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How do we account for the dearth of female contributions to UN peace operations (UNPOs)? For answers, this study examines conditions that led the United Nations to move to reduce the gender imbalance in UNPO personnel and provides descriptive evidence that points to the continuing underrepresentation of women in these operations. To interpret this evidence, the study presents theoretical explanations for the varying contributions of personnel to UNPOs—including the political and socioeconomic character of the contributing states, international reputations and norms, and various demand-side influences exerted by missions—and then tests these explanations with a cross-sectional time-series model that accounts for female personnel contributions to each mission in the 2010–2011 period. Although offering significant support for domestic political explanations, the findings indicate that gender diversity is not a primary goal of most contributors and is largely a by-product of force sizes.

Composing Peace: Mission Composition in UN Peacekeeping is about mission in peacekeeping operations and asks how diversity of mission composition influences the ability of a peace mission to keep the peace. This book focuses on four types of mission composition-diversity among peacekeepers, within the mission leadership, between mission leaders and peacekeepers, and between peacekeepers and locals. It is the first book to explore mission composition and its consequences, unpacking a concept hitherto unexplored and empirically combining quantitative and qualitative methods. It makes an important contribution to the fields of peace research, security studies, and international relations at large.

China's attitude towards UNPKOs has experienced two shifts since the 1980s. One is about changing from non-financial-support, non-voting, and non-participation concerning peacekeeping to financial-support, voting, and participation in 1981. The other shift concerns China's gradual change in its attitude toward non-traditional peacekeeping over the 1990s. This paper provides a norm perspective on the issue. Specifically the author argues that China's attitude toward UNPKOs changed as a result of the change in international norm from prioritizing sovereignty to prioritizing human rights, and the diffusion of the norm of human rights into China through a variety of agents such as foreign policy elites and two special groups of PLA officers. (J Contemp China/GIGA)

Contends that the UN should confine its role to dispute resolution and peacekeeping and abandon the humanitarian relief field in favor of more effective nongovernmental organizations.

The 2013 Annual Review of Global Peace Operations provides comprehensive information on all current military and--for the first time--civilian peace operations, more than 130 missions, launched by the United Nations, by regional organizations, and by coalitions. Unique in its breadth of coverage, it presents the most detailed collection of data on peace operations available. Features of the 2013 volume include: An analysis of the strategic and political implications of shifting trends in conflict for the leadership of both civilian and military peace operations; a review of the deterrent effect of peace operations; a summary analysis of trends and developments in peace operations in 2012; concise analyses of all peacekeeping and political missions on the ground in 2012; and in-depth explorations of key missions, focusing on those that faced significant challenges or underwent major developments in 2012. Includes extensive full-color maps, figures, and photographs.

Describes expanded Italian role in NATO-led Balkan peacekeeping operations; views of Italy's former defense minister.

Peacekeeping has widely been seen as conducive to submit the military to democratic rule. We put the assumption to an empirical test based on the case of Uruguay, today a fully democratic state that has consistently ranked among the world's top peacekeeping contributors per capita. Specifically, we ask whether participation in peacekeeping has increased civilian control over the military. To answer this question, we focus on three aspects of democratic civil–military relations: civilian oversight, civilian policy management, and armed forces–society relations. We conclude that peacekeeping has done little to trigger greater involvement of civilians in the area of military and defense policy but that it contributed to reduce the gap between the armed forces and society. Nevertheless, due to political neglect by civilian authorities, the state of civil–military relations is one of subordinate military autonomy short of ideal, even if it does not represent a threat to democratic rule.