Student Question
How might limiting peacekeepers' use of force affect compliance with international agreements?
Quick answer:
Limiting peacekeepers' use of force can hinder their ability to enforce compliance with international agreements, as seen in the former Yugoslavia, where peacekeepers could not prevent ethnic cleansing due to insufficient force. However, allowing unlimited force risks turning peacekeepers into combatants, compromising their neutral role. Thus, while restrictions have limitations, they help maintain the peacekeepers' status as impartial enforcers rather than participants in the conflict.
Sending peacekeeping troops to an area of conflict is a difficult thing if the sides in the conflict are not really willing to have peace. You can see this in the experience of the peacekeeping force in the former Yugoslavia. They were forced to stand by as ethnic cleansing was carried out because they did not have enough force to stop it. A lack of force clearly prevented them from enforcing compliance.
The problem with giving peacekeepers unlimited use of force is that it will potentially make them into full-fledged combatants. This would make it much harder for them to be seen as peacekeepers. For this reason, I tend to agree with the restrictions, although I do see that they have serious limitations.
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