The Challenge of Robust Peacekeeping in a Complex Environment: A UNIFIL Perspective
| Název práce v češtině: | Výzva pro spolehlivé udržování míru v komplexním prostředí: Perspektiva UNIFILu |
|---|---|
| Název v anglickém jazyce: | The Challenge of Robust Peacekeeping in a Complex Environment: A UNIFIL Perspective |
| Akademický rok vypsání: | 2022/2023 |
| Typ práce: | diplomová práce |
| Jazyk práce: | angličtina |
| Ústav: | Katedra bezpečnostních studií (23-KBS) |
| Vedoucí / školitel: | prof. Mgr. Oldřich Bureš, Ph.D., M.A. |
| Řešitel: | skrytý - zadáno vedoucím/školitelem |
| Datum přihlášení: | 21.06.2023 |
| Datum zadání: | 21.06.2023 |
| Seznam odborné literatury |
| References:
Boulden, J. (2005). Mandates matter: An exploration of impartiality in United Nations Operations. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 11(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.1163/19426720-01102003 Byrne, D. (1998). Complexity Theory and the Social Sciences: An Introduction. Housing, Theory and Society. Chesterman, S. (2009). You, the people: The United Nations, Transitional Administration, and state-building. Oxford Univ. Press. Clement, C., & Smith, A. (2009). Managing Complexity: Political and Managerial Challenges in United Nations Peace Operations. International Peace Institute. Day, A., & Hunt, C. T. (2022). A perturbed peace: Applying complexity theory to UN peacekeeping. International Peacekeeping, 30(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/13533312.2022.2158457 de Coning, C. (2022). Insights from complexity theory for peace and conflict studies. The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies, 600–610. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77954-2_134 Doyle, M. W., & Sambanis, N. (2011). Making war and building peace: United nations peace operations. Princeton University Press. Durch, W. J. (1995). The evolution of UN Peacekeeping: Case Studies and Comparative Analysis. A. Rowe. Elron, E. (2007). UNIFIL II, ISRAEL, LEBANON, THE UNITED NATIONS AND THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY: NEW AND RENEWED PARTNERSHIPS AND IMPLICATONS FOR MISSION EFFECTIVENESS. NATO Defense College, 90–108. Frej, W., & Ramalingam, B. (2011). Foreign Policy and Complex Adaptive Systems: Exploring New Paradigms for Analysis and Action. Santa Fe Institute (SFI). Friis, K. (2010). Peacekeeping and counter-insurgency – two of a kind? International Peacekeeping, 17(1), 49–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/13533311003589199 Hendrick, D. (2009). Complexity Theory and Conflict Transformation: An Exploration of Potential and Implications. University of Bradford. Lamont, C. K. (2015). Research methods in international relations. SAGE Publications Ltd. Liu, X. (2018). Interviewing elites: Methodological Issues Confronting a Novice. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1609406918770323 Murphy, R. (2007). United Nations peacekeeping in Lebanon, Somalia and Kosovo, and the use of Force. New York: Cambridge University Press, 148–213. Natow, R. S. (2020). The use of triangulation in qualitative studies employing elite interviews. Qualitative Research, 20(2), 160–173. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794119830077 Orion, A. (2016). UNIFIL II, Ten Years On: Strong Force, Weak Mandate. INSS Insight, 844. Schaefer, B. D. (2009). Conundrum: The limits of the United Nations and the search for alternatives. Rowman & Littlefield. Shraga, D. (2000). UN Peacekeeping Operations: Applicability of International Humanitarian Law and responsibility for operations-related damage. American Journal of International Law, 94(2), 406–412. https://doi.org/10.2307/2555303 Sitkowski, A. (2006). UN peacekeeping: Myth and reality. Praeger Security International. |
| Předběžná náplň práce v anglickém jazyce |
| Motivation:
This research will examine the challenges of robust peacekeeping in a complex environment, taking UNIFIL as a case study. The United Nations Interim Force In Lebanon was established in 1978 with a mandate that includes both resolutions 425 and 426. After the 2006 War, resolution 1701 was added to the mandate of UNIFIL making it responsible for securing the borders and confirming the withdrawal of the IDF from Southern Lebanon, ensuring the cessation of fire, assisting the civilian population, assisting the Lebanese Armed forces to maintain its borders, and establishing an area free of arms within its area of operation. After 45 years of its establishment, the peacekeeping mission still couldn’t fulfill its mandate due to many arising challenges and limitations within the mandate itself. With the continuous renewal of the mission, doubts and uncertainty levels have increased regarding its efficiency and effectiveness and even labeled the mission as a failure by some actors. To have a better understanding of the reasons behind this controversial deficiency, this study will examine the dynamics that are affecting the mission’s outcome. This will include a thorough inspection of the application of the three UN peacekeeping principles by UNIFIL with a focus on impartiality and an assessment of the violations of UNSC resolution 1701. These factors act as independent variables that are contributing to the nonlinearity of the outcome of the peacekeeping mission. Despite the complexity of the situation in UNIFIL’s area of operation, involving local, regional, and international actors, research has often approached it with linear analytical lenses, assuming direct, proportional relationships between causes and effects. However, such a perspective may not adequately capture the unpredictability and disproportionality present in conflict dynamics and peacekeeping operations. The existing literature claims that UNIFIL is struggling due to its limited mandate but provides little explanation for the role of the parties of the conflict in this struggle. In addition, while there has been plenty of studies on the use of force in peacekeeping operations, there had been less research that directly addresses the role of impartiality in the outcome of the mission. Thus, this study aims to examine these gaps by exploring the nonlinearity in peacekeeping which suggests that small changes can lead to disproportionately large effects or that significant changes might have unexpectedly minimal outcomes. Hence the main research question will be how nonlinearity is manifested in UNIFIL’s efforts? Trying to address this question, we must identify what factors are responsible for the shortcoming of the mission and how they affect the peacekeeping operation. It is clear that UNIFIL is facing a lot of challenges that are preventing it from fulfilling its mandate. Regardless of the allegedly limited mandate, the shortcoming of the mission is caused by several other factors. That is why, this research sets out to test that nonlinear dynamics play a significant role in preventing the success of UNIFIL. Literature Review: UNIFIL is often taken as an example when criticizing the shortcomings of peacekeeping operations. Murphy (2007) argues that the mission in Lebanon is considered failing in fulfilling its mandate, accused of being biased and lacking impartiality, and seen as a powerless force incapable of showing force that will allow it to properly function. These factors provide an insight into the challenges within the mission itself acting as limiting factors for the success of the mission. Schaefer (2009) adds that the achievements of UNIFIL are underestimated in order to glorify the inadequate aspects and that these arguments spread beyond UNIFIL to criticize the foundations of peacekeeping in general. In addition, Sitkowski (2006) points down to the difficult environment that UNIFIL operates in and its role in limiting the capacities of the force which is overlooked when assessing its performance. The mentioned examples show that many aspects are disregarded when evaluating a peacekeeping mission, and provide a better understanding of the diversity of challenges. William Durch (1995) provides in his book a comparative analysis of different peacekeeping missions. He includes an analysis of UNIFIL where he describes the mission as “impossible”, and criticizes it for lacking in implementing effective measures in the conflict between Lebanon and Israel. Yet, despite these problems, UNIFIL is bound by the UN peacekeeping principles which must be taken into consideration. Moreover, the mission was able to provide stability in its area of operation and acted as a mediator between the parties of the conflict despite implications in the mission’s effectiveness (Elron, 2007). Peace enforcement is proposed as an alternative measure to ensure stabilization. Yet, according to Boulden (2005), peace enforcement increases the risk of failure and jeopardizes the impartiality of the mission which undermines its stance within the local community. Moreover, by implementing force or a stabilization mechanism, peacekeeping will become similar to counterinsurgency. Friis (2010) argues that this could lead to an escalation in the conflict and endanger its containment. This analysis will be helpful in my research where UNIFIL is pressured to implement more force which will be another challenge and limitation for the mission. One additional criticism of UNIFIL was the accusation of having a weak mandate that will allow it to succeed in stabilizing Southern Lebanon (Orion, 2016). Doyle and Sambanis (2011) conclude that the main problem within any Peace operation mandate originates in New York where the mandates are drafted by officials who are disconnected from reality. This limitation affects the efficiency of any Un mission in the short run and its capability to succeed in the long run. That is why, a great amount of effort should be put in when drafting any resolution with the consent of the actors (Sharga, 2000). Chesterman (2009) argues that this could be one of the original challenges for UNIFIL in which the mission was requested by a weak government without the consensus of non-state actors located in the South of Lebanon. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical foundation of this research will be based on the complexity theory to understand and analyze the limitations and challenges of UN peacekeeping missions with UNIFIL serving as a case study. While complexity theory is considered more of a theory of natural science than a social one used to examine the unpredictable dynamics of complex systems, it is becoming more common in other disciplines like IR or political science (Byrne, 1998). This theory will allow us to interpret peacekeeping as a complex adaptive system where the dynamics and actors interact in a nonlinear way to generate unpredictable results. These interactions will cover everything from local and international stakeholder behavior to the influence of shifting geopolitical dynamics and evolving threats (Hendrick, 2009). Furthermore, UNIFIL will be considered a complex adaptive system characterized by nonlinearity which focuses on the non-proportional relation between actions and their effects. With Hezbollah being a major non-state actor in the region, a shift in their strategy could trigger a change in the status quo affecting the capability of UNIFIL in maintaining stability. Similarly, by implementing additional intelligence measures, the peacekeeping force compromises its relationship with local actors including the Lebanese armed forces which decreases the efficiency of the mission and limits its capacities. Thus, the understanding of these nonlinear dynamics will help in the analysis of the challenges faced by peacekeeping missions and UNIFIL specifically (de Coning, 2020). Moreover, in addition to the focus on nonlinearity, the implementation of this framework will emphasize the importance of building networks and the relationship between the different actors which is crucial for the success of the mission. Also, complexity theory can help in the interpretation of unpredictable events that affect the efficiency of the mission by analyzing the unplanned consequences of the decisions that led to these events. Inauspicious behavior of locals toward peacekeepers will be a simple response for patrolling outside the mission’s area of operation (Clement and Smith, 2009). Despite some critics regarding being used only when it is convenient, vagueness, and contrasting definitions, it is important to note that these limitations exist in most conventional theories of IR and political science (Frei and Ramalingam, 2011). Yet, what differentiates this framework is the neutrality of its analysis by examining the characteristics and by hinging on a more empirical interpretation of how peacekeeping missions evolve around challenges in contrast to other models like the Liberal Peace Theory (Day and Hunt, 2022). Regarding ontology, this research will take a constructivist approach by taking into consideration the fact that peacekeeping and international security are not static concepts but are repetitively shaped by the interactions between the different actors. This is seen when examining the function of UNIFIL from the perspective of the different actors in which the peacekeeping force will be considered a stabilizing factor in the perception of some locals while it can be seen by others as an outsider. Hezbollah perceives UNIFIL as a foreign military force with counterinsurgency potential, while Israel and the US consider the mission as a tool to dismantle the insurgency group. The experiences and interactions of each actor impact their perspective of the reality of the mission. Also, the study will adopt an interpretivist epistemological approach to help in the understanding of the diverse perspectives on how the dynamics of this complex system are interpreted by the various actors involved. Methodology: The challenges and limitations disturbing the capabilities of UNIFIL will be examined using a qualitative approach which will allow us to interpret the complex dynamics that affect peacekeeping operations. The study will adopt a multifaced strategy formed by a combination of exploratory case study and fieldwork. The first approach will provide a general interpretation of the role of UNIFIL in maintaining peace and the effectiveness of its mandate while the second approach will allow for a detailed understanding of the underpinning that influences the outcome of the mission. The exploratory case study method allows for the analysis of primary and secondary sources related to shortcomings of the peacekeeping mission in Lebanon, distinctive relations with the different actors in its area of operation, and the application of the three principles of peacekeeping. This will be followed by fieldwork comprised of non-participant observation of the behavior of the different actors, and interviews with peacekeepers and figures in the local community. In addition to observing how locals interact with UNIFIL and how the peacekeepers respond to new problems, the study will utilize semi-structured interviews that will yield qualitative data that will be more specific and closer to reality (Lamont, 2015). The case study of UNIFIL will not permit the generalization of outcomes to all peacekeeping missions, yet it will provide a better understanding of the challenges that face UN peacekeeping, and it will allow for triangulation using the data analyzed to validate the findings from interviews and the fieldwork (Natow, 2020). Due to the multifaced shape of the methodology used in the research, I will examine various types of data acquired from document analysis related to the case studies and the fieldwork. Regarding the exploratory case study, the data will be acquired from a variety of primary and secondary resources which includes policy documents, UN official reports, journal articles, and UNSC resolutions. The analysis of these sources will help in the understanding of the role of UNIFIL in maintaining stability and the factors withholding the implementation of the mission’s mandate. One problem that is faced when analyzing governmental documents and official policies is the risk of dealing with biased data which is understandable based on the politics that goes in foreign policy. Such an issue could threaten the validity of the results and will misguide the outcomes from reality. Regarding non-participant observation, it will focus on the behavior of the local community with the peacekeepers in everyday life to analyze the different perspectives of actors based on their interaction with the peacekeeping force. Also, it is important to examine the response of UN peacekeepers to the continuous challenges they face, and the measures and tools they use to implement UNSC resolution 1701. The observation of these factors will provide insight into the limitations responsible for the prevention of the mission’s mandate. It is important to note that this method is applicable because I am a Lebanese who lived his entire life in UNIFIL’s area of operation. Furthermore, the interviews will be semi-structured interviews with UNIFIL officers responsible for decision-making directly related to the implementation of the mission’s mandate. The questions will be related to the real factors that influence this decision-making, and the measures used to adapt and overcome challenges. Furthermore, with the consent of the participants, the interview could be recorded in order to facilitate the analysis of the data later. The number of participants is not definite due to the challenge of acquiring access to military personnel needed for interviews which leads us to the potential issue of not getting access at all. That is why, this research will apply a non-participant observation approach and will not be dependent only on the interviews. This fieldwork will be an added value to the research due to the broad spectrum of data gathered despite the risk of being biased. This leads to the process of triangulation in order to increase the validity and credibility of the findings. This strategy will allow for cross-verifying of the data gathered from the interviews and observation with the findings of document analysis gathered from the exploratory case study which will provide a more robust understanding. Moreover, due to the constructivist ontological perception of the research, it provides more justification for triangulation (Natow, 2020). Regarding the collection of data for the exploratory case study, it will be gathered from online databases like JSTOR and Google Scholars, official governmental websites, UN official reports, and the UNIFIL website. This method will help in formulating a clear understanding regarding the factors that withhold the implementation of the mission’s mandate and the application of UN peacekeeping principles. Based on the transparency of the UN, access to these documents is possible and available in many databases. Regarding the interviews, using formal channels, they could be arranged by email or other local channels if possible. The semi-structured style of the interviews will allow for flexibility, despite the prepared outline, in case of unexpected headlines rising during the meeting. Moreover, these face-to-face interviews will increase the chance of acquiring real data and exclusive insight into the nonlinearity of peacekeeping operations. Yet, this approach has many limitations such as limited access due to unavailability or even for security reasons, and the participant could refrain from answering sensitive questions. Also, the data gathered from the interviews could reflect biased beliefs (Liu, 2018). That is why, I am applying non-participant observation as an additional approach in case the interviews were not possible. I believe that it can provide similar real results with more objectivity. When examining the reports and documents gathered, I will apply thematic analysis to the data collected which involves the analysis and interpretation of specific themes that will be identified at the beginning. Then, the themes will be refined and reviewed thoroughly in order to provide a clear interpretation of the data such as the ineffectiveness of the mandate and the effect of non-state actors on the success of the mission. This approach produces designated themes that are specific to the research instead of relying on general theories. Similarly, the analysis of the semi-structured interviews and the non-participant observation will involve the creation of transcripts that will be studied in order to detect potential codes that could be grouped for comparison. This will be done by detecting key ideas that are significant to the research question. This combination will lead to a better analysis of the data gathered and thus lead to a comprehensive interpretation of the research question. However, due to the qualitative nature of the research, it is critical to recognize the importance of objectivity, in which the biases of a researcher could influence their analysis of the results. Furthermore, triangulation of the data gathered from both approaches will increase the validity of the findings. Suggested Thesis Structure: 1) Introduction a) Literature Review b) Theoretical Framework c) Research Design and Methodology 2) Complexity in UN Peacekeeping 3) UNIFIL as a case study a) Background b) UNSC Resolution 1701 c) Principles of Peacekeeping d) Actors in UNIFIL’s area of operation 4) Analysis of nonlinearity in UNIFIL’s daily operations 5) Findings and Recommendations a) Understanding Impartiality and Peace Enforcement b) Mandate Implementation c) Recommendations d) Conclusion |