Deterring Spoilers: Peace Enforcement Operations and Political Settlements to Conflict

Abstract

In this thesis, I demonstrate that the ability of a peace enforcement operation to deter spoilers determines the progress of a political settlement to a conflict. Using the method of difference, I examine how two case studies with similar security environments obtained divergent results in political settlements to their respective conflicts. In Somalia, Operation Restore Hope provided a strong peace enforcement operation, but ultimately failed to deter spoilers to United Nations negotiations for a political settlement to the conflict. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, Operation Artemis succeeded in deterring spoilers to the implementation of a political settlement to that country's civil war. Peace enforcement operations like Artemis, which offer highly credible military capabilities in direct support of the political negotiating process, prove to be effective in deterring spoilers and thus ensuring forward momentum for a political settlement to the conflict.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2008
Accession Number
ADA479951

Entities

People

  • Nicole C. Manseau

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Agreements
  • Air Force
  • Case Studies
  • Civil War
  • Ethnic Groups
  • European Union
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Conflicts
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Joint Military Activities
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military Capabilities
  • National Security
  • Political Science
  • Recreation
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • History

Readers

  • International Relations and Conflict Resolution
  • Strategic Security Studies