Peace Operations Seen from Below: U.N. Missions And Local People

* Explores many ways local populations think about and respond to peacekeepers
* Timely reflection on nature of peacekeeping operations, occupation, and conflict resolution or escalation
* Engagingly written, suitable for undergraduate level courses

Cambodia, Somalia, Mozambique, El Salvador, Bosnia, Haiti, Sierra Leone: all have been the subject of interventions by UN peacekeeping forces sent to stabilize these societies torn by political and ethnic conflict. Yet little is known or has been investigated about how local inhabitants interact with and respond to peacekeepers in their midst. In Peace Operations Seen From Below, Béatrice Pouligny argues that much of what is being rebuilt 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 peacekeeping missions.

Pouligny’s close analysis of 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. By foregrounding the experiences of “ordinary” people, she renders visible those who are often hidden within the fog of both war and peace.