Making the Most of Peace and Humanitarian Operations
Making the Most of Peace and Humanitarian Operations

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2000

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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The U.S. military has traditionally been engaged in peace and humanitarian operations. These operations support the current National Security Strategy and can be counted on to constitute future military missions. The debate over whether or not the military should be tasked with such missions has outlived its value. Attention should be turned to the questions of when and how the military can be most effectively employed in these operations. Numerous benefits can be gained when the military undertakes peace and humanitarian operations. However, significant costs can also be incurred. The most important factor determining whether the benefits will outweigh the costs is mission accomplishment - success. Another critical determinant is time, with shorter operations resulting in greater benefits and lower costs. Historically, peace and humanitarian operations with clear, limited objectives have produced more successful outcomes than complex missions or protracted peace-intensive operations. To maximize the net gain for the nation, strategic decision-makers are encouraged to continue to selectively engage with operations that meet these parameters. Proper preparation by military units can reduce the amount of combat skill degradation that typically results from the execution of peace and humanitarian operations. Service-wide usage of a deployment cycle, like the Navy-Marine Corps model, will further mitigate the costs of these operations.

Why Peacekeeping Fails
Why Peacekeeping Fails

Author: D. Jett

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2000-03-01

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 0312292740

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Dennis C. Jett examines why peacekeeping operations fail by comparing the unsuccessful attempt at peacekeeping in Angola with the successful effort in Mozambique, alongside a wide range of other peacekeeping experiences. The book argues that while the causes of past peacekeeping failures can be identified, the chances for success will be difficult to improve because of the way such operations are initiated and conducted, and the way the United Nations operates as an organization. Jett reviews the history of peacekeeping and the evolution in the number, size, scope, and cost of peacekeeping missions. He also explains why peacekeeping has become more necessary, possible, and desired and yet, at the same time, more complex, more difficult, and less frequently used. The book takes a hard look at the UN's actions and provides useful information for understanding current conflicts.

Humanitarian Military Intervention
Humanitarian Military Intervention

Author: Taylor B. Seybolt

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 0199252432

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Military intervention in a conflict without a reasonable prospect of success is unjustifiable, especially when it is done in the name of humanity. Couched in the debate on the responsibility to protect civilians from violence and drawing on traditional 'just war' principles, the centralpremise of this book is that humanitarian military intervention can be justified as a policy option only if decision makers can be reasonably sure that intervention will do more good than harm. This book asks, 'Have past humanitarian military interventions been successful?' It defines success as saving lives and sets out a methodology for estimating the number of lives saved by a particular military intervention. Analysis of 17 military operations in six conflict areas that were thedefining cases of the 1990s-northern Iraq after the Gulf War, Somalia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Kosovo and East Timor-shows that the majority were successful by this measure. In every conflict studied, however, some military interventions succeeded while others failed, raising the question, 'Why have some past interventions been more successful than others?' This book argues that the central factors determining whether a humanitarian intervention succeeds are theobjectives of the intervention and the military strategy employed by the intervening states. Four types of humanitarian military intervention are offered: helping to deliver emergency aid, protecting aid operations, saving the victims of violence and defeating the perpetrators of violence. Thefocus on strategy within these four types allows an exploration of the political and military dimensions of humanitarian intervention and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of each of the four types.Humanitarian military intervention is controversial. Scepticism is always in order about the need to use military force because the consequences can be so dire. Yet it has become equally controversial not to intervene when a government subjects its citizens to massive violation of their basic humanrights. This book recognizes the limits of humanitarian intervention but does not shy away from suggesting how military force can save lives in extreme circumstances.

Humanitarian Action and Peace Keeping Operations
Humanitarian Action and Peace Keeping Operations

Author: Institute of Policy Studies (Singapore)

Publisher: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 344

ISBN-13: 9789041107244

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This is the third work in the series of conferences held in Singapore on various aspects of United Nations Peacekeeping operations, under the auspices of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), the Institute of Political Studies (IPS) of Singapore and the National Institute for Research Advancement (NIRA) of Japan. The 1997 Conference focused on humanitarian action and peacekeeping operations and brought together key practitioners and scholars from the Security Council, those interested in government, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), other humanitarian NGOs, academics and military personnel. Since the end of the Cold War, the number and complexity of UN peacekeeping operations have increased dramatically due to profound changes in many areas of the world. The recent trend has seen a shift from inter-state to intra-state conflicts, bringing in its wake a myriad of operational, legal and political questions, such as the very relevance and applicability of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of the state. Parties to recent conflicts have no central authority and little or no regard for international humanitarian law. Interested and involved parties on the peacekeeping and humanitarian scene have also changed and multiplied. All these factors render humanitarian action more complex, dangerous and difficult for all parties involved. The book reviews four United Nations peacekeeping operations that have undergone immense difficulties, viz. in Somalia, the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Liberia. It debates the pertinent political framework for humanitarian action in each case. It explores the relationship between humanitarian and military action, of coordination with regional organizations and multinational force, as well as fundamental questions regarding the role and responsibility of the member states of the Security Council. Its findings can provide policy-makers, researchers and analysts of international affairs with a sober and thorough assessment of past experience and lessons for the future.

Aspects of Peacekeeping
Aspects of Peacekeeping

Author: Stuart Gordon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2014-05-22

Total Pages: 317

ISBN-13: 1135266700

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The nature of UN operational involvement in the practical management of conflict has evolved dramatically since the end of the Cold War. The post-Cold War liberation of the Security Council, the subsequent paralysis in its decision-making competence, and the apparent dilution of the concept of sovereignty as a prohibition on intervention have been principal factors in the evolving fortunes of UK peace-support operations. This evolving environment has had profound implications for the way in which the humanitarian community, the United Nations and military forces engaged under a UN flag have reacted to peace-support operations. This book explores contemporary peace-support operations and examines many of the principal challenges that now confront those charged, in different ways, with bringing peace to war-torn societies. In particular, this volume looks at the evolving nature of military, UN and humanitarian non-governmental organization's intervention in these complex conflicts. It also explores how these organizations relate to one another and the way in which a division of labour is determined.

The State of Peacebuilding in Africa
The State of Peacebuilding in Africa

Author: Terence McNamee

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-11-02

Total Pages: 433

ISBN-13: 3030466361

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This open access book on the state of peacebuilding in Africa brings together the work of distinguished scholars, practitioners, and decision makers to reflect on key experiences and lessons learned in peacebuilding in Africa over the past half century. The core themes addressed by the contributors include conflict prevention, mediation, and management; post-conflict reconstruction, justice and Disarmament Demobilization and Reintegration; the role of women, religion, humanitarianism, grassroots organizations, and early warning systems; and the impact of global, regional, and continental bodies. The book's thematic chapters are complemented by six country/region case studies: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan/South Sudan, Mozambique and the Sahel/Mali. Each chapter concludes with a set of key lessons learned that could be used to inform the building of a more sustainable peace in Africa. The State of Peacebuilding in Africa was born out of the activities of the Southern Voices Network for Peacebuilding (SVNP), a Carnegie-funded, continent-wide network of African organizations that works with the Wilson Center to bring African knowledge and perspectives to U.S., African, and international policy on peacebuilding in Africa. The research for this book was made possible by a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York.

Responding to Violent Conflicts and Humanitarian Crises
Responding to Violent Conflicts and Humanitarian Crises

Author: Pamela Aall

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2021-01-08

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 3030594637

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This book introduces the four principal sets of institutions that engage in bringing peace and relief to societies mired in violent conflicts and humanitarian crises—the United Nations and other international bodies; non-governmental organizations; civilian government agencies; and militaries. Because these institutions have distinct goals as well as overlapping mandates and activities on the ground, they do not always collaborate effectively, due in part to a lack of familiarity with how the other institutions are organized, make decisions or act on the ground. Despite declining public support for large-scale, state-building missions recently, more complex interagency efforts have evolved in partnership with host country governments. Numerous third parties continue to undertake peacebuilding, stabilization, and humanitarian relief measures around the globe. This book is intended primarily for those serving in the field, but it is also helpful to headquarters personnel and policymakers, as well as military and agency trainees and university students.

Making War and Building Peace
Making War and Building Peace

Author: Michael W. Doyle

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 2011-04-22

Total Pages: 421

ISBN-13: 1400837693

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Making War and Building Peace examines how well United Nations peacekeeping missions work after civil war. Statistically analyzing all civil wars since 1945, the book compares peace processes that had UN involvement to those that didn't. Michael Doyle and Nicholas Sambanis argue that each mission must be designed to fit the conflict, with the right authority and adequate resources. UN missions can be effective by supporting new actors committed to the peace, building governing institutions, and monitoring and policing implementation of peace settlements. But the UN is not good at intervening in ongoing wars. If the conflict is controlled by spoilers or if the parties are not ready to make peace, the UN cannot play an effective enforcement role. It can, however, offer its technical expertise in multidimensional peacekeeping operations that follow enforcement missions undertaken by states or regional organizations such as NATO. Finding that UN missions are most effective in the first few years after the end of war, and that economic development is the best way to decrease the risk of new fighting in the long run, the authors also argue that the UN's role in launching development projects after civil war should be expanded.

Doing Bad by Doing Good
Doing Bad by Doing Good

Author: Christopher J Coyne

Publisher: Stanford University Press

Published: 2013-05-01

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0804786119

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An economics-focused analysis of why humanitarian relief efforts fail and how they can be remedied. In 2010, Haiti was ravaged by a brutal earthquake that affected the lives of millions. The call to assist those in need was heard around the globe. Yet two years later humanitarian efforts led by governments and NGOs have largely failed. Resources are not reaching the needy due to bureaucratic red tape, and many assets have been squandered. How can efforts intended to help the suffering fail so badly? In this timely and provocative book, Christopher J. Coyne uses the economic way of thinking to explain why this and other humanitarian efforts that intend to do good end up doing nothing or causing harm. In addition to Haiti, Coyne considers a wide range of interventions. He explains why the US government was ineffective following Hurricane Katrina, why the international humanitarian push to remove Muammar Gaddafi in Libya may very well end up causing more problems than prosperity, and why decades of efforts to respond to crises and foster development around the world have resulted in repeated failures. In place of the dominant approach to state-led humanitarian action, this book offers a bold alternative, focused on establishing an environment of economic freedom. If we are willing to experiment with aid—asking questions about how to foster development as a process of societal discovery, or how else we might engage the private sector, for instance—we increase the range of alternatives to help people and empower them to improve their communities. Anyone concerned with and dedicated to alleviating human suffering in the short term or for the long haul, from policymakers and activists to scholars, will find this book to be an insightful and provocative reframing of humanitarian action. Praise for Doing Bad by Doing Good “Coyne is to be congratulated for a book that strongly calls into question the conventional wisdom that we must look first to government to accomplish humanitarian ends.” —George Leef, Regulation Magazine “Coyne attempts to explain why conventional approaches to humanitarian aid and longer-term economic development have failed miserably . . . . Recommended.” —M. Q. Dao, Choice “Coyne offers a classic neo-liberal economic analysis to explain why the humanitarian project in its current state is doomed.” —Zoe Cormack, Times Literary Supplement