This article offers a critical review of the few existing scholarly attempts to conceptualize & theorize the study of peacekeeping operations. It reveals that even though the study of peacekeeping operations is burgeoning, most of the available literature is idiosyncratic & atheoretical. Although some authors have recently utilized various concepts from international relations theory for analysis of peacekeeping operations, the potentially diverse international peacekeeping theories are yet to be fully integrated into international relations theory. After inspecting future research agendas outlined by the leading experts in the field, the author critiques the recent calls for a "macrotheory" of international peacekeeping. Adapted from the source document.
This article discusses the growing role of China in UN peacekeeping operations since 1989. First, the reasons for the non-engagement of China after its admission to the UN and its Security Council in 1971 are described to stress the difference of the Chinese behavior after the end of the Cold War. Second, the increasing Chinese activity in UN peacekeeping is shown by describing China's gradually changing behavior in three areas: voting in the Security Council, personnel contributions to peacekeeping operations and financial contributions to the UN peacekeeping budget. In the end, the article suggests that China's growing role in UN PKO could be understood as an important part of China's peaceful rise policy. Adapted from the source document.
UN peacekeeping operations are viewed as a relevant instrument of conflict resolution in the post-Cold War era. A significant part of them operates in Africa, the place with the largest "demand" for conflict resolution. Why are some operations successful, while others not? What are the determinants of their success? The author focuses on six determinants relevant for the outcome of peacekeeping operations: support of the UN Security Council, a clear & feasible mandate, equipment & size of the operation, duration of the operation, will of the belligerents to end the conflict peacefully & support of an African regional organization. Based on case studies representing ten UN peacekeeping operations in Africa, the author evaluates the determinants of success & thus shows the difficult striving of UN peacekeeping for success. Adapted from the source document.
This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the perils & benefits of peacekeeping privatization by approaching two key questions. Firstly, can private military companies (PMCs) take on peacekeeping functions consistent with the UN Charter's primary objective "to save future generations from the scourge of war?" And secondly, is peacekeeping privatization really an option for bridging the UN's peacekeeping capabilities-expectations gap? PMCs' past performances here offer no clear-cut answers for the first question. Critics have doubted their cost-effectiveness, accountability & legitimacy, while proponents have argued their cost-effectiveness, feasibility & professionalism over their UN and/or regional counterparts. On the second question, PMCs posses many capabilities necessary for peacekeeping operations that the UN often lacks. Yet the question remains how far privatization should extend, with the danger of it going too far too fast, causing PMC peacekeeping to become a substitute for, rather than an enhancement of, UN action. Adapted from the source document.
This article provides an analysis of the of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping, one of the hottest topics in international politics of the post-cold war era. Numerous books, articles, and Ph.D. thesis have already been written about UN peacekeeping operations. Although differing vastly in their scope and quality, most of the recent critiques have pointed out the pressing need to re-define and strengthen the cold war era concept of UN peacekeeping so that it becomes a viable conflict resolution method in the 21st century. Some scholars have, however, expressed serious doubts about the actual conflict resolution capabilities of UN peacekeeping operations. They argue that premature, short-tenn and under funded UN peacekeeping operations may well do more damage than good. One of the few things the majority of conflict resolution scholars and practitioners can nowadays agree on is that no UN intervention can bring peace to a place where it is not wanted.This article aims to enrich the current peace research by introducing an alternative analytical approach to the study of the UN peacekeeping. It is divided into seven sections. The introduction is followed by a theoretical section where I briefly summarize two basic theoretical approaches to the study of the UN peacekeeping (Conflict Management & Conflict Resolution). The third section provides an analysis of the changing nature of armed conflicts in the post-cold war period. The fourth section deals with the adjustments that were made to the concept of UN peacekeeping operations in reaction to the changes in the nature of current armed conflicts. The analytical concept Capabilities versus Expectations Gap is introduced in the fifth chapter, followed by the core section of this article -- the analysis of the United Nations peacekeeping using the analytical concept Capabilities versus Expectations Gap. The analytical concept Capabilities versus Expectations Gap was first introduced by Christopher Hill in 1992 as a handy tool for analyzing the evolving European Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP). The unique advantage of this concept is that it provides a sensible assessment of both the actual and potential UN capabilities. By comparing these with the existing UN expectations, the Capabilities versus Expectations Gap analysis of UN peacekeeping enables us to sketch a more realistic picture of what the UN is capable of doing in the area of conflict resolution than that presented either by its more enthusiastic supporters or by the demanders among the UN Member States. Consequently, building further on this realistic picture of the UN conflict resolution capabilities, I attempt to answer the key research question of this article: Is the UN, with the current level of its conflict resolution capabilities, capable of providing high quality treatment to as many conflicts as it nowadays attempts to provide? Based on the findings of the Capabilities versus Expectations Gap analysis of the UN peacekeeping problematic, I argue that since the end of the cold war, the UN has several times attempted to carry out more peacekeeping operations than it was capable of performing well in light of the current level of its conflict resolution capabilities. In other words, the most important conclusion of this article is that there is a gap between the UN capabilities and expectations in the area of conflict resolution and that the only option how to bridge this gap in the foreseeable future is to decrease the excessive UN expectations to meet the currently available UN capabilities. As paradoxical as it may sound, in practical terms this means that the United Nations is nowadays more likely to succeed in meeting its basic function ("to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war") by carrying out fewer but high quality peacekeeping operations. Adapted from the source document.
The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration between territorial, societal and political aspects. The conclusion presented in this article might be used as a lesson learnt from previous mistakes in work dealing with ethnically divided societies, for which it is not sufficient to provide institutional structures without an adequate socio-political reconstruction of existing conditions. If a society is not adequately adapted to the newly-established situation, the institutional structures will not be able to fulfil their key functions completely. Furthermore, it has to be clear that any possible reconstruction of institutional bases must be attempted only with a deep consideration of specific local conditions; otherwise its sustainability is doubtful. ; The aim of the paper is to examine interconnections between the process of state-building and the process of nation-building during a period of post-conflict reconstruction. The specific case of the current reconstruction process in Kosovo is exceptional due to extensive international support expressed through political and economic means. Regardless of efforts towards reform made by powerful members of the international community, future sustainability may be questioned. An alternative to the currently favoured institutional approach is provided by the work of Barry Buzan on the state, which puts an emphasis on the idea of the state, assuming integration ...
Non-governmental organizations participate more than two decades on post-conflict reconstruction & peace-building. They participated on reconstruction of Bosnia & Herzegovina, Angola & Haiti. Existing experiences with post-conflict reconstruction shows that NGOs play a positive roles in the process. On the basis of analysis of post-conflict reconstruction in various countries the author thinks that the positive relationship between NGOs & governments by the post-conflict reconstruction & peace-building is weakening. Why after more than decade of successful evolution of relationship between NGOs & governments in the process of post-conflict reconstruction the skepticism about this relationship emerges? On the case study of post-conflict reconstruction of Afghanistan the possible answer will be offered. Adapted from the source document.
The presented article aims to analyze & compare military peace support operations conducted by the EU (PSO EU). These operations are treated as the benchmark test of the implementation capability of the European Security & Defense Policy project, a project which is limited by the member states' capacities & their political will. Also the relationship between the North Atlantic Treaty Organization & the European Union must be analyzed & the unsettled state of the European allies' capabilities, as well as the crucial role of NATO to ensure a common defense must be further looked into. Nevertheless, one should still keep in mind that no effective military action could be taken without disposable well-equipped, tailored & trained operational capabilities. Concerning the European Union & its member states, this finding has still not been sufficiently put into practice. Adapted from the source document.
: Indonesia has potential in cooperation on the intermission of UN peacekeeping tasks, although the need for UN intermission does not occur frequently (incidentally), but it needs to be prepared in order to anticipate opportunities and challenges in the development of the situation in UN PKOs, as has happened to the Indonesian Armed Forces Engineer Company Taskforce/Garuda Contingent. XXXII-C, through a decision-making mechanism based on the UN Resolution in UN PKOs to carry out the intermission of peacekeeping tasks from Haiti to Central Africa (2014-2015). The Kizi Taskforce TNI/Konga XXXIIC/MINUSTAH or Konga XXXVII-A/MINUSCA, can complete their duties as UN peacekeepers on duty at the UN Mission in MINUSTAH - Haiti and carry out UN Peace Task Intermissions in MINUSCA, in order to prepare missions in the African Republic Center (CAR). On this "rare" opportunity, the UN intermission process can be carried out properly through effective diplomacy and negotiations, so that the TNI/Konga XXXII-C Kizi Taskforce can carry out tasks in two different missions at once. And on this occasion, the researcher tries to explore the data in the form of a research entitled "Implementation of the United Nations Peacekeeping Taskforce; Case Study of Intermission of Satga IEC/Konga XXXII-C from Haiti to Central Africa (2014-2015)", In this study, I tried to explain the mechanism and implementation of the UN peacekeeping mission, accompanied by various challenges and obstacles faced in the area of operation. as well as the steps and efforts taken to overcome them, so that the task of ending the mission of the IEC/Garuda contingent in Haiti and the reopening of the UN mission in the Central African Republic can take place safely and smoothly. The researcher explored this research, considering that this form of intermission assignment rarely occurs, not only in the IEC Taskforce/Garuda Contingent, but also in UN peacekeeping operations.
The term "freedom of expression" is quite broad and holistic. It includes, within its ambit, not only the conventional freedom of speech and freedom of media, but also the freedom of thoughts, cultural expression, conscience, and intellectual inquiry. Freedom of expression ensures an individual's right to express his/her views openly within the domain of constitution, which also contains the right to be criticial of the prevailing injustices, illegal, anti-social activities, and incompetence and failure of ¬¬¬the government. All this is with a guarantee of safety and without any apprehension or fear of retaliation. Freedom of expression, in contemporary times, also embraces the right to be informed and seek information by the public, to express opinions, and advocate amendments, including changing the regime without resorting to violent means through peaceful measures available in the public domain, with reasonable restrictions. In the past decade and half, Turkish experience as a transitional democracy presents an interesting case study to explain as to how the state of freedom of expression is causally related to the failure of the EU-driven reform process undertaken by the ruling AKP (Turkish: Adaletve Kalkınma Partisi) since the year 2002, when the party won the Parliamentary elections in Turkey for the first time. The issue about the press freedom and freedom of expression in Turkey has for very long time, attracted a great amount of scholarly attention and provoked extensive debate both inside and outside Turkey. Although Turkey remains one of the rare democracy in the West Asia, a region with strong monarchic and semi-monarchic tradition of government, a series of development in the past years has raised several interrogations about the qualitative and quantitative aspects of democracy in Turkey under the AKP.
India and Pakistan both are South Asian nuclear states, having a historical animosity that mainly stems from unresolved Kashmir issue. Both states realized the importance of peace therefore went for the negotiations after every battle. However, neither war nor negotiation could lead to the permanent solution. This article presents a critical analysis of the talks and negotiations held from 1998 to 2004 in order to restore peace and to resolve conflicts between both neighbors. The official documents i.e. declarations, agreements and recommendations of the CBMs have provided quite solid material for analytical discussion. Though a great desire of resolving all issues peacefully, including the issue of water and Kashmir through dialogue on both sides have been explored from this analysis, however the resilient elements prevail and deteriorate the peace process on both sides. The role of media has also been found negative in making public opinion. If the international law is implemented and the people of Kashmir are given their right of self-determination under the UNO resolutions both countries can live in peace and address their other issues
This article deals with the determinants of Pakistan relations with Afghanistan with reference to past present and future. There are numerous writings on the topic under consideration mainly in terrorism perspective but this study deals with the socio-cultural, political, economic and diplomatic relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Unique relationship of two Muslim and neighboring countries as peace and security of both countries is inter-linked. Although Pakistan and Afghanistan are facing many challenges but both of them are doing their best to handle the issues of terrorism, Pakhtunstan and Durand line. Present study will fill this gap. Since independence Pakistan has endeavored to maintain good relations with Afghanistan in pursuance of its policy to have good relations with Muslim Countries. By focusing on the need to improve socio-economic and cultural ties of both countries is very important for the peaceful co- existence of both the countries which will ensure peace and prosperity in the region. Pakistan, has its plus points and can be useful for the development of the Afghanistan while Afghanistan has colossal untapped mineral and labour assets which can help Pakistan to build its economy. Also, Afghans might have the ability to get coordinate access to Pakistan's ports of Arabian Sea, while Pakistanis can get steer access to Central Asian markets.
Election remains the most peaceful means of instituting and institutionalizing democratic government. Liberal democratic theorists argue on the primacy of election as an essential element of democracy. Since the commencement of the Fourth Republic, Nigeria had conducted six successive elections to deepen democratic rule. However, election postponement is fast becoming a recurring decimal in the political landscape. Taken 2019 General election as a unit of analysis, this paper examined the implication of election postponement on the future of democracy in Nigeria. Data were generated from secondary sources, including Textbooks, Journals and Internet, to provide information on the concept of Democracy and 2019 elections. These were subjected to descriptive and content analysis. 2019 Election postponement had cost Nigeria political, economic and social fortunes. It had undermined the integrity of the electoral process resulting in voter apathy. Nigeria lost billions of naira as a result of shutdown of businesses. It resulted in additional financial burden in the conduct of the election. The paper recommends that Nigeria's Electoral Management body needs to be re-engineered to be able to cope with responsibility of conducting election on schedule. Private institutions should be strategically employed to engage in election logistics such as handling of sensitive materials and on-time delivery of these materials. Also, there is need to give a thoughtful consideration to electronic voting, that should take care of the logistics problem of conducting election in Nigeria.
