Humanitarian intervention
What to do and what not to do? Comparative analysis of two peace enforcement operations in Somalia (1992-1993 and 1993-1995).
Introduction
Peace operations have become the most widely used tool for conflict management, therefore, a vast range of different military operation types was invented, e.g. observer mission, peacekeeping, peace enforcement. The last type of operations became widely used due to the fact that there is no consent of the belligerent parties needed to conduct a mission, for instance, the humanitarian intervention in Libya is the most recent and prominent example, plus, in general it is considered to be effective - according to Virginia Page Fortna, peace enforcement is effective in 58.33% of cases1 (post-Cold War period). However, the question of factors contributing to the success\failure of such type of interventions was not addressed so far in the literature; consequently, it will constitute my research question. The sub-question tackles the importance of certain variables in the affect on efficacy of the operation. For this outcome controlled and interfering variables as the number of soldiers in the contingent, amount of resources, external actors involved, sanctions, composition of contingent, cooperation with INGOs and local NGOs will be assessed.
To be able to answer the question mentioned above, the research will be structured in a following way: firstly, definitions of ‘peace enforcement’ will be assessed and its main features, for example, amount of force implemented for conflict regulation, level of consent of belligerent parties and degree of impartiality of peace enforcers, and the practices it comprises. Then the criterion for the efficiency will be set up. Afterwards the comparative analysis of two case studies will be implemented to reveal the most significant variables, crucially affecting the outcome of this type of peace operations. Cases of peace enforcement in Somalia in 1992-1993 and 1993-1995 seem to be the most
Introduction
Peace operations have become the most widely used tool for conflict management, therefore, a vast range of different military operation types was invented, e.g. observer mission, peacekeeping, peace enforcement. The last type of operations became widely used due to the fact that there is no consent of the belligerent parties needed to conduct a mission, for instance, the humanitarian intervention in Libya is the most recent and prominent example, plus, in general it is considered to be effective - according to Virginia Page Fortna, peace enforcement is effective in 58.33% of cases1 (post-Cold War period). However, the question of factors contributing to the success\failure of such type of interventions was not addressed so far in the literature; consequently, it will constitute my research question. The sub-question tackles the importance of certain variables in the affect on efficacy of the operation. For this outcome controlled and interfering variables as the number of soldiers in the contingent, amount of resources, external actors involved, sanctions, composition of contingent, cooperation with INGOs and local NGOs will be assessed.
To be able to answer the question mentioned above, the research will be structured in a following way: firstly, definitions of ‘peace enforcement’ will be assessed and its main features, for example, amount of force implemented for conflict regulation, level of consent of belligerent parties and degree of impartiality of peace enforcers, and the practices it comprises. Then the criterion for the efficiency will be set up. Afterwards the comparative analysis of two case studies will be implemented to reveal the most significant variables, crucially affecting the outcome of this type of peace operations. Cases of peace enforcement in Somalia in 1992-1993 and 1993-1995 seem to be the most
References: 1. Allen, R. Lessons from Somalia: The Dilemma Of Peace Enforcement\http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1997/Allen.htm 2. Betts, Richard K. “The Delusion of Impartial Intervention,” Foreign Affairs, (Nov-Dec 1994): 20-33. 3. Butler M.J. International conflict management: an introduction. Routledge. 2009 4. K.P.Coleman. International Organisations and Peace Enforcement. The Politics of International Legitimacy. 2007. University of British Columbia, Vancouver 5. Easton Jr. Somalia: key operational considerations and implications in an era of peace enforcement and forced humanitarian assistance ventures\http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA266740&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf 6. Fortna V.P.. 2004. Does peacekeeping keep peace? International intervention and the duration of peace after civil war. Internationsl Studies Quaterly, 48, pp.269-292 7. McDonald, G. Peace enforcement: the Middle ground. \ http://www.unige.ch/cyberdocuments/theses2001/McDonaldG/these.html 8. Osman M.A. The United Nations and peace enforcement: wars, terrorism and democracy. Ashgate. 2002 9. Documents from the official UN web-site (resolutions, reports of special missions, reports of Secretary General, etc.)