SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The line between peacekeeping and force is increasingly blurred in the work of the United Nations Security Council and without sufficient review or assessment of the merits of adding force to peacekeeping mandates. The blurred line between peacekeeping and force mandates is apparent in both robust peacekeeping (the authorisation of tactical force within a peacekeeping mission ) and peace enforcement (the escalation of a peacekeeping mission into a ‘Chapter VII force ’ ). While the Security Council’s authorisation of Chapter VII force attracts attention in Western states and media, as does its authorisation of peace enforcement operations missions (‘peace enforcement authorisations’), the Security Council’s increasing development of robust peacekeeping is less often raised within our debates and discussions. In this chapter, I argue that the Security Council would benefit from internal rather than external projections of the rule-of-law in the context of robust peacekeeping, to better account for the risks associated with the deployment of force, including that of international military actors perpetrating sexual violence.