Peacekeeping and Intervention
What Happened in Darfur? Failed state Poverty Natural resources crises Security dilemma among ethnic groups Small group of extremists –Arab Janjaweed militia Leadership and manipulation of ethnic symbols, myths and divisions Some 70,000 dead, 2.3mn displaced African Union peacekeeping troops
Peacekeeping Insertion of independent international forces between warring parties, with the consent of both sides to the conflict Strategy coined in 1956 by Dag Hammarskjold and Lester Pearson Principles: –Consent by warring parties –Neutrality of troops –Use of force only in self-defense
Case: the Suez Canal Crisis (1956) Egypt’s Gamal Nasser privatizes Suez Egypt sponsors guerilla attacks against Israel Israel invades Sinai, claims self-defense Pressure from US to end the conflict Parties agree to cease fire, Hammarskold and Pearson devise a peacekeeping plan and send UN troops
Conditions for Successful Peacekeeping Parties want to disengage –Stalemate –Costly war of attrition –Majority wants to avoid war Interest by great powers to limit conflict –Interest to contain conflict –Coercive cooperation –Consensus in Security Council
UN Peacekeeping
Other Peacekeeping Forces NATO African Union EU forces
Case: Peacekeeping in former Yugoslavia The Srebrenica massacre Dayton Agreement between Croatia, Yugoslavia, and Bosnia and Hertzegovina (1995) UN peacekeeping force monitors ceasefire NATO-led multinational Implementation Force (IFOR) took over in December 1995 NATO force replaced by The European Union Police Mission in 2002
Intervention Military intervention –interference with force in the internal affairs of another state Limited military action Blockade Support opposition Military advisers Economic assistance Broadcasts and speeches
Is Humanitarian Intervention Justified? Yes: –Morally required –Stop genocide and crimes against humanity –When humanitarian crises threaten peace –Customary right to humanitarian intervention No: –Contradicts sovereignty –States should tender to their own security first and foremost –Strategic rather humanitarian motives prevail –Applied arbitrary –Slippery slope to aggression
Conditions for Intervention UN Charter: sovereignty and non-intervention Authorized by UN resolution –Collective security: Iraq 1990 –Operation Provide Comfort in Northern Iraq (1991) NATO lead missions, followed by UN missions -Collective security: Afghanistan (2001) -Kosovo (1999)
Case: Kosovo Intervention Guerrilla war intensifies 1998 Tens of thousands killed, hundreds of thousands displaced Russia and China block UN decision on intervention NATO air strikes 1999
Rwanda: To Intervene or Not to Intervene?
Risks of Intervention Casualties for international forces Lack of domestic support Intractable missions: Somalia Suspicion of imperialism Difficult to force peaceful co-existence