Description
UN peace operations continue to encounter serious challenges in implementing their mandates to protect civilians. Scholars have analyzed numerous potential determinants of this effectiveness, but there is a growing interest among peacekeeping scholars in studying the role of agent-level factors. They have investigated such matters as the mechanisms through which individuals within peace operations can have influence, but also the importance of Special Representatives of the Secretary-General (SRSGs) in mediating norm conflicts. I build on this literature, but expand the investigation by proposing a systematic framework for analyzing the agency of the leadership of peace operations who operate within structural constraints and against the background of a specific risk context. In particular, I highlight their risk tolerance, their normative convictions, and the extent to which they are more or less diplomatic in their relations with domestic and international partners. Apart from looking at SRSGs, I also investigate how other key mission leaders (such as the Force Commander and the Director of the Human Rights Division) have an impact on effectiveness and how their agency differs from that of the SRSG. I link this conceptual discussion with an analysis of the mechanisms through which individual differences between mission leaders may have an impact on the effectiveness of peace operations. I test the proposed framework with two case studies of leadership change within peace operations.
