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New Publication: Winning Peace Indirectly: How UN Peacekeepers’ Security Activities Shape Local Support and Conflict Dynamics
News, Publication |
New publication by Burak Giray!
In this article, Burak Giray examines how UN peacekeepers’ security activities can reduce violence not only directly through deterrence, but also indirectly by enabling peacekeepers to build trust and cooperation with local communities. While existing research has largely focused on the direct effects of security activities, the study highlights how these activities can also create opportunities for broader forms of engagement with civilians.
Using a novel dataset of daily peacekeeping activities from the official social media accounts of nine UN missions between 2010 and 2022, the study employs mediation analysis to examine these dynamics. The results show that security activities are primarily associated with lower levels of violence indirectly, by creating space for non-security activities that foster trust and cooperation. The study also finds that timing matters. When security activities are conducted proactively rather than reactively, they are directly associated with lower levels of violence. The findings underscore the importance of viewing peacekeeping as a multidimensional endeavor in which security and non-security activities jointly contribute to reducing violence.