Publications

International peacekeeping missions are under immense pressure. The end of the NATO mission in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of the UN mission from Mali have fuelled doubts about their purpose. High expectations were therefore placed on the UN's "New Agenda for Peace" published in July 2023. One of its recommendations concerns peace enforcement operations deployed not by the UN but by regional organisations, in particular the AU. The new ZIF briefing by Tobias von Gienanth describes historical precedents and assesses the prospects of success of this proposal. 

With short texts and infographics, the new ZIF dashboard provides information on current trends in the personnel numbers of peace operations. This year, the “Spotlight” is on mis- and disinformation in the context of peace operations.

The new edition of our world map of peace operations offers up-to-date information and figures on missions by the UN, EU, OSCE and other organizations as well as the respective German participation of the Bundeswehr, police and civilian experts. In addition, the world map is being published in a new design this year.

International conflict management in the Western Balkans will continue to face major challenges in 2024. The achievements of recent years are under threat. This raises the question of a political reorientation - above all towards more robust prevention. This would require international diplomacy to be supplemented by more conditional incentives and sanctions.

The Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus (HDP Nexus) aims to interlink humanitarian aid and development with peacebuilding. For refugee contexts, the great added value of the HDP/Nexus approach lies in its broader claim to peace. This is a prerequisite for lasting solutions for people on the move.”

Since the beginning of the Ukraine war 2022, the Republic of Moldova has seen increasing attempts by Russia to destabilise the country through hybrid actions. In April 2023, the EU Partnership Mission in the Republic of Moldova (EUPM Moldova) became the first CSDP mission with a mandate in the area of hybrid threats. The latest ZIF TECHPOPS piece elaborates security challenges in Moldova and the tasks of the new mission.

In our latest briefing “Russia’s double-bluff – The Wagner Group and UN Peace Operations,” ZIF looks at what the Group's deployment in conflict areas means for UN peace operations. How does Wagner’s presence influence the relationship between host governments and peace operations? And how do geopolitical tensions affect this dynamic? This ZIF briefing describes immediate risks and offers recommendations on how to counter them.

Peace Operations are an important instrument in international conflict resolution efforts, but they are under stress, their effectiveness is in question. How international and regional organizations have tackled a shifting geopolitical landscape and operational challenges? What does it take for crisis management to be effective in the future? Our analysis team did a comprehensive research and presents the results and comments in this study.

The dashboard uses short texts and infographics to describe current trends in the personnel numbers of peace operations and of German civilian seconded personnel in missions, HQs and institutions. The “Spotlight” focuses on the extent and challenges of peace operations of African (sub-)regional organisations.

How is ZIF involved in peace mediation and mediation support? What are our specific contributions and activities? From providing technical expertise to multilateral organizations to building mediation-specific capacity - the new infographic Mediation Support @ZIF provides an overview of our fields of action in three core areas.

What are recipes for success in implementing the HDP Nexus? Using practices from South Sudan, Cameroon and Kenya, this ZIF Briefing presents examples for good standard implementation and recommends further measures to overcome existing hurdles to broad operationalization of the nexus approach.

The new edition of our well-known world map of peace operations provides up-to-date information and figures on missions of the UN, EU, OSCE and other organisations, as well as on the respective German participation of the Bundeswehr, police and civilian experts.

Protecting the truth is a daily challenge for peace operations. In a new ZIF study, Monika Benkler, Dr. Annika S. Hansen and Lilian Reichert discuss how and to what extent peace operations are affected by digital disinformation and which approaches international organisations (UN, EU, OSCE and NATO) have chosen to limit its effects or prevent it. It also identifies potential entry points and options for engagement by peace operations.

There is a huge amount of publicly available information ready for peace operations analysts to be used and evaluated to better understand their area of operations. However, without Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning tools supporting Open-Source Intelligence employed for real-time conflict monitoring it would be impossible to exploit its full potential. Dr Dirk Kolb and Philipp Starz (Traversals Analytics and Intelligence), explain how existing systems are further developed.

Ceasefires play an important role in the prevention of further conflict and armed violence. While ceasefire monitoring and verification is usually conducted by in-person monitors, this may not always be possible due to non-permissive environments. In such instances, technology can help overcome these challenges, as well as extend the range of monitoring and the pace of data synthesis.

Despite its potential, the digital revolution has not transformed gender justice. As peace operations venture down the path of digital transformation, they must carefully consider both the potential opportunities and the pitfalls that technology presents, especially taking note of what can be a gendered tool of oppression and continued marginalisation. While technology has the power to enable, it also has the capacity to disempower.

Hybrid threats are an increasingly complex security challenge for the EU, also affecting its civilian CSDP missions. Malign actors target the EU at large and aim to derail EU’s global engagement, not least through information manipulation. Both the EU’s Strategic Compass and the Civilian CSDP Compact have recognised the challenge and led to initiatives to tackle hybrid threats including toolboxes and response teams.

A recent publication of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions reflects on the effects of Russia’s war on the future activities of the OSCE. Andreas Wittkowsky argues that the OSCE should prepare for a scenario demanding another monitoring mission. It is therefore the right time to evaluate the SMM’s experiences of the SMM to Ukraine.