The securitisation of peacekeeping? The case of MONUSCO and Resolution 2098 (2010 to 2013)

Abstract

The United Nations was established to restore and maintain international peace and security with peace keeping being the most visible component thereof. The evolutions of conflict, evolving circumstances, and shifts in international relations, have transformed the practice of peacekeeping. However, the tenets that were developed to guide the exercise of this responsibility, have been adhered to in the authorisation of peacekeeping missions over time, thereby establishing normal practice. The authorisation of the Force Intervention Brigade in Resolution 2098 (2013) broke with the tradition of adherence to the tenets and can be termed to be an extraordinary measure in peacekeeping, and akin rather to war making. The introduction of extraordinary measures resonates with the Copenhagen School’s securitisation theory which developed criteria to enhance understanding of the concept of ‘security’ and the subsequent justification of extraordinary measures. The study uses the case study of the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo to evaluate against the criteria for securitisation to ascertain whether UN Resolution 2098(2013) was an instance of the securitisation of peacekeeping. Such developments are significant given that descuritisation is nigh impossible to accomplish, that these peacekeeping interventions are currently predominantly in Africa, that South Africa plays an active role in the peacekeeping environment and that successful practices are replicated and used to shape future approaches to interventions.