Description
In this paper, we focus on the intersection of international peacekeeping and the domestic lives of soldiers on deployment. Peacekeeping deployment preparation generally focuses on military issues, such as training, equipment, operational briefings, logistics, etc. Yet for soldiers, there is another important, and more personal, aspect to deployment planning: preparing their families. Based on in-depth interviews with United Nations peacekeepers in four West African countries, we explore how soldiers prepare their families for their departure and how they address family issues while away on the missions. We argue that the regular rotation of peacekeeping deployments has led to a pattern of military leadership on the home front acting as a "surrogate" family member for deployed soldiers. This involves intervening in issues related to military spouses, troublesome children, and resolving financial matters. This is often an uncomfortable situation for peacekeepers and marks shifting dynamics and tensions within armed forces due to deployments. In highlighting these unintended consequences, the research contributes to efforts to further understand the way United Nations peacekeeping can affect contributing forces, individual soldiers and the broader communities they are part of upon return home from the missions.
