Can UN peace operations do counter-terrorism? Inter- and intra-institutional field struggles in UN peace operations

In 2014, US President Obama chaired a high-level meeting on UN peacekeeping during the UN General Assembly, rallying support for UN peace operations. 49 member states pledged troops and capabilities, and among them many western member states – signifying a reengagement by western member states in UN peace operations. During 2013 and 2014, e.g. the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway contributed with troops and capabilities to the UN mission in Mali, including the first dedicated and explicit intelligence unit – the All Source Intelligence Fusion Unit (ASIFU), Apache and Chinook helicopters and special forces on the ground. At headquarters, western member states are pushing for a ‘modernization’ of UN peacekeeping, updating it with new policies and guidelines, where intelligence is one of several examples. This process is aimed at making the UN more relevant to what is perceived as a change in the nature of conflict – with increasing asymmetric and terrorist threats also facing UN peace operations. The paper will make use of elite interviews, examination of public documents, elite interviews and participant observation. Drawing on Bourdieu’s writing on inter- and intra-institutional field struggle and contestation, the paper traces the diplomatic engagement and bureaucratic in-fighting in the attempted transformation of UN peacekeeping to deal with asymmetric, non-state and terrorist threats in Africa.