The emerging trends in international peacekeeping missions: a comparative analysis DRC and Kosovo

Abstract

Peacekeeping has undergone numerous changes in how the operations are carried out by the Peacekeeping forces. These changes have been necessitated by various factors like the changing nature of conflicts and actors that have been discussed extensively. This academic research sought to interrogate the emerging trends in international Peacekeeping.

The changing nature of conflicts from Inter-state to mostly intrastate conflicts have necessitated a re-think in how peacekeeping operations are structured and implemented. To facilitate this research, there was an extensive use of secondary materials like reports of the UN Secretary General, and other bodies and personnel that have actively participated in UN missions. I also used secondary sources and data collected on a peacekeeping field trip I undertook in 2010 to study peacekeeping in Kosovo.

The research found out that peacekeeping operations been shaped by the various mandates by the Security Council, which were necessitated by the nature of conflicts, which have mostly been intra-state conflicts. In conclusion, the research acknowledges a need for peacekeepers to adopt stronger mandates, and institute cosmopolitan peacekeeping operations that in-cooperate various aspects of peacekeeping that include peace building, that didn't previously exist in traditional peacekeeping operations.