The “uploading” of stabilization to UN peacekeeping presents conceptual, political, and practical challenges to the UN’s role in global governance and international conflict management. While scholarly research on stabilization has generally focused on militarization, its relationship to peacebuilding in the context of UN peacekeeping is underexplored. This article examines that relationship. A survey of UN policy frameworks highlights the simultaneous emergence of stabilization and clear expressions of peacebuilding. The article then draws on fieldwork in Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo to illustrate how stabilization is displacing peacebuilding in the practices of UN peacekeeping. The article argues that the politics of stabilization impede local forms of peacebuilding, at odds with the “Sustaining Peace” agenda, and risks jeopardizing the lauded conflict resolution potential of UN peacekeeping.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
Andersen, Louise Riis. “The HIPPO in the Room: The Pragmatic Push-Back from the UN Peace Bureaucracy against the Militarization of UN Peacekeeping.” International Affairs 94 (2) (2018), 343–361.
Aoi, Chiyuki, and Cedric de Coning. “Towards a United Nations Stabilization Doctrine—Stabilization as an Emerging UN Practice.” In UN Peacekeeping Doctrine in a New Era, eds. Chiyuki Aoi, Cedric de Coning, and John Karlsrud (Abingdon: Routledge, 2017), 288–310.
Aoi, Chiyuki, Cedric de Coning, and John Karlsrud. UN Peacekeeping Doctrine in a New Era: Adapting to Stabalisation, Protection and New Threats (Abingdon: Routledge, 2017). DOI 10.4324/9781315396941-1.
Barrera, Alberto. “The Congo Trap: MONUSCO Islands of Stability in the Sea of Instability.” Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 4 (1) (2015).
Beardsley, Kyle. “Peacekeeping and the Contagion of Armed Conflict.” Journal of Politics 73 (4) (2011), 1051–1064.
Beardsley, Kyle, and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch. “Peacekeeping as Conflict Containment.” International Studies Review 17 (1) (2015), 67–89.
Bellamy, Alex J. “The ‘Next Stage’ in Peace Operations Theory?” International Peacekeeping 11 (1) (2004), 17–38.
Bellamy, Alex J., and Charles T. Hunt. “Twenty-first Century UN Peace Operations: Protection, Force and the Changing Security Environment.” International Affairs 91 (6) (2015), 1277–1298.
Berman, Gavin. “The Cost of International Military Operations” (London: House of Commons Library, 2012).
Boutellis, Arthur. “Can the UN Stabilize Mali? Towards a UN Stabilization Doctrine?” Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 4 (1) (2015), Article 33, 1–16.
Curran, David. More Than Fighting for Peace? Conflict Resolution, UN Peacekeeping, and the Role of Training Military Personnel (Cham: Springer International, 2017).
Curran, David, and Paul Holtom. “Resonating, Rejecting, Reinterpreting: Mapping the Stabilization Discourse in the United Nations Security Council, 2000–14.” Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 4 (1) (2015), 1–10.
Curran, David, and Tom Woodhouse. “Cosmopolitan Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding in Sierra Leone: What Can Africa Contribute?” International Affairs 83 (6) (2007), 1055–1070.
de Coning, Cedric. “Section 3 Peacekeeping Doctrine: Offensive and Stabilization Mandates.” In United Nations Peace Operations: Aligning Principles and Practice, eds. Mateja Peter, Morten Bøås, Niels Nagelhus Schia, Francesco Strazzari, John Karlsrud, Lilly Pijnenburg Muller, Cedric De Coning, et al. (Oslo: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs [NUPI], 2015), 17–18.
de Coning, Cedric. “Adaptive Peacebuilding.” International Affairs 94 (2) (2018), 301–317.
De Vries, Hugo. “Going around in Circles: The Challenges of Peacekeeping and Stabilization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo” (The Hague: Netherlands Institute of International Relations Clingendael, 2015).
De Vries, Hugo. “The Ebb and Flow of Stabilization in the Congo” (London: Rift Valley Institute, 2016).
Diehl, Paul F., and Alexandru Balas. Peace Operations (Cambridge: Polity, 2014).
Doyle, Michael W., and Nicholas Sambanis. Making War and Building Peace: United Nations Peace Operations (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2006).
Eide, Espen Barth, Anja Therese Kaspersen, Randolph Kent, and Karen von Hippel. “Report on Integrated Missions: Practical Perspectives and Recommendations” (New York: UN, 2005).
Fetherston, A.B. Towards a Theory of United Nations Peacekeeping (London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, 1994).
Fisher, Ronald J., and Loraleigh Keashly. “The Potential Complementarity of Mediation and Consultation within a Contingency Model of Third Party Intervention.” Journal of Peace Research 28 (1) (1991), 29–42.
Fortna, Virginia Page. Does Peacekeeping Work? Shaping Belligerents’ Choices after Civil War (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008).
Gilder, Alexander. “The Effect of ‘Stabilization’ in the Mandates and Practice of UN Peace Operations.” Netherlands International Law Review 66 (1) (2019), 47–73.
Gilligan, Michael J., and Ernest J. Sergenti. “Do UN Interventions Cause Peace? Using Matching to Improve Causal Inference.” Quarterly Journal of Political Science 3 (2) (2008), 89–122.
Gorur, Aditi. Defining the Boundaries of UN Stabilization Missions (Washington, DC: Stimson Center, 2016).
Gowan, Richard. “Happy Birthday, UN: The Peacekeeping Quagmire.” Georgetown Journal of International Affairs 16 (2) (2015), 31–38.
Guéhenno, Jean-Marie. The Fog of Peace: A Memoir of International Peacekeeping in the 21st Century (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2015).
High-Level Independent Panel on United Nations Peace Operations. “Uniting Our Strengths for Peace—Politics, Partnership and People” (New York: UN, 2015).
Hill, Christopher. “The Capability-Expectations Gap, or Conceptualizing Europe’s International Role.” JCMS: Journal of Common Market Studies 31 (3) (1993), 305–328.
Hirschmann, Gisela. “Organizational Learning in United Nations’ Peacekeeping Exit Strategies.” Cooperation and Conflict 47 (3) (2012a): 368–385.
Hirschmann, Gisela. “Peacebuilding in UN Peacekeeping Exit Strategies: Organized Hypocrisy and Institutional Reform.” International Peacekeeping 19 (2) (2012b), 170–185.
Hultman, Lisa, Jacob Kathman, and Megan Shannon. “United Nations Peacekeeping and Civilian Protection in Civil War.” American Journal of Political Science 57 (4) (2013), 875–891.
Hultman, Lisa, Jacob Kathman, and Megan Shannon. “Beyond Keeping Peace: United Nations Effectiveness in the Midst of Fighting.” American Political Science Review 108 (4) (2014), 737–753.
Hunt, Charles T. UN Peace Operations and International Policing: Negotiating Complexity, Assessing Impact and Learning to Learn (London: Routledge, 2015).
Hunt, Charles T. “All Necessary Means to What Ends? The Unintended Consequences of the ‘Robust Turn’ in UN Peace Operations.” International Peacekeeping 24 (1) (2017), 108–131.
Hunt, Charles T. “The Unintended Consequences of the Use of Force by UN Peacekeepers.” In The Use of Force in UN Peacekeeping, ed. Peter Nadin (Abingdon: Routledge, 2018), 145–168.
Karlsrud, John. “From Liberal Peacebuilding to Stabilization and Counterterrorism.” International Peacekeeping 26 (1) (2018a), 1–21.
Karlsrud, John. The UN at War: Peace Operations in a New Era (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018b). DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-62858-5.
Kathman, Jacob D., and Reed M. Wood. “Stopping the Killing during the ‘Peace’: Peacekeeping and the Severity of Postconflict Civilian Victimization.” Foreign Policy Analysis 12 (2) (2016): 149–169.
Last, David. “Organising for Effective Peacebuilding.” In Peacekeeping and Conflict Resolution, eds. Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse (London: Frank Cass, 2000), 80–96.
Lipson, Michael. “Peacekeeping: Organized Hypocrisy?” European Journal of International Relations 13 (1) (2007), 5–34.
Lotze, Walter, and Paul Williams. “The Surge to Stabilize: Lessons for the UN from the AU’s Experience in Somalia” (New York: International Peace Institute, 2016).
Mac Ginty, Roger. “Against Stabilization.” Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 1 (1) (2012), 20–30.
Melander, Erik. “Selected to Go Where Murderers Lurk?” Conflict Management and Peace Science 26 (4) (2009), 389–406.
Muggah, Robert. “The United Nations Turns to Stabilization.” Global Observatory (New York: International Peace Institute, 2014), https://theglobalobservatory.org/2014/12/united-nations-peacekeeping-peacebuilding-stabilization/.
NATO. “ISAF’s Mission in Afghanistan (2001–2014) (Archived)” (Brussels: NATO, 2015).
Paddon, Emily, and Guillaume Lacaille. “Stabilising the Congo.” Forced Migration Policy Briefing 8 (2011).
Peter, Mateja. “Between Doctrine and Practice: The UN Peacekeeping Dilemma.” Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations 21 (3) (2015), 351–370.
Pugh, Michael, Neil Cooper, and Mandy Turner. Whose Peace? Critical Perspectives on the Political Economy of Peacebuilding (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).
Ramsbotham, Oliver, Tom Woodhouse, and Hugh Miall. Contemporary Conflict Resolution: The Prevention, Management and Transformation of Deadly Conflicts, 4th ed. (Malden, MA: Polity Press, 2016).
Rogers, Paul. Losing Control: Global Security in the 21st Century (New York: Pluto Press, 2015). DOI 10.2307/j.ctt183h0f0.
Rotmann, Philipp, and Léa Steinacker. “Stabilization: Doctrine, Organization and Practice Lessons from Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.” (The Hague: Global Public Policy Institute, 2013).
Solhjell, Randi, and Madel Rosland. “New Strategies for Old Conflicts? Lessons in Stabilisation from the Democratic Republic of Congo” (Oslo: Norwegian Centre for Human Rights [NORDEM], 2016).
Solhjell, Randi, and Madel Rosland. “Stabilisation in the Congo: Opportunities and Challenges.” Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 6 (1) (2017).
UK Stabilization Unit. “The UK Government’s Approach to Stabilization: A Guide for Policy Makers and Practitioners” (London: UK Stabilization Unit, 2019).
UN. “United Nations Core Pre-deployment Training Module: Unit 3, Part 2: Working with Mission Partners” (New York: UN, 2009).
UN. “DPKO Policy on Civil Military Coordination in UN Integrated Missions (UN-CIMIC)” (New York: UN, 2010a).
UN. “Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding: Clarifiying the Nexus” (New York: UN, 2010b).
UN. “UN Peacebuilding: an Orientation,” ed. Peacebuilding Support Office (New York: UN, 2010c).
UN. “The Contribution of UN Peacekeeping to Early Peacebuilding: A DPKO-DFS Strategy for Peacekeepers,” (New York: Department of Peacekeeping Operations-Department of Field SupportUN, 2011).
UN. “International Security and Stabalization Support Strategy 2013–2017 (ISSSS) for the Democratic Republic of Congo” (Kinshasa: UN, 2013b).
UN. “United Nations Civil-Military Coordination Specialized Training Materials” (New York: UN, 2014).
UN. “The Challenge of Sustaining Peace: The Report of the Advisory Group of Experts for the 2015 Review of the United Nations Peacebuilding Architecture” (New York: UN, 2015a).
UN. “The Future of United Nations Peace Operations: Implementation of the Recommendations of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations. Report of the Secretary-General.” UN Doc. A/70/357-S/2015/682 (New York: UN, 2 September 2015b).
UN. “Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. 2015 Substantive Session (New York, 17 February–13 March 2015).” UN Doc. A/69/19 (New York: UN, 2015c).
UN. “Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. 2016 Substantive Session (New York, 16 February–11 March 2016).” UN Doc. A/70/19. (New York: U N, 2016a).
UN. “Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. 2017 Substantive Session (New York, 21February–17 March 2017).” UN Doc. A/71/19 (New York: UN, 2017c).
UN. “Report of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. 2018 Substantive Session (New York, 12 February–9 March 2018).” UN Doc. A/72/19 (New York: UN, 2018b).
UN. “Plan Prioritaire pour la consolidation de la paix—RDC,” ed. Peacebuilding Support Office and the Peacebuilding Fund (New York: UN, n.d.).
UN Peacebuilding Fund. “Mali.” (New York: UN, n.d.), http://www.unpbf.org/countries/mali/.
UN Peacebuilding Fund. “Overview: The Democratic Republic of Congo.” (New York: UN, n.d.), http://www.unpbf.org/countries/congo-the-democratic-republic/.
UN Peacebuilding Fund. “Supporting Innovative Stabalization Efforts in Eastern DR Congo,”2017, http://www.unpbf.org/wp-content/uploads/PBF-pilot-support-to-DRC-stabilisation-initiatives-summary-2017.pdf.
UN Security Council. Resolution 1925. S/RES/1925 (28 May 2010d).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2086. S/RES/2086 (21 January 2013a).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2282. S/RES/2282 (27 April 2016b).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2348. S/RES/2348 (31 March 2017a).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2378. S/RES/2378 (20 September 2017b).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2423. S/RES/2423 (28 June 2018a).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2463. S/RES/2063 (29 March 2019).
UN Security Council. Resolution 2480. S/RES/2080 (28 June 2019).
Vogel, Christoph. “Islands of Stability or Swamps of Insecurity?” Africa Policy Brief No. 9 (Brussels: EGMONT—The Royal Institute for International Relations, 2014).
von Billerbeck, Sarah B.K. “Local Ownership and UN Peacebuilding: Discourse versus Operationalization.” Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations 21 (2) (2015), 299–315.
Wallensteen, Peter. Understanding Conflict Resolution, 4th ed. (London: Sage, 2015).
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 3437 | 718 | 84 |
Full Text Views | 591 | 168 | 11 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 1051 | 341 | 23 |
The “uploading” of stabilization to UN peacekeeping presents conceptual, political, and practical challenges to the UN’s role in global governance and international conflict management. While scholarly research on stabilization has generally focused on militarization, its relationship to peacebuilding in the context of UN peacekeeping is underexplored. This article examines that relationship. A survey of UN policy frameworks highlights the simultaneous emergence of stabilization and clear expressions of peacebuilding. The article then draws on fieldwork in Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo to illustrate how stabilization is displacing peacebuilding in the practices of UN peacekeeping. The article argues that the politics of stabilization impede local forms of peacebuilding, at odds with the “Sustaining Peace” agenda, and risks jeopardizing the lauded conflict resolution potential of UN peacekeeping.
All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
---|---|---|---|
Abstract Views | 3437 | 718 | 84 |
Full Text Views | 591 | 168 | 11 |
PDF Views & Downloads | 1051 | 341 | 23 |