The UN Between War and Peace: Transformations of Political Violence Through Peacekeeping?

The United Nations (UN) was founded with the central objective of maintaining and promoting global peace, primarily through peacekeeping operations. This chapter examines the complex role of UN peacekeeping in shaping the frequency and nature of civil wars. Examining quantitative and qualitative perspectives on peacekeeping, the chapter critically reflects on findings of existing research and highlights gaps in the literature. The reviewed research demonstrates that UN peacekeeping is often linked to a reduction in battlefield deaths, fewer civilian casualties, and a lower risk of conflict recurrence. By providing security, enforcing ceasefires, and supporting post-war reconstruction, peacekeeping missions contribute to stabilising fragile states and deterring a return to large-scale violence. However, while these efforts effectively contain immediate violence, they do not necessarily address the deeper structural factors that fuel long-term instability. This chapter highlights how peacekeeping missions can sometimes reinforce existing inequalities, weaken local governance, or exacerbate economic and social grievances. Peacekeeping missions can thereby sustain or even intensify structural, cultural, or symbolic violence. Dependence on international actors, political exclusion, and instances of misconduct by peacekeepers can even create new forms of insecurity, even in the absence of direct violence. Thus, while the UN plays a vital role in mitigating open conflict, the broader impact of peacekeeping on societal transformation remains complex and, at times, contradictory. The chapter concludes with an examination of the peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUSCO, and discusses how and why the mission failed to fundamentally transform political violence in the country.