Who targets the peacekeepers? New data and procedures to track perpetrators of violence against peacekeepers – A pilot study

PROJECT OVERVIEW

Project leader

• Sara Lindberg Bromley, Researcher

Project period

• 2020-2021

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Who targets peacekeepers? Concerns about the safety and security of peacekeepers have risen in recent years, with UN peacekeepers often viewed as being at growing risk of direct and deliberate violence. Owing to data limitations, however, little is known about who attacks peacekeepers and why. Building on a recent data collection effort on the topic, the UCDP Peacemakers at Risk (PAR) dataset, the purpose of this pilot project is to develop and test procedures for collecting and compiling data on the perpetrators of violence against peacekeepers.

To do so, the pilot project focuses on UN peacekeeping efforts in Sudan (UNAMID and UNMIS) and Mali (MINUSMA). It draws on recent advances in research on armed conflict actors in civil wars more broadly, as well as new data on violence against peacekeepers specifically, to provide both novel disaggregated data and improved procedures for the systematic collection of data on armed actors.

FUNDING

This pilot project is funded by the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA).

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

• Sara Lindberg Bromley, PI
• Anna Marie Obermeier, Research Assistant

The following students have done internships within the project

• Wera Terhaag, Research Intern (2020)
• Alanna Smart, Research Intern (2020)