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Explaining Small States’ Changing Patterns of Peacekeeping Contributions through Role Theory: The Case of Austria and Belgium Victor Adolphe Gigleux Thesis presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Politics and International Relations at The University of Edinburgh 2018 Principal Supervisor: Professor Juliet Kaarbo Secondary Supervisor: Professor Laura Cram Declaration I declare that this thesis has been composed solely by myself, Victor Adolphe Gigleux, and that it has not been submitted, in whole or in part, in any previous application for a degree. Except where states otherwise by reference or acknowledgment, the work presented is entirely my own. Parts of this work have been published in Gigleux, V. (2016). ‘Explaining the Diversity of Small States’ Foreign Policies through Role Theory’. Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 1, pp. 27-45. Signed Victor Gigleux Date Wednesday 22nd of August 2018 ii Abstract This doctoral project explores the ways in which European small states’ approaches to peacekeeping have been affected by the changing nature of peace missions. The central objective is to explain the choices made by small states’ governments to participate in missions which no longer fit traditional peacekeeping models. The increasing need for comprehensive and robust responses to international crises characterised by intra-state violence has challenged small states whose elites and publics have been accustomed to deploying troops to low intensity missions tasked to separate parties. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, traditional peacekeeping developed along the norms of non-use of force, impartiality and consent. Identifying positively with the objectives and normative underpinnings of traditional peacekeeping, small states have actively committed their armed forces based on a perception of themselves as international norm entrepreneurs. This thesis challenges the notion that small states’ governments commit material and human resources to new types of peace operations motivated by such self-images. Transformations in the practice of peacekeeping are forcing foreign policy agents in small states to rethink the function(s) that their states should play in the international system towards peacekeeping. Three questions are considered: I) what new or existing roles are small states adopting in this evolving peacekeeping system? II) through what political processes do these roles emerge? and III) how do these roles affect decision-making on peacekeeping deployments? Small state research cannot effectively answer these questions nor comprehensively explain what small states do in international affairs because it lacks analytical tools to link structure and agency. A theoretical approach grounded in role theory is better suited to understand the foreign policies of small states and re-evaluate their peacekeeping credentials. A model depicting the interaction between role socialisation and domestic role processes is constructed to guide four empirical analyses of recent peacekeeping decisions taken by Austrian and Belgian governments. This theoretical foundation allows the contention that small states’ changing self-perceptions do not necessarily originate from internal ideational factors, as the norm entrepreneur argument suggests. Each case study traces how the interplay between external role demands and domestically conceived ideas about the state’s position in an evolving peacekeeping system informs Austria’s and Belgium’s adjustment to new peace missions. Austria’s decisions to withdraw from UNDOF in 2013, and to participate in EUFOR Chad 2007-2008, are telling cases of a small state adapting to new forms of peacekeeping through a reconfiguration of roles. This thesis also investigates the roles that have motivated the contributions made by two Belgian governments towards the Malian crisis, 2012-2013 and the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war. This project contributes to small state research by showing that these actors fulfil a broad range of functions in the international system. It also improves the way we explain small states’ foreign policy actions by providing a dynamic framework capturing the relationship between structure and agency, and by delving into the decision-making processes of small states. Additionally, it adds to the peacekeeping literature by providing an original account as to why states, and in particular small states, contribute troops to missions operating under evolving conditions. Finally, inputs are made to the scholarship on role theory by exploring how state size influences role conceptions and investigating how role socialisation and domestic role dynamics interact to affect the roles and decisions of an under-studied category of states. iii Lay Summary This doctoral thesis deals with small countries in international politics. There is a consensus that small countries display different behaviours than more powerful states. For example, small states are believed to undertake activities seen as ‘good’ international behaviour because it improves their international image and enhances their voice on the international stage. This includes activism towards the economic development of low- income countries, disarmament and/or the peaceful resolution of conflicts. This project revaluates the claim that the governments of small states willingly send military personnel to peacekeeping operations whenever a violent crisis or conflict erupts, and the international community decides to act. While small states have been substantial contributors of peacekeeping personnel during the Cold War because of their image as neutral, impartial and non-violent actors, the increasing need for more robust responses to international crises has challenged small states whose elites and publics have been accustomed to deploying troops to low intensity missions tasked to separate parties. Thus, changes in the practice of peacekeeping are forcing governments in small states to rethink whether their countries should continue to contribute military troops in dangerous operations. This project seeks to answer two key questions: I) what roles are small states playing in this evolving context? And II) when and how governments in small states decide to participate in peacekeeping missions which are increasingly resembling war-like situations? To help answer these, this project relies on the notion of role. In the same way as individuals play different roles in everyday life, including the role of parent, teacher or mentor, states also adopt certain roles which help politicians in charge of foreign policy make decisions. This project argues that the roles small states come to play have important consequences for the decisions they take to participate in peacekeeping missions. An important objective of this project is to examine how small states come to acquire these roles. For this, it focuses on both the demands coming from other international actors such as France, the United States and/or the United Nations, on the one hand, and the ideas generated domestically by small states themselves about the state’s position vis-à-vis peacekeeping, on the other hand. This dual process, and how it informs adjustment to new peace missions, is observed on two small countries; namely Austria and Belgium. Austria’s decisions to withdraw from UNDOF in 2013, and to participate in EUFOR Chad 2007-2008, are telling cases of a small state adapting to new forms of peacekeeping through a reconfiguration of roles. This thesis also investigates the roles that have motivated the contributions made by two Belgian governments towards the Malian crisis, 2012-2013 and the 2006 Israeli-Hezbollah war. This project contributes to small state research by showing that these actors fulfil a broad range of functions in international affairs. This implies that small states are not necessarily ‘good’ international actors at all times. This thesis also improves the way we explain small states’ foreign policy actions by providing a framework capturing the relationship between international constraints and decision-makers’ ability to innovate, and by delving into the decision-making of small states. It adds to the peacekeeping literature by providing an original account as to why states contribute troops to missions operating under new conditions. Finally, inputs are made to the scholarship on role theory by exploring how state size influences role conceptions, and how the dual process affects the roles and decisions of an under-studied category of states. iv Contents List of Tables viii List of Figures ix Acknowledgements x Chapter One Introduction 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 The Engagement of Small States