Winrich Kühne

Sub-Saharan Africa is undergoing one of its most difficult and turbulent phases. Processes of profound political, economic, social and cultural transformation are shaking African societies. Democratization, or the so-called "Second Liberation" which started so hopefully in the early nineties, has run into serious difficulties. State-building, democratization, ethnic and religious diversity, problems of economic development as well as state failure will be major topics to be explored. Pre-colonial rule, Slave trade, the "scramble for Africa" by European colonizers and other basic topics will be dealt with by the Professor at the beginning of the course as important backgrounds for understanding present day as well as future African developments. The challenge how to develop governance systems which are not only in accordance with international standards of democratization but also with local conditions in Sub-Saharan African countries and the need for African ownership will be a guiding issue of this course. (Cross listed International Relations/International Development/African Studies) (CM)

Since the end of the Cold War "peace operations," conducted by a variety of international actors like the UN, EU, NATO, AU, have become a strategic pillar of international peace and security policy. Since the first mission in 1948 a complex variety/generations of missions have evolved. They will be Explorer and discussed in class based on short case studies by students. More than a 150,000 international military, police, and civilians are presently deployed in about two dozen missions, most of them conducted by the UN. However, these missions are struggling with enormous difficulties. There is confusion regarding the use of force and the proper application of basic principles like "impartiality" and "consent" and the more recent demand for better "protection of civilians." Finally, there is increasing skepticism regarding the effectiveness of "post-conflict peacebuilding." At the beginning of the course there will be an introduction into the basic norms and principles of the UN Charta with regard to safeguarding international peace and security. Surprisingly, the terms "bluehelmets" and "peacekeeping" are unknown to the UN Charta. (Crossed listed International Relations/International Development/African Studies) (CM/IL)

In August 2021 the international media and most politicians reacted with much surprise to the dramatic events at Kabul airport. Thousands of Afghans and their families were desperate to get on the last Western flights to escape Taliban rule. Prominent Western commentators were quick to proclaim that the failure in Afghanistan would be the end of the longstanding, Western inspired conflict management strategy to end violent conflict in failing states by deploying peace operations and getting involved in long term peace- and nation building processes. Indeed, “peace operations”, conducted by a variety of international actors like the UN, EU, NATO, AU, have become a strategic pillar of international peace and security policy since the end of the Cold War. But does the failure in Afghanistan really imply that there is no future for peace operations and peacebuilding and that missions like those in the DR Congo, Mali or Somalia will suffer a fate similar to that of Afghanistan? That would, indeed, be a dramatic change regarding the future of global conflict management. However, at the end of June ending the mission in Mali became a top issue in the UN Security Council. In the class, therefore, we will take a thorough look at the history, concepts, changing doctrines as well as unsolved problems of UN-lead peace operations to find a convincing answer concerning the future of peace operations and peacebuilding.

Peace operations, conducted by a variety of international actors like the UN, EU, NATO, AU, have in recent decades become a strategic pillar of international conflict management starting with the first UN peacekeeping mission UNTSO in Palestine in 1948. In 2023 more than 130,000 persons (115,000 military, 10,000 police and about 7,000 civilians) were active in a variety of peace operations, most of them led by the UN. By and large, the performance of the missions was considered encouraging, except for dramatic failures in Rwanda and Somalia in the early 90ies. This perception totally changed when in August 2021 the international media reacted with much surprise to the dramatic events at Kabul airport. Thousands of Afghans were desperate to get on the last Western flights to escape Taliban rule. Western commentators were quick to proclaim that the failure in Afghanistan would be the end of the longstanding, Western inspired conflict management strategy to end violent conflict in failing states by deploying peace operations and getting involved in long term peace- and nation building processes. The fact that in 2023 the military regime in Mali informed the UN that its mission, MINUSMA, would no longer be tolerated and would have to leave the country by the end of the year, seemed to confirm this view. But do the failures in Afghanistan and Mali really imply that there is no future for peace operations and peacebuilding? That would, indeed, be a dramatic change regarding the future of global conflict management. In the class, therefore, we will take a thorough look at the history, concepts, changing doctrines as well as unsolved problems of UN-lead peace operations to enable students to give practitioners as well as academics a convincing answer.