1. LOCAL COMMUNITIES AND EFFECTIVE PEACEKEEPING
HAN DORUSSEN, ISMENE GIZELIS, STEFANO COSTALLI
University of Essex
POLICY RECOMMENDATION
MOTIVATION
DISCUSSION
Peacekeepers need to respond as quickly as possible to local conflicts. They should work proactively, developing strategic plans based on available contextual information rather than only reacting to the fighting groups’ initiatives
Peacekeeping missions need to be appropriately staffed with military aw well as civilian personnel to gain trust from local communities
Peacekeeping—even robust peacekeeping—needs to be distinguished from counter-insurgency
Peacekeeping missions would benefit from efforts to systematically collect contextual information prior, during and post deployment
Evidence based peacekeeping needs to include information from a broad group of stakeholders, including citizens, NGOs, local and central authorities.
‘Top-down’ versus ‘bottom-up’ peacekeeping: what matters?
The systematic collection of disaggregated information on peacekeeping to match conflict data
Is peacekeeping effectiveness a function of local deployment and engagement?
What were the positive and negative features of the UN intervention in the Bosnian War? What can we learn from one of the first big peacekeeping missions of the Post-Cold War era?
Can peacekeeping have a lasting impact on the security perception of citizens? Does this matter for their evaluation of peacekeeping?
What makes peacekeeping effective?
Is ‘bottom-up’ peacekeeping feasible and desirable? What are the implications for strategy, deployment and interaction?
What are the ‘best’ roles for military and civilian personnel? Regional and global peacekeepers?
What Information is required for a proactive and strategic approach to peacekeeping?
Is it useful to evaluate peacekeeping after the conclusion of a missions? Can it provide useful ‘lesson learned’?
Figure 4. Size of UN Peacekeeping Missions and Probability Conflict Continuation, Sub-Sahara Africa .
Figure 3. Comparison of Deployment of Peacekeepers to the Capital, Freetown, and Outside the Capital (UNOMSIL & UNAMSIL, Sierra Leone)
RESULTS
In Sub-Sahara Africa, UN peacekeeping remains predominantly top-down
Peacekeepers engage more, and more cooperatively, with government authorities. Collaboration with rebel authorities is more problematic; particularly when the UN is seen as replacing central authority.
Rebel groups that are weak are more cooperative towards larger UN peacekeeping missions, possibly because they offer effective protection.
In Sub-Sahara Africa, peacekeepers deploy to conflict areas within countries, but with a considerable time delay. Peacekeepers control conflict locally, but are unable to prevent local conflict. Peacekeepers are effective locally already with modest deployment, making peacekeeping distinct from counter-insurgency
In Bosnia, peacekeepers went where they were most needed (i.e. in areas of intense violence, especially against civilians), but failed to effectively reduce violence.
Systematic time delay in arriving in violent areas.
Size, equipment and rules of engagement of UNPROFOR were not appropriate to effectively reduce violence.
In Timor Leste, following the exit of peacekeepers, women, poorer people and persons with a recent dispute are more concerned about their security, and abusive behavior of the police and military. They are also more worried about the end of the UN mission.
METHODS AND MATERIALS
Systematic collection of disaggregated data on peacekeeping covering all UN mission in Africa between 1989 and 2006, and a selection of missions in Europe.
Peacekeeping events are defined as data points where peacekeepers are either actors or targets of an action at a specific location and time point.
Event data help to identify where peacekeepers are deployed, what they do, with whom they interact, as well as the quality of the interaction
In Timor Leste, surveys to collect information about the evaluation of peacekeeping ex post. List experiments to guarantee anonymity.
KEY PUBLICATIONS
Ruggeri, A., H. Dorussen & T-I Gizelis (2016). 'Winning the Peace Locally: UN Peacekeeping and Local Conflict', International Organization, forthcoming.
Ruggeri, A., H. Dorussen & T-I Gizelis (2016). 'On the Frontline Every Day? Subnational Deployment of United Nations Peacekeepers', British Journal of Political Science, forthcoming.
Dorussen, H. (2015). 'Security Perception after the Completion of UN Peacekeeping in Timor-Leste', Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 21 (4): 453–458.
Costalli, S. (2014). ‘Does Peacekeeping Work? A Disaggregated Analysis of Deployment and Violence Reduction in the Bosnian War', British Journal of Political Science, 44(2):
Dorussen, H. (2014). 'Peacekeeping Works, or Does It?', Peace Economics, Peace Science and Public Policy, 20(4):
Dorussen, H. & T-I Gizelis (2013). 'Into the Lion's Den: Local Responses to UN Peacekeeping', Journal of Peace Research, 50(6),
Ruggeri, H., T-I Gizelis & H. Dorussen (2013). 'Managing Mistrust: an Analysis of Cooperation with UN Peacekeeping in Africa', Journal of Conflict Resolution, 57(3),
CONTACT
Han Dorussen
University of Essex
Phone:
Website:
Figure 1. Peacekeeping Events and
Deployment, Angola
Figure 2. Peacekeeping Events and Violence,
Bosnia and Herzegovina