Evaluating Peacekeeping Missions

This book offers a new perspective on peace missions in intra-state wars, based on comparative field research. In theoretical terms, this book proposes a new definition of peace operation success based on two crucial elements: the (re)establishment of order and the accomplishment of the mandate. The work presents a new typology for assessing peace operations as failures, partial failures, partial successes, or successes. This focus on ‘blurry’ outcomes provides a clearer theoretical framework to understand what constitutes successful peace operations. It explains the different outcomes of peace operations (based on the type of success/failure) by outlining the effect(s) of the combination of the key ingredients-strategy and the type of interveners. Empirically, this book tests the saliency of the theoretical framework by examining the peace operations which took place in Somalia, Sierra Leone and Liberia. This book refutes the classification of these three cases as the ‘worst’ context for ‘transitional politics’, and demonstrates that peace operations may succeed, partially of totally, in challenging contexts, and that the diverse outcomes are better explained by the type of intervener and the strategy employed than by the type of context. This work shows that, for a peace operation in an intra-state war, the adoption of a deterrence strategy works best for re-establishing order while the involvement of a great power facilitates the accomplishment of the mandate. This book will be of much interest to students of peacekeeping, conflict resolution, civil wars, security studies and IR in general.

There has been a great deal written on why peace operations succeed or fail...But how are those judgments reached? By what criteria is success defined? Success for whom? Paul Diehl and Daniel Druckman explore the complexities of evaluating peace operation outcomes, providing an original, detailed framework for assessment.

"Most analyses of peacekeeping focus on attempts to limit violent conflict. Yet contemporary peace operations are asked to do much more, including unconventional roles of monitoring elections, facilitating transitions to the rule of law, distributing humanitarian aid, and resolving conflicts in civil societies undergoing transformation. This path-breaking work takes the lid off peace operations to explore missions (e.g., Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration) that go beyond traditional peacekeeping and the ways mission outcomes influence one another. This work begins by documenting patterns of peacekeeping missions in 70 UN operations, noting the dramatic increase in number and diversity since the end of the Cold War and the shift to conflicts with a substantial internal conflict component. The core of the book examines eight expectations about how different missions interact with one another. The expectations are guided by theoretical logics associated with sequencing, compatibility, and multitasking. These are examined in five detailed case studies of UN operations: United Nations Protection Force or UNPROFOR (Bosnia); United Nations Operation in the Congo or ONUC (Congo); United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor or UNTAET (East Timor); United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or MONUC (Congo); and the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone or UNAMSIL (Sierra Leone). The final chapter reviews the findings in terms of their implications for the expectations. It also provides a policy-relevant framework for organizing the various parts and stages of a peace operation, offering a future research agenda on multiple mission peacekeeping"--

Essay from the year 2019 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 8,4, Leiden University, language: English, abstract: Based on a case study analysis of the Mission des Nations Unies pour la stabilisation en Haiti (MINUSTAH), the essay answers the question of how and under which criteria one can assess whether peacekeeping operations are successful. The paper shows that while the criteria of short-term analyses are the most prominent ones in the literature, they are not universally applicable and that there is a need to establish common criteria for the assessment of peacekeeping missions that focus on the long-term consequences of such missions. Regarding the success of MINUSTAH, it is concluded that it was neither a (full) success for the UN nor for the Haitian population. Since 1948 the UN has deployed more than seventy peacekeeping missions (UN Peacekeeping n.d.). Peacekeeping operations can be defined as operations, which were deployed with or without the compliance of belligerent parties, depending on international legislation and mandate to sustain and implement a peaceful environment impartially and without using combat arms, if not necessary.

The Oxford Handbook on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations presents an innovative, authoritative, and accessible examination and critique of the United Nations peacekeeping operations. Since the late 1940s, but particularly since the end of the cold war, peacekeeping has been a central part of the core activities of the United Nations and a major process in global security governance and the management of international relations in general. The volume will present a chronological analysis, designed to provide a comprehensive perspective that highlights the evolution of UN peacekeeping and offers a detailed picture of how the decisions of UN bureaucrats and national governments on the set-up and design of particular UN missions were, and remain, influenced by the impact of preceding operations. The volume will bring together leading scholars and senior practitioners in order to provide overviews and analyses of all 65 peacekeeping operations that have been carried out by the United Nations since 1948. As with all Oxford Handbooks, the volume will be agenda-setting in importance, providing the authoritative point of reference for all those working throughout international relations and beyond.

Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. officials have been more willing to remind allies that the United States will not play the role of international policeman. Given U.S. reluctance, the job of peacekeeping will fall increasingly to international organizations and regional alliances. In International Peacekeeping Paul Diehl examines the recent record of United Nations peacekeeping forces and develops criteria for assessing their operations. His analysis provides useful guidance for the management of new hostilities in areas such as Central and Eastern Europe, where the dissolution of the Soviet Union has spawned bitter civil wars and dangerous border disputes. Diehl identifies three sets of factors that affect traditional international peacekeeping operations. He begins by discussing the practical concerns of peacekeeping efforts, such as force composition, organization, and deployment. He then examines issues related to the political and military context in which the forces are deployed, including the nature of the conflict and the involvement of third parties. Finally, he considers the authorization by the relevant international body - usually the United Nations - as it relates to the mission's mandate, policies, and financing. He concludes by analyzing the viability of new roles for U.N. peacekeeping troops, such as humanitarian assistance, and by exploring structural alternatives to U.N. peacekeeping operations.

Peacekeeping has gradually evolved to encompass a broad range of different conflict management missions and techniques, which are incorporated under the term "peace operations." Well over 100 missions have been deployed, the vast majority within the last twenty years. This book provides an overview of the central issues surrounding the development, operation, and effectiveness of peace operations. Among many features, the book: Traces the historical development of peace operations from their origins in the early 20th century through the development of modern peacebuilding missions. Tracks changes over time in the size, mission, and organization of peace operations. Analyses different organizational, financial, and troop provisions for peace operations, as well as assessing alternatives. Lays out criteria for evaluating peace operations and details the conditions under which such operations are successful. As peace operations become the primary mechanism of conflict management used by the UN and regional organizations, understanding their problems and potential is essential for a more secure world. Drawing on a wide range of examples from those between Israel and her neighbors to more recent operations in Somalia and the Congo, this book brings together the body of scholarly research on peace operations to address those concerns. It will be an indispensable guide for students, practitioners and general readers wanting to broaden their knowledge of the possibilities and limits of peace operations today.