Peace Operations Seen from Below: U.N. Missions and Local People - Hardcover

"'an innovative piece of work which analyses a facet of peacekeeping that is often ignored or underplayed. [...] Pouligny has conducted a project on perceptions and strategies "from below" through her work in peacekeeping, providing the reader with a perspective that is both detailed and wide-ranging.' - Dr Claire Heristchi, Portsmouth University 'Fills a gap in the literature on U.N. peacekeeping. It looks not only at U.N. peace operations and what they face, but more specifically focuses on the interlocutors in the mission countries and the local societies where these missions are present. This is an under-researched area and this book is therefore very important in this respect. Its publication will enhance the discourse on U.N. peace operations and what they face [...] and establishes a new way of thinking about peace operations.' -Dr Eirin Mobekk, University of Bradford"

Cambodia, Somalia, Mozambique, Bosnia, Haiti, Sierra Leone - all have been the subject of interventions by armed UN units sent to stabilize societies riven by political and ethnic antagonism. Apart from anecdotal reportage, little is known or has been investigated about how local inhabitants in these and other cities interact with and respond to peace keepers in their midst. Most studies of post-conflict situations focus on political elites, the demobilization of armed groups and the question of whether externally determined criteria for state reconstruction have been met.In "Peace Operations Seen From Below" Beatrice Pouligny argues that much of what is being re-built in societies emerging from war - or in some cases what is continuing to be destroyed - often lies in the 'ordinary' daily lives of both local populations and the staff of UN missions. These on-the-ground realities are often overlooked by outsiders, yet they may prove to be as important as political negotiations at the 'center', debates in the UN Security Council or hearings before an International Criminal Court. Central to Pouligny's study is the key role played by local interlocutors. Her close analysis of several UN interventions, based on first hand observation of how local people intermingle with UN soldiery and civilians, sheds light on a neglected but crucial dimension of international peace enforcement.