Does Peacekeeping Really Bring Peace? Post-War Violence Beyond Killing
Shanna Kirschner & Adam Miller
Allegheny College
Abstract:
Does peacekeeping work? While substantial evidence demonstrates that peacekeeping promotes peace and limits civilian deaths, research has not addressed whether peacekeeping mitigates nonlethal violence. We explore when peacekeeping missions reduce one such type of abuse: sexual violence. Using monthly data, we analyze the effects of UN missions in the 40 African civil wars from 1989 to 2009. We find that peacekeepers substantially reduce the chance that combatants commit sexual violence. More robust peacekeeping missions with larger deployments and the ability to use force to keep peace produce a greater effect. Not all actors respond equally to peacekeepers, however: governments curtail violence more quickly and thoroughly than rebel factions do.
Discussants:
Michael Greig (University of North Texas)
Susanna Campbell (American University)
Sabrina Karim (Cornell University)
OPSC Coordinator:
Emily Ritter (University of California Merced)
Graduate Assistant:
Peter D. Carey II (University of California Merced)
