Seminar on Peace Operations (ILO L224)
FLETCHER SCHOOL
FALL 2012
Instructor:
Ian Johnstone
Fletcher School
617-627-4172
ian.johnstone@tufts.edu
Enthusiasm for peacekeeping has waxed and waned in recent years, from exuberance in the early 1990s to disappointment and disinterest in the mid-90s, back to cautious enthusiasm at the end of the decade, to what is now almost universal recognition that peace operations are an important strategic tool for the management of international peace and security. Between 1999 and 2008, 13 major UN peacekeeping missions were established, along with regional operations undertaken by NATO, the European Union, African Union, ECOWAS and various other organizations and coalitions. There were more than 40 UN and non-UN peace operations deployed in the year 2007. This course combines a thematic and case study approach to this complex aspect of contemporary international affairs. We will look at UN and non-UN peace operations, broadly defined to include peace-keeping, peace enforcement and post-conflict peace-building. We begin with a number of sessions on fundamentals: the UN Charter framework, history and types of peace operation, doctrine, functions and capacity. Select cases are studied to draw out common themes and concerns, such as the problem of ‘spoilers’, the peace v. justice debate, the dilemmas of humanitarian action and the challenges of state-building. The focus is on post-Cold War operations, examined in light of past experience and official attempts to reflect on the evolving nature of peacekeeping. The course concludes with a series of student-led presentations on recent missions, designed to draw on knowledge garnered from the cases, themes and issues studied earlier. (Monday and Wednesday 9:40-10:55 a.m.)
