Last week, at least 15 people died in protests demanding UN peacekeepers leave the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The week before, the military junta ruling Mali halted troop rotations for the UN mission there and ejected the mission’s deputy spokesperson. These incidents highlight deep-seated crises of consent and legitimacy.
Analysis
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Member states agreed to an overall increase in the peacekeeping budget for the first time in seven years, and they endorsed a resolution that considers a wide range of operational, financial, and personnel issues impacting UN operations around the world. But by digging deeper into the newly adopted budget and the policy resolution, it becomes clear that UN peacekeeping still finds itself delicately navigating major divisions and concerns.
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Looking at green water, the rainwater available to plants, shows that freshwater’s ability to sustain a stable Earth system is even more threatened than first reported. Explicitly governing green water is necessary.
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The African continent has a rich and varied repertoire of formal and informal capacities, knowledge, and experiences to decolonize the study and practice of peace and develop an integrated African agenda for sustaining peace.
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The UN Security Council does not have the luxury of choosing between normative imperatives associated with preventing atrocities, protecting civilians, and countering terrorism in Mali, the Sahel, and elsewhere.
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Despite the instability it faces, Guinea-Bissau—alongside countries like Madagascar, Chad, or the Central African Republic—has long been overlooked by donors. There is an urgent need to re-orientate the international community toward supporting and financing conflict prevention and early action.
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There are a number of reasons why it is difficult for peacekeepers to protect civilians from sexual and gender-based violence, particularly those forms that fall outside of conflict-related sexual violence.
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Without a corresponding political process, UN protection activities are an ineffective bandaid in situations of widespread violence.
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As Finland and Sweden begin the process of applying for NATO membership, misleading narratives about the role of NATO’s so-called eastward expansion in “provoking” Russia’s invasion of Ukraine continue to hold sway.
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The sanctions imposed against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine mark a new page in global sanctions practice yet lessons from earlier cases could help increase efficacy and minimize costs.
