Chad M Kahl

Predicting the Size of UN Peacekeeping Operations

We present a statistical model that predicts the force size of United Nations peacekeeping operations, relying on experiences from thirty-nine peacekeeping operations over the period 1945-1994. As we expected, the type of mission performed by the peacekeeping operation was a major factor in determining force size. Although the second-generation mission category includes a panoply of different mission types, these new peacekeeping operations still on average require almost 12,000 more personnel than observer operations. Our results indicate, however, that the size of a peacekeeping operation is not solely a function of mission type; the context of the conflict situation matters as well. Specifically, the severity of the violence in the crisis precipitating UN intervention has a significant effect, as does the addition of more actors to the conflict. In general, the geographic characteristics of the area (except the size of the deployment area), the type of conflict (civil or interstate), and superpower involvement had no statistically significant effects.

Human Rights Reference Sources: A Critical Annotated Bibliography

The area of human rights has had significant attention both nationally and internationally in the press and in the political arena. While there is a renewed commitment to human rights advocacy, there is also an upward trend in popular culture of depictions of torture. This article provides critical annotations of English-language reference sources published since 1990 and available both in print and online, in an effort to aid librarians collecting and weeding materials for human rights research.

International political economy reference sources: an annotated bibliography

Purpose – International political economy is an emerging yet specialized field that combines political analysis with the study of markets, trade, and development. With the global economy having an interdependent effect on politics, environment, and society, and with several major economic events of the last 20 years, the authors perceived a need to provide a guide to the sources in this field. This paper seeks to address this issue.Design/methodology/approach – The authors identified resources using WorldCat and standard reference sources, such as American Library Associations Guide to Reference Books; the annual American Libraries’ “Outstanding Reference Sources” articles; American Reference Books Annual (ARBA) volumes; Booklists Editors Choices articles; and Choices “Outstanding Academic Titles”. Sources were selected from 2000 to the present, concomitant with development of the global economy in the twenty‐first century.Findings – This guide contains reference works and internet resources that incl...