Designing Civilian Protection: UN Troop Type and Mission Effectiveness

• In Event: How to Keep Peace

Abstract

In modern UN peacekeeping missions, a central goal is a commitment to protecting civilians. Past research has corroborated the UN's effectiveness - under certain conditions - in protecting civilians against violent attacks when sufficient troop numbers are deployed to local areas; however, little work has analyzed how troop type and equipment shape mission effectiveness. To examine this question, we combine information about troop deployment types from the Geocoded Peacekeeping Operations (Geo-PKO) Dataset with events data on violence against civilians from the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) Project. Reinforcing the importance of maneuverability in creating effective missions, we find that transportation and aviation units reduce violence against civilians when deployed to local areas. However, the deployment of armored units increases the prevalence of attacks against civilians, suggesting that “hardening” UN missions may actually be counterproductive in protecting civilian populations.

Authors

• Sloane Kathryn Ward, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Holley E. Hansen, Oklahoma State University

• Stephen C. Nemeth, Oklahoma State University