fall of the one-party system the memory of World War II was devalued. The memory of the Russian-Serbian military fraternity forged during the World War II began to revive in Serbia due to the foreign policy changes in 2008. In October 2008 the President of Russia paid a visit to Serbia which began the process of (re) construction of World War II in Serbian historical memory. According to the public opinion surveys, a positive attitude towards Russia and Russians in Serbia strengthens the memories on general resistance to Nazism with memories of fratricide during the civil conflict events of 1941-1945 still dominating in Serbian society.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document