Peacekeeping and Forced Displacement

• In Event: Challenges in UN Peacekeeping

Abstract

What is the relationship between peacekeeping and forced displacement? Scholars have found that peacekeepers reduce civilian deaths and the potential for international conflict contagion, leading many to assert that they likewise mitigate both internal displacement as well as refugee flows out of conflict-ridden states. In this paper, however, we argue that the effects of peacekeeping on displacement are more nuanced; while peacekeeping may reduce the relative number of refugees fleeing a conflict zone, they also appear to increase rates of internal displacement. By making certain geographic areas within states safer than others, monitoring national borders, and directly moving populations out of dangerous regions for their safety, peacekeepers increase the likelihood that individuals will flee violence within their home state. Using data from Providing for Peacekeeping, UNHCR, and DPO, we demonstrate that peacekeeping is associated with higher rates of internal displacement, but lower rates of refugee flows. We subsequently conduct a case study of displacement in the Central African Republic, demonstrating the mechanisms by which peacekeepers change incentives for individuals, leading more to flee violence within states as opposed to seeking refuge abroad.

Authors

• Filip Savatic, Georgetown University

• Lise Morje Howard, Georgetown University