• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Opinion

Why UN Peacekeeping Missions Fail

Dennis Jett by Dennis Jett
08/01/19
in Opinion
United Nations peacekeeper in front of UN jeep

The UN launched its first peacekeeping mission in 1948. Photo: AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The United Nations has on average launched one peacekeeping mission a year since it first got into that business in 1948. In the seven decades that followed the first operation, the conflicts to which peacekeeping has been applied and the peacekeepers’ tasks have both changed dramatically. As a result, today’s peacekeepers are facing missions that are either endless or doomed to fail.

The U.N. has currently 14 peacekeeping operations underway that employ nearly 100,000 people at an annual cost of almost $7 billion. These 14 missions reflect the three stages of peacekeeping’s evolution.

Stages of Peacekeeping

The six oldest operations embody the first stage of peacekeeping. These missions were launched in response to wars between countries over territory and can be described as classical peacekeeping. These six missions have been running for a combined total of over three centuries, and yet, they are making almost no real contribution to peace.

The U.N. then became involved in sending peacekeepers to help countries recover from civil wars, the so-called multidimensional operations. Those missions involved a number of complex tasks but were often successful. Currently, these operations only run in Haiti in Kosovo, and they have shrunk to the point where they are only trying to professionalize the police.

"Countries that needed @UN Peacekeeping to transition from conflict to peace are today playing an important role in maintaining international stability." — @Lacroix_UN on peace, progress & potential in #Liberia, #SierraLeone & #CotedIvoire on @Medium ➡️ https://t.co/zTOhFhDvkU pic.twitter.com/yJxZG97ei8

— UN Peacekeeping (@UNPeacekeeping) July 29, 2019

The third stage, protection and stabilization missions, is the most problematic. These operations are supposed to deal with violent extremism (which is U.N.-speak for terrorism). The U.N.’s six most recently launched missions belong to this stage. They give the peacekeepers objectives they cannot achieve, and their efforts are more likely to make extremism worse instead of reducing it. To understand why requires a quick look at how peacekeeping has evolved.

Evolution of Peacekeeping

In classical operations, the peacekeepers had to help countries involved in a territorial dispute gaining confidence that the other side was not using a ceasefire to improve its military position. The idea was to buy a period of peace during which the contested border could be demarcated. Because the conflict had been between disciplined military forces, as long as the ceasefire held, there was little risk to the peacekeepers.

Wars over territory, which prompted the creation of the U.N., are rare today. Though when they occur, the cause of such wars (a territorial dispute) is never easily resolved. After that imaginary line on a map called a border is drawn, one side or the other will feel it fought a war for ground it did not retain. The politicians involved will often prefer the status quo to a settlement that opens themselves up to harsh criticism.

Ironically, the presence of the peacekeepers actually helps these politicians avoid taking steps that might resolve the underlying dispute. These operations – in Kashmir, Cyprus, Western Sahara, and in and around Israel – present peacekeepers with a manageable assignment, but they provide only the illusion of peace and appear to be endless.

The third stage consists of the six most recently launched operations, that are all in sub-Saharan Africa. They represent the latest evolution of U.N. peacekeeping missions and are the most problematic. They will fail because, at the risk of sounding tautological, peacekeepers cannot succeed if there is no peace to keep. For that reason, the U.N. has begun to refer to them as “peace operations” instead of peacekeeping.

Why Peacekeeping Fails

As peacekeeping became more complicated and then more dangerous, rich countries’ enthusiasm to provide troops diminished. Wealthy nations with the most capable armies were willing to provide soldiers for first stage operations because they saw it as a way to help prevent a superpower confrontation during the Cold War. But as peacekeeping evolved, this enthusiasm waned. The United States, for instance, provides only 0.04 percent of the total number of U.N. troops and police.

Part of the problem is the wealthier the country, the more likely it is to be democratic. That makes their governments more accountable to public opinion, and they have rarely been able to explain to voters why their soldiers should be put at risk in some country few can find on a map.

As a result, the third stage operations are now mainly staffed by troops from poor countries that cannot afford to train or equip them to any significant degree. If the United States cannot prevail against violent extremists in Afghanistan after trying to train and equip the Afghan army for 18 years and counting, there is no chance that the available peacekeepers can in Africa.

Combatting Extremism

To understand why success is such a distant prospect, one also has to consider that these third stage operations are taking place in countries that are among the most corrupt, repressive, and incompetent in the world – Mali, South Sudan, Sudan, the Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These governments are not all that interested in protecting their own citizens, and their armies and police exist mainly to protect the regime’s power. When peacekeepers provide training for these armies, it only enhances their ability to suppress any democratic alternatives and thereby provide a greater incentive for extremism.

Uniforms of UN peacekeepers
The UN has currently 14 peacekeeping missions. Photo: AFP

There is a better way to combat violent extremism, but it won’t be adopted. A number of studies have shown that a major motivation for young men who join extremist groups is the complete lack of faith that their government will do anything that allows them to have hope for the future. As these studies have concluded, better governance is, therefore, a more effective response to violent extremism than more violence.

The governments in the five countries where the protection and stabilization missions are taking place are not going to become responsive to their citizens’ frustrations overnight. It would help if there were pressure from the international community, but the autocrats need not worry.

The powerful countries of the U.N. Security Council don’t have the attention span, unity, or willingness to place a higher priority on peace than the pursuit of their own national interests to take that happen.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of The Globe Post.
ShareTweet
Dennis Jett

Dennis Jett

Professor of International Relations at the Pennsylvania State University and the author of 'Why Peacekeeping Fails'

Related Posts

People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.
Environment

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

by Staff Writer
November 20, 2023
Policemen stand next to demonstrators, among them a protester holding the flag of Iraq, at Mynttorget Square in Stockholm, Sweden
World

Sweden Heightens Terror Alert After Koran Burnings

by Staff Writer
August 18, 2023
Congolese refugees
World

2,750 Killed in East DR Congo in 2023: NGOs

by Staff Writer
June 23, 2023
Children and families flee their neighbourhoods amid fighting in Khartoum, Sudan
World

‘Frighteningly Large Number of Children’ Killed in Sudan: UN

by Staff Writer
May 5, 2023
People cool off with a fountain's water during a heat wave in Seville, Spain
Environment

UN Confirms 2022 Among Eight Hottest Years on Record

by Staff Writer
January 13, 2023
Sudan clashes
World

Death Toll in Sudan’s Ethnic Clashes Rises to 13: UN

by Staff Writer
October 17, 2022
Next Post
Protestors in Sudan wave a flag while sitting on top of a car

Sudan Talks to Resume as Thousands Demonstrate Against Student Killings

Death Penalty Makes a Comeback in US as Racial Disparities Persist

Death Penalty Makes a Comeback in US as Racial Disparities Persist

Recommended

A giant crawler machine used to dredge the seabed for diamonds

Norway to Allow Deep-Sea Mining

December 5, 2023
Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Ukraine war

NATO Chief Says ‘No Alternative’ to Helping Ukraine Stop Putin

November 27, 2023
Migrants stranded at the Finland border

Russia Warns of a ‘Crisis’ at Arctic Border With Finland

November 22, 2023
People march against climate change in Bordeaux, southwestern France, on October 13, 2018.

Earth to Warm Up to 2.9C Even With Current Climate Pledges: UN

November 20, 2023
A woman in Singapore checks her mobile

Singapore and Indonesia Launch Cross-Border QR-Code Payments

November 17, 2023

Opinion

Dutch politician Geert Wilders

Xenophobia in the Netherlands? Unpacking the PVV’s Surprising Success

November 28, 2023
Afghan refugees

The Blessed and Cursed Randomness of Our Lives

October 25, 2023
Joe Biden

The ‘Polycrisis’ Challenge: Biden’s Vision for Global Problem-Solving

September 26, 2023
Pro-Trump protester in front of Capitol Hill.

The Ominous (and Irresponsible) Chatter of a Civil War 

September 4, 2023
A bamboo-based design raises family homes safely above water levels to cope with raising water levels in Bangladesh.

The West Owes Climate Refugees Reparations Now

August 14, 2023
President Donald Trump in the Brady Briefing Room of the White House.

Boxing Day Comes to South Florida

July 5, 2023
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post