Vietnam's Foray into UN Peacekeeping: Advancing Its Interests While Keeping the Peace
Abstract
Vietnam recently announced its intent to provide the United Nations (UN) with peacekeeping forces in calendar year 2014. Through their new participation in UN peacekeeping, Vietnam has an opportunity to expand their international and regional influence. This paper evaluates the ways peacekeeping can advance Vietnam's interests. It shows participation in UN activities will increase support for Vietnam's future bids to the UN Human Rights Council and Security Council. It will also serve as an avenue for Vietnam to improve their human rights record. On the regional level, peacekeeping operations provide an opportunity for improving relations and interoperability with fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). If aggressive in developing their peacekeeping force, Vietnam will have the potential to fill a leadership role in ASEAN as that organization also takes on increased peacekeeping responsibilities. Furthermore, peacekeeping activities will improve Vietnam's interoperability with regional partners, indirectly helping hedge against Chinese claims in the South China Sea. All of this comes with the added benefit of increased expertise the Communist Party of Vietnam can use to deal with domestic issues. To maximize the benefits of participating in UN peacekeeping, the government of Vietnam should move forward quickly, but cautiously. This paper concludes by providing several recommendations for Vietnam as they enter the world of peacekeeping.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 2013
- Accession Number
- ADA594212
Entities
People
- James S. Leffel
Organizations
- Naval War College