Understanding Deadly Force in United Nations Peacekeeping Since the ‘Robust Turn’
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: What do we know of the extent to which non-peacekeepers are killed and injured due to deadly force employed by UN peacekeeping missions? This question is interrogated through an exploration of datasets and qualitative studies on violent events in UN peacekeeping between 2010 and 2024, focussing specifically on those instances where the mandated use of deadly force has led to death and injury. This analysis finds that whilst the UN has policies and safeguards at the ‘input’ stage of deadly force, there appears to be little to no systematic UN-led data of its ‘outputs’. Therefore, understanding the trends, policies and actions related to deadly force in peacekeeping operations is a fundamentally difficult task. In making this argument, the paper exposes gaps with regards to how we understand a central aspect of peacekeeping, namely the employment of force in self-defence or defence of the mandate. It raises questions about how knowledge is produced in relation to the effects of UN interventions in violent conflict, and advocates for broadening of research to better understand the effects of deadly force.
Source: International Peacekeeping
Author: David Curran
Institution: Coventry University
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W4415126925