The study of sovereignty, intervention and peace operations in international relations -- Analysing a moving target: sovereignty, a complex concept -- Intervention, justifications and interpretations: the case of ECOWAS in Liberia -- Sanctions, justifications and reaction: the case of the regional initiative in Burundi -- Intervention, justifications and interpretations: the case of SADC in Congo -- Capacity-building and local ownership: indicators of sovereignty? -- (De)Stabilization - so what?: an analyis of the political consequences of the interventions on a regional and international level -- Concluding remarks
Nina Wiľn answers the paradoxical question of how to stabilize a state through external intervention without destabilizing sovereignty. She examines the justifications for international and regional interventions in the cases of Liberia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
How does Security Force Assistance (SFA) impact Niger's security sector and beyond? I draw on extensive fieldwork in Niger and identify and analyse two developments taking place in Niger's security sector: the development of an expanded Special Forces Command and the elaboration of multiple mobile hybrid units. I build upon, and contribute to, existing studies related to the politicization and securitization of borders in the Sahel and research discussing the blurring of borders between internal and external security forces. The aim is twofold: first, to unpack SFA efforts and effects through a focus on both geopolitical borders in Niger, and borders between and within corps and units in the security sector; and second, to contextualize and compare the developments in Niger's security sector with broader, global security trends. I find that both of the SFA projects constitute and feed into institutional games and inter-agency rivalry regarding task division, equipment and training. The overuse of the newly created Special Forces Command mirrors global trends of the latter as an 'easy button to push', while the multiplication of hybrid units to secure geopolitical borders reinforces the status and power of intermediary agencies that are at the interface between internal and external security forces. On an overarching level, the two trends of meddling with borders are found to be co-constituted by external and local actors who decide which developments that should be considered threats and how they should be addressed, questions that are deeply intertwined with power and control.
This article examines how post-conflict states attempt to increase international status by transforming their identities from "peacekept" to "peacekeepers." It focuses on the discursive side of identity construction and increases understanding of how post-conflict troop contributing countries (PCTCC) seek status on the international arena not only by "doing" peacekeeping but also by "narrating" their roles and identities as peacekeepers. A comparative case study of two PCTCC, Burundi and Rwanda, is used to illustrate the argument. By analyzing official discourses from the two cases through a theoretical framework, which combines social identity theory with narrative approaches, it is first argued that PCTCC seek status and a new identity through peacekeeping contribution in part, to underline their sovereignty and safeguard their domestic affairs from outside interference. Second, to successfully seek status, the narratives need to show coherence and be co-constituted by other international actors. The analysis underlines post-conflict states' agency in identity construction and peacekeeping as an international practice to acquire status and legitimacy in international relations.
Twenty years since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 there is an almost unanimous call for an increased number of uniformed women in peace operations from policy-makers and multilateral organizations. This continuous push for the inclusion of more women is often justified by arguments about an increased operational effectiveness related to women's 'added value': both implicitly and explicitly advocating for greater gender equality. Yet, in this article, I contend that using instrumentalist arguments to increase the number of female peacekeepers may on the contrary undermine gender equality. This is related to the risk of producing self-fulfilling prophecies whereby female peacekeepers try to live up to the high expectations by fitting into gender-stereotypes and/or by working harder than their male colleagues. Rather than increase gender equality, such efforts risk transforming the female 'added value' to an 'added burden' which male peacekeepers do not have to carry. Anchoring the study in feminist theory with the aim to understand gendered relations of power, to illustrate my argument I draw on extensive interview material from military staff and peacekeepers in South Africa, Burundi, Belgium and Niger; interviews and informal discussions with female and male peacekeepers; and participation in several policy and research workshops on female participation in peacekeeping.
The crisis in Burundi has exposed regional divisions and underlined the lack of dependable behaviors and common norms among EAC members. Nkurunziza's internationally uncontested bid for a third term risks reproduction in neighboring countries while refugee flows increase interstate tensions, undermining hopes for greater regional security cooperation in the future.
