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The United Nations (UN) deploys peacekeepers worldwide to help build peace and security. Meanwhile, a serious problem persists: sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated by peacekeepers. Despite extensive efforts, including codes of conduct, sanctions, and training, reports of sexual abuse by peacekeepers continue within mission contexts. By drawing on UN documents aiming at ending SEA by regulating peacekeepers' behaviour, this blog article examines the gender dimensions of the rules. I argue that a military masculinity culture is reflected in the UN rules that perpetuate instead of fight the risk of SEA.
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Julia Sigrid Radke



Julia Radke ist Praktikantin im Projekt "Coercion in Peacebuilding" und studiert Politikwissenschaften im Master an der Uppsala Universität in Schweden. // Julia Radke is an intern within the "Coercion in Peacebuilding" project and a master student of political science at Uppsala University in Sweden.

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Der Beitrag Beyond Zero Tolerance: The Persisting Challenge of Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers erschien zuerst auf PRIF BLOG.

Over the course of the past two decades, general interest in the intersections of environment, peace and conflict has increased significantly, especially in response to rapid environmental change and...

Politics, violence, and secrecy have held back progress in post-war Tigray. This highlights not just the need to directly address security issues. It also emphasises the importance of improving transparency and giving marginalised stakeholders adequate information about current developments in the peace process.
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Dimpho Deleglise



Dr Dimpho Deleglise is a Senior researcher in PRIF's research department "Glocal Junctions" and the research group "African Intervention Politics". She focuses on the African Union and IGAD Special Envoys' diplomatic initiatives in Tigray, Ethiopia, and South Sudan respectively. Her research interests include fragility and resilience interventions, inclusive peacebuilding, and post conflict policies and practices.

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Der Beitrag Potentially Vital AU Meeting on Tigray Leaves Communities of Interest in the Dark erschien zuerst auf PRIF BLOG.

On December 3, Venezuelans will vote in a referendum on the annexation of Esequibo to the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. This blog post argues that the referendum has implications for both domestic constitutional law and international law. Since the referendum cannot have any practical effect under international law, it also violates the voters' constitutional right to participate freely in public affairs. By prioritizing solely the interests of Venezuela over the sovereignty of Guyana, the referendum might be contrary to the principles of peaceful dispute settlement and the prohibition of force, as stipulated in the United Nations Charter. It could also challenge the established legal doctrine of state consent and infringe upon the principle of prioritizing international obligations over national law.

Reenergized by the former liberal prime minister and EUCO president Donald Tusk, Poland's democratic forces are well positioned to deliver a stunning upset on Sunday. If this indeed materializes, we must resist the temptation to think of the critical post-election days and weeks as a regular democratic transfer of power. Instead, what will happen should be understood as an inherently perilous collapse of an authoritarian regime. Several legal and constitutional provisions are capable of being weaponized by the ruling PiS party to thwart the peaceful transfer of power.

Disruptive environmental protest has become a hugely controversial issue in the UK, both politically and legally. It is likely to be a wedge issue in the upcoming General Election. Both major political parties are talking tough on the issue, and the government has instituted draconian new laws. The courts, for their part, are permitting ever more 'Mega Persons Unknown injunctions' and imposing increasingly longer prison terms for peaceful – but disruptive – protests. Part of this is an international trend, caused by the indisputable evidence of global warming and the increasingly activist environmental movement. But from a UK practitioner's perspective, it is deeply worrying that there are now a large number of peaceful protesters in the prison system, or facing huge bills for legal costs, or both.

A team of seven African presidents led an initiative in mid-June 2023 to attempt to make peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. For most observers, this intervention raised interesting questions: How can states from a continent ravaged by wars and conflicts have the courage, credibility, and conviction to intervene in a European conflict? Moreover, how can countries without power and leverage intervene in a conflict in which other more powerful actors have failed? What did they expect to achieve from this intervention? This article suggests that the African team sought to invoke the dire economic consequences occasioned by the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Africa to exert moral leverage on the disputing parties to end the war. Combined with the desperate economic situation, the African leaders found strength in their neutrality to make a case for a peaceful approach to a conflict that has had global ramifications. The initiative did not seek to mediate the conflict; rather, it was a modest diplomatic plea for peace in the face of a deteriorating situation.
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Gilbert Khadiagala



Gilbert Khadiagala ist Jan-Smuts-Professor für Internationale Beziehungen an der Witwatersrand-Universität und Gastprofessor an der HSFK. // Gilbert Khadiagala is Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations at Witwatersrand University and visiting professor at PRIF.

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Der Beitrag An African Peace Initiative in the Russia-Ukraine War? erschien zuerst auf PRIF BLOG.

Over the weekend, the world's attention was gripped as a well-equipped Russian private military company led by Evgeny Prigozhin seized control of a key Russian city and military hub, and marched on Moscow. Prigozhin's actions reveal a deeper truth about Putin's Russia: the absence of formalised, legal mechanisms for peacefully resolving high-level, intra-elite disputes. As the war in Ukraine drags on, what Ernst Fraenkel called the 'prerogative state' is expanding. This lawless realm of unchecked public power has no rules or institutions that can settle disputes among the Russian elite; these can only be resolved by Putin himself.

In der Forschung zu Peacebuilding-Interventionen und sogenannter Entwicklungszusammenarbeit sind wir es gewohnt, von "lokalen" Akteur*innen zu schreiben und über sie zu lesen. Aber was genau steckt eigentlich in dieser räumlichen Zuschreibung? Diese Frage ist umso interessanter, als kritische Analysen längst aufgezeigt haben, dass die Verortung als "lokal" wenig dazu beiträgt, bestimmte Akteur*innen aussagekräftig zu charakterisieren. Dennoch wird an ihr festgehalten, weil sie praktisch und oft nahezu alternativlos erscheint. Allerdings bleibt diese räumliche Zuschreibung nicht ohne Konsequenzen. Ohne dass Autor*innen es notwendigerweise bewusst wollen oder entscheiden, impliziert die Verortung als "lokal", dass es um "andersartige" Akteur*innen im Globalen Süden geht, deren Eigenschaften und Probleme sich zudem grundlegend von denen im Globalen Norden unterscheiden.

Dieser Beitrag geht der Frage nach, welchen Nutzen das politics of scale-Konzept für die Interventionsforschung haben könnte. Im Rahmen internationaler Interventionen greifen externe Akteur*innen in einen Konfliktkontext ein, trennen kämpfende Seiten voneinander, bringen sie an den Verhandlungstisch und stoßen umfassendere Transformationsprozesse an, die Peacebuilding, Statebuilding und Entwicklung zum Ziel haben. Für Intervenierende stellt sich dabei die Frage, welche Akteur*innen, Institutionen oder Strukturen sie im Land unterstützen sollen. Der Beitrag diskutiert anhand der Interventionen in Bougainville und Sierra Leone Beispiele für eine unterschiedliche Schwerpunktsetzung internationaler Akteur*innen. Er zeigt auf, dass die Konstruktion bestimmter Maßstabsebenen (scales) als Ort einer Intervention wichtige Auswirkungen auf die Ausgestaltung der Intervention sowie den Post-Konflikt-Transformationsprozess insgesamt haben kann.

Moderation: Lawreen Masekla
Discussant: Angela Mickley
Alexandra Engelsdorfer: Globaler Norden - lokaler Süden? Eine kritische Auseinandersetzung mit dem 'local turn' im internationalen Peacebuilding
Anne Menzel: Zwischen Herrschaftswissen und Irrelevanz? Feldforschung und das Ringen mit der Policy-Relevanz