Charles T. Hunt

All necessary means to what ends? the unintended consequences of the ‘robust turn’ in UN peace operations

ABSTRACT A ‘robust turn’ in UN peace operations has ushered in a new generation of missions that are epitomized by increased authorization and willingness to use force towards the protection of vulnerable civilians and the implementation of stabilization strategies. This forceful transformation has important implications for not only particular components of the peace support effort but the overall endeavour. However, the potential unintended consequences remain underexplored and require further attention. This article examines the impacts of this so-called ‘robust turn’ in UN peace operations. The first section maps trends in modern peace operations that comprise the ‘robust turn’. It proceeds to explore a range of repercussions precipitated by these trends with particular focus on unintended consequences. The article concludes by identifying the associated implications for specific missions as well as the peacekeeping endeavour as a whole. It argues that the unintended consequences of the robust turn present significant principled and practical challenges for mission architects and managers, as well as their political masters, in achieving unity of effort in UN peace operations. It further argues that this could have ramifications for the future reputation, substance and viability of UN peacekeeping.

Twenty-first century UN peace operations: protection, force and the changing security environment

United Nations peace operations are deployed in greater numbers to more difficult operating theatres in response to more complex conflict situations than ever before. More than 100,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in missions mandated under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to use ‘all necessary means’ to protect civilians from direct harm as well as to achieve a host of other tasks such as supporting the (re)building of state institutions, facilitating humanitarian aid, and overseeing compliance with ceasefire agreements and political commitments. With increasing regularity, UN peacekeepers are instructed to complete these tasks in contexts where there is no peace to keep or where peace is fragile. To understand these changes, and the implications for UN peace operations, this article examines three key transformations: the emergence of the protection of civilians as a central mission goal (and accompanying principles of due diligence); a subtle move away from peacekeeping as an impartial overseer of peace processes towards the goal of stabilization; and a so-called ‘robust turn’ towards greater preparedness to use force. It identifies the challenges posed to contemporary UN peacekeeping operations by these transformations and evaluates the UNs efforts thus far to make peacekeeping fit for purpose in the twenty-first century, noting that while significant progress has been made in areas such as policy and guidance, force sustainment and deployment, and the application of force enablers, there remains a considerable way to go.

Mainstreaming the Responsibility to Protect in Peace Operations

The ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (RtoP) principle represents a commitment to prevent and halt mass atrocity crimes. However, in his 2009 report on implementing the RtoP, the UN Secretary-General noted that more work was needed to understand the measures that states might take to exercise their RtoP. Given that UN peace operations are now customarily mandated to ‘protect civilians under imminent threat of physical violence’, it would seem prudent to ask how peace operations can contribute to operationalising the RtoP and how the RtoP might support peacekeeping. This article explores the potential for implementing the RtoP through peace operations. It argues that the RtoP and peace operations are mutually reinforcing. Notwithstanding systemic challenges, peace operations offer a legitimate vehicle for implementing RtoP, whereas RtoP provides a facilitating norm for harnessing political will and buttressing the legitimacy and credibility of contemporary peace operations.

The role of the African Standby Force in implementing Article 4(h)

This chapter examines the extent to which Art 4(h) of the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act could contribute to the development of the concept of ‘responsibility while protecting’ (RwP). Specifi cally, it attempts to look into the general responses of the international community to the Brazilian initiative in the United Nations (UN) General Assembly given that international consensus on implementing the principle under its third pillar – that is to say, the use of force – appears to have been damaged by negative perceptions about how the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) implemented its mandate in Libya in 2011. Based on intervention experiences in Africa, the implementation of Art 4(h) could no doubt contribute to the development of RwP by building mechanisms for accountability and a monitoring and feedback system in the African continent as it deals with preventing and responding to genocide and mass atrocity crimes in the region.African leaders have demonstrated a collective commitment to protecting civilians from mass atrocity crimes - specifically through the inclusion of Art 4(h) in the African Union (AU) Constitutive Act. The African Standby Force (ASF) is the only operational tool for implementing coercive human protection missions in the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA). Therefore, if Art 4(h) is to be operationalised effectively, the ASF will have a significant role to play to prevent or stop mass atrocities on the continent. This chapter assesses how Art 4(h) in particular, and civilian protection in general, has been addressed in the establishment of the ASF - more specifically in ongoing efforts to elaborate on doctrine, standard operating procedures and training needs for the continental standby arrangement. It identifies gaps between general political commitment and the emergent operational reality; and argues that there is an enduring need for appropriate guidance for the ASF as it prepares for future protection missions.

Beyond the binaries: towards a relational approach to peacebuilding

ABSTRACT The multiplicity of sources of security and justice in post-colonial states are often categorized according to a series of fixed analytical binaries. Such reductive dichotomies often mask the fluid and evolutionary ecology of these highly networked actors. As a result, the ways in which they co-produce social order are seldom well-understood and the ramifications for peacebuilding remain underexplored. This article examines the relationships between myriad providers of security and justice. Using examples from fieldwork in West Africa, it presents a case for a relational approach to peacebuilding that introduces the concept of symbiosis to develop a framework for evaluating these relations. It argues that the framework and conceptual steps involved create important opportunities for both new research and emerging practices of peacebuilding.

Avoiding Perplexity: Complexity-Oriented Monitoring and Evaluation for UN Peace Operations

This chapter explores the potential of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) informed by Complexity theory for UN peace operations. An emphasis on policing recognises that UN police are more engaged in peacebuilding than other major components of these operations. It proceeds in three main parts. The first highlights shortcomings with dominant approaches to M&E in these missions. Drawing on arguments for applying Complexity thinking to peacebuilding. The second section explains how Complexity thinking can inform approaches that help to overcome these frailties. The third section lays out key implications of Complexity-oriented M&E for UN peace operations and the chapter concludes by arguing that Complexity provides useful ways of thinking about assessing impact as well as informing practical approaches to the everyday M&E of peacebuilding efforts.

Emerging powers and the responsibility to protect: non-linear norm dynamics in complex international society

Abstract The perceived clash of norms associated with the emergence of rising powers is nowhere more pronounced than in relation to the responsibility to protect (RtoP). However, attempts to explain rising powers’ engagement with norms such as the RtoP are often limited and limiting in what they can tell us. Orthodox models portray predominantly linear and diffusionist logics of norm evolution that underplay the complex interaction implicit in unpredictable outcomes at the systemic level. This article identifies a range of factors that drive participation (or generate hesitation) amongst emerging powers in the development and application of the RtoP. It proceeds to illustrate how changes in normative behaviour emanate from top-down and bottom-up processes as well as the feedback between them. It argues that norm evolution is consequently a unique and emergent outcome of complex international society and therefore argues for using complexity thinking as a heuristic to augment current models and explanations of the evolution of norms in the international system.

Chapter Ten Hybridity and Police Capacity Development in the Solomon Islands

Forging New Conventional Wisdom Beyond International Policing: Learning from Complex, Political Realities provides an innovative perspective in the field by conceptualizing international policing as part of a much broader system of peace and capacity development initiatives. Authors Bryn Hughes, Charles T. Hunt, and Jodie Curth-Bibb provide a thorough analysis of the current problems in the field, and subsequently offer a convincing argument for a new, post-Weberian approach.

Chapter Eleven The UN in Liberia: Articulating the Unarticulated Consensus for Change

Forging New Conventional Wisdom Beyond International Policing: Learning from Complex, Political Realities provides an innovative perspective in the field by conceptualizing international policing as part of a much broader system of peace and capacity development initiatives. Authors Bryn Hughes, Charles T. Hunt, and Jodie Curth-Bibb provide a thorough analysis of the current problems in the field, and subsequently offer a convincing argument for a new, post-Weberian approach.

Chapter Four The Rule of Law in Peace and Capacity Building Operations: Appreciating More than the State

Forging New Conventional Wisdom Beyond International Policing: Learning from Complex, Political Realities provides an innovative perspective in the field by conceptualizing international policing as part of a much broader system of peace and capacity development initiatives. Authors Bryn Hughes, Charles T. Hunt, and Jodie Curth-Bibb provide a thorough analysis of the current problems in the field, and subsequently offer a convincing argument for a new, post-Weberian approach.