ABSTRACT
Interventionism, peacekeeping and privatisation have become increasingly important topics and are interlinked. A range of actors, from the UN to regional organisations such as the African Union, have mounted peace support operations, which often turn out to be long-term undertakings. The chapter considers how the presence of a peacekeeping, or even a peace enforcement, mission can affect development and security. It looks briefly at the history and major trends in international peacekeeping, outlining key debates on the political economy of peacekeeping, which links to the previous chapter’s analysis and earlier discussion of the political economy of violent conflict. It will also discuss the move to regional interventionism, regional security and regional peacekeeping solutions, outlining the advantages of this approach, such as a possibly more nuanced understanding of particular conflicts, but also highlighting problems of capability, neutrality and legacy.
