Using Force to Protect Civilians: Successes and Failures of United Nations Peace Operations in Africa

The book "Using Force to Protect Civilians" offers the first comprehensive analysis of UN military protection operations across time and UN missions, drawing on a novel dataset that covers 200 operations from ten African peacekeeping missions from 1999 to 2017. It finds that Blue Helmets succeed as often as they fail when they employ force to protect, indicating that they can wield force effectively under the right conditions. Effective UN military protection operations must rest on a deep understanding of perpetrators' motivation and modus operandi for attacking civilians, facilitating tailored military responses to stop or reduce physical threats in a timely manner.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 11 May 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press

Using Force to Protect Civilians is a groundbreaking book that offers the first comprehensive analysis of United Nations military protection operations across time and UN missions. Drawing on a novel dataset that covers 200 operations from ten UN peacekeeping missions in Africa from 1999 to 2017, the book employs a mixed-methods research design to explore the effectiveness of Blue Helmets in employing force to protect civilians.

The findings of the book are insightful and provide valuable insights into the challenges and complexities of using force to protect civilians in UN peace operations. One of the key findings is that Blue Helmets succeed as often as they fail when they employ force to protect, indicating that they can wield force effectively under the right conditions to achieve this critical priority task.

The author, Stian Kjeksrud, demonstrates that effective UN military protection operations must rest on a deep understanding of the motivation and modus operandi of perpetrators who attack civilians. By facilitating tailored military responses to stop or reduce physical threats in a timely manner, Blue Helmets can effectively protect civilians from violence.

In addition to the conflict-reducing effect of the presence of uniformed UN personnel, the book finds that specific actions matter more than the simple presence of Blue Helmets in large numbers. The author suggests that Blue Helmets must be proactive in identifying and mitigating risks to civilians, and must work closely with local communities and other stakeholders to build trust and legitimacy.

While protecting civilians is a priority task for military peacekeepers, there is limited knowledge about how they fare across time and in different UN missions when they use force to protect. The book addresses both of these knowledge gaps and provides the building blocks for a theory of the utility of force to protect civilians in UN peace operations.

Overall, Using Force to Protect Civilians is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the challenges and complexities of using force to protect civilians in UN peace operations. The book offers valuable insights into the effectiveness of Blue Helmets and provides practical recommendations for improving their performance and achieving successful outcomes.

Weight: 512g
Dimension: 240 x 165 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192857101