African Peacekeeping

An examination of how peacekeeping is woven into national, regional and international politics in Africa, and its consequences.

Jonathan Fisher (Author), Nina Wilén (Author)

9781108499378, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 February 2022

260 pages
23.5 x 15.6 x 1.9 cm, 0.49 kg

'… the book is a very good, convincing, concise, and accessible study of the history and politics of “African peacekeeping”. It is founded on strong fieldwork and years of research experience. … The emphasis on demonstrating how and what political formation or power structures and relations peacekeeping enables or enacts, is most needed in a field that still too often conceives of its object - peacekeeping - as an instrument for peace devoid of politics or isolated from power relations. It will be useful to both new-comers and experts of the field.' Bruno Charbonneau, International Peacekeeping

Exploring the story of Africa's contemporary history and politics through the lens of peacekeeping, this concise and accessible book, based on over a decade of research across ten countries, focuses not on peacekeeping in Africa but, rather, peacekeeping by Africans. Going beyond the question of why post-conflict states contribute troops to peacekeeping efforts, Jonathan Fisher and Nina Wilén demonstrate how peacekeeping is – and has been – weaved into Africa's national, regional and international politics more broadly, as well as what implications this has for how we should understand the continent, its history and its politics. In doing so, and drawing on fieldwork undertaken in every region of the continent, Fisher and Wilén explain how profoundly this involvement in peacekeeping has shaped contemporary Africa.

Introduction
1. The (pre-) history and evolution of African peacekeeping
2. New means of staying in power: regime maintenance through peacekeeping
3. From the local to the global: the connection between the domestic and the international
4. Constructing a new identity as a peacekeeper
5. From peacekept to peacekeeper: post-conflict peacekeeping
6. What is 'African' about African peacekeeping?
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Peacekeeping operations [JWLP], Geopolitics [JPSL], Diplomacy [JPSD], Political science & theory [JPA]