Stabilization at the Expense of Peacebuilding in UN Peacekeeping Operations
More Than Just a Phase?
In: Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International OrganizationsSearch for other papers by David Curran in
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Abstract
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.
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Stabilization at the Expense of Peacebuilding in UN Peacekeeping Operations
More Than Just a Phase?
In: Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International OrganizationsSearch for other papers by David Curran in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Search for other papers by Charles T. Hunt in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
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 | 3672 | 766 | 63 |
| Full Text Views | 636 | 163 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 1135 | 327 | 6 |