An Examination of United Nations Peace Keeping and Support Provided by External Actors Jack Lashendock SIT Study Abroad
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SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Fall 2018 “To Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War”: An examination of United Nations Peace Keeping and Support Provided by External Actors Jack Lashendock SIT Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the Other International and Area Studies Commons, and the Peace and Conflict Studies Commons Recommended Citation Lashendock, Jack, "“To Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War”: An examination of United Nations Peace Keeping and Support Provided by External Actors" (2018). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2963. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2963 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. “To Save Succeeding Generations from the Scourge of War”: An examination of United Nations Peace Keeping and Support Provided by External Actors By Jack H. Lashendock Fall 2018 November 27, 2018 SIT: International Relations and Multi-Lateral Diplomacy Advisor Name: Dr. Caroline Hartzel and Dr. Shirley Anne Warshaw (both at Gettysburg College) Academic Director: Dr. Gyula Csurgai Gettysburg College International Affairs and Political Science Dual Major Lashendock !1 Abstract 2018 marks the 70th Anniversary of the beginning of United Nations Peacekeeping. In the past seven decades, hundreds of thousands of men and women, from nearly every nation, have put themselves in harm’s way in the name of peace. As conflicts continue to affect the lives of millions of people, peacekeeping has never been more important. This paper seeks to examine United Nations peacekeeping and the role of various actors in helping them to achieve the lofty goal of sustainable and stable peace. By utilizing academic literature, primary sources, and expert interviews, this paper will analyze United Nations peacekeeping and examine its history and evolution from ceasefire monitoring to capacity building. It will also explore the complex and vital role of external actors in keeping global peace, with a strong emphasis on their role within the United Nations framework. These external actors, the European Union, the African Union, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, and the Helvetic Confederation represent important actors within the international community and are powerful partners of the United Nations in peacekeeping. Lashendock !2 Acknowledgments This paper would not have been possible without the help and support of so many people. I am so thankful for the support my mom and sister have given me throughout my life and for their encouragement of my dream. They are a big part of who I am today and I am so fortunate to have them in my life. It was because of their encouragement and support I have been able to pursue my passions and academic study. I am grateful also for the love and support of Jenna Thoretz. Even from across the Atlantic Ocean, she continues to be my cheerleader, my best friend, my trusted proofreader, and my most ruthless editor. This area of research has been of particular interest for me since my first semester at Gettysburg College. I would like to thank Dr. Caroline Hartzel, my advisor at Gettysburg College, for her guidance and for sparking my interest in this subject. In Switzerland, I would like to thank the entire staff and guest lecturers of SIT for their time and for sharing their valued experiences and perspectives. Similarly, I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to the external experts who took interviews with me and answered my question; their kindness and openness to engage with me have helped me to better understand the world and write about it. I would be remiss if I did not extend a special thanks to the staff of the Library at the United Nations Office at Geneva for helping to facilitate my research and for the access they provided me with to fantastic research materials. Last, but certainly not least, I would like to thank my closest friends here in Switzerland — ASAB. I so appreciate your equal willingness to explore Switzerland with me or hunker down in the UN Library to get hours of research and writing done. Lashendock !3 Table of Contents Acknowledgments 3 Introduction 5 Literature Review 6 Research Methodology 8 Data Collection via Academic Research 9 Data Collection Via Expert Interviews 9 Definitions 10 Theoretical and Structural Framework 12 Analysis 13 Understanding United Nations Peacekeeping 13 Brief History and Evolution of UN Peacekeeping 13 Deployment of Peacekeeping 17 Global Peacekeeping: The UN and External Actors 20 The European Union 20 The African Union 24 Francophonic Perspectives In Peacekeeping 28 The Swiss Context 31 Conclusion 34 Abbreviation List 36 Bibliography 38 Appendix 41 Figure 1: Map of Current UN Peacekeeping Missions 41 Figure 2; Map of All UN Peacekeeping Missions (1948-Present) 41 Figure 3: Map of Current EU Peacekeeping Missions 42 Figure 4: Map of Current Swiss International Peace Support Operations 43 Lashendock !4 Introduction At a quick glance to the course of human history, with its almost constant cycle of violence, discrimination, and cruelness, the notion of promoting a shared goal amongst the world’s people would be dismissed as no more than a fool’s errand— a completely impossible task. Yet, for all this divisiveness and forward displays of aggression against other, it is hopeful to think that there is more that unites humankind than divides it. This spirit of hope is in no way naïve; between the blackened scorches within the annals of history exist moments when hostilities diminished and kinship was appreciated. Moments such as the ekecheiria of the Ancient Olympic Games, the cession of hostilities along the Western Front in December of 1914, and the signing of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, demonstrate the ability for humans to set aside their differences and agree to one common idea. Keeping global peace is by no means a small task and across the world, countless organizations work to promote the shared vision of nonviolence and peace. From the United Nations Secretariat in New York, to regional actors in Europe, to local community members in Africa, each organization, regardless of size, has an important role to play and can make meaningful and positive contributions toward achieving these goals. According to figures from the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), 65.5 million people have been forcibly displaced from their homes due to violence (UNHCR Global Trends…, n.d.). Countless millions more continue to live in areas affected by conflict where access to food, water, medical care, and other basic human rights are not met. Additional figures from the Center for Systematic Peace presented by the Fragility, Conflict, and Violence department of the World Bank Group, the number of global armed conflicts (interstate warfare and societal warfare) in 2015 stood at 50 (Marc, n.d.). More recent figures are hard to find, however, if past trends are extrapolated, the number of global conflicts is sure to have risen. These statistics are truly tragic. Common knowledge would seem to dictate that conflict is bad Lashendock !5 for humanity as a whole, yet violence is continuously perpetrated. This research paper does not seek to understand why violence occurs; rather this project will examine which actors work to mitigate violence and address how these stakeholders can use their respective knowledge, perspectives, and networks to bring peace to those in the area they serve. Peacekeeping is a global effort and brings out the best in humanity, often times in situations where the worst of humanity occurs. The system is undoubtedly not perfect and would benefit greatly from reforms and modernization. Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary General of the UN famously stated: “the United Nations was created not to lead mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell.” These words are best exemplified by the men and women who serve under the United Nations flag, or under any flag which brings peace, and dedicate themselves to work for the betterment of their fellow humankind. As new challenges threaten the peoples of the world, so too do new actors emerge to meet them. The future of conflict is as uncertain as it has ever been; it is important to examine not only the work of the UN thus far in its long history of peacekeeping, but look at the other actors who strive to become involved in building peace. Literature Review Browsing the shelves of Geneva’s libraries or online journals, it is strongly evident that there exists a large volume of literature on the subject of United Nations peacekeeping. Peacekeeping, as conducted by the United Nations, has been around for 70 years and so too has the academic interest in it. A vast majority of the literature on UN peacekeeping examines the work of the organization in specific counties and judges the success or failure of a mission (or group of missions). This types of literature, while infighting, was of little need for this paper. Rather, work by researchers and international policymakers, such as Ramsbotham and Woodhouse (2000), Bothe and Dörschel (1999), and Rikhey (2000) who write about the history of UN peacekeeping and the political structure of the United Nations’ various organs, including the United Nations Security Council, the General Assembly, and the Secretariat proved to be very useful. Lashendock !6 Due to the fact that the UN’s monopoly on peacekeeping has only just subsided in the past two decades, literature on regional peacekeeping and the efforts of other state-based organizations exists in far less quantities.