Short Abstract

How have African defense institutions, soldiers/police and the wider communities they are part of been transformed through the experience of peacekeeping deployments? What innovative methodological and theoretical approaches do we have to observe these changes? And what is the empirical evidence?

Long Abstract

The African continent hosts the most peacekeeping missions and is the largest regional troop contributor to these missions. With tens of thousands of African troops deploying to conflict settings each year it stands to reason that defense institutions, soldiers/police and the wider communities they are part of are transformed in the process. Yet, what are these transformations within troop contributing countries and what methodological approaches do we have to observe changes? Quantitative analysis has drawn corelations between peacekeeping and patterns such as coup-making and defense profit gains. However, these statistical approaches are less able to account for the importance of personal experiences and more subtle organisational change. In this panel we explore transformations within institutions, communities, and individuals that come about through the practice of peacekeeping. What can these changes tell us about the future of African defense sectors, civil-military relations and broader security? Further we are interested in examining qualitative approaches that capture links between peacekeeping and security at home. How does ‘being present’ and direct interactions with peacekeepers shape the types of data collected? How can they be scaled up to make broader generalizations? How can life stories, peacekeepers’ writing (essays, letters, biographies), observations of everyday practices, trainings and meetings as well as visuals like photos help to explain the impact of peacekeeping on contributing countries? The panel welcomes contributions that grapple with these questions and theoretical approaches that provide fresh perspectives on how African militaries intervening in the conflicts of other countries are transformed through the experience.