Michel Liegeois

Astuteness in Commitment: Rwanda and UN Peacekeeping 1994–2014

Abstract This article traces Rwanda’s history under German and Belgian colonialism, through independence and genocide to international respectability and membership of the Commonwealth. It examines Rwanda’s impressive contributions to United Nations and African Union peacekeeping forces. There is no single explanation for the magnitude of Rwanda’s contribution. It owes something to Rwanda’s commitment to ‘African solutions for African problems’. Deployment is relatively cheap and allows Rwanda to use its participation for political leverage in international affairs, to attract donors and to benefit financially. Peacekeeping is a factor in the astute foreign policy of Paul Kagame’s government that enhances its authority and stability at home and its prestige abroad.

Filling a Leaking Bathtub? Peacekeeping in Africa and the Challenge of Transnational Armed Rebellions

ABSTRACT This research addresses the issue of transnational civil wars and United Nations peace operations in Africa and seeks to understand what is wrong with the current practices of international peacekeeping and why they underperform when confronted to transnational non-state actors. Based on a dynamic approach to armed conflicts and quantitative data, this paper finds that the current international peacekeeping practices are inadequate in the African context where porous borders and competing weak states dominate. It argues that border control should become a primary concern of every peace operation deployed in Africa.