Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

The introduction identifies four transformations in the global order, whose implications on the UN peace operations are studied in the remainder of the volume. These four transformations are: (1) the rebalancing of relations between states of the global North and the global South; (2) the rise of regional organisations as providers of peace; (3) the rise of violent extremism and fundamentalist non-state actors; and (4) increasing demands from non-state actors for greater emphasis on human security. With the entry of new actors from the global South as important players in the peace arena, we are entering a more pragmatic era of UN peace operations. At the same time, the UN is facing a classic struggle between the promotion of liberal international norms and realist security concerns.

This chapter examines the evolution of the idea of UN peacekeeping, asking how an instrument developed in the late 1940s managed to not only survive but also respond to the changing geopolitical and conflict landscape over the last seventy years. Through an overview of major doctrinal developments and institutional adaptations, the chapter analyses how the peacekeeping tool was adapted from a bipolar world, via a unipolar one to today’s multipolar world. Peter argues that peacekeeping started as a conflict management instrument, which was adapted to a conflict resolution mechanism after the end of the Cold War, but has now come full circle and is again increasingly used to manage and contain, not resolve conflicts.

The multipolarisation of the world order is accelerating; while established Western powers are in decline, whether due to policy decisions or lack of cohesion, several rising powers both contest Western dominance and actively promote multipolarisation. What are the implications of multipolarisation for UN peacekeeping? Abdenur examines two inter-related dimensions: norms-setting and role expectations. Uncertainties about global leadership and constraints on resources prompt changing expectations of, and concern about, rising powers, especially those viewed as playing a pivotal role in UN security governance. This chapter highlights China as a potential leader in UN peacekeeping, but contends that Beijing’s willingness and ability to quickly expand its influence should not be taken for granted.

Modern conflict presents a complicated terrain for the UN’s conflict prevention work, where politically-driven solutions have become more elusive. Driven by the changing nature of armed conflict, the “good offices” function of the UN has evolved significantly in past decades. Based on a comparative assessment of the UN’s political engagement across different settings and eras, key elements for successful use of good offices include: (1) in-depth understanding of the conflict based on sustained contact and relationships on the ground; (2) timing of the intervention; (3) leverage over the key conflict actors; and (4) credibility of the mediator. A light, nimble presence on the ground—rather than multidimensional peace operations—appear best placed to achieve these elements of success.

Despite the pressing call by the 2015 UN High-Level Independent Panel on Peace Operations for a shift towards more people-centred approaches in peace operations and the wide recognition that peace, like a tree grows from the bottom up, many challenges still stand in the way of realising this shift on the ground. This chapter provides a cursory review of the factors underpinning these challenges and explains the rationale of the Panel’s renewed focus on this approach. It reflects on the conundrums faced by the UN Security Council in its attempts to embrace such an approach in a changing security landscape. The chapter makes concrete recommendations on how best the Council could overcome these conundrums when crafting the mandates of peace operations.

The chapter traces the thinking and the practices surrounding the use of force by UN peacekeepers from the conceptual foundations laid in the era of classical peacekeeping to the contemporary focus on the protection of civilians and more “robust” operations. At the tactical level, a properly equipped and properly commanded force has on occasion been used with decisive effect in response to immediate crises or emergencies. The larger and more critical strategic lesson from the history of robust peacekeeping since 1999, however, is a cautionary one; one that highlights the need for the activities of UN “blue helmets” to be much more closely aligned than they have become over the past decade and a half to the search for viable political solutions to conflict.

Protection of civilians (POC) is at the centre of UN peace operations, with majority of UN military and police personnel having this mandate. This chapter examines whether peacekeepers are provided with the means to fulfil it. Drawing on her experience from the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), Frafjord Johnson reveals systemic weaknesses in the way the UN deploys, resources, and supports missions. A major problem is lack of guidance when host governments prove to be the main perpetrator. The primary responsibility to protect civilians rests with host governments, but the UN system also needs to train its forces in POC-operations and security reform. The chapter concludes that protection will remain an illusion for many civilians at risk unless these challenges are addressed.

There are practical and financial reasons to give UN peace operations more robust mandates and mitigate and respond to violent extremism and terrorism. But the idea of UN peacekeepers conducting counter-terrorism operations is not without its challenges. Karlsrud argues that UN peace operations neither are, nor will be ready operationally, doctrinally, or politically to take on counter-terrorism tasks. Such a development could jeopardise the legal protection of UN staff; remove the ability of the UN to be an impartial arbiter of the conflict; and strongly undermine the ability for other parts of the UN family to carry out humanitarian work. However, peace operations should, in cooperation with the UN Country Team, strengthen their conflict prevention and early peacebuilding agenda, to remove root causes for radicalisation.

While scholars have increasingly studied and recognised the importance of criminal agendas in post-conflict politics, organised crime is still a relatively new and foggy issue in the field of peace operations. This chapter examines how transnational organised crime has increasingly been recognised by the UN Security Council as a threat to international peace and security, and explains the limitations of the dominant law enforcement and capacity building approaches adopted by missions to date. Building on recent examples, it explores how UN peace operations could deal more effectively with the issue during the time they are deployed, by engaging more strategically with both the host state and local communities, and partnering with others with the ability to take longer-term preventive approaches.

The demand for UN police is increasing due to the recognition that functioning local police is a central element of the UN exit strategy. UN policing was never easy, but the combination of an increasing deployment of UN operations in the midst of on-going wars, and the steady increase of UN police tasks without adequate increases in resources or training, has made UN policing even more complicated in recent years. Examining both the security and trust role of police in society, Osland argues that the main challenge for UN police in post-conflict situations is to close the security–trust gap. So far, most of the focus has been on the security aspects. The chapter asks whether the UN is set up to achieve both.